I believe a buyer is trying to scam me

Prior to buying anything from me, a potential buyer sent a lowball offer on one of my items. I replied that we weren’t considering offers on the item.

A week or so later this buyer (who uses a different name to their postage name) purchased this item. When they received it they blamed our packaging for it arriving in terrible condition (which we take pride in & are always commended on). He admitted to using a knife to open the packaging which more than likely damaged the internal packaging. We offered a full refund on return of the item to us (our policy, we don’t offer partial refunds). He said he would think about it & get back to us.

He then purchased an additional 2 items which we stated would be sent using the exact same packaging. We stated if he was not happy with our packaging we would cancel & refund the second order however he said he was happy for us to send the second order.

Surprise surprise we receive an email from him this evening upon receiving the second parcel, again blaming our packaging on the terrible condition of his items (which he agreed to). He has stated that he wishes to keep the items & asked what we would do about it.

Again I have sent back that we are happy to refund him in full on return of the items to us. I can tell that this buyer is attempting to scam us & is trying to obtain a partial refund. Is there anything I can do other than block this buyer from purchasing from us in future?
Message 1 of 10
Latest reply
9 REPLIES 9

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me


@aussietrains wrote:
I can tell that this buyer is attempting to scam us & is trying to obtain a partial refund. Is there anything I can do other than block this buyer from purchasing from us in future?

Not really, unfortunately, aside from sticking to your guns re: refund on return.

 

If they try to get a refund (full or partial) under any other circumstances, just repeat that your store policy is refund on return - depending on the wording of their messages, any less than positive feedback may be removable. 

Message 2 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me

lyndal1838
Honored Contributor

Ask for photos of the damaged items.

Just because the packaging is damaged does not mean that the item is also damaged.

Message 3 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me

Are you allowed to say thats your store policy and potentially the feedback may be removed? Genuinely curious because I thought you werent allowed to specify polices

Message 4 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me

You can specify no returns, which means no change of mind refunds. Not as described will always be a buyer avenue

Message 5 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me


@danieh_6 wrote:

Are you allowed to say thats your store policy and potentially the feedback may be removed? Genuinely curious because I thought you werent allowed to specify polices


You are no longer allowed to set your own conditions for return, because eBay uses a boilerplate model (i.e. pretty much just goods returned within X days in original condition in order to be eligible for a refund - this goes for change of mind returns, if accepted, and not as described returns), but sellers can refund without requiring a return if they opt to, which is what the buyer seems to be angling for (even if partial), therefore stating that the store policy is only ever to refund on return is acceptable.

 

Buyers are not entitled to refunds without return in most cases, and if a buyer tries to force a refund without returning the goods, as long as the seller has followed eBay's procedures with regards to any open requests (eg accepting the return, providing a return label if they are liable to), then by and large eBay will look much more favourably on the seller than the buyer - because one followed policies and the other one didn't. 

Message 6 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me

Correctly even if parts or not working, items are still eligible for NAD
Message 7 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me

Thanks for the clarification, I thought you were implying something else. haha. What you just said is and has been always my understanding
Message 8 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me


@danieh_6 wrote:
Correctly even if parts or not working, items are still eligible for NAD
Can't help. It would come down to the description.
Message 9 of 10
Latest reply

I believe a buyer is trying to scam me

Sorry this happened, but it would have been obvious the buyer was trying to scam you initially.

 

The block button is your friend.

 

Message 10 of 10
Latest reply