Seller scam

[mimigillian]

Hi. I originally posted this question on ebay.com, but was told that procedure and things that I can do for Australia may be different, so I am asking here. I bought a necklace. from a seller that sold a fake silver Tiffany necklace ($240). I wanted it for my daughter’s 30th.  I am vision impaired and have used eBay for heaps of things and have had no problems, until this. I first contacted  the seller and tried to settle it via messages, but they insisted it was real (it wasn’t… it was magnetic; I have photos and a video to prove this). Eventually, I requested to return and refund by eBay and was given a label to print, which I did. Because the seller seemed like a bit of a scammer and I was getting a bit nervous of them, I took a heap of photos and had witnesses at the post office and the cameras from the post office recording me as I posted everything. But when the seller got the package, they lied and opened a case saying that there was nothing in the package when they got it. It comes down to their word against mine, although I have a lot of photos and evidence on my side, but why does it have to be like this? I’m not a young person and this is so stressful. I have purchased so many things without problem from eBay, so I’m praying that they see that I have always been a really good buyer with no problems, and I get a refund. The only sad thing is is that that scammer seller would still out there trying for to rip other people off.  Is there anything else that I can do to make sure I get a refund?

[sandypebbles]

Firstly, eBay do not accept photos and witnesses at the post office as proof of anything

Secondly, rather than 'request a return' you needed to open and follow through with an item not as described dispute 

Buyers can only be given positive feedback so that does not come into it either 

eBay rarely read the member to member forum, you can use eBay Help at the top of every page to contact them and try your luck

You can make sure you get a refund in future by opening the correct dispute

What is the item number?

What is the seller's feedback like?

Is the seller in the USA?

[domino-710]

You have the receipt from the PO - this would show the weight of the parcel sent.

If the box contained ' nothing ' - the weight would be different.

I would have weighed ' the silver ' - showing the actual weight of the item before packaging - keeping it among the other photos.

[sandypebbles]

Was just coming to add a comment about the weight sent Vs the seller claiming 'empty' weight 

[domino-710]

Morning Sandy - have another coffee. 

[twyngwyn]

Will the post office do a stat Dec for you?

[mimigillian]

Ebay eventually made sure that I had a refund given to me and yes, the post office would do a stat dec., but it did not eventuate that I needed to do that. So grateful for the advice. It really helped.