Buyer claims items not as described and that he has received something else

[bas_sports]

I sold this person two collectable embroidered patches for $100 each, both patches are almost exactly identical but the only difference is that each one has a different year embroidered on it. When they received the parcel they contacted me claiming that one patch has the wrong year embroidered on it and the other has no year on it.

This claim seems highly suspicious to me because this is an item that I sell which I make sure I do not make any mistakes because of the similarity of the patches. In fact there are 11 patches in the total collection and to have back up checks on myself I separated 1 of each patch in a box so as I sold each one they would only be taken out from that box. So if ever anyone claimed to have received the wrong patch I could check my box and see which ones were missing as a means of doing a stocktake.

When I have checked my stock after this claim, the patches which are missing from the box match the ones which were ordered and sent. On top of this the patch which the buyer is claiming to have received is a patch which I sold in the same week to someone else and that other buyer has confirmed that they got the right patch.

So there is no way I could have sent the wrong patch according to the patches left in the box plus the buyer is claming that he received a patch with no year on it which makes no sense at all since I have never owned or sold a patch like that.

I want to give this buyer the benefit of the doubt and I requested that he send both patches back so I could see what went wrong. I speciafically asked the buyer to post them back and to use registered post and that I would pay him for the postage. A couple of days later the buyer says that he has sent them back as return to sender, under the advice of the post office employee. Im pretty annoyed about this and it has only made me more suspicious since I told this buyer over the phone and via email to post them back with registered post.

Now Im waiting to see if anything comes back and if it does what might be inside the parcel. If no patches are returned what should I do next? I have already told the buyer that I accept no responsibility if the parcel is lost since he avoided sending with registered post as I requested.

But if the parcel does arrive back and the contents are two patches which are nothing like the ones I sell, what do I do next? These are extremely rare patches, I am pretty much the only person who sells them. I know of another person who sells them but they are not as a good a quality as mine and if I was to receive the patches I could immediately tell if they were not from my batch and I would have to assume I was been ripped off.

Even the thought of the mail having been tampered with is impossible, if someone had opened the parcel in transit, how would they known what was in the parcel and even more improvable is to switch my patches for two bogus patches when these are so hard to find. I can only imagine a buyer having patches to do such a switch and this is what Im afraid might be taking place.

[belindabargainhunter]

If u don't receive them he has no claim as he has no proof of postage. If they do arrive and not yours I am not sure hopefully someone else can help with that.

[thecatspjs]

Might be too late now, but in the future it is much easier and quicker to sort this out prior to return of goods, if you just ask buyers that have goods that they claim are not as described, to upload a couple of photos of the patches they received from you, including close-ups.  

I would wait until you receive the parcel back before you panic about what might or might not be in it.  The buyer may be bluffing, or they may have genuine concerns, even though they have acted suspiciously I think it is always wise not to jump the gun.

[digital*ghost]

I think this is actually more straightforward than it might seem (in terms of action, anyway. Dealing with the buyer and their potential reaction might be a different story).

If you receive nothing back > no refund. 

If you received something back that wasn't what you sent > no refund (I would request return postage if they wanted them back).

That is how it should be, IMHO, and as belinda says, the buyer has unfortunately left themselves with little recourse if they're not satisfied with the outcome. PayPal protection is void if the buyer sends something back without their (PayPal's) specific instruction to do so, however they might still initiate a credit card chargeback (depending on the kind of claim if they do that, you will probably have a good basis for defending it, and if they start an INR or unauthorised use chargeback, if you have proof of postage you should qualify for seller protection regardless of the outcome of the chargeback).

Obviously, I would do the right thing by the buyer if I had made an error, and I would make every effort to ensure they received their goods etc, regardless of anything else, or third party-involvement like PayPal. 

[green-gifts-mkd]

Someone else has probably posted this in the time I have been typing! (whoops, meant to reply to bas_sports)

It is a pity that you didn't ask the buyer to take a quick pic of the patches with his smartphone, iPhone etc. and email it to you. It is so easy in this day and age and saves times discussing what the patches he says he received look like. You would have been able to identify straight away that the patches aren't ones you sell, or the ones you sent (as per listing photos?). At this time of year, it is possible that the patches won't even make it back to you. I recently had a Registered Post article posted 'Returned to Sender' and even it didn't make it back! Last known location was a QLD delivery centre. AusPost is so swamped atm and the buyer has not posted back using the safe method you requested. In this case, there is nothing you can do.

I used to drive myself crazy, wondering if I had packed things correctly. I usually take a quick pic of my item on the envelope it is being posted in these days. Then I know for sure what I have sent if there is ever a question. Takes 1 second and is great peace of mind when things get busy and you question yourself.

[peridot55555]

"A couple of days later the buyer says that he has sent them back as return to sender, under the advice of the post office employee."

My Postal Manager told me once a parcel / letter has been opened, U have to pay postage to return the item to sender.  So I myself wouldn't trust what your buyer said about 'return to sender'.  Although in saying that my postal manager is a stickler for AP rules.