eBay dispute What would GRM do?

Stampie said:

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

You've said that you were in the Navy which means you were a paid government agent that was told to keep secrets from civilians.  How can we trust what you say now?

Off topic a bit, I sold a motorcycle today to a guy that was a retired federal agent. Besides using a fake name until we did paperwork, he was so full of BS that by the time he left, I felt dirty. I regret having done business with him, but I do expect that the government's secrets are safe with him.

Edit: Today (days later) I had some texts with the guy that bought the bike. Cleared up much of the negative vibes. Glad we had the follow-up.

Anthony..? Plenty of bluster in some of his posts, but I trust his integrity.

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

I use a fake Facebook profile.  I always apologize when I meet them in person and say "Hey my name isn't Chris.  It's Michael but most people call me Stampie."  Then most of them continue to call me Chris for some reason.  I then get real nervous when they go to fill out a title.

In reply to SV reX :

I read Stampie's comment as tongue in cheek. I could be wrong though.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

You may be right. Unsure. Read like an argument to me

I still hadn't heard from eBay or the buyer again, so I went ahead and clicked the option for eBay to resolve it instead of having it sit as an open return request. eBay immediately authorized the buyer to return the tail light at my expense for a full refund.

"We had a chance to review the buyer’s return request and decided to ask them to return the item. There’s nothing you need to do at this time. This case will not affect your seller performance.

For next steps, we’ll track the buyer’s return to you and then deduct the refund and original shipping amount from your funds once it’s delivered. If the buyer doesn’t ship their return by May 05, 2023, we’ll close their case, and you won’t have to pay for a refund.

If there’s anything wrong with the item once you receive it, we’re here to help. You can send an appeal or, if you have any questions, you can contact us."

At first I saw it as eBay fully siding with the buyer. After reading comprehension kicked in, I realize that when or if the part arrives, I can verify that it was my part and see the damage. If it is not what I sent, eBay will make me go through an appeal, but proof should be easy. If my tail light comes back and actually has been damaged, I'm willing to accept the loss at this point. My guess is that the buyer is not going to return anything and the case will close.

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks for the update. Hopefully the buyer flakes out and it gets resolved. May 5 is a short time away. 

The box with the tail light showed up last night. The tail light that I had sold was inside and is damaged. The damage is a cracked and chipped corner and reflector inside that was jarred loose. I expect that the buyer dropped it onto a hard surface before installing it. At this point I'm okay with writing it off as the cost of doing business on eBay. I have a lot of stuff that I want to sell and that is the simplest way to market it.

The one remaining issue that I have is the return shipping. I shipped two tail lights to the buyer's address which is in New York for about $22. The buyer returned the tail light with international shipping from Saudi Arabia by DHL. If I am charged a significant amount for international return shipping for a buyer that presented himself as located in NY, I'm going to have a problem with that.

AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:

The one remaining issue that I have is the return shipping. I shipped two tail lights to the buyer's address which is in New York for about $22. The buyer returned the tail light with international shipping from Saudi Arabia by DHL. If I am charged a significant amount for international return shipping for a buyer that presented himself as located in NY, I'm going to have a problem with that.

Any chance your original auction stated shipping to US only?  

This is where it's tough to have to do everything through chat vs a live body but that should be an obvious argument to a real human that the shipping exposure should be to the original shipping address.

AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:

The one remaining issue that I have is the return shipping. I shipped two tail lights to the buyer's address which is in New York for about $22. The buyer returned the tail light with international shipping from Saudi Arabia by DHL. If I am charged a significant amount for international return shipping for a buyer that presented himself as located in NY, I'm going to have a problem with that.

and now we know how the scam works

So he uses New York as a proxy, then ships it halfway across the country. If we're placing bets where the damage happened, my vote is on the shipping. 
Even if you state US only, you have no control what happens to the item after it's delivered to the US address. Disclaimers won't help you  

it's some bullE36 M3 that you end up paying in this scenario. It's the exact reason I avoid selling on eBay unless there's no other way. The continuous boning of the seller actually gets old

Got screwed by eBay as a seller with a purchaser sending there broken msd box back saying it was what I shipped. I had marked the inside with an engraver but eBay did not care said I was the scum of the earth not the purchaser. Now when ever possible I will let people know that it is eBay that is the scum of the earth and should be avoided at all costs. 

After all that, I was surprised to get a message from eBay closing the case and deciding in my favor. I don't know any more about the process than what I've already posted, but I'm ready to get back to selling now.

"We reviewed this case and have closed it without any refund to the buyer.

The case will not affect your seller performance. Any feedback left for this transaction will be removed.

For more information about this case, please refer to the additional email we sent you."

Thanks for the update - a bit surprising but great news!

Thanks for the update. Good news. 

Wow.  Great news!  Now go buy your lottery ticket.