(buyer: venom786) eBay buyer wakes up 45 days after package received and complains about a tiny scuff on the seal

[Tyree_Cooper 533]

Item paid, sent end December, received early Jan, then 2 days ago seller wants a refund because the item is significantly not as described. he says the inlay paper is extensively stained (lol).

game is a factory sealed japanese ps2 game, it is in fantastic condition with very minor scuffing on the seal. i should have kept it

so i ask for photos, and he shows a tiny scuff on the seal, on the front, that's hard to see unless you look for it.

obviously trying to get his money back and keep the game, or at least get a substantial refund and keep the game. sending a zoom photo and trying to make that little scuff spot look like a HUGE STAIN in the cover lol. anyway.

I simply aswered the ebay case by saying that this is a minor scuffing and that it is visible in my auction photos anyway. so it can't be treated as significantly not as described.

guy has an arab name and all positive feedback, from uk, 1500+ feedbacks.

 

anybody dealt with a similar case, where a stupid scuff/minor thing is used as an excuse to get a refund? I'm terribly afraid ebay's stupid employees will just force me to refund. im still in time to provide a partial refund. i can also just refuse the return, but in that case ebay has the last word and they may force a refund, which is worse than a return.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Tyree_Cooper

[WalterWhiteJr. 1,007]

Never had a similar experience but that sounds like such a buzzkill man. People need to grow up. 

[Tanooki 4,701]

I'd fight it.  But I would go the extra mile to shove it down that guys throat by calling ebay directly first, not conversing on the case at all until and if you need to after.  Ebay phone sucks trying to get in the regular way, but I found if you google: gethuman.com ebay  you'll get a more direct number.  50/50 you'll get someone in/out of the US, and if it's outside they tend to be kind of hit and miss on using their brain beyond queue cards on their screen.  I'd go for an escalated conversation with an American, be nice and sweet, explain the time frame, explain they're blowing up an image to distort the issue.  Counter showing the original image and how it is both there and miniscule which would not effect anything and that you strongly feel in your heart they're either regretting their purchase or looking to cut the price looking for some refund money back just because they can.  As long as you're a decent years long member and in always good standing you have some pretty good chances of them shooting the guy down, especially given he waited a month and a half which is really beyond reason.

[Tyree_Cooper 533]

I'd love to call someone at eBay but the long int'l call will cost me way too much. I have until February 20 until the case is closed and eBay takes a decision. Given their history of siding with buyers 99% of the time, I'm thinking of a small partial refund, hoping the guy accepts it. He's obviously in my black list now.

Just for fun, I'm attaching 3 photos of the game I sold, and the 4th photo is what the buyer claims to be "a significant staining/mark on the inlay cover" (straight quote). You can see it's just a small mark on the seal, not even a millimetre long. Also, since it's clearly visible in my photos, it can't be "significantly not as described". Makes no sense both ways, but will eBay care about making sense?

Edited February 14, 2020 by Tyree_Cooper

[A_Feisty_Pickle 227]

I've never had any luck calling customer support as a seller personally. I've been forced to accept a return on a lot of broken PS4s (listed in for parts / not working category) because the buyer decided there wasn't any money in fixing them after diagnosing the issue. You can either call his bluff and tell him to return the item for a full refund and hope he goes away if he's fishing for a partial refund, or offer a partial refund and give him incentive to try it again to another seller in the future. Either way with my experiences in the past I wouldn't count on ebay siding with you, even if they should.  

[MrWunderful 2,714]

I would offer a full refund and asked that he sends the game back in the exact same condition it was shipped in and then just eat the shipping.

 

A lot of scammers are lazy and won’t go through all the trouble of that. If he does, then he was probably genuinely concerned about the condition. 

[Strikezone1 141]

Sucks that you're having to deal with this. It'd be a different story if it was within a week after he received it (albeit still petty), but 45+ days later is just ridiculous, and shady.

Good luck. I hope ebay supports your side in this case.

[captmorgandrinker 1,563]

19 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

I would offer a full refund and asked that he sends the game back in the exact same condition it was shipped in and then just eat the shipping.

 

A lot of scammers are lazy and won’t go through all the trouble of that. If he does, then he was probably genuinely concerned about the condition. 

Or he's found a cheaper one in the meantime.

[tbone3969 303]

This is such BS.  Hope you win the case but I doubt it knowing eBay.  Good luck.

[TDIRunner 2,370]

42 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

I would offer a full refund and asked that he sends the game back in the exact same condition it was shipped in and then just eat the shipping.

 

A lot of scammers are lazy and won’t go through all the trouble of that. If he does, then he was probably genuinely concerned about the condition. 

This is what I would recommend as well.  It sucks, but sometimes it's a cost of doing business.  

[Tanooki 4,701]

Yes if you feel the need to refund, all or nothing because you encourage more devious behavior to save money ripping off future sellers.

[Tyree_Cooper 533]

I told the buyer the problem he showed on the photo was non-existant and out of goodwill I would refund 20$. No answer. So just now I told him that I was willing to do an exceptional goodwill gesture by accepting a return. I warned the buyer to send back the same exact game and it must be received in the same exact condition it was sent, or I would use all means available on eBay, and if that fails, all means available outside of eBay -- which I am going to do if he scams me by sending an empty package, another game or the same game damaged.

These things remind me that sellers on eBay are sitting ducks waiting to be scammed, and you can be scammed on anything, any time, and eBay is known to not give a foc and refund the buyer most of the time.

There's no way I'm accepting a refund which means he keeps the item (that's what the button says).

Edited February 18, 2020 by Tyree_Cooper

[Tyree_Cooper 533]

End of story, guy wanted 30$, I offered 20$ or return the item, he said 25$ will do, I accepted.

I know I shouldn't have, but since I needed to pay the return shipping anyway, I figured 25$ was close to what I would have paid to get the item back, and then the hassle of reselling it again would have cost me a lot more time in the future, and repacking it again etc.

FYI, buyer was venom786 and he seems to be buying lots of retro games. Based in the UK. I have him blacklisted.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Tyree_Cooper