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Wrong item returned to me as a seller - help needed
Summary: mulberrylily is dealing with a buyer who returned the incorrect item, complicating the resolution process. They explain that eBay settled the case in the buyer's favor, despite the buyer sending back the wrong item and not communicating clearly. *vyolla* suggests reporting the issue through the appropriate channels, such as filing with Reportfraud. mulberrylily mentions they've already tried reporting the issue with evidence but still faced an unfavorable decision from eBay. They are unsure about the possibility of appealing the decision but note it won't affect their seller ratings.
Buyer has returned the wrong item. I'm having trouble with a buyer who is a professional seller on here dealing in Polly Pocket vintage playlets. Royal Mail labelled the wrong parcel which was sent to her. I accepted a return and paid for an eBay label and the returned parcel arrived this morning. BUT the Polly Pocket case that she's returned is the incorrect case. On her own selling eBay page she has this case listed which she's returned in error to me up for sale. Do I refund her even though this is incorrect - so I get my payment account unfrozen - or do I argue the toss with her for sending me the incorrect case? I refuse point blank to pay for returning her case to her because this second error is hers not mine. But where does this leave me - the original seller - in regards to bays systems which don't seem capable of handling an issue like this. Help would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance everyone.
*vyolla*
MentorJul 18, 2026 at 6:10 PM · EditedFirst thing I'd do is to message her to let her know that she's accidentally sent you the one she's got listed, then pop back here when you have an answer.
Has the refund been made yet? If not you don't have much time to report this to eBay.
mulberrylily
OPJul 18, 2026 at 8:11 PMAlready told the buyer and I figured out opening a case was the only way to settle this. The buyer doesn't have fluent English so it's hard to make sense of her replies. Ebay settled the case in her favour - which to be honest I expected because they always tend to favour the buyers don't they? So I have the wrong case, and she has my original one and her refund and I guess I will have to let that be how it is! What else can I do when her replies make no sense? Appreciate you taking the time to reply, thank you.
*vyolla*
MentorJul 18, 2026 at 8:19 PMThe usual way forward in these situations is that the seller accepts the return and gets their item back, if it isn’t their item they immediately file a report with Reportfraud (used to be Actionfraud) and get a report number:
Then click the "Report a problem" link in the eBay case, select "Different item returned" as the reason and provide the Reportfraud reference number and report. This stops the automated returns process that would ultimately force the seller to issue a refund.
Then, someone at eBay reviews the case. As to what happens next depends on a few factors - if the buyer has done this before, if the seller is a long standing eBay member who's had no issues like this before etc.
mulberrylily
OPJul 18, 2026 at 8:33 PMThank you - I did accept their return and then received the wrong case back. So I did "report a problem" and "different item returned" and eBay told me the case was settled and they refunded the buyer. I included photos of the item I sent her and it clearly showed a discrepancy between what I sent and what she returned. I have 100% good feedback and she doesn't so I cannot imagine how eBay reached this decision.
*vyolla*
MentorJul 19, 2026 at 9:22 AMIs there an option showing to appeal that decision?
mulberrylily
OPJul 19, 2026 at 10:03 AMNo none that I can see but it does say that as a seller I was not at fault and it wont affect my seller ratings. So no there are no buttons to click to appeal it.
*vyolla*
MentorJul 19, 2026 at 11:21 AMAre you sure that the refund has been taken from you and eBay haven't funded it themselves?