A Blatant Scam?
Summary: tiptreegas discussed selling an item via the Global Shipping Program and encountering a buyer who claimed the item was damaged, supported by questionable photos. Despite the buyer's 100% feedback and numerous ratings, tiptreegas and others in the discussion, such as clairetyuk, found the damage to be digitally altered. tiptreegas reported the incident, but received no policy violation confirmation from the platform. simplyessential_uk and others expressed skepticism about the buyer's claims, citing the digital nature of the evidence. Later, tiptreegas faced a chargeback attempt, but eBay provided seller protections, preventing any financial loss.
I sold a relatively high value item via the Global Shipping Program. I packaged the item in bubble wrap, strong cardboard and shrink wrap.
Several days later I received a message from the buyer who has 100% feedback and 2815 votes displaying the alleged state of the item upon receipt. I was able to refer the buyer back to GSP to resolve and have since learned they provided no evidence to back up their claim.
Consider the evidence. Top left is black shrink wrap, top right and bottom left is very thick cardboard, bottom right is one of 7 vinyl LPs. I tend to agree with the conclusion of Google Gemini "It appears a single digital "bullet hole" or puncture overlay was pasted over the four different surfaces."
Despite the issue having been resolved in my favour I am inclined to report this further just for the sheer stupidity of the buyer thinking they could get away with this!
cz1266
·2 weeks agoTend to agree that the images have been modified, or photo-shopped for want of a better word, the telling picture is the one of the LP itself...A hole punched through a vinyl record like that would certainly leave a chipped edge to the hole, and there would be shards or splinters. Also why hasnt the LP got any graphics, title on its centre...?
tiptreegas
OP2 weeks agoThe lack of title and graphics was common to all the vinyl and CDs in that box set strange though it may seem.
tiptreegas
OP2 weeks agoSo the next thing matey boy decided to do was to try a charge back via their bank
Reason
The item doesn't match the description in your listingThe item doesn't match the description in your listing
Dispute amount
£320.00
Buyer
**********
Buyer comments
Articolo danneggiato
I filled in the form and eBay said
This dispute qualified for seller protections
We haven't received the dispute outcome from the buyer's payment institution yet, but this dispute qualified for seller protections. Nothing will be deducted from your funds.
hummingbird-curios
·2 weeks agoIf you right click on the pictures and ask Copilot or chatGTP 'Is this image real or fake' the answer is interesting. Whilst fake is probably by it's nature the wrong word, it does suggest the pictures are almost certainly 'Digitally enhanced' - draw your own conclusions!
tiptreegas
OP2 weeks agoGoogle Gemini said
Based on the file "Screenshot 2026-09-20 12.11.21.jpg", the damage does not look realistic, primarily due to how the vinyl LP in the bottom right panel is depicted.
Here is a breakdown of why the damage appears digitally altered or artificial:
Material Properties of Vinyl: Vinyl records are made of rigid, brittle PVC. If an object punctured a record with enough force to go completely through, the disc would crack, splinter, or shatter entirely. The image shows the vinyl tearing and peeling outward like soft metal or thick paper, which is physically impossible for that material.
Identical Damage Patterns: The exact same four-pointed star puncture—with nearly identical tear lengths and fold angles—appears across all four panels. Taut plastic shrink wrap (top left), paper/cardboard sleeves (top right and bottom left), and a hard vinyl record (bottom right) would all react completely differently to the same impact. They would not produce a uniform tear pattern.
It appears a single digital "bullet hole" or puncture overlay was pasted over the four different surfaces.
ett1954
·2 weeks agoThose photographs are almost certainly fake. A bullet passing through multiple layers of materials would display an increasing amount of damaged area as it progressed. The bullet would create an ever increasing area of damage on its passage as it began to tumble and deform and as an increasing amount of debris built up in front of it and was forced forward. The exit hole would be significantly different from the entry hole and much more ragged.
tiptreegas
OP2 weeks agoApparently it only affected 2 of the 7 vinyl LPs!
simplyessential_uk
·2 weeks ago · EditedYou could "report buyer" but Ebay arent stupid, they wont pay out every time this buyer claims - Ive noticed when buyers claim INR and I have tracking received - not everyone is getting their money back now, I will see "closed in my favour and money hasnt been refunded" or I see "refunded seller from our funds" - But if Ebay want to refund him thats on them - Be lucky this wasnt on Amazon as you would have had to payout, they offer no seller protection and with people using AI more and more then this could be quite costly to Ebay
tiptreegas
OP3 weeks ago · EditedeBay looked into my report and didn't find the content to be in violation of their policy. I highlighted the photos and reported it as a scam, mea culpa obviously!
clairetyuk
·3 weeks agoI would. It’s an absolute disgrace what some buyers think they will get away with. It’s the shoddiest attempt at fraud I have ever seen! On some of your pics, the ‘bullet holes’ clearly have cardboard on them. This is the vinyl one I am talking about. Surely a bullet going through a vinyl record would have shattered? It certainly wouldn’t have cardboard on the jagged ends! 🤣 Single picture, reproduced and matted onto the picture, badly. Good luck. Buyer should be banned from selling/buying on eBay!
tiptreegas
OP3 weeks agoAdded to which the "bullet hole" on the outer box is in the middle whereas it must have jumped up when it entered the vinyl!