AI-generated picture as proof of damage to the item - BE WARNED

[simplyessential_uk]

Thought Id share this from a post I saw on Amazon Forum - Someone AI faked an image to get a refund and It just wouldnt have crossed my mind - You can see the black in the rip is very Black but if it had been taken further away then this may not have been so obvious, but certainly something to be aware of. Good to know there are reverse sites out there (Sightengine)  that can detect is useful to know  - As you can see the seller called her you on the messaging but suggestions on the post were to ask for more than one image before refunding 

[simplyessential_uk]

think its only checking those sites listed - I use Gemini AI (which also isnt on that list) to help me create images for my listings - so it maybe hard to pick these up but many ppl only seem to know chat gpt (at the moment)

[simplyessential_uk]

I used to ask for images with the packaging and without (for the couriers) but that lead to several different images being needs so think its a case of being aware

[custom-giftsuk]

If you're asking for off site communication, even as to uploading a video (which eBay cant do), you're losing the protection of eBay Customer Support, as it is, as they cant verify what was and what was not said on another site. 

[custom-giftsuk]

A lot of buyers try to get refunds by saying items are not as described, but very few - in our experience, will return an item as a percentage sold. Even the percentage of people returning an item versus claiming items aren't as described and wanting a refund is really small. Buyers tend to shy away from actually returning an item they claim isnt as described - in our experience. Most of the items returned however are perfectly fine and the "buyer" just fancied a freebie and renting the item for a short while as pretty much all of them show signs of wear and use. 

[5216elisabeth]

I had a return with a photoshopped photo last Christmas.  My teenage son spotted the photo tampering the minute he saw it.  Item came back exactly as originally described and working perfectly.  The buyer got their refund but I did get the return postage refunded.

The funny thing is it had 30 day returns so the buyer saved £3.45 in return postage but probably spent more than an hour assembling the item and faking the photos!  Even at minimum wage that would make them worse off than just doing an honest return!  Probably technically ended up more out of pocket as I did because it cost me £8+ to send and I did get the item back.  

Following advice from CS on a previous occasion I now always photograph returns as I open them and include the packaging in the photos as much as possible.

[custom-giftsuk]

We do the same. We take photos of any return, before and after opening and of the item returned. We then ask the person returning the item for a response before we contact eBay CS in regards their return to which it's usually a tirade of abuse and hostility.  Rarely do we get a return that is either correctly packaged and therefor the item returns in a crushed mess or the item is actually incorrect. 

[simplyessential_uk]

Yes lf someones doing all that just to avoid the £3.45 it's a big extreme, especially when you get the physical product back and good to know Ebay refunded, unfortunately as this was on Amz there's no getting anything back (I've appealed on getting an amazon "free return" item.back damaged and told as I've got the product back theres no right to appeal the damage) 

I showed my daughter who's a digital artist and she spotted it straight away as AI too.

[5216elisabeth]

I must have been lucky with my returns so far then as most arrive back well packed, even by the few pulling a fast one!  I did have one that was in a much larger box though and it turned out to be an entirely different item.  It seems they fancied exchanging an old Christmas decoration for a new, different one.   That said I am only on very low volumes still so I am sure I still have a lot of new experiences to come!

[wyntersemporium]

Had a buyer from Northern Ireland that did that regularly used to get a new ID every time I blocked her. But she slipped up one day as she put her email which I recognised as her ID one time. 
she also left bad feedback for me which I got eBay to remove. Not sure if they blocked her but n the end.