Sold Phone - buyer looking to return

[kennec22]

Hi - I need some advice on an iPhone I sold at the weekend. The buyer, who appears to have previous good ratings on eBay, (well, 6 ratings in total, one previous for a phone they bought) contacted me today looking to return the phone (and a refund). The reason given is that the phone is not unlocked, as I advertised. I'm concerned that this is some sort of scam because a) I have checked with the manufacturer and they are sending me e-mail confirmation that it is unlocked and b) I checked the phone myself before listing it on eBay and it was unlocked.

I went through all of the official ebay channels but I'm now worried about what is likely to happen here and whether the buyer will in fact even return the phone I sold them originally (I do have the IMEI number).

What should my next steps be here - eBay have been useless with their advice, simply telling me to receive the phone back? If I do this, and get stuck with a phone that's not mine, what recourse do I even have - ebay will have refunded the buyer already once I receive the phone back. Can I ask the buyer for proof that the network is not working - perhaps a video showing the IMEI and the network issue? Is this a good idea?

Any help would be greatly appreciated - I don't think eBay really care about protecting the seller in these circumstances.

Thanks

[tara*teller]

Express your surprise as you have proof from the manufacturer and also double checked that this phone was unlocked and ask them to check again.

If they still insist that the phone is locked then ask them to return the phone for a full refund on the proviso that you will be checking the security marks that you placed on the item prior to sending.

Perhaps they mixed you up with the other person they bought a phone from?