Buyer claims the phone I sent is scratched and sends me pics of a different phone.

[rngdeadeye]

Just sold an iPhone 14 Pro Max.  It was a brand new replacement after mine went back for a problem charging.

Took nice pics with my new iPhone 15 Pro Max before putting it on here.

He claims it's been used and the pics he has supplied show a pretty used phone.  I resent the images I have explaining I wasn't going to put up with dishonesty but was given a load of "dishonesty abuse" back.  Not only does the phone in his pics look used, it looks like it has a screen protector on it, something I have never done.

Seems pretty difficult to get any sense from eBay but this seems like a good scam for geting your phone upgraded cheap.

What can I do?

[rngdeadeye]

Jeez, time to boycot eBay for selling anything...

Concerned what I'm going to get back.

[iew-signed-books]

It's a shame that selling expensive or valuable items on here is so risky. I prefer traditional/proper auction houses any day. 

[papso22]

I think it's risky as it is relatively easy for things to go wrong for sellers, but I think the incidence remains very low, so probably not very risky.  It's something sellers need to be aware of as a risk, but it is more likely than not to go OK.

[237ben]

There’s no reason to boycott eBay. Things can go awry without it being the site's fault. eBay haven’t committed a crime. If a crime has been committed then it's by someone abusing the site, not by the site itself.

I can understand the emotional reaction, but it’s not a rational one.

[vinylscot]

@nigel_paul_wright7557   Yet another appearance of this silly urban myth.

While it is an amusing little story, everyone knows it didn't really happen.

Stop and think for a few seconds. In what universe would that actually happen?

[victortardis]

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@vinylscot wrote:

@nigel_paul_wright7557   Yet another appearance of this silly urban myth.

While it is an amusing little story, everyone knows it didn't really happen.

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You are ruining it for everyone, much like saying Santa doesn't exist. That wood was sent and it did have 12" nails through it.

[the-nutwood-collection]

eBay wants you to refund.  eBay loves buyers.

I had a refund request, sent a label.  I then got a message from eBay saying that the buyer had 'indicated' that they had returned the item and I should refund.  I don't care what they've 'indicated', I've not received the item.  Also, as it was an eBay label, eBay would know whether it had been returned.  The buyers 'indication' is irrelevant.

These messages continued on a daily basis.  Refund-refund-refund.  I didn't.  The case timed out.  Presumably the buyer had no intention of returning the item, just ticked a box somewhere to say it had been returned.

I am wise to eBay's, and eBay's buyers' ways, and held firm.  However, I can imagine that a less experienced seller would have been spooked by the deluge of messages, and refunded.  I expect the buyer knows this - it's a trick she'd pulled many times.

This is why I always send an eBay label, even though it costs more.

[rngdeadeye]

So he sent the phone back and sure enough, it now has scratches on it.  *bleep*, this was a brand new phone.  I ended up taking it to CEX and just taking the hit.

Now eBay wants me to refund more than what I got paid - i.e. they want me to pay what I got paid plus the fees eBay deducted.  I've reported a "it wasn't returned in the same condition" but they are still on the "refund, refund" bandwagaon despite saying I could get a reduction of up to 50%.

As said above, eBay seem to just like buyers. 🙂

[four_mid_able]

If you accepted the return you should lose nothing when you refund apart from any non refundable fee's for enhancements like reserve's or promotions.

[*vyolla*]

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@rngdeadeye wrote:

So he sent the phone back and sure enough, it now has scratches on it.  *bleep*, this was a brand new phone.  I ended up taking it to CEX and just taking the hit.

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Was it the same phone?

[papso22]

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@rngdeadeye wrote:

Now eBay wants me to refund more than what I got paid - i.e. they want me to pay what I got paid plus the fees eBay deducted.  I've reported a "it wasn't returned in the same condition" but they are still on the "refund, refund" bandwagaon despite saying I could get a reduction of up to 50%.

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Are you sure that you are not just misreading what they are saying?  If you have sent the label etc than the buyer gets a full refund but it actually comes partly from ebay and partly from you.  In other words you only refund what you actually got and ebay covers the fee portion. 

A seller only refunds what the buyer paid in full if ebay have to force them to refund and then they don't get a 'fee credit'', i.e ebay doesn't refund anything. 

[dougbat20]

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@iew-signed-books wrote:

Electronic & expensive items sold online - such as phones - are a scammer and fraudster's delight. The only advice - a bit late now - is never list such items on the internet.

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Which is why I would never sell a phone on eBay and instead use safer routes that do not offer up the opportunity of buyers scamming you (knowing that eBay protects the buyer at the sellers expense). If it was a different phone you received back, you could always enforce legal action against the buyer, given you know their name/address...