Possible scam buyer - seller protection advice needed during the returns process

[dfernand101]

Today's date 31/03/2025:

A UK buyer who created his ebay account very recently on 23/03/2025  which was the same day on which he bought a rare (out of production) and relatively high value (£225) board game bundle from me has messaged me this morning stating that he 'is not happy with the condition of the items received as ' one box have a hole'  and  '  and the smell dump , so , just let you know that this week I will send them back to you '; the wording in the message to me suggests English may not be his first language but I hope he can understand me - the issue I have is that I am sure there were no holes in any of the 6 board game boxes  and I don't know what he meant by 'smell dump' as the boxes were kept in a dry and no smokers free environment.

I replied  via ebay message stating that there were no holes in the boxes sent and I had packing photos demonstrating this which show all the six boxes in front of the Roytal Mail addressed (to him) mailing box which also shows the Ebay order invoice quite clearly in all the photos - the packing photos match up to the condition of the 6 game boxes in the Ebay advertisement so I don't know what he is referring to - I asked for a photo to show me any perceived damage - 4 of the boxes in the Ebay advertisement are shown wrapped in cellophane and 2 of the boxes in the Ebay ad are shown open showing the game components inside.

Anyway I have some concerns given that this is irregular having sold hundreds of Ebay items in my time (more via a different Ebay account when I lived abroad in Europe) and something doesn't sit right with this given that it's a high value item and his buyer account is less than 2 weeks old with no feedback history.

My question to you all is how as a seller can I protect myself during the returns process (the only other returns process I was involved in was when the buyer forgot that he already had the item and returned the item but that went smoothly) ??? I've messaged him asking him to use the Ebay standards Return Item process on his order page and to send it tracked - if he doesn't want to pay for the postage due to him marking it down as a 'Item Not as Described' claim then ok, I will pay for the shipping label but I will get his approval on which courier is more convenient for him (can he refuse say Royal Mail labels if I suggest to provide them ?).

I will also do an unboxing video of when he returns the items and I unpack them to compare  them to their condition sent and  of course I won't refund until I get the items.

Are there any other pitfalls I am missing out to protect myself as the seller ? I'm wondering if this is possibly a scam were the buyer is trying to 'test the water' with this new 'Ebay Buyer protection scheme' on a relatively high value item with his brand new less than 2 weeks old Ebay account.

I think I've been very lucky to not have to deal with something like this before but I'm reasonably worried about it.

Any advice is much appreciated.

[dfernand101]

One question regarding the ebay return label to the buyer, this is automatically sent from Ebay to the buyer and I don't have to do anything to produce this, right ? I'm asking this because the Ebay buyer opened up a return request in the last 24 hours and Ebay just automatically proceeded with the return and it 'seems' as though (I'm not 100% sure) that Ebay have already sent the buyer a shipping label (I assume I pay for it later after the item is sent back to me). I cannot see any options within the ebay system to print out the label, either in the 'Return Details' page accessed via the Ebay Order or in the 'Manage Returns' page accessed via the seller hub.

Also I received the following automatic message from Ebay related to the return which seems to indicate that Ebay themselves will generate and provide an address label to the buyer (am I right in thinking this ?); see their message to me below:

"The buyer *name redacted* is returning the item. In line with the relevant eBay policy, this return has been automatically approved and we've asked the buyer to send the item back.

After the buyer dispatches the item, we'll share the tracking information with you.

Please inspect the item before issuing a refund. View the return details to issue a refund now.

You must issue a refund within 2 days of item being delivered."

[thecrowmanuk]

If ebay "automatically proceeded with the return" then the buyer already have a label and you don't need to do anything else.

If you want to stop eBay automatically issuing a label, click this link: http://ebay.co.uk/rtn/Return/SellerRules and slide the RMA option on, until blue.

This gives you the option to upload your own label.

[papso22]

There is an account setting that allows ebay to automatically approve returns and send labels.  You probably have this turned on.

[lucy_farmer]

Yep, that sounds like ebay have given him the label, once he's posted it you'll be sent the tracking number.

When your parcel arrives back with you, check it all out carefully.

If there's anything wrong and he's trying to pull a fast one, do what @vyolla  said in the soultion (I got 'appeal' and 'report a problem' mixed up, sorry 🙃..)

[dfernand101]

Thanks @lucy_farmer I won't click on 'Appeal' IF he doesn't return  the item as sent, instead I will click 'Report A Problem' and then select 'Different Item Sent' as the reason.

[dfernand101]

Many thanks @thecrowmanuk  I'v been looking into my returns policy which is the same for all my listing including this problem case and if you go to any of my sales listings as a customer (potential even) you will see under the Returns section of each of my ads:

"Returns:
14 days return. Buyer pays for return postage. If you use an eBay delivery label, it will be deducted from your refund amount."

(see attached screenshot)

 

So I believe what's happened is that Ebay (instantly ?) automatically accepted the Return upon request from the buyer without any input from me and Ebay has automatically generated an Ebay return address label  for the buyer therefore it is not the buyer who pays for the label, it will be me the seller instead but from what I gather reading around, I will only pay when that Ebay label is used by the buyer to send the item back (I'll be notified of the tracking number when sent I think).

Also interestingly I looked at my Ebay Returns Policy under the Business Policies sections of my account and I can see that it's set to Buyer pays postage for both domestic and international sales ( see screenshot) but in this case Ebay have overridden this by automatically accepting a return without consulting me and issuing an Ebay label (see screenshot below of my Returns policy settings which I think were the default when I first used Ebay many years ago).

 

Also thanks @thecrownmanuk for providing that link to Seller Rules which allows one to decide whether to allow oneself (the seller) provide the return label to the buyer or ebay to provide the return address label instead. I prefer ebay to do it so the control regarding this is more on their side so if anything goes wrong then they can investigate with more confidence.

[sml192]

Your returns policy (14 days, buyer pays) only applies to 'Change of mind' returns.  It does apply to an 'Item not as described' return where the buyer is automatically covered for 30 days and seller always pays for the return. 

[dfernand101]

ok, @sml192  thanks for the clarification.

[luxuryflames]

This eBay selling machine is getting out of hand. Obviously things have changed and not for the better. Believe it or not. The platform is on a very slippery slope. Is it worth continuing selling on eBay. I think not.