Reporting a buyer

[purplehorsemad]

I sold some expensive boots, buyer got them for a bargain price. There were a dozen pictures, genuine in original box and in perfect condition. She took 4 days to pay and then reported them as fakes. I was devastated, had avoided vinted for this very reason. EBay were good to be fair and said they would release my funds but also refund her. Advisor said to buy a label and send it to her to return them but she's ignoring me, I guess she wants to keep them and have her refund. He also said to report her but there's no option to do this - any advice how to do it?

[*guinevere*]

If you have already refunded then I'm sorry to say you may not get the shoes back.

Did you send a label? If so you should always wait until you have received the items back before refunding, ebay will support you in this.

Did the agent tell you to refund first? If so then it was the wrong advice, and goes to show that ebay CS don't know what they are talking about.

[simplyessential_uk]

im sorry to say the advisors given you the wrong advise.  The buyer should of oened a claim for "item not as described" they would then be sent a QR code or label to enable them to return the item, then on receipt of the items bavk you refund AND report buyer. You can still do that by goimg to the help pages and enter "report buyer" 

Im a little confused that Ebay say theyve refunded her but if theyve released your funds and you havent lost your money then you dont need to worry, but this is not the norm and you CS shouldnt suggest you buy a label and send it to her when they have all this set up in their returns system.

[purplehorsemad]

I didn't accept the return because that would have been like admitting they were fake and that she had a claim. I contacted eBay and they said I wouldn't lose out and that Ebay would cover the cost of refunding us both and closed the case. They obviously believed me, my pictures proved in no doubt that the boots were genuine, but why would they let her get away with it? I said if she returned the item to me I would pay it back and sell them again. I'm angry that she gets a refund and also gets to keep the boots which is why I was going to report her but there's no option to and I can only leave positive feedback. 

[4_bathrooms]

This all sounds very unlike the typical behaviour of eBay's customer service reps. I can only assume your buyer might be a habitual Money Back Guarantee (ab)user and their account had already been flagged.

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@purplehorsemad wrote:

I didn't accept the return because that would have been like admitting they were fake and that she had a claim. 

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Return requests opened for "item not as described" (INAD) reasons are automatically accepted; sellers have no choice whether to accept them or not. If the seller doesn't send a return label by the third day after the case was opened the buyer can escalate the case, receive a full refund and will be told they don't need to return the item. It is very rare for eBay to deviate from this process unless the seller was automatically covered against a specific INAD reason through an eBay selling programme.

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@purplehorsemad wrote:

They obviously believed me, my pictures proved in no doubt that the boots were genuine

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Pictures are rarely useful for proving authenticity. For example, I could go to the Louvre and take a picture of the Mona Lisa but that doesn't mean I would be sending a buyer the original painting. Now, I'm not suggesting you sent fakes (far from it) but eBay rarely passes judgement on authenticity outside of one of their authenticity guarantee programmes.

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@purplehorsemad wrote:

I'm angry that she gets a refund and also gets to keep the boots which is why I was going to report her but there's no option to and I can only leave positive feedback. 

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There's no point being angry; you're not out of pocket (eBay is). As the case has been closed by eBay you can't report the buyer via the case but you can do so from here. Sellers (quite rightly) can only leave positive feedback for buyers but they're not obliged to leave any. As ebay closed the case and deemed you not to have been at fault any negative feedback your buyer might leave for you should be automatically removed - it probably tells you as much in eBay's decision to close the case. 

[myriad*seller]

When eBay refunds buyers from their own funds they aren't required to send the item back

You were refunded by eBay, so aren't out of pocket. There is no way for you to "repay" the refund back to eBay anyway. 

The buyer keeps the boots they weren't happy with (or bins them if they believe they are fake) and you have been refunded. 

eBay won't force the buyer to return the boots and you can't force them to either, so don't waste money on a postage label 

Next time a case is opened you will not be so lucky though, if you refuse to send a return label ebay will refund the buyer from your funds and tell them to keep the item, so you MUST send a return label if you want your item back. The buyers refund is guaranteed, and won't be made from eBay funds a second time. Sellers must accept returns (and pay for it) when a buyer opens a case. It doesn't matter who is right or wrong, the buyer is guaranteed a refund, you must just follow the case to the letter to make sure you get your item back before you refund

[purplehorsemad]

Thanks everyone, that's all very useful. I guess I got lucky with the advisor?  I've read about so many scams where people complain and then don't send back the original item. I would have been prepared to accept my boots back and sell them elsewhere but my concern was that she'd return fakes or an old pair so that's why I contacted eBay when I saw her dispute, I didn't refuse to accept them back I just asked their advise. I got my money so I'm happy but its infuriating that she's got the boots and her money back and that I can't leave feedback for other sellers to see.