Scam return has requested a refund through Paypal, not Ebay

[caroste1974]

Hi, if anyone more experienced at selling than me could give me some advice, I would be very grateful. 

I sold a pair of diamond earrings for £150 to a buyer who had made several offers for them. As soon as they received them they messaged me claiming they were not as described (they were) and wanting a refund. Looking at their feedback, it seems that although it is all marked as positive, they have done similar things before to other sellers, sometimes getting items for free. After reading some of the posts here, I have replied stating that I am happy to refund but they will need to open an 'item not as described' case and I will issue them with an ebay returns label. 

However, they messaged me through ebay but have opened a dispute through paypal. I sent the same reply as I had on ebay through paypal as well, so that paypal can see that I have responded. I am now worried that they will refuse to go through the ebay returns process and that paypal will end up refunding them anyway, and they will also get to keep the earrings!

Should I be pre-emptive and escalate the dispute on paypal myself, or wait and see whether they do it? How can I prove my case to paypal?

I'm feeling pretty sick about this - I'm a private seller, and a student currently working on an NHS clinical placement. We don't get paid for this and I was selling the earrings to cover my travel costs. I can't really afford to refund, and I definitely can't afford to lose the item as well!

Thank you

[john1297576]

If they have opened a Paypal case, then they have shot themselves in the foot as BUYER has to pay return postage.

They cannot open an ebay case now while the paypal case is open. Have you read everything that paypal has told you, as no refund should be made until there is proof of tracked return to you.

Paypal does look at things much more than Ebay's Robots, but I suggest you contact paypal for advice. Point out that buyer seems to make a habit of doing this,and perhaps that is why he has avoided an Ebay case.

He probably hopes he can frighten you into refunding without returning. The danger is that buyer returns a completely different item, and if so you would need to get this across to paypal.

I don't see that you can escalate, it is the buyer who escalates. It is best to speak to paypal as already suggested, as certainly if an ebay case, trying to escalate just causes a refund without return..