Any ideas in principle
Only to accept the inevitable. EBay will almost automatically take the buyer's word against the seller's, whether it's over the condition of the item as received or the condition of the item when returned.
We regularly hear from sellers who complain that returns are fraudulent, with buyers either inventing faults to get a free return or keeping the item received and returning a different one. Two sellers have told us eBay's response, which is staggeringly dismissive of the seller's position.
One seller, who allegedly had a valuable item switched for a worthless, reported that eBay had replied: "As we didn't see the original item that you sent to the buyer and we didn't see the item the buyer returned to you, we are not in a position to take sides in these situations and verify who has the valid complaint". EBay's idea of not taking sides was to make the seller refund the buyer!
Two sellers have separately told us that eBay's response was that sellers need to allow for losses from fraudulent returns in the same way as supermarkets do!
EBay has become an absurdly risky place to sell items, especially anything of value. Its money back guarantee policy is effectively a licence to defraud sellers. As eBay is unregulated - which is a disgrace - there is no right of appeal to any independent authority.
