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Buyer cheats with a third-party photo – appeal blocked despite support promise
Summary: silberboxer describes an incident of alleged buyer fraud on eBay in which a buyer uploaded a false photo to force a refund. Despite a phone promise from customer service that the case would be decided in silberboxer’s favor, the appeal was rejected. silberboxer expresses frustration that his account was automatically charged even though the product was returned without defects. Other participants, including perfect-sally, question the fraud allegations, while selina_b@ebay and elke@ebay promise to consult with the relevant departments. silberboxer is considering closing his eBay account because he feels unfairly treated by how the matter was handled.
Hello everyone,
I urgently need the community's advice or the help of an eBay moderator. I’ve been a member for over 22 years, have over 1,065 feedback points, and an absolutely
pristine profile with 100% positive feedback. Now I’ve fallen victim to obvious buyer fraud, and the system is completely blocking me.
What happened?
I sold a new, unused original branded drill bit set. The buyer opened a return and claimed
the item was used. As “proof,” he uploaded a photo in the case of a completely smooth, damaged drill bit from another product.
My original set, however, has a clearly recognizable, thick shoulder toward the drill tip on all bits. So the buyer’s photo is clearly a completely different product!
In a phone call with customer service, an employee (I have her name) assured me after reviewing the facts
that the case would be decided in my favor and that I would get my money back.
The problem:
As part of the return process, the buyer sent the package back to me. Inside was my original set – absolutely new, unused, and completely undamaged!
So the buyer only used the other photo to try to get the buyer protection unfairly. Since I got my item back free of defects, the buyer has no right to a refund of the purchase price.
Despite the promise made over the phone, my subsequent written appeal has now been denied. The bot in the chat is now blocking me and says
the case has been closed permanently. I never received a written explanation from eBay.
I’m left stunned by the situation that obvious goods fraud is being protected here, a promise from support was broken, and I’m being left out in the rain as a long-time
top member. After this experience, I’m seriously considering deleting my account completely.
Could a moderator please take a look and review the case manually? I’d be happy to send you the case and item number right away via private message.
Kind regards
A disappointed eBay member
elke@ebay
·1 month agoHello @silberboxer , many thanks for your patience. After consulting with the relevant specialist department, I would like to inform you that your objection has already been rejected and a further objection is not possible. Please refund your buyer the purchase amount, since you have already received your item back free of defects.
@perfect-sally many thanks for the tag.
Kind regards
Elke
silberboxer
OP1 month agoHello elke@ebay and selina_b@ebay,
thank you very much for the feedback and the review. However, the specialist department's response is completely incomprehensible to me and completely ignores the facts of my account.
You are asking me to refund the buyer the purchase amount. However, if the specialist department had taken a look at the system, it would have seen: The refund was already made automatically on 28/08 by deducting it from my balance. A refund by me is therefore technically no longer possible at all and has long since been dealt with.
To the community who thinks I have suffered no damage:
For me, it is about the principle and the legal framework. I sell as a private individual and expressly and in compliance with the law exclude returns and warranty in my listings.
The buyer committed brazen deception here by photographing someone else's rusty drill to force a return. He sent me back my original, absolutely flawless set (see photos). My seller ratings have shown since 2004 (with 100% positive feedback at over 1,000 points) that my descriptions are always absolutely correct.
The fact that eBay simply blindly rubber-stamps attempted fraud of this kind with a standard text template and rejects my justified objection now has clear consequences for me: After 22 years, I am considering leaving the eBay platform for good.
When, as a long-standing, completely honest seller, you are left out in the rain like this in the face of obvious deception, this platform has lost its reason for existence for me.
Best regards silberboxer
silberboxer
OP2 weeks agobootyooty
Mentor1 month ago@silberboxer
"Since I have my goods back in flawless condition, the buyer has no right to a refund of the purchase price."
No, that can't be right; by having both the goods AND the money, you're being unjustly enriched.
Besides, you're free to report the buyer.
https://www.ebay.de/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/grundsatz-zu-missbruchlichem-kuferverhalten?id=4374
silberboxer
OP1 month agoI didn't have any money, I had to reimburse the buyer for that, and I paid the shipping and return costs, so where’s the enrichment in that? The buyer complained that the item was not NEW and rusted . In the picture that I received from the buyer, you can clearly see a used and rusty drill bit; that does not belong to the set I sold. In my pictures, every drill bit is clearly shown in undamaged condition.
selina_b@ebay
Hello @silberboxer ,
Thank you very much for your post.
I’d be happy to check in with the specialist department here. They’ll be reachable again from Monday. We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve heard back.
@perfect-sally Thanks for tagging 🤗
Kind regards
Selina
perfect-sally
Mentor1 month agoHello @silberboxer an ebay employee is looking into this and will get back here. But I think talking about goods fraud here is massively exaggerated! You got your goods back, after all. And you really can’t trust the phone jokers anyway, they like to tell you what you want to hear.
@selina_b@ebay could you take a look please? Thanks