EBay Sellers: Have you ever been squeezed by a buyer?

Once, about 10 years ago. I sent him back his money and decided to never deal with him again. It wasn’t worth the aggravation.

In my experience, MOST (even almost all) Ebay buyers are good and honest and the transaction is smooth. But every now and then you gt a doozy.

I did have one issue similar to this, the buyer claiming the item was completely damaged (broken) when it arrived. I hadn’t done anything to be liable and stood my ground. In the end, eBay refunded her in full, but that money didn’t come out of my pocket.

Basically this depends on a few key factors. eBay will likely operate based on how your listing was set up, and take into account the history of the buyer’s behavior, and yours. In order for that “no refunds” thing to work, you have to REALLY go all out in making it very clear that you will NOT get your money back no matter what. The more obvious it is, the better your chances.

Now then, a lot of times your no refund policy will mean nothing to eBay if your item didn’t arrive as described. And broken is probably not how it was described, so there’s a loophole there, just be wary of that.

Remember that eBay of course knows it’s possible that a buyer is just trying to get half their money back. You do indeed want to press for photographic proof from the buyer. Any reluctance to provide those pics is a flag.

I guess what you wanna do here is go by the eBay dispute resolution process. Talk directly with the buyer first and lay down the options – of which you give him only two. Keep the item and I keep the money… OR send me a pic of the damage and I will make an exception to my return policy and refund the money upon receipt of the returned item.

If you’re in a dispute being moderated by eBay staff, make this clear that you’ve got a policy to adhere to but you’re willing to make an exception, however it’s up to the buyer to prove he deserves that exception by simply furnishing proof of the damage. A lot of times, the sleezebags will get their freebie from eBay but you should be protected.

One other thing to note is how the buyer behaves. Is he being a total jerk right out of the gate? Did he not wait the required amount of time or go through the proper correspondence directly with you before he opened a dispute? These things will work in your favor, so remember to keep all communication on eBay so the staff can access it if need be.

Good luck, let me know what happens.

He didn’t even message me before the he opened a case. Not even 1 hour passed by before he opened a case!

I have offered a full refund for the return of the item and he won’t take that option. He want’s to keep the item still and receive partial refund. Complete bull