Not my lens

[jlar1345]

Buyer insists the photograph with the red circle on the front element is the lens I sold him. The other photo is the front element of the lens I did sell him - a photo  that was included in the listing. The buyer requested to Ebay a return based on his photo of what appears to be a very dirty, damaged lens. Ebay agreed to the return request.  The buyer noted that the lens was functional but damaged and he wanted either to return the lens or reduce the cost to him by $150.  I balked, he wrote a nasty feedback, that he pulled. I okayed the return and the lens is in the mail back to me. What are my options if, after I get the return, I find that the lens is damaged to the extent the buyer's photo indicated?  

[comics-scifi-collectibles · Accepted solution]

@jlar1345   If the buyer files a refund request saying that the item is not as described then you need to accept the return and issue the return shipping label.    ( Which you said already did)  

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there is no way to prove to eBay that you shipped what is in the photos.  You can try asking eBay to step in after you get the lens back but if they rule in the buyer favor, which is likely unless this buyer has been reported before, then you get a DEFECT, and do not get your sellers fees back, and still have to refund the buyer.  

The eBay Money Back Guarantee overrules your returns policy.   Your return policy only applies if the buyer files a buyer's remorse return:  Doesn't fit, changed mind, etc.  

If you do not accept the return willingly then the buyer can ask eBay to step in and forces a refund. You do not get your seller's fees back, you get a defect and the buyer may be allowed to keep the item.

If the buyer abuses the eBay MBG in some way then you can report them but it doesn't get your money back:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/report-issue-buyer?id=4084&st=

Sellers have protection for return abuse if they offer FREE RETURN shipping on their listings OR if they are a Top Rated seller and offer 30 days or greater returns.  The seller can then reduce the refund amount by up to 50% if the buyer sends a different item or somehow reduces the value of the item.

Seller protection: 
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-protections?id=4345&st=

[jlar1345]

Thanks for the quick reply.  It sounds like, as a seller, I have made the proper moves up to this point. I okayed the return, paid for the return postage and he retracted his nasty feedback (after I intially told him that the photo he sent to Ebay is not the lens I sold him-which it isn't).  And, most importantly, the lens is on its way back to me. I'll inspect the lens and issue the refund, money I never saw anyway.  So moving forward, from your account of my options,  if the lens looks like the bogus picture the buyer sent to Ebay to get the return approved, I lose, no matter what.  My listing photographs don't matter. To Ebay, they might be bogus. Why even include photos with a listing in the first place?  Not certain - it may be my age and, I admit, my equilibrium isn't what it used to be, but this scenario seems lopsided, maybe even almost upside down. Buyers rule and to a degree, in a situation like this, that's bothersome.  As a professional photographer, over the last few years I've bought and sold many thousands of dollars worth of camera lenses on Ebay  as I migrate from system to system. This is the first bump in the road I've encountered as you can tell by my rating.  It will be my last bump. 

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@jlar1345  It is very frustrating that buyers can send back a different item and win the case.   That's why since buyers can get away with lying and saying an item is not as described it's best to offer FREE RETURNS that you way you only have to refund 50% of their money if the item is not returned in the same condition.   Still not great but it's better than a full refund.  You're paying return shipping either way so might as well have a seller protection benefit.  

On the OFF chance they were reported by other sellers for return abuse then you MIGHT win an appeal and not have to refund.  It depends on if you want to risk a DEFECT or not.   Personally I'd just refund.   

There's no way to prove to eBay that you shipped what is in the photos on your listing.   😞  

[jlar1345]

Missed this part "Sellers have protection for return abuse if they offer FREE RETURN shipping on their listings OR if they are a Top Rated seller and offer 30 days or greater returns.  The seller can then reduce the refund amount by up to 50% if the buyer sends a different item or somehow reduces the value of the item."  From now on...not a bad way to handle liability issues and abuse.  Thanks again. 

[shipscript]

Don't Nikon lenses have a serial number that could be corroborated?

[jlar1345]

Yes, and I have the serial number and the receipt/w 6 month waranty (used) from a major national retail photo outlet I've shopped at for years. I bought it  January 20, 2024. But a buyer can trash any lens - accidentally or on purpose - regardless of a serial number, photograph the damage and tell Ebay they received it in that condition. The seller, the buyer would say,  missrepresented the condition in his or her listing and the photos in the listing are bogus.  In my case, the photograph that the buyer used to facilitate the return is not my lens. The buyer just used a damaged lens (I hope) to convince Ebay that I missrepresented the product in my listing.  Full refund, bingo.  All I can do is cross my fingers that the buyer returns the same lens I sold him and that the lens I sold him is in the same near mint condition it was in when I shipped it.  No recourse otherwise.     

[jlar1345]

That's why since buyers can get away with lying and saying an item is not as described it's best to offer FREE RETURNS that you way you only have to refund 50% of their money if the item is not returned in the same condition

Does Ebay trust the seller that the product returned by the buyer is damaged or otherwise compromised and not in the same condition?  A lot of slippery slopes.  If Ebay wouldn't trust that the photographs I used in my listing were legitimate why would Ebay trust a seller's word that the product was damaged by the buyer to downgrade a refund to the buyer?   Tiresome arguments. The seller loses..

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@jlar1345.  If the buyer is not a repeat MBG abuser then they can ask eBay to refund the other 50%.    The case doesn't count against you.     I know because I had to use this seller protection last year.  

It's far from a perfect system but it's what we have to work with.  

[jlar1345]

Thanks for your insights. It is a difficult process to referee.  Rules are rules!