You tell me whether this makes any sense | Rules and safety

jck1992 · 2023-02-14T20:27:58.693000Z

In December (after a first sale that didn’t go through), I put an item back up for auction starting at 2,750 Euro + 100 for shipping. I was contacted by an English user who asked me to close it at 2,750 Euro including shipping. I replied that if there hadn’t been any other bidders and he had won the auction as the sole buyer, then I would have discounted the shipping. Other bidders came in, he won the auction anyway, paid 2,860 Euro, and asked me to reimburse the shipping. Even though I wasn’t required to and it would mean a loss for me, we agreed on a 60 Euro refund that I sent him via Paypal (I know, my mistake). I was paid by bank transfer to my current account. I rushed to ship the item with all the necessary insurance (100 euro shipping) to get it to him by Christmas as requested. As soon as the item was shipped, the user wrote to me on Ebay chat saying he had been asked to pay about 400 Euro in customs fees, which he had no intention of paying because “it’s not my fault the UK left Europe” and that in the UK he could find the same item for less. Obviously, I did not agree to also cover the customs fees. He threatened me, saying that in that case he would accept the package and then send it back to me, so that I would have to pay the shipping, his customs fees, and the Italian customs fees for the return (written on Ebay chat). I decide not to reply. He accepts the package. After about 20 days he opens a dispute on Ebay for item not received. I forward the tracking showing delivery to Ebay and the dispute is closed. A couple of hours later Ebay informs me that the User has opened a dispute through the “payment provider” (which I later find out is Paypal) for item not as described because it is fake. I provide Ebay with all the photos, the purchase receipt from the shop from 2 days earlier, and the credit card slip. I specify that it is an item that cannot be fake because it is very rare. Silence for a week and then all of a sudden 2,860 Euro are taken from my cc, and I also receive an email from Ebay telling me that “if possible the item will be sent back to the sender.” If possible. Ebay says it was a decision by the payment provider. I call Paypal and they tell me they can’t give me any information because the transaction took place between the buyer and Ebay, not between the buyer and me. Paypal explains that, in any case, for a refund they require an appraisal done by the item’s manufacturer certifying that it is fake, and that before refunding they wait for the item to be received by the sender.They suggest I call Ebay, telling them that Paypal has opened a dispute against Ebay because I was advised to follow an incorrect process, since my point of contact must be Ebay and not Paypal. Ebay obviously tells me the opposite, saying it was Paypal’s decision and they have no power over it. Neither of the two parties involved, in any case, seems to have checked that the item was no longer in the buyer’s hands before returning his money, and both say they cannot request the return. In short, they are both passing the buck. The above is obviously simplified; there were countless calls from the very beginning to report the buyer’s fraudulent behavior. So at the moment I have no money, I don’t have the item, and I have no way to ask for it back, and I paid Ebay a fee of hundreds of Euro when Ebay in reality only protected a bad-faith buyer. In the end, the only thing I came away with as advice from the Ebay operator on how to proceed was “The only thing you can do is report Ebay to the police.” Throughout all this, of course, the buyer stopped replying to messages, including the ones where I personally proposed going to the UK to pick up the item so he wouldn’t even have to ship it. This is unacceptable behavior; we’re talking about significant sums, and I find myself in a situation where everyone is washing their hands of it, while I’m out almost 3k Euro. I turned to Ebay, I paid the fee to Ebay, and it is unacceptable to be told to contact a third-party company like Paypal. If I am not contacted by Ebay in the next few days, I will proceed with a criminal complaint to the police.

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