Unfair Dispute Towards Seller - In Buyer’s Favor

[kelscc]

Hi! I recently sold and item through Depop. The item was NWT and in the condition written and shown in photos on the listing. I was very flexible with the pricing of the item and sold it for less than what it was listed at. Upon receiving the item the buyer filed a claim stating that the item was damaged and not as described. I asked the buyer to send photos of where the damage was. To my surprise the item was not in the condition in which I sent it. The buyer claimed that the item was not packaged properly and that may have been the cause of the damage. However, based on the photos the buyer sent, there was not physical damage to the item - it was a leather bag and there appeared to be slight discoloring on the bag. I suggested it may have been caused by the high temperature (summer) in transit. The item itself is vegetable tanned leather so it naturally petinas. Although I felt like it was unlikely due to transit, I felt very bad that the buyer was unhappy and offered a 25% partial refund. The case was escalated to PayPal and found to be in favor of the buyer. I am very disappointed and upset as I do not think it was a fair decision and was not protected as a seller whatsoever. I’ve had all 5 star reviews from my past sales and experience with sellers. *I sent a perfectly brand new leather bag to a seller and am now forced to send a full refund, all while waiting to receive a damaged bag back? How is this fair when the bag is not in the same condition I sent it to the buyer? PayPal is assuming that the item was sent damaged but for all we know, the item could have been tampered with from the buyer. I’ve tried contacting customer service and they were not at all helpful. I’ve researched and it seems that PayPal always goes in favor of the buyer and a lot of sellers have had similar experiences.

[sharpiemarker · Accepted solution]

@kelscc 

Sellers are not protected from SNADs, only with cases of Not Received or Unauthorized (if requirements are met) so you must accept return for refund solution. Read the seller protection program terms in the User Agreement, it says it. Click "Legal" at bottom of any page. The time for negotiating partial refunds is during the dispute phase, not the claim phase seems like. When you get the bag back and if you suspect abuse of the buyer protection program (that damage couldn't have occurred in transit), report the buyer. You might not get recovery but the more people report such cases, PayPal can disable buyer protection for that buyer.