Re-opening a dispute that was closed by the buyer

[Yarand]

After recently selling an item on ebay (proceeds received through PayPal and item sent and delivered), I received an email from the buyer stating that the item was damaged and he asked for money to cover the cost of returning the item to me.

In good faith I sent the buyer the amount requested, again via PayPal, and the buyer then raised a PayPal dispute stating that the item was damaged and that he would only return it to me if required to do so by PayPal.

I have now had a notification from PayPal stating that the case has been closed as the buyer has advised them that the dispute was settled amicably.

How do I go about recovering the postage that I sent to the buyer? I can see the payment on my PayPal account but there does not appear to be any way to either open a dispute for that payment or to reopen the original dispute.

[kernowlass]

@Yarand

You should not refund a buyer postage UNTIL paypal has found in his favour and he has sent the item back to you trackable to prove delivery.

In the event of a buyer dispute the buyer often has to refund return postage themselves.

Why not just put the postage money down as compensation for the buyer receiving a damaged item??

If you sent the postage money via family / friends option then you won't be able to dispute it.

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[Yarand]

Thanks for the response. At the time of the postage refund there was no dispute raised and hence there was no reason to await a PayPal ruling. As regards "compensation", the buyer has now unilaterally cancelled the disputed and it would therefore appear that there is nothing wrong with the item. Can't help thinking this buyer has done this sort of thing before...

[kernowlass]

Yep, seems you may have hit a sneaky buyer