Refund to buyer. Item not returned

[ernio1]

I sold a large piece of audio equipment to a buyer on July 10th 2023. This was an integrated amplifier to be used in a Hifi system. Info: Mark [removed] 5805 Integrated Amplifier Asking Price: USD $4500.00 Retail Price: USD $10500.00 Shipping weight: 75.00 (lbs) Shipping Dimension: 27.00in x 24.00in x 13.00in Condition: 10 - Mint (?) Date Posted: Jun 02, 23 11:14am (PST) Edited: Jul 15, 23 8:40am About Seller: CA, United States Product Brand: Mark [removed] Product Model: No.5805 Integrated Amplifier PayPal: Verified The item was sold and sent to buyer on July 10th and delivered on July 14th. After receipt, he told me that the item did not sound right with his equipment. The buyer later filed a dispute with PalPal saying he was not satisfied with the item. I tried to contact PalPal to explain my side of the story which is that the item was working fine when I shipped it to him and if it did not sound good with this existing equipment, it is a compatibility issue and not the fault of the equipment. Also, I am not a dealer and the item does not have a money back guarantee if the item does not sound good with his system. The rep explained that I cannot contact their dispute team directly and they will contact me. I waited several weeks to get some type of correspondence with the dispute team. I also followed up twice with PalPal and they said that someone would contact me in 3 days. On September 10th, PayPal issued a refund to the buyer. I was notified by PayPal that I did not respond to their question to me, so they settled the dispute in the buyer’s favor and refunded $4,492.98. Now PayPal has a $4,616 negative balance which I assume includes fees in my PayPal account. Also, the equipment was never returned to me. I tried to contact PayPal about this and was told that someone from the dispute department will contact me in 3 days. I have never received a response. I should not be liable for anything for the following reasons. - The item was sent in perfect working order when sent to him. - The item was sold as is with no money back guarantee. - PayPal settled the dispute with buyer, returned the money without my consent. I was told that they tried to contact me but I have no record of receiving anything from them. - The buyer, Peter [removed] has the equipment now and his money. I am left with nothing without being consulted. - This is unfair business practice and is essentially stealing. Please contact me to settle this issue as soon as possible. I will also be writing to my congressman and the better business bureau to complain about PalPal business practices..

[kernowlass]

@ernio1 

Your money back guarantee only applies to buyer remorse. If the buyer wins a dispute for item received but not as described then you have to refund the buyer.

You would lose a dispute if you don't respond to the buyer during the 'dispute' phase OR do not respond to Paypal in the 'claim' phase if they reach out to you. Check your spam folder maybe?

Also if you don't respond and the buyer wins then they don't have to return the item. If you do respond and the buyer wins then they are told to return the item back to the seller (trackable and at their own expense) before getting a refund.

You should really read up on paypals seller protection policy before using paypal to sell and also so you know how disputes/claims work.

You could contact the buyer and offer to send them a prepaid label to return the item and if they refuse take your own private legal action to get the return of your item maybe?