In February, I sold an unopened item I bought for $1000 at around $500 on eBay. I do not use eBay for profit, only to get extra cash to pay for my child's medical expenses. The item sold through the eBay Global Shipping Program, which means I send it to a US address from a US address and they send it overseas. I do not know the buyer's address. I have not had any problems with this before in 16+ years of eBay. Turned out the buyer received the item in Russia and claimed that the item was opened though it was unopened when I shipped it. How it got to be "opened" I don't know but when it leaves me I can't control customs or whatever from opening it on their side. They buyer did not claim it was damaged, just opened. I escalated the claim to PayPal and they told the buyer in Russia to return it to me in the USA. They buyer did not provide a tracking number to me, but apparently did to PayPal who then gave it to me. On 3/09 it was said to be shipped but then it shows as "delivered" to the same Russian zip code it was shipped from. The buyer appears to have sent it to himself. So PayPal only sees "delivered" and refunded the buyer the full amount even though I have clearly not received the item returned to me, it hasn't even left Russia!!! I started an appeal with a supervisor but what else can I do? It's like PayPal is aiding this buyer in defrauding me because they won't even bother to look at the facts of the case.
... View more
