I purchased a branded jewelry item from a Los Angeles-based seller for $3250 on April 26, $96.56 of which was from ebay bucks. She was also selling the item on poshmark and seemed to have good reviews, so I thought it was likely to be authentic. I received the item, it was obviously counterfeit visually, and I obtained online authentication to back up my return claim. I submitted for the return through ebay due to "doesn't seem authentic" with the photo showing it was deemed counterfeit and the seller approved my return by the next morning and I shipped it back that day with the return label.
The seller received my return 2 days ago, and the next day sent me a message which says:
"We hope this message finds you in great spirit. Thank you for your patience. We have inspected the return, and we would like to keep you informed on the next steps.
Our apologies on failing to full-fill your satisfaction with our products. Shortly, a partial refund will be issued to you. eBay will issue the remainder after that.
Thank you again for giving us an opportunity to serve you. Have a stellar week, and take good care!"
The next day I received a partial refund for $3040 with no explanation of the price difference in what I paid vs the return amount. I assumed that it might be due to paypal fees, and that they may not know that paypal was not refunding seller fees and it was a mistake, so I contacted ebay to see about getting the full amount refunded. Ebay was very cagey and just gave very vague answers. They eventually told me that the seller had made a claim that they had received the item back "damaged or with missing pieces". Of course I did not damage it or not return part of the item, and I only had it for one day waiting for the seller to send me the return label. I asked ebay if the seller has to provide documentation or photos showing the damage/missing parts and the representative said yes. I was shocked, because frankly I am used to hearing on this forum about ebay siding with the buyer unfairly without need for sufficient proof, and this is why I have always felt safe buying on ebay and also why I would never sell an expensive item there. Suddenly things are flipped and they are allowing sellers to only provide partial refunds based on whatever claim they decide to concoct. I asked ebay if there is any appeal process and how this is determined and the representative said that it was based on "a number of factors, and I cannot tell you specifically what happened in your situation, which may include your account activity history if you have a history of returns or claims against you". It was like pulling out teeth, but my best guess is that it is because I have had other return claims in the past (all returns due to being counterfeit with authentication proof provided) and maybe a computer algorithm showed this as an anomaly. In the past, I have used ebay to find rare or discontinued items because I figured that if it was counterfeit I would be approved to return it and get a refund, and I would only be out the money I paid for a few weeks until the refund came. Now it seems that it is much more risky to buy on ebay. I asked if there was a cap to the amount a seller can withhold from the refund when there is documentation that it is counterfeit and the representative said the seller can withhold up to 50%! So now I certainly will not buy on ebay other than from huge sellers who are virtually guaranteed to be authentic or who have enough at stake in their business to issue a refund if there is a legitimate issue. On one hand I feel very lucky that the seller did not withhold 50% of what I paid!
Now I wonder what to do next. I paid with paypal, so do I dispute the original ebay purchase to try to get the full amount back? Or would that put into dispute the $3040 refund that I already received? I know that paypal cases can take weeks to resolve and are much more complicated, but I don't really have experience with paypal chargeback ins and outs. I have the impression that they weigh out both sides, so if the seller did damage the item, maybe they would win the case and my entire payment would be gone including the $3040 that I already was refunded by ebay? Do I just accept that I am out a bit of money, take it as a lesson learned and leave bad feedback for the seller to warn others? Since there was a return case involved, how would I word the feedback to warn others of the counterfeit item without the feedback being removed?
Of course I have tried to reach out to the seller, but while they were very responsive before the purchase, they have ignored my messages over the past 2 days.
Thanks.
Ladies I could really use your perspective here. I won an auction last Sunday for 2 vintage Dooney bags. Here is the link: 
