Round Three (I thought this was over)
UPS denied the buyers claim, as did eBay, so I thought it was over.
A few days ago I get an email that the Buyer has filed a claim with PayPal - 'triple jeopardy.' After a few days, they say they've decided the case in favor of the buyer and refunded his full $231 eBay amount - case closed, with almost no discussion. WTH?
I called today and they said they had little choice since the buyer returned the item (even though I asked him not to twice before he returned it, based on the pictures he sent, it was clearly broken). I told PP the buyer never communicated anything before, during or after the eBay transaction, and then 45 days later said it arrived broken. PP's policy is 180 days (eBay is 30 days)...
PP Supv reviewed their notes and refunded my shipping costs, eBay fee & PayPal fee - about $85.
But the PP Supv said they frown on customers who file appeals with PP after eBay has told them no. Evidently they don't know. And this might impact the buyers future use of PP.
Then I explained the evidence that the item was very likely out of the box when it was dropped and broken. PP Supv then filed an appeal on my behalf. He said I would have to have an industry third party attest to the claim the item was not in the box when it was dropped to prevail.
This is all really unfortunate, and I would have worked with the buyer had he a) notified me within a few days of receiving the item (vs 45 days later), or b) been willing to work with me to arrive at a fair settlement (he insisted on a full refund - period and subtly accused me of sending it to him broken).
Not about the money, hasn't been for a while...
If you made it this far, I apologize. [/rant]