Fraudulent buyer is claiming product was damaged

[GertrudeBelle]

I recently sold some high end perfume which I posted over the weekend.

I packaged it really carefully, including putting sellotape over the lid to ensure that the lid stayed on during transit.

I was deliberately careful with the sellotape, ensuring that it touched only the glass sides of the bottle and not the label.

The buyer has received the package and has just sent me photographs purportedly proving that the sellotape was affixed to the label and ripped the label when it was lifted off.

This is simply not true!! She must have deliberately ripped the label, the stuck a bit of my sellotape on top of it. I am absolutely certain that I didn't send it to her like this.

She has not yet asked for anything - just sent a message with the photos saying that it is "slightly upsetting ". But the fact that she's ripped the label herself makes me think that she's building up to claiming her money back.

How should I respond to this? I am tempted to send a message back saying the issue must have happened at her end rather than mine.

Is this the right tactic?

Can I flag her conduct up with ebay?

Unfortunately you can't prove that the damage was deliberate and at her end.
All you can do is ask her to open a return request with eBay and return the item for a full refund. This may put her off if she is angling for a part refund ect.

Thanks for replying Lottie.

It's so frustrating because if she returns it, I end up with a damaged product! And will receive less for it because she's ripped the label. Such a scam.

For future reference, if you are selling an expensive item on eBay always take a photo of the item so that you have proof of what it looks like before posting.

You can report her to Ebay, unless they have removed the option recently. Explain that she has either damaged the item to obtain a partial refund or is intending to swap for a damaged one.
Tell her to open a return case through Ebay. If she wants to keep it anyway she most likely won't bother.
Did it have any numbers on the bottle that would identify it? Sometimes bottles have something with a batch no.