Strange EBAY dispute resolution

I just received a communication from Paypal that a case against me has been decided in the buyers favor. First I had heard of this. So to back up, I sold a small inexpensive piece of jewelry, under $20 including shipping. The buyer emails me as soon as she receives it with: "sorry not going to work will promptly reship". My listing has a no returns policy. I respond with "was there something wrong with the item?". She immediately responds with: "not at all". I didn't respond and haven't heard from her since. I just assumed she probably read the listing and realized it was no return although I would have let her if she pursued it. Not worth a bad feedback over a couple bucks lost postage. That was all on 10/2. So this morning I get the paypal message I mentioned above. I look in past emails (I get a ton of paypal emails since they email me every time I get paid and every time I print a label) and yesterday I got an email stating that the dispute against me has been escalated to a claim. Her dispute says "Item not as described" and her complaint is: "i returned the item the seller is aware of this and that its ok for them, and they will refund my money back.  I still dont have refund." That is a cut and paste, exactly her words. Ok, first of all I haven't gotten it back yet. Second of all I just got the email less than 24 hours ago stating that it was excalated to a claim and I have 10 days to respond and already this morning they have closed it and decided in her favor. Ok, here's the really strange/funny part. In the email deciding in her favor it says: "Due to the unique circumstances of the case, PayPal will refund your buyer at no cost to you. Your account will not be debited." wtf! I checked and they haven't taken the money out of my account. So she gets a refund and they cover it due to "special circumstances"? I'm dying to know the whole story but since it didn't cost me anything I don't really want to ask them. So wierd.....

When she ships it back she is suppose to provide a tracking number. If she didn't PP might've just given her the money to shut her up and move on.

I thought that might be a possibility. I wonder if it will ever show up.

It's still going to count against your Top Seller Rating for "Item not as describe" you might want to call ebay and tell them to re-classify or delete that case.

I thought that might be a possibility. I wonder if it will ever show up.

It won't, she never sent it, this was all about seeing if she could get it for free.

It's still going to count against your Top Seller Rating for "Item not as describe" you might want to call ebay and tell them to re-classify or delete that case.

Do you think so? Even though it's a paypal case and not an ebay case?

Do you think so? Even though it's a paypal case and not an ebay case?

I mis-read it was a paypal case.. Sorry about that.

I just had someone open an item not received case, then closed it like 2 hours later without interaction from me..

I had to call ebay to get them to remove the defect from my account or it would count against me.

Just a little follow up. I got the item back today. So weird though, she never even opened it. It was still sealed just like I sent it. She crossed out her address and wrote return to sender on it. It took 21 days to get back to me. Obviously she decided she didn't want or need it before even receiving it but kind of rude to say it was not as described in her paypal complaint when she didn't even open it. 

Obviously she decided she didn't want or need it before even receiving it but kind of rude to say it was not as described in her paypal complaint when she didn't even open it. 

I would let PP know that it wasn't opened so they're aware that her 'item not as described' claim was a bogus one.

Ebay and Paypal are tied together when it comes to disputes like this. If ebay rules something paypal will often automatically issue a refund or do whatever is needed to resolve the case. In your instance it sounds like the seller protection kicked in. Basically thats what ebay/ paypal buyer/seller protection is all about. Say for example I ship an item to you and you say you never received it but tracking showed delivered. Ebay/Paypal will typically give you a refund as long as you don't have a history of doing this, however the money will not come out of my account paypal will cover that loss because I did my part and have tracking to backup the fact I shipped and it was received.

It is true that they have the buyer/seller protection policy, hence it is quite difficult to pursue the case in your favour. Nevertheless, like you said since you have received the returned item in original packaging, then perhaps you do have a case since the claim is not valid that it was not as described. I have had a similar encounter before with some storage boxes I sold but I decided to let the matter blow over as it was too much of a hassle to pursue.

I have heard of a similar situation before from a friend whereby the buyer tried to report a dispute and ebay/paypal refunded the buyer without debiting from the seller. The seller didn’t even have sufficient time to react. However, he wasn’t as lucky as you were to have received back the item. Hence, in my friend’s situation, the buyer got the item for free. I guess in the online shopping platform, there will always be those few who will just try their luck at scamming.