Problem with seller (potential scam?)

Red Blur

Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but here goes.

I've been selling here for a few years. Last week I sold a set, a fairly big one, to a buyer with a recently-made account, and while the transaction appeared to have gone smoothly at first, things have taken a strange turn. The buyer claims that a key piece arrived broken, and demands that I either send them a replacement part or give them a $10 refund.

Now, it's entirely possible that this is exactly what it seems and nothing is up...but the fact that they asked for money upfront, and one that's a large portion of the cost, is suspicious to me. In addition, I checked the catalog and the piece in question isn't normally worth even 1/10 of what they're asking, so that really gave me pause. I suspect that attempting to solve the problem through direct message (as they would have me do) would break policy here on Brickowl; and that leaves me stuck.

So I have two questions: one, is it possible to solve this through official brickowl channels so that we can ensure no one is being cheated? Who can I contact about this? And second, in the event that this is a scam, what kind of protection is there for the seller in a case like this?

Thanks in advance for your time.

robernat

@Red Blur So it's actually 'problem with buyer', not 'seller'... A scam? Asking a refund for a broken part can hardly be considered a scam, particulary not when the amount involved is $10 (my opinion anyway).
The buyer requested a replacement part or a cashback: both sounds fair, so ask yourself what would it cost *you* to send a replacement. If you have one, then it would only cost you shipping+initial purchase, if you don't have one, then what would it cost you to buy one an have it shipped to your buyer (something frequently done by other sellers when needed)? Would such transaction be around $10, or a lot less? If indeed it is around that amount then you can either run the replacement option yourself, or indeed cashback $10 and let the buyer run it (as he might add some more in the shop of the other seller) and keep in mind the buyer needs to 'pay' shipping on top of the part itself.
If having a replacement send is a lot lower then what your buyer expects as cashback, then it might be better to run it yourself. So the bottomline is: you decide what's best for your pocket.

robernat

Forgot to say/ask: How did the part get broken in the first place? Was it a used set with kidsplay? Was the condition of the part checked before sale, how was it packed?

As to the 'official channel': keep your communications trough BO (trough the order) to have track.
If you decide on sending or having a replacemnt send > mail your buyer. If you decide on a cashback, you can 'refund' the amount trough the order (any amount) without canceling the item or the shipping or the order itself (Refund Adjustment option), that way it's logged on the order.

As to seller protection: in cases like this there is none > cost of doing business

Red Blur

@RobErNat Piece appears to have been broken during transit. Condition was used, but like new; the set was only used once a long time ago, and had been in storage since then. I checked the pieces before sending them out, and there wasn't anything unusual at the time.

I ended up deciding on the refund option, hopefully that'll work out. Thanks for the advice!