Shit like this pisses me off so much because of my strong opinions on how unfair and one-sided eBay’s “policing” strategies are in regards to offering no protection to sellers over horrible manipulative buyers, but then you read shit like this and you’re like damn poor buyer you know. Ebay is very easy when it comes to the whole “product no described” buyer claim, so open that up right away. I’m really not sure entirely to advise you to be transparent off the bat with the fact that you discovered the other label right away… it sucks for real, but it’s like cracking the code to a puzzle every time with these people. As for how the fraud goes: (this is highly documented online, and complains are widespread) he simply used the global shipping service (which is the only way to give a seller pretty much any chance at winning a case against a buyer) and then applies a perfect second label.
(1) you can buy these labels online. People often spam a wide range of shipping labels they can provide for dollars and even admin access to some of the phished accounts for more $$.
(2) as for the argument he’s been selling since 2009, exit scam is always a possibility. But most people exit with a bigger $ amount? So it’s also likely the account was just purchased as either a phished account (actually belonging to someone), or is just a smurf account (was built up gradually over years and then gets put into marketplaces to be purchased to be used for scams like this)
(3) your credit card can charge back the amount thats attached to your paypal in the event they’re playing games with you, but that might cause some type of strain on your relationship with paypal and your account tenure and such, but again it’s your right and you’re entitled to what’s fair
(4) in the event the seller is being honest, then it’s just a case of inside jobs and people internally working in fulfillment or what not who do dubious things, but that’s up to the seller to argue once the refund is forced and for ebay to investigate
(5) he’s asking for your IG, he might be suggesting you reach out to him to then tell you about participating in his plan which could include suggesting you file the insurance claim with the courrier, receive your $ back and he either (a) will transfer you some $ off what he gained or (b) then send you the card for real privately at a discount, since he still wins. **but this seems way toooo far fetched and too elaborate for such a tiny amount**
(6) Don’t engage in the IG stuff, from what I’ve read and seen and heard from others and my own experience, any talk that breaks eBay’s codes or rules or whatever greatly puts your case or an argument or a chance at discussion at risk even if it’s dancing around a thin grey line you know…
(7) but when all is said and done, this is an easy chargeback for you especially in Canada any of the big banks have really no problem charging back amounts from online retailers, so your money is definitely recoverable and there isn’t any ghost system that labels you an X way for abuse or too many chargebacks in a timeframe or lifetime, etc. that’s mantra for paypal, ebay, and the courriers lol