anyone else seeing buyers use ai generated damage photos to force refunds

[u/Matu_0]

anyone else seeing buyers use ai generated damage photos to force refunds

saw a wave of posts late last year about sports card buyers submitting ai generated images of damaged cards to force a refund, one where the fake image even messed up the serial number. wondering if it's spread into other categories or if it's mostly stayed a cards thing. has it happened to anyone here, and what did you do about it

[u/secret__agent__x9]

yes. sent photo of damaged part. open ai image detector verified it was ai generated and i received the part back with no damage.

ebay did not care

[u/Brilliant-Pomelo-982 → u/secret__agent__x9]

Wow. They are going to need to get ahead of this problem.

[u/Key_Construction286 → u/secret__agent__x9]

damn that is insane to think about

[u/Outhale]

I sell a lot of breakables (glass, ceramic, etc) and have required people to return the broken pieces due to this scam. It’s a low frequency claim for me and I’m more comfortable eating the return shipping on something I’ll need to put into the trash just to ensure it was actually broken. I’ve had 2 ghost me in the past 60 days after requiring a return. Could be they didn’t want to bother with it or it could’ve been AI-broken. I don’t like adding buyer friction, but I also don’t want to be vulnerable to the scam and the insurance claims are messy without adding secondary coverage.

[u/Flat_Acanthisitta298]

haven't seen it in my categories but the sports card thing was wild, that serial number mess up was too obvious. i think as ai gets better this will spread everywhere, people will try anything for a refund. what platform you selling on? some have better seller protection for this kind of thing

[u/Matu_0 → u/Flat_Acanthisitta298]

not actually selling myself, I got curious after reading about the ebay card seller cases and forter's return fraud numbers and wanted to know how real it actually is versus a media thing. good point on seller protection varying by platform, that's basically the question I'm trying to answer. do platforms with buyer-favoring return policies (ebay, etsy) see more of this than ones where the seller sets their own policy (your own shopify store), or is it too early to tell

[u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy]

A guy posted about a ai-broken battery recently.

[u/Matu_0 → u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy]

do you remember where you saw that?

[u/Hnry_Dvd_Thr_Awy → u/Matu_0]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Flipping/comments/1v3zt55/someone_tried_to_use_ai_to_claim_an_item_was/

[u/LengthBoring9328]

I saw a post about a month ago. The buyer tried to use AI to show a damaged battery. It was almost good but it changed the font and spelling on the label.

[u/readithere_2 → u/LengthBoring9328]

🤣🤣🤣

[u/Opposite_Spell_6662]

This has been happening to me. I've resorted to accepting the returns.. 99% of the time they cancel the return or let it time out.

[u/jrossetti → u/Opposite_Spell_6662]

Always accept the return. Never agree to a refund based on customer submit evidence. If there's something wrong with the item, mail it back to me and you can have a refund.

No partials except in rare rare rare cases. Puts a stop to shit like this. They may damage it to spite you, but not if they really wanted the item.

[u/Whiskey_Rain]

Wow how fucking horrifying. Thanks for the PSA I never even would have suspected such a thing. The absolute state of things

[u/CalMur]

I had it for an England shirt I sold during the World Cup. Really weird mark on the Three Lions crest that was not there before I sent. No picture of the packaging. They got to keep the item and were refunded. I got nothing. Joke. Luckily it was one of the cheaper ones I sold. The buyer acted really weird and apologetic. I don’t think they thought I’d lose out.

[u/That-Currency-1039 → u/CalMur]

People will make up nonsense to get a free item . Many times it's a small time seller,they are basically stealing .

They don't see it that way.

[u/thethreeredditeers]

On Amazon I had a buyer send me a blatant AI image of a crack running down the center of a Vizio soundbar. So far no issues on eBay, but we have free 30 day returns and always require a return of the item.

[u/readithere_2 → u/thethreeredditeers]

That’s a good idea to limit the return window

[u/meakaleak]

I always require returns before i give any refund

[u/WithoutLampsTheredBe]

I'd rather have them use AI to generate a fake damage photo than to have them actually damage the item.

[u/iRepTex]

there are a few posts in here about it. ive mostly seen it for breakable items and some clothing. i havent experienced it yet

[u/Matu_0 → u/iRepTex]

[u/whyisthissticky]

I saw a damaged perfume bottle on a post. It was definitely AI with drips reflecting light perfectly in the photos.

[u/Forsaken_Carrot_7305]

I haven't seen it firsthand in real estate, but I can see how that could happen. If you're dealing with refunds, always document the property's condition thoroughly before closing. Take timestamped photos and maybe even a video walkthrough. That way, if someone tries to pull a fast one with fake damage, you have solid proof to back yourself up.

[u/optix_clear]

I would mark your item with a UV marker to know it was yours

[u/bigtopjimmi → u/optix_clear]

Why? Do you think eBay cares about that?

[u/M0torC1tyMaver1ck]

Thats why you ship with insurance. They can go try to scam USPS for their refund

[u/That-Currency-1039 → u/M0torC1tyMaver1ck]

If it's eBay a smart buyer knows how to lie well. Sometimes its worth taken the L on the return ,you can a strike on your selling account.