Buyer claims package empty

gorbasho · 2014-04-01T00:53:23.000Z

Hi guys, I wanted to ask for your opinion on a claim one of my eBay buyers is making. I am a newer seller so I don't have a lot of experience with problematic sales. I got a message from them this morning asking when the item would arrive. I replied with a link to the tracking, showing it had been delivered on Saturday. They then replied with this message: I just received the package today in the mail along with a letter from the post office, seems the lego got damaged during shipping. The package is empty and I believe they sent the damaged item back to you so you should be receiving it sometime this week. I don't know what that means for me. Do I get a refund since I never received the item or do I get a new item shipped in place of that one? And after asking them for some pictures they sent me these (addresses blacked out by me): http://imgur.com/a/WIWZy My question is does anyone know about these USPS letters and what might cause them to issue them? Does "damage" indicate the item has fallen out, or just that the packaging is damaged but item still inside? I'm wondering if the buyer is just trying to use the letter and is lying about the item not being inside, especially since their photos don't really try to show where the hole is. Am I being overly suspicious? The item is just an average value minifig, so it doesn't seem like it's worth lying over, but then again the small things are the ones easier to get away with and that sellers will more easily refund. Regardless, I am most likely going to just refund them to avoid trouble, but it would be nice to know in case of any future situations.