Taken on EBAY

[Balidey]

I feel for you.

But we all hear these sorts of stories too often. Mainly on ebay, but not exclusively.

A couple of comments to possibly help you.

1: You had an empty packet delivered. Seller will just say it was in there when sent. An argument like this will be hard to prove. And if this went to small claims court, then it may well still not go in your favour.

2: If the buyer sent your (empty) parcel back using a tracked service, then it should have been weighed. A watch is fairly heavy, so you would be able to ascertain whether the watch was in there at the beginning. This will 100% be the proof you need for small claims. But it will mean you need to have or see the original receipt, or the original packaging as the price on the parcel will help you work out the sending weight.

As this was months ago, I wonder if you still have the packaging? Or does the buyer have the receipt? You would hope an honest person who is possibly looking at a fraud charge would keep this sort of thing.

[clockboy]

Agree with Baliday, as with all legal arguments the need for undeniable evidence is important. Or least evidence that makes the defendants case highly unlikely.

[Balidey]

One final thing. Never underestimate the stupidity of immoral people. Have you been looking at similar watches for sale since yours was sent? Perhaps from similar area? You can filter sales on ebay by distance from you. I don't know enough about your watch, but I assume it has serial numbers and you have them recorded? You know where it was sent, so perhaps ring pawn shops or antique dealers in the area. or perhaps a bit of Facebook detective work. You know the person you sold it to and the area. Maybe that person has posted on facebook with a photo of themselves. Check their wrist. Sounds silly, but really worth it in my mind.

Also, I have never used them, but I hear there is an online application to Action Fraud. They seem to be the first port of call for small claims and they should be able to offer you some assistance. I have heard some very good things about this process from other forums.