NOTE: I don't consider myself an "expert" in 'winning' A-Zs. Upon having success with another A-Z (link at bottom) and this one, I am sharing how I got the positive results of Amazon-funded and No ODR impact; which can hopefully help others to not be discouraged by negative stories and commentaries - however true they may be.

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PROLOGUE: On the last day of the return window, buyer files a Return Request (RR), stating "Wrong Item Sent". I promptly authorized the request - not prepaid. As so much time had passed since delivery, I was naturally suspicious but thought to myself I will give the Full Refund (no restocking fee) if received in the condition sent; as it was a best-selling book on Bitcoins.

What I was not expecting was a book I had never seen before (called "Sapiens"), being "returned". I immediately wrote the buyer to let him know it was impossible for us to have sent the returned book, and I will NOT be refunding him. Of course he filed an A-Z:

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THE CLAIM

Customer Issue: Different from what I ordered

Customer comments: I informed the seller that I received a different item then what purchased. They said they took a picture of the item before they sent it from their warehouse. I asked to see the picture to verify which they never provided. They said I could return the product for a refund. I returned the product at my expense, see receipt above, and now they’re saying they’re not issuing a refund because it’s not the item that was purchased. That’s the problem in the first place, I did not receive what I paid for! I would like to file an a to z guarantee and report this seller please. Thank you..

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As before, I called the Account Health Specialist number and Seller Support, who were helpful in looking over the case and advising me. The AHS agreed to recommend my ODR not be impacted (they can do that!) and suggested that I use the upload option to show my item sent vs the one received....even though the A-Z team are aware that's the dispute. Importantly, SS advised that I respond to EVERYTHING the buyer claims in the complaint, because we don't know what the A-Z team will focus on - especially since this is a case of buyer's word vs seller's word. More importantly, don't assume the A-Z team will look at our correspondences to see if what we (me and the buyer) are saying is true. Rather, state my side in the defense with the assumption that the correspondences will NOT be read, or at least will not be scrutinized. (Great advice!)

I also broadened my research on .com and .eu forums looking for any posts where sellers won Wrong Item Sent claims, which were false claims....and I found quite a few! However, the most useful post I found was on .com, where a moderator provided this guideline (couldn't find it on .ca!)

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(Link https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/3e026fc6-8892-4492-b917-8547e9863732)

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I followed the above to the fullest, and included some 'magic words' (italicized in bold) in my A-Z response, which I hoped would catch the reader's eye, and rule in my favour.

MY RESPONSE:

On the day of receiving the merchandise and upon inspection, we noticed a problem right away -- the customer returned an INCORRECT item (a book titled "Sapiens"). In the 17+ years we have been with Amazon, we have never owned, nor listed, nor had this book in our possession. Please Note: The customer claiming that he told us beforehand, that the book he would be sending to us is titled "Sapiens", and that we told him to send it back (the incorrect item) for a refund, is simply NOT TRUE. Upon receving it, we immediately notified the customer of the problem, with a scanned image of the incorrect item he sent us. Moreover, on the day of filing this claim, the customer asked for our image of the ordered item we did send (called "Bitcoin"). We provided those image attachments to him as well. Through correspondence, we acknowledged to the customer that perhaps he accidentally sent us the wrong book, and indicated we would be happy to return it to him, while we wait for the correct return. We also suggested he look over his past orders on Amazon to see if the return was meant for another seller; and maybe even see if Amazon's Customer Service can assist him in figuring out if he ordered it from someone else. None of the above correspondences with the customer were responded to. We respectfully request that this claim be closed without impact on our ODR. Hopefully our record here on Amazon for the past 17 years counts for something; and in this case agrees we should not have to incur cost of a merchandise which was erroneously sent to us as a return. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

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OUTCOME:

Not sure if Amazon paid for his return shipping. I didn't.

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PS. I have posted another A-to-Z experience involving a positive outcome for Claim of "Defective Item". Moreover, I show "No Tracking" does not mean an automatic win for the buyer. If interested, see https: //sellercentral.amazon.ca/seller-forums/discussions/t/9da6f4b5-3a47-4ff5-91df-3ef48cf9ae72?postId=5cadde9d-1a85-4794-be85-846759336112 (without the space after https:)