I shipped two packages to the wrong buyer

[chjwgordon96]

Hi, I finally did what my worse fear has been.  I shipped out 2 items with the wrong label. I am surprised that the postal service didn't notice this, as the one was a 9 oz first class shipping, and the other was a 1.5 lb priority box.  So the first class shipping label went on to the priority box.

Can anyone tell me how I can fix this?  Is there a way that I can email these two people with a new label for them just to forward the box on to each other?  THANKS for any input

[josephb555]

The best thing to do is ask the 2 buyers to send the packages back to you at your expense and then you send the packages to the right buyers. You will have to pay a lot of shipping charges but it would straighten out the problem.

[simba6]

The correct way it to issue paid labels to both and have the items returned to YOU. You then reship to the correct buyers.  You would be breaking the rules giving out the addresses of buyers to other buyers.  Also, what if one buyer never ships the item ?   Yes, that happens.

You might get that priority box back or these days be back billed for the postage.

[chjwgordon96]

Okay, so how do I go about issuing a paid label to these people?  Thanks so much for your quick response.  Funny thing is, I probably wasn't going to make but about a dollar each off of these items!!!  THANKS

[simba6]

You can have the buyers click the return this item and choose shipping damage.  You then approve the returns and the buyers will get paid labels.

[djvp53]

I did a very similar thing recently. I accidentally printed two copies of the same shipping label and used it on two items intended for different buyers.  Paying for labels to return the items to you and then reshipping them to the right customers seems like the correct approach.

I only had one misdirected item and I probably handled it wrong. I gambled on my customer's honesty. He seemed very nice when I dealt with him. I  asked him to forward the item to the correct buyer.  I bought a label on Pirateship and sent it to him through eBay messenger. He printed it and sent it to the right buyer. I figured the item would get to the buyer both faster and more cheaply that way. As a bonus, I sent my inconvenienced customer an extra present.

[buyselljack2016]

If you have really trusting buyers, you can contact them, and request that they "refuse" the item. They will return to you at no additional charge. (other than the APV charges that will already apply. In theory you should get  1 debit, and one credit) Refusing voids the eBay MBG, so some may be reluctant to do so.

If you  aren't making any money to start, paying to ship back to you, and then pay for shipping again seems illogical.

[albertabrightalberta]

I think any of us who sell long enough will make this mistake. And I can speak for myself when it say that in the long run, though it costs me money, it's a cheap education. Next time, I learned to double and triple check to verify that the labels are the correct ones for the items.

What I'd do is hope for honest buyers and just tell them to RTS. You may or may not be charged return shipping but usually, you aren't charged. Once received, you can resend them to the correct buyers. 

I never recommend asking the buyers to do the forwarding because it's ultimately your responsibility to get them to the right people and you can't trust that they'll do the right thing.  (I'm not implying that all buyers are dishonest but you want to protect yourself!)

[little*blackdog]

So true... most all of us have done that ONCE! 

After that, the stigma of having to fix that mess stays with you!  LOL