Freight Forwarders
What protections are in place for sellers when shipping to a freight forwarder? I've had two buyers from China & one from Ukraine buy from me in the past few days & all three are shipping to freight forwarders when I looked up the addresses on Google. One has been shipped & the other two are pending. I need some advise ASAP. Thanks.
7 comments
christworks
·2 weeks ago · Edited@frugalmarketplace @txentosupply You are both correct. eBay policy explicitly says on paper there is no 30-Day MBG when a buyer has an item forwarded from a 3rd party to them. The 3rd party could be a freight forwarding company or it could be cousin Bob.
The problem arises when that policy is tested. eBay has no system in place to stop a buyer who used a 3rd party address from opening a return. You can't report the buyer. If you offer returns, you can't refuse it. If a buyer opens an INAD, ebay will automatically approve the return and send the buyer the label.
So while policy says there is no 30-Day MBG when using a 3rd party address, you can hardly bank on it to protect you because there isn't a means to actually enforce it. If you ask eBay to step in, you already know the risk that involves. You can be completely right on policy, but in the age of AI you are risking an automatic refund to the buyer and a strike on your account for asking eBay to step in.
I've never had an issue with a freight forwarder other than an item not arriving at one. The buyer opened an INR. I refunded the buyer, filed a claim with USPS and I was made whole.
Earlier this year I did have a buyer who bought a remote control for a heater and had it sent to a relative 4 hours away from her. The relative contacted the buyer and said the remote did not work. The buyer opened up an INAD, but then had to wait for the relative to mail the remote back to her so she could ship it to me. The remote worked fine, but it didn't work with the model heater the end user had. So the buyer not only lied about the return reason, she also was not entitled to a refund because she had it shipped to a 3rd party, who then shipped it back to her. I had no recourse other than to deduct 50% of the refund. The remote was fine, as I said, but I still deducted 50% and put in the note that the buyer wasn't entitled to any refund per eBay's policy on 3rd party addresse but I was issuing a partial refund because there was no way to actually enforce eBay's policy. The buyer appealed the reduction in refund, and eBay quickly denied her appeal and closed the return in my favor. I could only deduct because I offer free returns. If I didn't do that, I would have had to issue a full refund to the buyer without a means to enforce the policy.
I ship to 3 or 4 freight forwarders a month. When I get an order that is going to one, I message the buyer a screen shot of eBay's policy and let them know that once there is a delivery scan at the freight forwarder, I am not responsible and no returns will be accepted on the their order. Of course, that's a bluff due to the reasons I've explained.
kensgiftshop
·2 weeks agoScammers usually target items they can get rid of quick.
Could be wrong, but don't see them targeting dead bugs.
txentosupply
OP2 weeks agoIt's the needlecraft items that they bought.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 weeks agoWhat you sell has a greater influence on whether you will encounter a scamming buyer than whether they use a freight forwarder.
Over decades selling online, I have eliminated many classes of merchandise because the buyers for them include too many scammers and too many high maintenance customers.
If you sell on Ebay long enough, you will be able to write your own list of merchandise to avoid.
frugalmarketplace
·2 weeks agoOver the years I have some addresses to freight forwarders and no issues. Correct me if I am wrong, but it was always my understanding that address (the FF company) when it is delivered , you have completed your job..that was the delivery address.
txentosupply
OP2 weeks agoThanks for the quick response. That's my take on it as well. All the items were around $50.00 each. I did read that getting a delivery signature is a good idea. I tried calling the #s but one was no longer in service & the other two went to an automated system & no one picked up.
lakefor94
·2 weeks ago@txentosupply I prefer to use UPS Ground when shipping to freight forwarders.
USPS will sometimes skip the delivery scan to certain freight forwarders.
UPS never misses providing the delivery scan.