Buyer asking to ship to a different address
Summary: The discussion revolves around whether to allow a buyer to change their shipping address after a purchase on eBay. surplus-md raises concerns about potential issues with tracking and eBay's seller protection. Participants provide advice, generally agreeing that shipping to a different address compromises seller protection and could lead to scams. Most recommend canceling the sale and having the buyer repurchase with the correct address. surplus-md follows this advice and successfully resolves the issue by canceling and relisting the purchase.
I need the pros and cons allowing a buyer to change their address after the sale. Is there anything wrong with sending to a different address then what ebay has? I suspect with tracking it may have problems. What should I do with this buyers request?
onefootflipper
·3 weeks ago · EditedI always say "They don't let us change the address anymore, and shipping charges are based off the address anyway. I have refunded the item, feel free to buy it again with the correct address attached." I then immediately cancel the order for "problem with buyer's address" and immediately relist it. I don't give them any time to debate or, ask a second time.
This removes all danger of address change scams, keeps your seller protections and gets around the dirty trick that some people will do which is to check out with an incorrect address in your shipping zone on purpose and then immediately ask to change it to their real address which is on the other side of the country.
surplus-md
OP3 weeks agoThanks everyone for such great information.
I told the buyer: "Unfortunately by eBay policy, doing so would remove seller protections. Also, using tracking to a address not listed on the delivery address has its complications. I would kindly ask if you would like me to process cancellation of this order, being that it hasnt been long, the return of your money would be faster than waiting longer than 24 hours which could cause holds for several days. Please let me know how you would like to proceed."
The buyer asked me to cancel for them and today the buyer has re-purchased the item. Thank you everyone!
choice_deals
·3 weeks agoMy recommendation to ask him send order cancellation request then place new order with updated address.
mam98031
·3 weeks agoI agree with the other posters that in Ebay, you can not change the buyer's ship to address at all. So if you ship within Ebay, this is something you can't do in the first place. They did this to help PROTECT sellers better. Because when you make a CHANGE to the name or address a buyer gives you on the Order Form to ship to, you will lose ALL Seller Protection.
Now you can purchase your shipping label from a different provider and put in whatever address you want, then upload the tracking number to the transaction in Ebay. But then the same thing happens, because you changed the address, you will NOT have any Seller Protection on the transaction.
It is best to be upfront with your buyer. Let them know that you, as a seller, is not allowed to do that in Ebay. Let them know you can Cancel the transaction for a problem with the address, then relist the item and the buyer can purchase it again, making sure that the ship to address is corrected. It should work out just fine.
authentic*vintage
·3 weeks agoDecline the request. They can request to cancel and repurchase once THEY enter THEIR OWN correct info.
glenvonnie
·3 weeks agoYou can't change the address by editing it on the shipping label page anymore.
Because SOME people were taking advantage of eBay shipping discounts to ship their own private items.
dhbookds
·3 weeks agoYou can't change the address by editing it on the shipping label page anymore.
Absolutely right............I noticed that and then forgot about it.
inhawaii
·3 weeks agoPROS: It makes the buyer happy.
CONS: You will lose a INR (item not received) case if you change the address.
Cancel the sale "problem with buyers address".
Tell the buyer to correct their address and re-purchase.
.
buyselljack2016
·3 weeks agoWhatever you do ................... be sure that it is really the "buyer" that is making the request.
@surplus-md
jonathanbrightlight
·3 weeks ago@surplus-md This is key. Scammers will send messages to sellers about items they recently sold, but the person sending the message has nothing to do with the actual buyer in those cases. They're just trying to trick you into sending them something that someone else bought. If the username doesn't match the one on the order, report it and ignore it, and ship the item to the address on the order.
maddiej-2
·3 weeks agoScamm. Nope never do that .
christworks
·3 weeks ago@surplus-md No way would I ever change an address after a sale. You have your buyer put in a cancellation request or give you permission to cancel due to problem with address. Otherwise, ship that item to whatever address they gave you as that's your responsibility and eBay protects you.
vintage-camerastuff
·3 weeks agoDon't change his shipping address. Tell him to go into his ebay account and change it himself. You can only ship to the address on the shipping label. If he won't do that just cancel the order due to problems with the address.
tools*
·3 weeks agoTell them that they should request a cancellation of the order with eBay and that when you accept it, they can purchase the item again and provide the correct shipping address when they pay.
eburtonlab
·3 weeks ago@surplus-md
Changing an address for a current order:
Buyers can change the shipping address at checkout right up until payment is sent. After that, the shipping address for that transaction cannot be changed.
The seller is required to ship to the address that comes with the payment or lose all protection in the event of an "item not received" case. Scammers often send messages urging the seller to ship to another address, so sellers are rightly wary of such requests.
The seller can cancel the transaction and relist to allow the buyer to purchase again and provide the correct address, but sellers are not required to do any of that.
dhbookds
·3 weeks agoYep, big possible problem........they can claim non receipt since you changed the address. Frankly, I've done it on lesser priced stuff.......but properly you should cancel using address as the reason and ask them to rebuy but change the mailing address before they check out......that way you will be safe......
sin-n-dex
·3 weeks agoI've also done it on small things that don't have tracking. On silver coins, no way. But on a $2 stamp that is going without tracking, it really doesn't matter where I send it, they can claim non-receipt in any event and the end will be the same. Also make sure the person requesting is actually your buyer, if it's a high scam item the person requesting might just be some scammer sending you a message on your ended listing. There are trolls who look for those so they can redirect the package to themselves.
iamalwaysright
·3 weeks agoI know I shouldn't just like others have said. But I've done it pretty much every time a buyer asked. I just made sure the address is "reasonable" and valid. There were times the new address was in a different state and I'd ask why (just to see what they would say) and the buyer would use the college university reason or gift recipient. So far I've never had a problem with any of these transactions being reversed.