Free Shipping

[krza_308]

Ordered Slim Fast with "Free Shipping" from 2 separate venders on the same day.  Never received the package.  Both venders refunded the money - thank you.  

When I inquired at my local USPS, I was told that the packages were delivered to addresses that were not mine.  One package was received at the front door.   

Something was sent under my order and the 2 venders I went through ended up paying for this shipping.  Was the scam a way to get a package sent across  the country for free?  The manager at the post office said that they have been seeing this more frequently lately.

[jacbarcollectibles]

There is no way to actually get free shipping.  Shipping charges must be paid by either the buyer (fixed or calculated shipping charge) or the seller (free shipping).  Shippers always charge somebody for the shipping.

Yes, there are false address scams on eBay but not usually for the product you purchased.  Since you were refunded in both cases there would have been no point to the scam.

[eburtonlab]

It is possible that the sellers intended to scam you but were stopped from doing so; it is also possible that the sellers were intending to drop-ship from another company, and that company was not trustworthy, or that the sellers were using stolen credit cards to pay for a legitimate company to deliver the goods but were found out before that delivery happened.

You can avoid many issues by choosing to do business with experienced sellers that have a proven track record of delivering what was sold as demonstrated in feedback, and by avoiding new or inexperienced sellers, sellers that have changed behavior drastically, sellers that appear to be drop shipping from another location rather than having goods on-hand, or by avoiding any deals that appear "too good to be true".