Are we allowed to ship to an address that is not the actual buyer's address? Is this allowed?

[judychud]

Are we allowed to ship to an address that is not the buyer's address?  Is this allowed?

[creativecrisis]

To retain what little seller protection eBay offers, you'll need to ship to the address that the buyer provided at checkout. It doesn't have to be the buyer's address.

If the buyer is asking you to ship to a different address, it's best to cancel the transaction (for problem with address), and ask the buyer to re-purchase with the correct address.

[collectfest · Accepted solution]

No, not advisable. You are required to ship to the address that has been confirmed and supplied to you by eBay.

If you choose to not follow the policy you may be opening a big can of worms.

Since beginning to sell on eBay in 1999 I have NEVER and will NEVER ship to an address that is not confirmed through eBay.

I have heard many horror stories who have not followed eBays guidelines.

regards

[downunder-61]

It is allowed but you have no recourse if an item is claimed as INR and it is not sent to the address given at checkout so I would not recommend it.

Has a buyer asked you this prior to purchase or are they asking after ? If after I would cancel the transaction with 'problem with buyers address' and get the buyer to repurchase using the correct address.

[judychud]

Thanks for your reply.  I think I'm being scammed because I received an email asking me to sell to this person who claims he just sold the same item but shipped it to the wrong address.  He wants to buy my identical item but wants me to ship it to this other person.  I just emailed him back and told him sorry I couldn't because according to ebay's rules the seller can ONLY send it to the confirmed address at the time of sale.

[judychud]

Thank you!!!

[downunder-61]

Sounds a bit suss to me, I would put this buyer on your BBL just to be on the safe side. He should know the eBay rules

[kensgiftshop]

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@judychud wrote:

Are we allowed to ship to an address that is not the buyer's address?  Is this allowed?

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If that's the address they give when they pay, yes, you can send it to the address.

If they pay, then want it sent to a different address, then no.

[collectfest]

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@judychud wrote:

Thanks for your reply.  I think I'm being scammed because I received an email asking me to sell to this person who claims he just sold the same item but shipped it to the wrong address.  He wants to buy my identical item but wants me to ship it to this other person.  I just emailed him back and told him sorry I couldn't because according to ebay's rules the seller can ONLY send it to the confirmed address at the time of sale.

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Superb insight. Being scammed or not you are making a superb choice, as I see it u do not need the drama.

[luckythewinner]

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@judychud wrote:

Are we allowed to ship to an address that is not the buyer's address?  Is this allowed?

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We need to parse your words carefully. 

A buyer can specify any shipping address he wants when he makes the payment. It does not have to be "his" address, it could be anyone's address - a friend, a relative, or a business. 

But if you do not ship to the address that the buyer provided with the payment, you run the risk of losing your seller protection if the buyer claims he did not receive it. 

You also need to watch out for scammers who try to "hijack" someone else's purchase. These scammers send you a message claiming to be the buyer, and ask you to ship the item to a different address. Essentially, they are trying to trick you into shipping the item to them instead of the real buyer. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@judychud wrote:

Thanks for your reply.  I think I'm being scammed because I received an email asking me to sell to this person who claims he just sold the same item but shipped it to the wrong address.  He wants to buy my identical item but wants me to ship it to this other person.  I just emailed him back and told him sorry I couldn't because according to ebay's rules the seller can ONLY send it to the confirmed address at the time of sale.

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This is actually OK.  When a buyer is making their  payment, there is a 'Change" link next to the buyer's default name and address. This can be changed to any other name and address, and that will become the address that you must ship to in order to have seller protection. I use this option to send gifts to friends and relatives. If this potential buyer had just purchased it without contacting you first, and had substituted the name and address that he wanted it shipped to, then you never would have even known about his back story.

[yoonix1]

You can if you want to. I have done this upon buyers request several times. For example, a buyer had an old address on file, and did not updated it yet; or a buyer is traveling, and needs it shipped to a different address. I did not have any problems, but always keep in mind that the sellers protection policy do not cover it. If you sell high dollar items, is better not to do this.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Seller protection doesn't cover you if you change the address AFTER the buyer pays. But in this case, the question was asked before purchase: "He wants to buy my identical item but wants me to ship it to this other person."