Buyer's Request to Ship to Address Not on File

[cottagehillvanilla]

Monday morning round table...On Friday 03/28 late afternoon, I sold an item, I wanted to get it to the P.O. before they closed, I printed the Label, dropped off Pkg, obtaining receipt.  Shortly after returning rec'd message from buyer "please send Pkg. to .....I've moved".  My response was "your Pkg. is enroute w/Tracking......to address on file w/eBay (I cut & pasted USPS timeline information for him) as well as advised him eBay also provides shipping Tracking info.

Do buyer's not read disclosures in listings ie; "If you have re-located, please confirm address is correct, we do not ship to alternate addresses" (this is in all my listings) should be delivered tomorrow. 

So, will see how this shapes up. Ahhh Mondays 🤔

[luckythewinner]

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@cottagehillvanilla wrote:

Monday morning round table...On Friday 03/28 late afternoon, I sold an item, I wanted to get it to the P.O. before they closed

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This is exactly why I use 3 day handling time and I do not ship the same day.

[caldreamer]

Sounds like you did everything right.   Hopefully the customer put a "forwarding address" with USPS.

[jerseyboymusic]

@cottagehillvanilla 

Forget the disclosure stuff... I don't think folks read that sort of thing... BUT I know when I order something, I usually have to confirm my address before checking out...

You can also follow up if the buyer causes a stink and say that you can ONLY ship to the address on the order. Even if the table didn't ship yet, they would have had to re-purchase it and provide the correct address on the new order

[nobody*s_perfect]

As caldreamer mentioned, the package should find its way to your buyer if they have filed a forwarding order with their Post Office.

Did you check to make sure that the message was actually from your buyer's ID? Scammers sometimes pretend to be a recent buyer in an effort to redirect merchandise.

To answer your actual question: No, buyers don't read. If you haven't heard back from them yet in response to your message with the shipping timeline info, well then they probably haven't read that either...

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@cottagehillvanilla wrote:

Monday morning round table...On Friday 03/28 late afternoon, I sold an item, I wanted to get it to the P.O. before they closed, I printed the Label, dropped off Pkg, obtaining receipt.  Shortly after returning rec'd message from buyer "please send Pkg. to .....I've moved".  My response was "your Pkg. is enroute w/Tracking......to address on file w/eBay (I cut & pasted USPS timeline information for him) as well as advised him eBay also provides shipping Tracking info.

Do buyer's not read disclosures in listings ie; "If you have re-located, please confirm address is correct, we do not ship to alternate addresses" (this is in all my listings) should be delivered tomorrow. 

So, will see how this shapes up. Ahhh Mondays 🤔

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You do have the option to file a package intercept. (if eligible at a cost)

USPS Package Intercept

[mam98031]

@cottagehillvanilla 

An intercept on a package can be expensive, but certainly is an option as long as the seller remembers this is out of their pocket, not the buyer.

As a seller I would just encourage my buyer to make sure they have their mailed forwarded with USPS.  It is a really easy process and can be done on the internet.

This situation may cause you to slow down your shipping process, just a little bit.  That should be a consideration.

The title of your thread says wanted a ship to address not of file.  You actually don't know that to be the case.  A buyer can select their ship to address during the purchase process.  It may be one they have previously set up or it could be a brand new one.  Hopefully your buyer remembers to go and update their account with their correct Primary address and ship to address since clearly they have moved.

[johnrj1226]

Instruct the buyer to  forward their  mail to the new address PRONTO.  They can  do a change of address over the internet.  Here is the link to send  the  change of address link

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=usps+change+of+address+online

[a_c_green]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

Did you check to make sure that the message was actually from your buyer's ID? Scammers sometimes pretend to be a recent buyer in an effort to redirect merchandise.

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Ayup, @cottagehillvanilla, this would be the very first thing to verify. Did that redirect message come from the ID of your buyer? If not, ignore it; it's a popular scam attempt, sent out in bulk from a throwaway account that tries to reach as many sellers as possible before eBay notices and shuts down the scammer.

If the message does in fact come from your buyer, send your regrets and suggest that they set up forwarding with the post office. They can do that on-line (and should have done so anyway).

[johnrj1226]

I  always did  1 day shipping and same  day if humanly possible + happer buyer and more sales. 

Do what I did when I received this request. 

1.  advise the buyer I can't do it it is already in the hands of the pony express rider (aka USPS)

2.  and hurry up and  complete a USPS change of address change be for it is too late

10 to 1 Ya' never hear from them again. - people like to run games on  others - been around way, way, way before Hector was a pup.  PS - The buyer clearly sees the ship to address  before they pay a plug nickel - year they might claim they were in a hurry - we have stuff  that we  buy on eBay shipped to Texas (3 diff addresses), Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, California  3 addresses. haven't missed a lick  - plus we are  '44 and '45' model folks where  those old movies are brand new ones - luv the God Father, Tombstone, Scarface, Columbo and Lassie - I Love Lucy  not so much.

3.  Growing up on the south side of  Deeetroit and working summers at the Ford Rouge complex gave me ahead start on most - my first 23 years.

[cottagehillvanilla]

Yes, message confirmed as coming from purchaser. I have timeline documented. I don't/won't ship to any location not on file w/eBay. When one re-locates one of the 1st things on the 'to do list' is to initiate a USPS forwarding address which is good up to 12 months, also the item arrived at the Hub early, is out for delivery today 🙂

[mam98031]

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@cottagehillvanilla wrote:

Yes, message confirmed as coming from purchaser. I have timeline documented. I don't/won't ship to any location not on file w/eBay. When one re-locates one of the 1st things on the 'to do list' is to initiate a USPS forwarding address which is good up to 12 months, also the item arrived at the Hub early, is out for delivery today 🙂

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You have no way of knowing that.  You may think you do, but you don't.  A buyer is allowed to put whatever ship to address they want when they are processing their payment.  It does not have to be a previously set up ship to address [as we can have several] and you have no way of knowing if it is or isn't.  Your requirement as a seller is to ship to the address on the payment.

[cottagehillvanilla]

The purchaser did not update his shipping data with eBay, the address requested is a 'not on file' past and/or present per his request as he had moved. 

I too am hoping he updates. 

I am familiar with USPS Intercept Program, it's pricey, haven't had to use it, I've known others that have used it, it does work. It isn't a consideration in this event. 

Good suggestions, thanks

[mam98031]

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@cottagehillvanilla wrote:

The purchaser did not update his shipping data with eBay, the address requested is a 'not on file' past and/or present per his request as he had moved. 

I too am hoping he updates. 

I am familiar with USPS Intercept Program, it's pricey, haven't had to use it, I've known others that have used it, it does work. It isn't a consideration in this event. 

Good suggestions, thanks

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I understand that the buyer made a mistake and did not update their ship to address when they made the payment nor did they go and update their account to the corrected information.  That is not my point.

When a buyer gives an address at the time of payment, you have no way of knowing if that is an address they have set on their account as their ship to address or not.  The order simply does not tell you that information.

For example, I can purchase something and then as I'm processing my payment for that item I decide I need to ship that directly to my kid away at college, so I enter their address while they are away at college on my payment.  Or I can ship it to my mother, my friend or any address I deem fit.  You have no way of knowing that is a ship to address "on file with Ebay'.

As a seller, to be eligible for Seller Protection on a purchase we need to ship within our stated handling time, upload the tracking number to the order and ship to the address on the buyer's payment.  Miss any one or more of those steps and you are disqualified for seller protection.

[chapeau-noir]

Even if your buyer updates with the USPS, it takes a little time to process the forwarding notice and the package might slip under the wire.

It's tempting to get that stuff out the door ASAP, but is why I also don't really ship same day - I've found buyers don't care if it ships same day or next day.