Buyer's address in eBay email is foreign, shipping address in Paypal email is US

[yestergroove]

I specifically state in my listings that I only ship to "the lower 48".  I'm not equipped or prepared to deal with a foreign buyer and foreign shipping.  I'm listing a wide variety of stuff, and that includes some old computer parts.

On two different computer parts listings, the buyer's address in the "Your item sold" email from eBay is a foreign address.  Go to the PayPal email showing the payment received and the shipping address, and THAT email shows the shipping address as being a US address.

Is this legit?  The first one showed Canada in the eBay email, but Washington state in the PayPal.  It shipped, he received, it seemed ok, but it made me uncomfortable, because when I got the eBay email showing a foreign address, I couldn't believe it.

I assumed that eBay was supposed to prevent people in foreign countries from even BIDDING on items that exclude foreign shipping.   WIth the first guy's item, I freaked out after looking at just the eBay email showing the Canadian address first, and immediately used the Messaging System to message him trying to explain I don't ship to foreign addresses, and asking him whether he wanted to cancel the transaction. Then, after I'd done that, I looked at the PayPal email, there was a Washington state address.

I ended up having to apologize and look like a total fool, and now that this is happening again, I just want to double check that this is "legit".  I don't want to mess up.  I need whatever meager income I can get out of this.  I don't want to get some sort of trouble down the line because these people have two addresses.  

On this newest one, the eBay email shows Australia, but the PayPal email shows a Florida address.  I am to the point of printing the shipping label, and I guess this whole thing just makes me uncomfortable. 

I specifically make it a point to click all the "boxes" that exclude EVERY PLACE but the Continental US when I make the listings.

 Is this a common thing now?  It has only happened with old computer parts listings so far.  If this is now a common thing, it would be nice if eBay would put the SHIPPING address in that "Your item sold" email, so that it matches what PayPal's email says.  I just want to know that I'm doing the right thing here.    

[dtexley3]

Buyer is using what's called a forwarding service.  It's a US company that they can items sent to and then it will be shipped to them by the reshipper.  Your responsibility ends when the item reaches the reshipper.  I've shipped several items via reshippers with no issues.  Others have had problems even scams.  it's up to you how comfortable you are with the transaction.

[deusxlunatii]

I have shipped many items to reshipping companies without any problems at all.  These companies are just a service that forwards the items to the buyers actual location.  For many buyers it is more economical to use this type of service to consolidate all of their purchases from many different venues.  The reshippers will often have an adress in a US port city, like Washington companies will service Western Canada, and Florida companies seem to handle most things headed to the southern hemisphere. 

I ship mostly books/records/dvds/cds, so I am not dealing in a category that has a high-scam rate. 

Always verify that the Paypal payment has cleared before shipping.  Log directly into paypal, preferably using a PC, as the mobile app may be misleading/confusing/incorrect.  Some payments may show as "pending", if that is the case do not ship, wait for the payment to clear and Paypal to say it is OK to ship.  Some scams may involve some very convincing, but fake emails, so always verify by logging in.  If any buyers ask for contact information; email address, phone number, etc; that is a sure sign that something is not right.

There is a way to block most of this type of buyer, it involves paypal and ebay payment settings. I am not sure what the settings are, but someone will probably post them if needed.

The good thing about shipping to a rehsipper is that the Item Not Received cases are based on the US address, so as long as the tracking shows delivered to the reshipper, that is covered. No expensive international tracking needed.  If the buyer wants to return something they have bought, even on Not As Described cases, they will be responsible for returning it to you with expensive international  tracking at their cost.

If you are selling fragile items, be sure to pack them carefully, they may have a long, rough journey ahead. 

[yestergroove]

Thanks for this...the forwarding service thing is completely new to me.  Just starting to "sell" for the first time in 15 years, and with all the changes since then, well, I guess I qualify for the Grumpy Old Man crew m'self!

[yestergroove]

And thank you for all this good information, especially the tip about going right to the PayPal account to make sure the pmt has posted.  I had not thought of that before...sound advice, which I will follow with this latest buyer.

And it is more than a bit of a relief to know that once it gets to the "forwarding service" and it shows it was delivered to THEM, then that takes care of the "item not received" on this end.  

All very good to know.

Many thanks to both of you!

[mam98031]

You are doing great and I hope you continue to do so.

Sellers on Ebay are not allowed to block all international buyers.  In your site preferences there is a section for Buyer Requirements.  There you have a handful of blocks or requirements you can set up to be applied to your listings.  One of those is to block buyers with ship to addresses that you do not ship to. 

In other words, a buyer in Australia may have a cousin that lives in the US and they use their address to purchase things on the internet.  The buyer may be in the US visiting that cousin or the cousin might reship it to Australia.  There are many ways a buyer can accomplish a US ship to address.  As others have suggested, shipping to a reshipper is one of those options.  But I've shipped to Hotels, family members etc. over the years.  This type of transaction rarely causes a problem.

The only downside to them is you will pay a slightly higher fee in PayPal.  

The suggestion to re-verifty that a payment has landed for you by checking your PP account is a solid one.  I've been selling here a very long time.  I verify every single payment I received notification on.  It is just part of my procedure when processing the sale.  It is just so much safer this way and sometimes you will catch a problem before it becomes a disaster.

Good luck with all your sales.

[tomuchstuff5]

I have done a few freight forwarder orders. I have not had 2 different addresses on paypal and ebay though. Not sure what is up with that. 1 problem with a FF order. I would suggest making sure your packaging is impeccable for best hope of safe arrival to end user. They are not known for great care in handling from their location to end user. This unfortunately can end up being your problem, even though it shouldn't be. 

If you are uncomfortable with the addresses/circumstances I would touch base with Ebay Trust and Safety or Paypal for verification. 

[slippinjimmy]

Long before eBay thousands of Canadians have had US addresses just for this specific reason that many companies don't ship cross-border. It's actually less common these days because virtually all the major online etailers ship to Canada (eBay and other marketplaces are the glaring exception).

Also keep in mind that there are several hundred thousand Canadians who live in the USA part of the time (mostly October to April) while maintaing their permanent residence in Canada.

[jonathankirkland]

Another way you can thwart these international buyers using freight forwarding companies is to use fixed price buy-it-now listings with IPR (immediate payment required).

I noticed since I started using IPR, I have had preceisely 0 of these international buyers using freight forward companies buying from me.

I sell electronics so I just do not want to take the extra chance on these transactions.

Good luck!

[mam98031]

@tomuchstuff5

 I have not had 2 different addresses on paypal and ebay though. 

This should not happen anymore.  Ebay updates when a buyer pays with PP and the addresses should match in both sites.  However if there ever is this issue, ALWAYS without exception, ship to the address on the PP payment.  NEVER do otherwise unless you are willing to give up your seller protection in PP.

In the Ebay rules it says that you will have seller protection if you ship to either the address on the Ebay purchase transaction OR the PP payment notification.  However the same is NOT true in PP.  One of the qualifications in PP for their seller protection is you MUST ship to the address on the PP payment notification.

I would suggest making sure your packaging is impeccable for best hope of safe arrival to end user.

I would suggest that this is something all sellers should do no matter where you are shipping the item to.

They are not known for great care in handling from their location to end user. This unfortunately can end up being your problem, even though it shouldn't be. 

That would only be if you accepted responsibility for that.  Per the Ebay rules, you are responsible for the item until it reaches the address you were suppose to ship to.  It is NOT your problem if when the item gets reshipped to the end user something happens.  You had nothing to do with how it was packaged nor any control over anything with that package.  Sellers are NOT responsible for it once it leaves the original destination.

If you are uncomfortable with the addresses/circumstances I would touch base with Ebay Trust and Safety or Paypal for verification. 

Vertication on addresses does not mean anything to sellers on Ebay anymore.  PP changes that several years ago.  

[*eponymous*]

Yes, it is very common in the global commerce of today.

Any buyer with an address in the lower 48 can buy from you.

Priority and first-class to AK and HA take about the same length of time as mailing to an address in the lower 48 so, unless you ship ground, there isn't really a good reason to exclude those states that are only a few hours away by air.

Regardless of the eBay address, only ship to the address on the payment to retain seller protection for not received cases.

[mam98031]

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

Another way you can thwart these international buyers using freight forwarding companies is to use fixed price buy-it-now listings with IPR (immediate payment required).

I noticed since I started using IPR, I have had preceisely 0 of these international buyers using freight forward companies buying from me.

I sell electronics so I just do not want to take the extra chance on these transactions.

Good luck!

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That doesn't stop a buyer from purchasing.  You just may not of had any international buyers interested in purchasing anything lately.  But IPR has nothing to do with this at all.  I have IPR on all my fragrance listings and from time to time I get international buyers with US ship to addresses purchasing from me.  IPR does not prevent them from doing so.

[jonathankirkland]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

Another way you can thwart these international buyers using freight forwarding companies is to use fixed price buy-it-now listings with IPR (immediate payment required).

I noticed since I started using IPR, I have had preceisely 0 of these international buyers using freight forward companies buying from me.

I sell electronics so I just do not want to take the extra chance on these transactions.

Good luck!

---

That doesn't stop a buyer from purchasing.  You just may not of had any international buyers interested in purchasing anything lately.  But IPR has nothing to do with this at all.  I have IPR on all my fragrance listings and from time to time I get international buyers with US ship to addresses purchasing from me.  IPR does not prevent them from doing so.

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Actually it stops ALL these bogus international nonsense buyers who use the e-checks. Since those are pending endlessly, they cannot use them.

[hafoster]

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

Another way you can thwart these international buyers using freight forwarding companies is to use fixed price buy-it-now listings with IPR (immediate payment required).

I noticed since I started using IPR, I have had preceisely 0 of these international buyers using freight forward companies buying from me.

I sell electronics so I just do not want to take the extra chance on these transactions.

Good luck!

---

That doesn't stop a buyer from purchasing.  You just may not of had any international buyers interested in purchasing anything lately.  But IPR has nothing to do with this at all.  I have IPR on all my fragrance listings and from time to time I get international buyers with US ship to addresses purchasing from me.  IPR does not prevent them from doing so. 

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Actually it stops ALL these bogus international nonsense buyers who use the e-checks. Since those are pending endlessly, they cannot use them.

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Your [sic] cornflaking [sic] too [sic] seperate [sic] issues.

[partial*eclipse]

To summarize:

The site preferences block is based on the buyer's primary address, not on country of registration. If a buyer showing a Canadian primary address was able to purchase your item, then your Buyer Requirements in Site Preferences aren't set up correctly.

Many Canadians use US-based forwarding services, or cross the border to pick up packages.

It's OK to ship to whatever address is shown in the Paypal payment.

It doesn't make sense for you to block AK/HI/territories, since you seem to offer only Priority Mail.  From your location in California, shipping to Hawaii via Priority will take no more time or money than shipping to me here on the east coast.