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.    

[expert_elec_photo]

To me, the single-most important thing is whether the shipping address is Paypal-verified. As long as it is, you have seller protection. I'd rather ship to a PP-verified address in a US territory (Marshall Islands, Guam, wherever) than a non-PP verified address in the continental US.

If you print your shipping label through eBay, on the label page it will indicate whether the address is verified or not.

[mam98031]

@tomuchstuff5

Claiming that something is wrong with the item and a buyer's remorse return request are too completely different things.  

Ebay's take on this is that if you have a buyer requesting a return within your stated return policy time [14 days, 30 days etc] then you should be accepting a return for ANY reason.  When the request falls outside of that time, then the MBG governs the return.

HOWEVER, while it is in the Request stage, the buyer and seller are free to negotiate and come to an agreement with each other without Ebay's interference.  So being polite and professional with your buyer during this time is extremely important.  

But again, if you are asking this about an item that was shipped to another address from a reshipper location that you originally shipped the item to, you do NOT need to entertain a return for ANY reason.

You seem to be twisting things up here.  Once the item LEAVES the reshipper to go on a journey to the buyer that purchased the item from you, they have LOST their buyer protection with Ebay.  While they may still be able to open a Request, if the seller handles it properly, they can get it closed.  Sellers DO NOT have to accept a return for ANY  reason the buyer may come up with when the item has been shipped to a different address, period.

[mam98031]

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@expert_elec_photo wrote:

To me, the single-most important thing is whether the shipping address is Paypal-verified. As long as it is, you have seller protection. I'd rather ship to a PP-verified address in a US territory (Marshall Islands, Guam, wherever) than a non-PP verified address in the continental US.

If you print your shipping label through eBay, on the label page it will indicate whether the address is verified or not.

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@expert_elec_photo

Verified addresses do not give an Ebay seller ANY added security.  PP changed that many years ago.  You are operating under a policy that PP did away with a decade ago.

Seller protection is NOT in play.  You do NOT lose seller protection if you ship to an unverified address.

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#11

Basic requirements

To be eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection, you must meet all of the following requirements 

• The primary address for your PayPal account must be in the United States.
• The item must be a physical, tangible good that can be shipped.
• You must ship the item to the shipping address on the transaction details page in your PayPal account for the transaction.  If you originally ship the item to the recipient's shipping address on the transaction details page but the item is later redirected to a different address, you will not be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection. We therefore recommend not using a shipping service that is arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.
• You must respond to PayPal's requests for documentation and other information in a timely manner as requested in our email correspondence with you or in our correspondence with you through the Resolution Center. If you do not respond to PayPal’s request for documentation and other information in the time requested, you may not be eligible for Seller Protection.
• If the sale involves pre-ordered or made-to-order goods, you must ship within the timeframe you specified in the listing. Otherwise, it is recommended that you ship all items within 7 days after receipt of payment.

[femmefan1946]

Freight forwarding companies are such a normal part of online shipping that eBay has opened its own.

It's called the Global Shipping Program and is run for eBay by PitneyBowesInternational (the postage meter people).

In this case, sellers who are paranoid about non-US buyers opt into the program. The buyer doesn't get the choice.

The seller is only responsible for delivery to the GSP plant in Erlanger.

After that GSP takes over shipping.

The buyer pays import fees to GSP that cover their nation's duty, sales tax, and a small service fee BEFORE the seller is told to ship.

The seller can choose what countries he will and won't ship too, although most sellers are blithely unaware of this.

[expert_elec_photo]

Thank you for the clarification! I assumed it was as before, since I always saw the 'Eligible for seller protection' message on the shipping page and assumed that meant the buyer was using a verified address.

I guess it doesn't matter now, and your sale will always be eligible for seller protection unless you manually change the seller address.

[yestergroove]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that AK and HI are "foreign".  I simply meant that it cost much more to ship there, at least 15 years ago it did. 

I regret that my question seems to have opened cans of worms I never intended.

[yestergroove]

I attempted to edit my message just now, but got a big red header in the middle of typing. Guess I will continue this way.

My hesitation at international shipping is simple: my only reason for selling ANYTHING at this point is because of an extreme financial emergency (I'm actually looking at not being able to pay my rent in December due to accidents and illness).

I understand that buyers now have SIX MONTHS to come back and demand a refund for pretty much no reason. I am not able to even think about a situation like that right now. I have no idea if I will even have a home in six months. The chances of anything "bad" happening on an "international sale" in the long weeks between when I send an item and when they get it seem too huge for me to consider right now.

I need every penny I can scrape together from this endeavor, especially here at the beginning. That is why I am doing my best to keep everyone happy and keep my risks at a minimum.

These are not items I seek out and buy to re-sell. Everything I am selling is a personal possession. MANY of the things I am selling have sold for WAY LESS than I hoped. One of the reasons for THAT being I was an idiot and took eBay's "advice" to start the bidding at "99 cents" on items that didn't sell the first time. That has cost me dearly...I have two items now worth $40-$50 that I am having to let go for...99 cents. I am not doing that again.

I'm doing my best to not become discouraged by all this, and hope that people will understand my position. I am simply trying to survive at this point.

[mam98031]

I understand that buyers now have SIX MONTHS to come back and demand a refund for pretty much no reason.

That is a complete misrepresentation of the PP rule.  There is NOTHING in the PP policy that states a buyer can "demand a refund" or win with "no reason".  What the policy DOES provide for is that in PP [NOT Ebay] a buyer has up to 180 days to FILE A CLAIM.  That does NOT mean the buyer auto wins.  It means the buyer can file a claim.  For Ebay sellers, it means you should hang onto your detail info about a transactions for quite a while so that you can defend against such a claim.

I am not able to even think about a situation like that right now.

And there is no reason why you should.  Most sellers will never have to experience such a claim.  Most buyers are honest hard working people.  It is a fraction of a fraction that we all must keep our eyes open for.  It is not a common thing for buyers to wait close to 6 months to file a claim.

I have no idea if I will even have a home in six months. The chances of anything "bad" happening on an "international sale" in the long weeks between when I send an item and when they get it seem too huge for me to consider right now.

I'm sorry you are experiencing a financial hardship.  I along with others I am sure, hope that this rectifies itself in short order.  There is no issue if you do not want to ship internationally, there is nothing that says you have to.  So no reason is necessary, it is your right to decide for yourself.

These are not items I seek out and buy to re-sell. Everything I am selling is a personal possession. MANY of the things I am selling have sold for WAY LESS than I hoped. One of the reasons for THAT being I was an idiot and took eBay's "advice" to start the bidding at "99 cents" on items that didn't sell the first time. That has cost me dearly...I have two items now worth $40-$50 that I am having to let go for...99 cents. I am not doing that again.

Research is your friend and time well spent.  When running auctions, you need to keep in mind that buyers are always at the computer as often as a seller is.  A buyer might not be here this week, but next week or the week after they are.  

You might want to consider Fixed Price listings instead of auctions.  Research, find what the going price is for items like you are selling and then post them as a fixed price listing.  No where near as risky and as you said, risk is not your friend right now.  So do it a safer way.

I'm doing my best to not become discouraged by all this, and hope that people will understand my position. I am simply trying to survive at this point.

There is no reason to be discouraged by this.  You came here with a question.  It has been answered that it wasn't as bad as you originally thought it was.  So why would you be discouraged?

You are going through a rough time personally right now.  Keep your chin up, clean out those closets and start selling stuff.  You will do just fine.  You just need to settle in and get a little experience. 

We are always here lerking around the threads if you need some help.

[yestergroove]

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement!

[mam98031]

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@yestergroove wrote:
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement!

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You are welcome.  I think that you would find that most of us here have walked in your shoes before.  It is a difficult and scary thing to have happen.  You can do this and you can come out the other side a stronger person.  We will all be here for you if you need us.  And if you want, you can always pop into one of my listings and send me an email directly.

[tomuchstuff5]

I can relate to everything you are saying. I hope things get better for you. 

[yestergroove]

Again, thank you all. It is good to know y'all are here.

The thought hit me that I probably wouldn't find this such a daunting situation to be in, if it were happening 20 or 30 years ago...I would've called it a "challenge" at that point. Looks like it would behoove me to regain that perspective!

I am going to spend the evening photographing another batch of items, will hopefully have them up by tomorrow night.

Many thanks again.