Buyer wants item shipped to different address than his

[coinc_24]

Buyer says he just bought a house but the current occupants haven't left and he's not sure when they will. Buyer wants me to ship item to his step father at a different address other than the one on his account so item doesn't get lost between former and new address.His payment of $300+ is in managed payments waiting to be deposited in my bank .EBay says its ok to go ahead and ship. The  address he gave me to ship to is legit according to Google maps but obviously I don't know if its actually his step fathers address and I'm not sure what to do. What do you think?

[supercharger-parts]

First thing to check is..... does the username of the buyer match the username of the person that sent you the message?

If they do not match, ignore the message and ship to the REAL buyer as originally ordered.

If they do match, cancel the sale for problem with buyer's address and have them repurchase but they must correct the address prior to payment.  It's easy to ship to a different address when in the checking out process. 

[bbravo65]

...I recently had cancelled couple sales due to the same situation you are asking...

...per eBay's policy for seller protection in "Item Not Received" case, seller should not ship to any different address than the one buyer had registered with eBay...when you process shipping label, eBay will notify you about this and it's up to your decision...

...in your case, with the value amount of that much ($300), if I were you, I would send a friendly message to buyer to explain the matter and ask him to change his shipping address on his eBay's account first...you then can purchase shipping label with his new recorded address...

...but if he didn't want to do as you suggested then better cancel the sale with the reason "problem with shipping address"...you don't want to see your buyer files a claim for not receiving his package, and eBay will side with him to refund the money from your funds...you lost both, your item and your money...

...how could we know whom buyer is honest...???...no, we don't...how much protection eBay is giving to sellers compares to buyers...???...very little...so be self-protection...it's up to you if you can afford the lost of $300, plus eBay fees, plus shipping cost, plus your time in preparing the package...not to mention your mentally distress over losing your property...all is worth every penny...

[coinc_24]

Thank you

[bbravo65]

...you are very welcome and I wish you the best in making your decision...

[downunder-61]

My question would be where is he living now/when he purchased?    On the streets?

This reason for change of address is the most ridiculous I have heard.

Bought a house and doesn't know when vacant possession is?

Cancel, refund, block, ignore

[dhbookds]

@bbravo65 

..in your case, with the value amount of that much ($300), if I were you, I would send a friendly message to buyer to explain the matter and ask him to change his shipping address on his eBay's account first...you then can purchase shipping label with his new recorded address...

Changing an address after the sale will not change the address ON the sale, it will only change the address for future sales.

I'm one who usually will mail to address changes by buyers........but on a $300 order, I would cancel and ask them to rebuy using the new address.

[toysaver]

CANCEL the transaction citing something is wrong with the buyer's address.  Only ship to the original address on the transaction.  If you change he can file and win that it wasn't delivered to the address specified.  This scam will become the predominant one now that there is no Paypal fake payment email available.

[inhawaii]

A) Cancel the transaction. Reason: Problem with buyers address.

B) Message the buyer to explain what you're doing.

Have the buyer change his address then re-purchase the item.

C) Have a beer.

[craft-stash]

300 bucks. Dont do it! If it gets lost you are out the cash. No if ands or buts. It says right on the shipping label if you change the name or address ebay is no longer responsible for the lost package. And he can say you never shipped it at all and it a he said she said situation.  Forget it. Ship it to the address Thats the customers problem to put in a usps change of address. He knew he was moving. Good luck. 😎

[dbfolks166mt]

     NO WAY. Contact the buyer and let them know you are going to cancel the sale due to the address problem. You will repost and if they wish to adjust their shipping address on their account they can re-purchase and you will ship to the current address registered with the eBay account. 

     This is a pretty well known tactic used by scammers on a frequent basis. 

[toysaver]

Why the heck does eBay even have the ability to change the shipping address?  Seems like an easy fix for the software to eliminate that action.  

[dbfolks166mt]

Not to defend eBay but for those sellers that generate and purchase shipping outside of eBay, Pirate Ship etc. and then upload the tracking information eBay has no way to prevent the seller from shipping to another address. Easy scamming technique. 

[toysaver]

"Buyer says he just bought a house but the current occupants haven't left and he's not sure when they will."

Never heard of a real estate contract that did not have the exact date of the 'occupany transfer' in specific detail included.

[toysaver]

I can't imagine doing labels outside of eBay, the ability to pay from pending funds, discount and automatic tracking upload are why I'd never switch.  It's so fast and easy.