Buyer wants me to Ship Item to a Different Address in a Different State

[etsvcs]

Hello,

I made a sale, a few minutes later the buyer sends me a message asking me to send the item to OK, I checked their email account and noticed they have a Florida address list.

The eBay AI was of no help and the customer service number returned a fast busy. 

Question:

Should I send the item to the address in OK, the address in Florida or just cancel the sale?

Thanks,

John...

[mommaknows]

From everything I've read here, they can change their address and then you can ship. But my understanding is that you arecnot protected. As a seller, if you ship to a different  address.

I'm sure more knowledgeable people will help you out. But this is my understanding. 

Good luck 

[fashunu4eeuh]

@etsvcs You are bound contractually to send rhe item to the buyer of record and to the address stipulated at checkout. If the buyer needs to send it elsewhere, he would need to request a cancellation, you’d have to cancel, then relist and they repurchase the item, changing the address at checkout this time. If you just sent it elsewhere, you would lose what little seller protection there is. Plus, are you certain the message you rec’d was from your actual buyer? The scammers are clever.

[reallynicestamps]

Caution.

Normally, a buyer who is (for example) sending a gift to Auntie Mary, will have to change the delivery address before buying.

Florida?
Google the address.

There is a fair chance that the address is one of the many freight forwarders, particularly in the Doral area.

While freight forwarders are somewhat safer as destinations than domestic postal addresses, that the request came after the purchase, makes me nervous.

Go to the original invoice and, using the link there to Contact Buyer, check to see if they sent that change.
If they did, tell them that you will cancel their order and refund them because you can only send to the address on the invoice.

Then you will relist the item specifically for them, and AFTER THEY HAVE CHANGED THE ADDRESS,  they can repurchase, repay, and all will be fine.

On the third hand, nothing you have sold lately fits in a high value/high fraud category.

[inhawaii]

Do not send the item to another address.

Cancel the sale. Reason: Problem with address.

Instruct the buyer to change the address with ebay then re-purchase the item, this time with the correct address.

[luckythewinner]

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@etsvcs wrote:

I made a sale, a few minutes later the buyer sends me a message asking me to send the item to OK, I checked their email account and noticed they have a Florida address list.

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You lose seller protection if you ship to an address other than the one provided by eBay.

IMHO the best solution is to cancel the sale for "problem with buyer's address", relist the item, and ask the buyer to re-purchase with the correct shipping address.

[ittybitnot]

I made a sale, a few minutes later the buyer sends me a message asking me to send the item to OK,,,,

@etsvcs 

The FIRST thing you should do is see if the person requesting the address change has the same ID as your buyer of record.  

If they are not the same, the person messaging you is likely a crook trying to trick you into sending the parcel to the wrong address.  If you simply CANCEL the sale due to this, then you are cancelling on the real buyer that paid you.  That could be an unnecessary activity that will do nothing other than make the real buyer upset. 

If it is the same buyer ID, then you still should not change the address after the fact unless it is  a cheap $5 item and you are willing to take the risk.   Otherwise, report the message right on the message form, cancel the sale due to problem with the buyer's address,  relist and let them repurchase with the correct shipping address.  

[aproudparent2010]

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@etsvcs wrote:

Hello,

I made a sale, a few minutes later the buyer sends me a message asking me to send the item to OK, I checked their email account and noticed they have a Florida address list.

The eBay AI was of no help and the customer service number returned a fast busy. 

Question:

Should I send the item to the address in OK, the address in Florida or just cancel the sale?

Thanks,

John...

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Send the item to the address on the payment.

If they want it sent to OK then explain how eBay requires you to send to the address on the payment so you need to cancel and have them repay with the correct address.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

A good rule of thumb for sellers is to ignore all buyer requests to change anything after a sale has been made.

In this case, tell the buyer to request cancellation and repurchase.

[broto_64]

Always make sure the person who sent the message is also the buyer, some scammers now impersonate buyers by watching sold listings and then sending a message to the seller hoping the item gets re-routed to them (of course once the buyer has not received their item they open a case for "Item Not Received")... The other scam is the buyer sends the message and you send it to another address and then the buyer opens a case for "Item Not Received."

Unfortunately if the tracking on your label does NOT show delivery to the address of record at the time of purchase, a buyer that opens a case for "Item Not Received" will prevail meaning you will refund the money.

[mam98031]

@etsvcs 

Are you assuming they are asking you to ship to another address or did they actually ask you to do it???  Your post is unclear.

Always and ONLY EVER ship to the address on the payment you got.  If the buyer needs you to ship to another address, cancel the transaction for a problem with the address, refund the buyer, then relist the item and have the buyer purchase it again, making sure their ship to address is correct.

YOU are the one that will pay the price if you change the address and ship it.  YOU will lose your seller protection and you simply do NOT what to voluntarily do that.

[etsvcs]

The message claims that they have not updated their address on eBay. I'm going to take the advice of the majority and inform the buyer that I cannot send to a different address and if they would like to cancel the order. If I do not hear from the buyer by EoD, I will cancel the order.

Thanks Everyone!

[jerseyboymusic]

@etsvcs You ship ONLY to the address on the order. 

[jonathanbrightlight]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

I made a sale, a few minutes later the buyer sends me a message asking me to send the item to OK,,,,

@etsvcs 

The FIRST thing you should do is see if the person requesting the address change has the same ID as your buyer of record.  

If they are not the same, the person messaging you is likely a crook trying to trick you into sending the parcel to the wrong address.  If you simply CANCEL the sale due to this, then you are cancelling on the real buyer that paid you.  That could be an unnecessary activity that will do nothing other than make the real buyer upset. 

If it is the same buyer ID, then you still should not change the address after the fact unless it is  a cheap $5 item and you are willing to take the risk.   Otherwise, report the message right on the message form, cancel the sale due to problem with the buyer's address,  relist and let them repurchase with the correct shipping address.  

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@etsvcs make sure you have read this comment by @ittybitnot before you proceed!  This is one of the most critical things to check (there may be no reason to cancel the sale or even communicate with the buyer or whoever messaged you!).

[mam98031]

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@etsvcs wrote:

The message claims that they have not updated their address on eBay. I'm going to take the advice of the majority and inform the buyer that I cannot send to a different address and if they would like to cancel the order. If I do not hear from the buyer by EoD, I will cancel the order.

Thanks Everyone!

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That is a very good decision as you would only be exposing yourself to possible problems that can be avoided.  

Your buyer, if they weren't trying to take advantage of you, should agree to the cancellation and then you can relist and they can repurchase.  Afterall it was their mistake that caused the issue.  But if they get upset or don't repurchase the item, you can rest assured that you likely avoided getting scammed out of your money or your product or both.