Buyers address incorrect, delivery not possible.

[winner188]

Hi, I recently shipped an item through Ebay shipping using the buyers provided address. 

Shipped off the package , once it arrived at the destination,  USPS tracking states it could not complete delivery- problem with the buyers address. 

Item is being returned to me, it hasn't arrived yet and buyer wants a refund. 

What should I do here?

[rosachs]

Inform the buyer that they can be refunded when the package is delivered back to you, not before.  Whether or not you agree to refund the shipping charges paid ('free' shipping) or the shipping charge portion of the payment (calculated shipping) is up to you.  At work, we deduct the shipping expense, on my personal shipments is just not worth the hassle (eBay Standard Letter is only 64 cents...).

eBay does not require a refund if you truly used the buyer's provided address (better yet if you used eBay Labels), but many buyers do anyway, and if the buyer is asking, it generally best and can help avoid poor feedback.

I usually add a polite reminder that eBay requires members to ensure all addresses are current and correct, to avoid situations like this.  I've had buyers, generally very non-tech buyers, who think that when they change their address with their ISP, that the ISP changes it automatically on every site they use.  🙂

If the mistake is legit (buyer forgot to use new address or was shipping directly to a friend or family), they'll be willing to wait on the returned delivery.  If they start yelling or getting abusive, use the Action button on the Messages page to report them to eBay.  It's easy and I've personally found it effective - abusive buyers suddenly become quiet and much more patient... 🙂

-Bob.

[reallynicestamps]

You don't owe him a penny, according to eBay.

It was his responsibility to give you a correct address.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

Tell him to open a Dispute.

You will win when you put the tracking, which shows that the address was undeliverable, into the Dispute.

Now.

Is he being polite and sane?

Most sellers will refund the value of the purchase, when they get the (re-sellable) shipment back.

This is voluntary.

Since you did not keep the shipping cost, you don't refund that. Nor do you refund any other fees you lost on the transaction, like auction Reserves or fees on sales taxes.

Note that if he opens and loses a Claim, he cannot leave Feedback.

[jhtobias]

If I were in your shoe's I would send one email to buyer stating "Once item is delivered to me I will be more than happy to refund you your total amount".  Item was sent to address you provided to Ebay .

I would leave it at that not respond to anymore emails form them and once you have your item back in the same condition refund the amount . 

If this person starts to threaten negative feedback etc. please don't respond to it. Keep the emails send to Ebay for proof of harassment. 

[wastingtime101]

This is my standard advice for RTS (returned to sender) packages. Take the parts that are relevant to your situation.

You have a few options. You should decide which route you'll be taking and communicate with the buyer, but wait until the item is returned (and delivered) to you before you take any of the following actions.

• You can refund the buyer the item cost minus original shipping and minus a portion of your eBay fees (fee credits are prorated on a partial refund so you won't get back fees on the shipping amount you withhold). Go to your orders page, find the transaction and select "send refund." On the next page enter the amount. After that, relist the item and if you still want to work with this buyer you can tell them to repurchase it with the correct name/address.
• Have the buyer sort out their address issue then pay for re-shipping. Send them an invoice through PayPal or give them your PayPal e-mail. This is post-sale so it's OK to exchange e-mail addresses. It's also OK to ship to a different address because it's technically not tied to the original transaction. You would not purchase the shipping label through eBay or upload tracking to the transaction. You would purchase it from an alternate site like pirateship.com or paypal.com/shipnow and you can send the buyer the new tracking # through e-mail or eBay messages.
• A different way to accomplish buyer payment for re-shipping is to create an eBay listing for the shipping cost (bumping it up to factor in eBay fees) and having the buyer purchase it, entering their correct address at checkout. You could purchase a shipping label through eBay for that transaction.
• You can cancel the transaction "problem with address" which will trigger a full refund to the buyer and your FVF would be credited.
• You can do nothing. The buyer's MBG protection is voided when there's a package delivery attempt. I don't recommend this because even though you'll win an INR (item not received) claim on eBay, there's nothing stopping that buyer from going to their credit card to file a dispute and why deal with all that? I also think handling it before it gets to this stage with a partial refund is the "right" thing to do if you're not going to make reshipping arrangements.
• You might also want to direct the buyer to this page so their address is updated for future purchases: Account Settings: Addresses