Can I cancel order if I suspect a scam where buyer paid?

[sgd1952]

Hi,

I just sold a fairly expensive item and it was paid for but I looked up buyer and they joined the same day they placed order, have no feedback and the address location is highly suspect.  We suspect the scam will be a claim they did not receive package. I am fairly new to selling, began this year, and I would like to cancel order but do not want to do wrong and do not know how to handle this according to eBay's rules.  Am I obligated to ship this order or can I report it to eBay and let them tell me what to do?

Thanks,

sgd1952 

[sgd1952]

In fact we did let them know we were shipping with a signature confirmation and asked them to confirm they are ok with that. Guess what- they never answered - So what would you do in this case?

Thanks,

sgd1952

[dbfolks166mt]

In fact we did let them know we were shipping with a signature confirmation and asked them to confirm they are ok with that. Guess what- they never answered - So what would you do in this case?

It is possible they never got the message or never saw it, I did not see where you responded to the address question but if this is going to a FF the signature confirmation will probably do you little good depending on what country the buyer is located in. The signature confirmation will come from the FF when they receive the package. The buyer may have no clue what a "delivery signature" is.

[a_c_green]

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@sgd1952 wrote:

We will make sure we add signature confirmation on this item.

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Signature Confirmation is only required by eBay on sales of $750 or higher. Below that, Delivery Confirmation will give you the same tracking and the same seller protection against an Item Not Received dispute for free.

[pburn]

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@sgd1952 wrote:

Thank you so much for your feedback on this issue/question. 

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As others have posted, if there is not an actual problem with the buyer's address-not that you find it "highly suspect"--you're obligated to ship the item. You selected the correct post as the solution to your thread.

See Order cancellation policy 

Abusing the order cancellation process

Sellers aren't allowed to abuse the order cancellation process. A seller should never cancel an order and select an incorrect cancellation reason . . .

Activity that doesn't follow eBay policy could result in a range of actions including canceling listings, hiding or demoting all listings from search results, blocking some or all of your messages/communication with other members, lowering seller rating, buying or selling restrictions, account suspension, application of fees, and recovery of expenses for policy monitoring and enforcement. All fees paid or payable in relation to listings or accounts on which we take any action will not be refunded or otherwise credited to your account.

[a_c_green]

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@pburn wrote:

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@sgd1952 wrote:

Thank you so much for your feedback on this issue/question. 

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If there is not a problem with the buyer's address--meaning it's potentially undeliverable, not that you find it "highly suspect."

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Agreed. I never bother Googling a buyer's address anyway; I assume there will not be a problem with it.

From a technical standpoint, the address is parsed and validated against the USPS database at the time you buy the on-line label (among other things, you might notice a buyer's 5-digit ZIP Code on the Shipping form magically expanding to a 9-digit ZIP on the label), so if you can print the label, the address is valid.

...and from a social standpoint, even a scammer wants to receive your item, so it's to no one's benefit to provide a "fake" address that the carrier can't find.

[soh.maryl]

If it's being delivered to a freight forwarder, and the seller ships with signature required, the signature will be that of the FF, not the buyer.  Assuming that you understand that.  

[a_c_green]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

If it's being delivered to a freight forwarder, and the seller ships with signature required, the signature will be that of the FF, not the buyer.  Assuming that you understand that.  

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Good point. Signature Confirmation doesn't require that the addressee himself sign for it. (That would be Restricted Delivery Signature Confirmation, which eBay does not require.) Any adult at the delivery address can sign for the package.

Realistically, it's not a big deal to verify that the package has been delivered to the Ship-To: address provided with the payment. In terms of an Item Not Received dispute, the package is officially Delivered at that point. Where the freight forwarder ships it after that is not relevant, and is beyond the scope of the seller's delivery obligation.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Seller needs to do their research / homework and decide from the advice posts given so far. New buyer who just registered! expensive item! Zero comments on feedback! location? I know some international buyers are now using U.S. freight forwarder locations as their address as if they are located in the U.S, but you should see also see foreign language in seller details / order details. 

A seller should never feel pressured!

I don't really care about the $750 eBay's signature requirement. The seller owns it! They call the shots that they are comfortable with.

[sgd1952]

Thank you all for such a quick and informative reply to our question. We will take everyone's suggestion in consideration  in our decision on how to proceed.  Getting such a response makes us happy to be part of this family of sellers although we are just a small mom & pop outfit. 

Sgd1952

[duffy4444]

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@a_c_green wrote:   ... In terms of an Item Not Received dispute, the package is officially Delivered at that point. Where the freight forwarder ships it after that is not relevant, and is beyond the scope of the seller's delivery obligation.

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     Except in the case of a credit card chargeback, whether domestic or international. Those INR and INAD cases are nearly always automatically lost by the seller, and are the ultimate win for either an honest buyer or a scam buyer.

     I'll often take a chance and ship to a FF being in the middle of a transaction, but not on a high-value item that I don't want to lose, in addition to the possible loss of my payment for it.

     It's up to the seller's discretion.

 - Duffy

[a_c_green]

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@duffy4444 wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:   ... In terms of an Item Not Received dispute, the package is officially Delivered at that point. Where the freight forwarder ships it after that is not relevant, and is beyond the scope of the seller's delivery obligation.

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     Except in the case of a credit card chargeback, whether domestic or international. Those INR and INAD cases are nearly always automatically lost by the seller, and are the ultimate win for either an honest buyer or a scam buyer.

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INR chargebacks are defensible; I've had those myself. NAD chargebacks are practically indefensible regardless of the Ship-To: address, given the bottleneck that eBay imposes on the seller in allowing only one page of rebuttal from the seller, along with their refusal to identify which card provider is handling the chargeback.

For an INR chargeback, eBay sends the card provider the tracking details proving delivery to the City and ZIP of the address provided with the payment. They tell the seller (in their boilerplate notification) that the seller does not need to provide anything further.

So I would agree that if the seller gets a Not As Described chargeback, he's basically hosed anyway, regardless of where the package was sent.

[pburn]

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@duffy4444 wrote:

     It's up to the seller's discretion.

 - Duffy

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But that's the whole point of the debate on whether to cancel. It's not up to the seller's discretion, unless they're willing to violating eBay policy.

Every seller who posts about a nonpaying transaction or a buyer who files for a return or any other complaint sellers post about is so outraged when a buyer violates--or appears to violate or is suspected of violating, with or without any proof--one of eBay's policies should also be outraged that a seller is willing to violate eBay's order cancellation policy. Many sellers who post often are also willing to violate eBay's prohibition regarding leaving negative feedback for buyers, violating yet another eBay policy.

You're not saying it's wrong for buyers to violate policies but perfectly fine for sellers to do it, right?  What's good for the goose, and all that . . .

Really--what's next? "I cancelled the transaction because I used Google maps to find the buyer's home. The house and neighborhood just didn't look like the place I person I'd sell to would live." Would that be okay? Where does this misuse of the "problem with buyer's address" cancellation end?