Forwarding Service

[terryselling]

I've sold a few things on here, but most recently trying to sell a used laptop. Twice now I've canceled orders as red flags came up as Russian names. I researched the shipping addresses and both are warehouses out of deleware associated with forwarding to eastern Europe. I've seen some saying it's ok and others say no. Why would eBay allow this? Anyway to prevent from selling to a forwarding service? 

[monroe67]

"If it's   NewCastle,  DE 19720   

NO

100% SCAM"

My eBay selling ID has sold many things to buyers with Russian names and has sent those many things to addresses in
New Castle, Delaware.  I have never had any problem or INR claim from any of those buyers or any of those transactions.  

Somewhere in this thread, another poster suggested that sellers might cancel a sale with a delivery address in New Castle, Delaware using the reason "problem with address."  No; don't do that. 

That is not a valid reason for cancellation for sellers who proclaim proudly that they will ship to United States addresses, and maybe even use the word "only." 

Why?  Because Delaware is one of the 50 United States.  There should be no "problem" with mailing anything to Delaware.  

[chapeau-noir]

That's a decent deal on a nice laptop with an attractive price. I have relations in Russia and supply chains get all skrooed up with international shipping. It's understandable that someone there in need of a decent laptop is going to use a freight forwarder to purchase it. I see no scam here. 

Once you ship to the FF (I've shipped to them many times), they take care of the rest of it. 

[mam98031]

---

@pls-consignments wrote:

---

@varebelrose wrote:

Shipping to a forwarding service is one of the safest transactions one can do on this site.
Selling laptops, maybe not so much.

---

You're speading it a little too thick my friend.

---

Why is that?  I agree with @varebelrose .  I've had lots of transactions shipped to a freight forwarder over the years.  I've been actively selling year round for over 25 years.  In all that time I don't think I had a problem with any of the buyers except maybe one.  I sure can't say that about US buyers.

Besides, we have seller protection that is pretty good on this type of shipment.  If tracking shows delivered, then at the FF's address is where the seller's responsibility ends.  This is stated in the MBG.  

Exclusions and special coverage when the item doesn't match the listing

The item was collected by a third party on behalf of the buyer	Not covered
Withdrawal of the items in your Collection when stored in the eBay vault	Not covered   Withdrawals may be covered separately by the eBay vault.
The buyer arranged their own shipping method, such as a courier pickup	Not covered
The item was sent to another address after original delivery	Covered: The item was forwarded as part of an eBay program such as: Global Shipping Program eBay International Shipping eBay Authenticity Guarantee Not covered: The buyer used third-party freight forwarding or mail redirection
Trading Cards	Covered: If the seller doesn't offer returns, the buyer must request a return no later than 3 calendar days after the estimated or actual delivery date If the seller offers returns, the buyer must request a return within the seller's stated return window
A part or accessory covered by eBay Guaranteed Fit doesn't fit the buyer's vehicle	Covered Returns will be treated as not matching the listing if the buyer selected "Doesn't fit my vehicle" as the return reason.
The buyer returned the item used or damaged	Covered: The use was necessary to determine the quality or functioning of the item, or the damage was the result of that use Otherwise, some sellers may deduct the loss in value from the amount refunded to the buyer. See our Condition of returned items policy.
There are strong indicators that the item is counterfeit	Covered: The buyer must request a return but may not be required to ship the item back to the seller
The item is hazardous to ship
The item no longer has value For example: A perishable item that has expired A ticket for a cancelled event A live animal that has expired
The item arrived after the latest estimated delivery date	Covered The return is treated as if the item didn't match the listing.
Event tickets	Covered The latest date for the buyer to request a return is 30 calendar days after the estimated or actual delivery date or 7 calendar days after the event date, whichever is later.

[soh.maryl]

Uh, just a matter of semantics.  You are not selling to a forwarding service.  You are selling to a buyer who uses a freight forwarding service to shop with US sellers.

You will find them in Oregon, for instance, and in Delaware, because those states do not have a state sales tax.  The ones in OR are mostly used by buyers in Asia or the Orient.  The ones in DE are used by European buyers.  

[soh.maryl]

When a buyer who uses a freight forwarding service makes a purchase, that purchase IS shipped to the USA. That's the point of his using the FF in the first place.  

[inhawaii]

---

@terryselling wrote:

Twice now I've canceled orders as red flags came up as Russian names. 

---

I think ebay needs to add that to the list of reasons for cancelling  a sale.

* Out of stock or damaged

* Buyer asked to cancel

* Issue with buyers address

*Buyer had a Russian name.  < NEW REASON

For those of you who don't know me ... I"M KIDDING.

[*casey*]

@terryselling 

I'll stand by my  previous advice that it's  "The Delaware Scam" -  100 % SCAM .

"Twice now I've canceled orders as red flags came up as Russian names"

If you go  the top of the scammer's  buyer's  feedback page, it will show you where  they're registered.

You've obviously googled the scam and you'll also find plenty of threads about it if you search the forums here.

The following is just one example .

The scammer waited for it to be delivered to the Delaware freight forwarding address then immediately  filed a return claiming "did not fit".

This was then followed by a  fake tracking return scam.

And as the last poster on the following thread wrote:

"buyer didn't lose MBG coverage because the delivery and "return" were to/from that domestic address. (Your projector actually reshipped to your buyer, but eBay sees that it was returned as "does not fit" to you.) 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/Being-scammed-by-a-buyer-with-a-Delaware-freight-forwarding/m...

Terry, I can almost guarantee  you'll lose your money and your item if you go ahead with this transaction and post your laptop.

Never discount payment with stolen credit card details and a bank chargeback either.

Don't do it !

[terryselling]

Sold it locally bc of your advice. But just got scammed on a docking station. Buyer received it and said it's not working. Couldn't contact eBay and buyer requested cancellation. So I had to pay in order to keep my account in order. Done selling here. 

[terryselling]

Wonderful. Selling 2 of my old phones. Ugh

[terryselling]

I think I underpriced it. Sold it locally. But thanks for the advice. 

[albertabrightalberta]

---

@terryselling wrote:

Anyway to prevent from selling to a forwarding service? 

---

To be clear, you aren't selling to a forwarding service. You're selling to a buyer who USES a forwarding service to ship their purchases to them in their country. 

I just shipped an item today to a buyer who used a New Castle, Delaware address. Once tracking shows delivery, I'm home free! 

[gurlcat]

🤣 All you cancelers are going to get busted one day.  I can hear the phone call now, "B-but I saw people in the Community saying they cancel so that's why I did it!" 

You have a sale to a registered United States address  -YOU SHIP.    No eBay can't force you to, but they sure can suspend or close your account.  Not to mention every one of those cancelled buyers can give you a negative feedback, which you would deserve.  

Oh, and Russians and Ukrainians used to be a good 20% of my sales, mostly using FF's but a few using EIS.  Paid full price on my Buy It Now listings, often won my auctions no matter how high they had to bid, paid immediately, and never complained.  I can't wait for that war to end so they can all get their eBay accounts unlocked, however many are still alive and have money left to spend.   BEST BUYERS EVER.  

[broto_64]

---

@pls-consignments wrote:

---

@terryselling wrote:

I've sold a few things on here, but most recently trying to sell a used laptop. Twice now I've canceled orders as red flags came up as Russian names. I researched the shipping addresses and both are warehouses out of deleware associated with forwarding to eastern Europe. I've seen some saying it's ok and others say no. Why would eBay allow this? Anyway to prevent from selling to a forwarding service? 

---

I had a bad experience with a freight-forwarder that was used in a scam. They are an easy way for scammers to claim INR's and charge backs on this platform. These purchases will almost always be for higher priced items. They often use fictitious names that eBay is unable to vet, including fake extensions such as "Attn:" or "C/O". Too risky for me, so I cancel with "issue with address". 

Who wants the added risks on top of everything else?

---

Cancelling for reason "problems with address" or "buyer asked" when that is not actually the case is a serious policy violation. Not all buyers are aware of this but sellers can be reported and if ebay finds that the seller abused the cancellation reason they will issue a defect - A few to several of these will put that seller's account in jeopardy.

[inhawaii]

---

@broto_64 wrote:

---

Cancelling for reason "problems with address" or "buyer asked" when that is not actually the case is a serious policy violation. Not all buyers are aware of this but sellers can be reported and if ebay finds that the seller abused the cancellation reason they will issue a defect - A few to several of these will put that seller's account in jeopardy.

---

I am in no way condoning lying, however no one is 100% sure what the punishment is for lying about the reason for a cancellation or how many times it's allowed.

[gurlcat]

This message (shared in numerous threads here) is what eBay sends if they catch you once.  -A freebie, a warning.  Looks like after that it's a 3-day suspension (I would guess 'per incident' but I don't know).