Help! Buyer asking to ship to different address

[lynchmat32]

Today I sold a galaxy s7 edge as a “buy it now or best offer” the buyer bought it instantly and paid within seconds. Not long after I got a message from the buyer asking if I would ship it to another address for his sons birthday present because he forgot to put his sons address as the shipping address. So I said yes I would (thankfully it was at night. So it hasn’t been shipped Incase this is a scam). Then I got a notification from paypal saying “We recently notified you that a payment you received was made without the account holder's permission, or was the result of a transaction error.”. So I instantly messaged the buyer and said I just got a notification from PayPal and asked if he still wanted the phone. He replied “it was by mistake. Please send tomorrow” then sent another message “send the phone tomorrow, thanks”. That’s when red flags went off. So I did a quick search and turns out that this is a common way people scam but most importantly don’t ship to a different address then the one that was used for the PayPal account. So I messaged him and told him that under Ebay and PayPal’s protection policy that I can not send to a different address, but I can either refund then you can rebuy the phone after you have changed the address under your PayPal account or I can ship it to the address under your PayPal account. That way we are both protected and get the best service.  I tried to be polite as possible and not assume he is trying to scam me because it could be a honest mistake. Especially since he’s had an eBay account since 2003 and has 100% positive feedback out of 40 reviews. It is just very confusing for me. So I am waiting for a reply from him. If he doesn’t reply or wants to refund then rebuy will I still be charged for the original selling fees from eBay/PayPal? If so is there a way I can disbute that? Also will he be able to leave a bad review? If so, is there a way around that? Because I have 100% positive feedback. Lastly the money in PayPal is on hold since he tried didbuiting the charges and I have 7 days to respond, what should I respond with? Sorry for such a long message and so many questions I am mainly a buyer on eBay but have sold some items here and there. It has just confused me and alarmed me with this whole situation. 

[shevey55]

For now, do NOT send. The person who messaged you may not even be the buyer. A common scam is for someone to check sold listings and contact you claiming to be the buyer.

Others will reply with more information.

[llllady]

You got your answer right here:

Then I got a notification from paypal saying “We recently notified you that a payment you received was made without the account holder's permission, or was the result of a transaction error.”

Stop communicating with the scammer.  Always log into your PayPal account and make sure it tells you that it's okay to ship, and then only ship to the address given.  That is the only protection you will have when a scammer comes for you like the one you're dealing with now.

[shoptalkid]

For luxury items, such as cellphones,  I would refuse to ship to a different address.  Sellers reserve the right to cancel any transaction when buyers request an address changes after the purchase.   Just be sure to use "problem with buyers address" as the reason.   

For a small purchase , I will make an address change, since some buyers do forget to update their addresses.  A while back an eBay employee posted in the community something along the lines that there is some seller protection in these cases, but the buyer has to make the request through through eBay messaging and the seller needs to save all those messages.    The money back guarantee does NOT cover purchases when buyers ask for them to be shipped somewhere else. 

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@lynchmat32 wrote:

Today I sold a galaxy s7 edge as a “buy it now or best offer” the buyer bought it instantly and paid within seconds. Not long after I got a message from the buyer asking if I would ship it to another address for his sons birthday present because he forgot to put his sons address as the shipping address. So I said yes I would (thankfully it was at night. So it hasn’t been shipped Incase this is a scam). Then I got a notification from paypal saying “We recently notified you that a payment you received was made without the account holder's permission, or was the result of a transaction error.”. So I instantly messaged the buyer and said I just got a notification from PayPal and asked if he still wanted the phone. He replied “it was by mistake. Please send tomorrow” then sent another message “send the phone tomorrow, thanks”. That’s when red flags went off. So I did a quick search and turns out that this is a common way people scam but most importantly don’t ship to a different address then the one that was used for the PayPal account. So I messaged him and told him that under Ebay and PayPal’s protection policy that I can not send to a different address, but I can either refund then you can rebuy the phone after you have changed the address under your PayPal account or I can ship it to the address under your PayPal account. That way we are both protected and get the best service.  I tried to be polite as possible and not assume he is trying to scam me because it could be a honest mistake. Especially since he’s had an eBay account since 2003 and has 100% positive feedback out of 40 reviews. It is just very confusing for me. So I am waiting for a reply from him. If he doesn’t reply or wants to refund then rebuy will I still be charged for the original selling fees from eBay/PayPal? If so is there a way I can disbute that? Also will he be able to leave a bad review? If so, is there a way around that? Because I have 100% positive feedback. Lastly the money in PayPal is on hold since he tried didbuiting the charges and I have 7 days to respond, what should I respond with? Sorry for such a long message and so many questions I am mainly a buyer on eBay but have sold some items here and there. It has just confused me and alarmed me with this whole situation. 

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[swenson8781]

You should/will be able to cancel the transaction using the reason 'problem with buyers address'.  I'm not sure if the system auto refunds also when you do that (hopefully someone else will have the answer to that), but you will then get your selling fees back.  Been awhile since I cancelled a transaction, but I think the fees go back into your account at the end of the month as a credit on your invoice.

With regards to the Paypal issue, I've never experienced that one.  When you click on it what are your options for a response?  You might want to call Paypal to inquire what to do with that.  I'm assuming if you cancel the transaction and the eBay system refunds, then the Paypal dispute will also go away?  I'm just not sure on how that one works, sorry!

[muttlymob · Accepted solution]

So I messaged him and told him that under Ebay and PayPal’s protection policy that I can not send to a different address, but I can either refund then you can rebuy the phone after you have changed the address under your PayPal account or I can ship it to the address under your PayPal account.

PayPal has already told you that it is likely a fraudulent payment.  DO NOT wait for this "buyer's" reply.  DO NOT send anything to him.

Especially since he’s had an eBay account since 2003 and has 100% positive feedback out of 40 reviews.

The person you are messaging has probably hijacked the account.  The actual account owner probably does not know any of this is going on.

Lastly the money in PayPal is on hold since he tried didbuiting the charges and I have 7 days to respond, what should I respond with?

Do you mean there is an Unauthorized Use claim through PayPal?  If so, are there instructions in the claim on what to do since you have not (AND WILL NOT) ship the package?

Finally, this is meant to be helpful and hopefully it won't come across as snarky.  If the request to send a high priced item to a different address and the notification from PayPal that it was without the account holder's permission did not set off red flags, then you should not be selling high priced items.  Start off small.  Read both eBay and PayPal buyer and seller protections to see what you need to do and how easy it is for a seller to lose.

[lynchmat32]

I didn’t take that as snarky at all, like you said you’re just trying to help. That’s a reason I asked this on this thread, for help and my questions to be answered but also that way when (unfortunately) this happens to someone else they may happen to see this thread before getting scammed. But yes there was a case opened through PayPal for in “unauthorized charge”, there was a couple choices to choose. One was “ill issue a refund on my own” (something along those lines), “I’ve already shipped the item”, and this is the one I chose but I think I read somewhere on a post that I may still be getting charged the eBay fee’s but “issue a refund now”. Hopefully I chose the right option, but I really just want this case closed so I can repost/sell this phone because I am actually selling it for my brother. But all and all I know it seemed  naïve of me but it definitely set off red flags right when I got that email from PayPal because you can’t “accidentally” open up a case. Then him demanding it be shipped the next day, I knew better then that, I just didn’t know how to handle it. But I appreciate your reply/help! Hopefully this can get settled and closed without repercussions on my account. 

[nawlinsron2]

Run, Forrest...Run.
But 1st, go to the Resolution Center and cancel.
"Some is wrong with buyer's address" is a reason choice.

[lynchmat32]

Thank you to everyone who replied to this thread! I appreciate your help. I am definitely not gonna ship it and am currently in the process of refunding so I can report and block this buyers account. Hopefully when this happens to someone else they stumble upon this thread as a guide. I knew people scammed over eBay I just have never heard of this scam before but turns out it’s a very common scam. I’m hoping I can resolve this problem as quick as possible without any repercussions to my account so I can repost/sell this phone. Thank you all! I appreciate all the help!!!

[sandmansales]

It is a scam.

-100% of buyers on ebay have 100% positive feedback. Feedback on this site is meaningless.

-Never ship to any address other than the paypal confirmed address. Never. Period.

It seems new sellers and even veterans have a hard time saying NO to buyers. It's simple.

Dear buyer,

I'm sorry but for your protection I am unable to ship to any address other than your paypal confirmed address. Perhaps you can forward it to your (son, daughter, uncle, nephew) upon arrival.

Thank you for your business.

Ebay is not complicated unless you make it so and make buyer's problems your problems.

[a_c_green]

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@sandmansales wrote:

Never ship to any address other than the paypal confirmed address. Never. Period.

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Speaking of which, can someone point me to the relevant link for that in either eBay or PayPal's help pages? (Preferably eBay's)

I'm having no luck finding that in writing, even though I know it's out there somewhere, and I need the link as a reference to show to someone else, about how you shouldn't change the Ship-To: address to another location because you'll lose seller protection that way (and lose an INR, etc.). Of course, now that I need it, I can't find it. Pointers welcome...

[muttlymob]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@sandmansales wrote:

Never ship to any address other than the paypal confirmed address. Never. Period.

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Speaking of which, can someone point me to the relevant link for that in either eBay or PayPal's help pages? (Preferably eBay's)

I'm having no luck finding that in writing, even though I know it's out there somewhere, and I need the link as a reference to show to someone else, about how you shouldn't change the Ship-To: address to another location because you'll lose seller protection that way (and lose an INR, etc.). Of course, now that I need it, I can't find it. Pointers welcome...

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I can't find it in eBay, not in Seller Protection, not in the Money Back Guarantee, or other associated help pages.  If it's still in writing it is deeply hidden.

You won't find it in PayPal either because the term "Confirmed Address" no longer plays any part in PayPal Seller Protection.  Here is the relevant passage for ship-to addresses:

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#seller-protection

Basic requirements

To be eligible for PayPal’s Seller Protection, you must meet all of the following requirements

• The primary address for your PayPal account must be in the United States.
• The item must be a physical, tangible good that can be shipped.
• You must ship the item to the shipping address on the transaction details page in your PayPal account for the transaction.  If you originally ship the item to the recipient's shipping address on the transaction details page but the item is later redirected to a different address, you will not be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection. We therefore recommend not using a shipping service that is arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.
• ......

[lilybean99]

I wouldn't have hesitated to call Paypal immediately!

You just go to Paypal's website and log in to your account. They may have put a hold on the money already and should be handling the resolution of the problem for/with you. You'll see more details by looking at the transaction, but you still need to call. If you don't see contact info within the transaction or see that you have a message in your account, there's contact info under the "Help" section. It may take you through prompts to get to the right department, but I know you'll get the prompts when you call.

Not only do you want them to tell you exactly what you need to do (or not do), but you should provide them with the shipping info the buyer gave you for their investigation.

A few weeks ago I received 3 notifications of fraudelent charges made on my paypal debit card totalling almost $8k made within 1 minute for the same business (not ebay). I INSTANTLY called paypal!! The charges wiped out my balance leaving no money in that account and caused me problems that lasted 2 weeks. I would've LOVED to have known where those purchases were being shipped so I could've filed a police report! The business turned out to be fraudelent, but that a whole 'nother long story!

Good luck!

[chicboutique31]

tell them to go back and read Ebay policies that you can only ship to the address they provide on their account. This way you are covered. If you sent that phone and they claim any issue you just shot yourself in the foot! always follow policies and all is good!