Help on shipping issue

[lm887862]

I’m not sure what to do - I missed the original email that said an item

of mine sold.  The buyer reached out to me over a message, and i immediately apologized, and sent out the package that morning.  After I sent the package and added the tracking number, the buyer told me that they will not be at the address after tomorrow- turns out they provided the address of a hotel.  I’m not really sure what to do.  They gave me another address to forward to but I’m unable to do that using USPS, and they won’t be able to pick it up from the local post office either if I have it held.  They’re asking me to have it returned to sender and then resend, which would cost me at least $37 total (original

shipping, cost to return to sender, and then resend).  What should I do? 

[titipeo]

Not your problem, buyer is the one that needs to provide address, you shipped to the address that was indicated on the shipping label. It is buyers' responsibility to provide a safe and secure address. Since they gave you a hotel address, they should be the ones to contact hotel and make their own arrangements regarding onforwarding or holding their mail for their arrival/departure. 

[ebooksdiva]

Never rely on eMails regarding a sale. It’s always best for the good of your seller account to monitor your seller hub frequently for sales. eMails can be delayed sent to spam or not arrive at all. I haven’t seen an eMail saying I sold an item in over 2 years and I never miss a sale because I monitor my seller hub.

As for the item you shipped, in order to maintain what little seller protection eBay offers sellers, you must always ship to the address shown in the order.  
If and/or when you receive the item back you should refund the buyers payment minus the original shipping, then he can repurchase using the correct mailing address. Personally your buyer should either have the Post office hold their mail for pick up or held at the hotel. 

[lm887862]

Thank you!

[titipeo]

I forgot to add that you should at least check the address online to see if there's any truth to his comment. But regardless, it is still not your problem. 

[a_c_green]

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@lm887862 wrote:

What should I do? 

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"Dear Doofus, 

Unfortunately we are required to ship only to the address we receive with your payment, which we have already done.

As you are still at your hotel address at this moment, we would suggest that you ask the hotel staff how you can have the package forwarded to you after it arrives. You would definitely not be the first guest asking about this (similar to guests who check out and leave something important behind), and they probably have a standard procedure for helping you with that."

[fashunu4eeuh]

well, this is a real pickle.

It is very important to check in to one’s selling account frequently. You never know—a problem could arise with one’s account, or a past buyer, eBay may have a comment/issue, etc. Messages on eBay always need to be monitored. What if you’d have a chargeback situation from a sale months ago? But onto the pressing dilemma:

I see this differently from some others here.

It looks like you had just the one listing, and it wasn’t cheap. So I’d be moving heaven and earth to get this package to the buyer since it was initially a seller mistake. That does make it your problem—not the buyer’s. It is now complicated by the fact the address has changed but the package already sent.

After they told you to resend to an alternate address, there needed to be another conversation with the buyer. The buyer should have alerted the hotel management that a package was coming and to make arrangements for it to be forwarded. Do you know if they did that?

Then you would need to reimburse or otherwise cover that postage. That is because you have a 2 day handling time that you failed to honor. That is why it is your issue to solve. Had the package been sent accordingly, but didnt arrive to the hotel in time—then it would have been the buyer’s problem to deal with.

[12345jamesstamps]

Do nothing and let package return to you. Buyer has to open a claim to get a refund after estimated date received. Sounds rather suspicious they opened an account just to buy something using a hotel address.

I don't know when this buyer opened an account....if it's a new account it might be where package returns to you and buyer can't get a refund. If account of buyer disappears meaning buyer is no longer a registered eBayer...you can't refund buyer and package will get back to you. I been around this block a few times!