How to handle wrong ship to address and getting package back

[leareamc]

Had a buyer who had the wrong ship to address on file and now the package has been returned to me. Is the only option we have is refunding the buyer, relisting it, and having them buy again with the correct address? Or since the item was shipped to the proper address provided, will I NOT be in any buyer protection mess IF I simply tell them to paypal me the money for shipping and reship it to their new address? 

[slippinjimmy]

You CAN do either, me I don't worry about either buyer or seller protection because for me it so rarely has ever come into play.

I would do the later but if you want to be fully covered for Seller protection you would need to do the former.

If it was one of the cheaper items you have sold recently then all the more reason to keep it simple, maybe for the few relatively expensive items better to go the more complicated route.

[hillbillymedia]

Has the buyer agreed to re-pay the shipping? If so I would send them a paypal request for it instead of trying to do it thru ebay messages if it`s not a real expensive item. You can print a new label from the original sale and change the buyers address then. It will also provide you with a new tracking number.

[slippinjimmy]

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@hillbillymedia wrote:

Has the buyer agreed to re-pay the shipping? If so I would send them a paypal request for it instead of trying to do it thru ebay messages if it`s not a real expensive item. You can print a new label from the original sale and change the buyers address then. It will also provide you with a new tracking number.

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The only problem with that method is that eBay will also pick up the new shipping date which could get you a late shipping ding. One of the reason it's better to use a third-party postage provider.

[escuintla]

Cancel, refund money, renegotiate. 

If they still want it, they will purchase it again. You may lose the shipping expenses. It is worth it to sell it again?

If you change the address on record, I don't know, you may not be protected by Paypal. Let the experts on the subject chime in. 

[poanann_0]

You could have the buyer open a return for a buyer's remorse reason, then refund without them having to send anything back, relist etc...

[moo*cow*corner]

I had this happen not too long ago. I contacted the buyer. Buyer provided the correct address and asked me to send it and then they'd pay me for the postage. Um, no.

Buyer said they still wanted the items, and agreed to pay postage to reship. I sent a Paypal money request. I waited 10 days, with a reminder after 5 days, but they never paid.

I sent a refund for original item price only through Paypal. I didn't do an ebay cancel, because the only option is to refund the buyer's total payment. I wasn't willing to refund the original $10 shipping in order to get $2.50 FVF refunded.

No further issues.

[bigdeals.etc]

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@leareamc wrote:

Had a buyer who had the wrong ship to address on file and now the package has been returned to me. Is the only option we have is refunding the buyer, relisting it, and having them buy again with the correct address? Or since the item was shipped to the proper address provided, will I NOT be in any buyer protection mess IF I simply tell them to paypal me the money for shipping and reship it to their new address? 

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What I do is a combination of what you and others have said here. This happens to me ALL THE TIME. Most of the time it's from buyers who forget to put their apartment or unit number. Other times it's when a buyer moves and forgets to update their address.

The easiest (and usually the most beneficial for me) way I do is immediately send a paypal request for the shipping charge to their email on file. I then send a message explaining their address error and telling them if they still want the item and agree to pay the shipping charge, to just pay that request and all is good. If they refuse, then I'll refund them their payment less the shipping charge and any ebay/paypal fees that may incur. Sometimes I can get CS agents to agree to FVF refunds on these manual Paypal buyer refunds, sometimes I can't. If they paid to have it re-sent, I use a 3rd party postage and don't link it to the ebay transaction. If the buyer ends up filing INR, I'll win anyway due to the buyer not leaving a valid address.

The times I needed to call ebay for advice or support on some of these issues, so far all of them have agreed that this practice is fine and more than fair. The only thing to watch out for is your verbiage in your message to them. Sometimes the bots might catch you and think you are trying to circumvent fees because you are asking them to pay outside of ebay... not knowing that you are just asking for a re-payment of shipping.

[hillbillymedia]

@bigdeals.etc  " I use a 3rd party postage and don't link it to the ebay transaction. If the buyer ends up filing INR, I'll win anyway due to the buyer not leaving a valid address."

Jimmy suggested this above as well but I`m not understanding why. Can you explain why?

In theory, the original item should show "delivered" when you get the item back so if you re-send the item thru the original sale you still have tracking that shows the item delivered in the event of an INR. AFAIK a bot can`t distinguish where it was delivered but only that it was delivered.

There are several different ways to handle it when this type of thing happens. I have always gone with my gut and off communication with the buyer as to how to handle it when it comes up. I`m in no way suggesting to shaft the buyer. That said, there is also no reason a seller should accumulate any loss due to a buyer providing an incorrect address.

[hillbillymedia]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@hillbillymedia wrote:

Has the buyer agreed to re-pay the shipping? If so I would send them a paypal request for it instead of trying to do it thru ebay messages if it`s not a real expensive item. You can print a new label from the original sale and change the buyers address then. It will also provide you with a new tracking number.

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The only problem with that method is that eBay will also pick up the new shipping date which could get you a late shipping ding. One of the reason it's better to use a third-party postage provider.

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I`m sorry but I don`t understand this. Not trying to be a wiseguy by any means but, the item has been "delivered" (assuming the seller printed the original label thru ebay and the post office did their job) and more than likely already late, according to original tracking.

[bigdeals.etc]

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@hillbillymedia wrote:

@bigdeals.etc  " I use a 3rd party postage and don't link it to the ebay transaction. If the buyer ends up filing INR, I'll win anyway due to the buyer not leaving a valid address."

Jimmy suggested this above as well but I`m not understanding why. Can you explain why?

In theory, the original item should show "delivered" when you get the item back so if you re-send the item thru the original sale you still have tracking that shows the item delivered in the event of an INR. AFAIK a bot can`t distinguish where it was delivered but only that it was delivered.

There are several different ways to handle it when this type of thing happens. I have always gone with my gut and off communication with the buyer as to how to handle it when it comes up. I`m in no way suggesting to shaft the buyer. That said, there is also no reason a seller should accumulate any loss due to a buyer providing an incorrect address.

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Typically I think you are right. But I recall instances where the buyer would manually call ebay and get a sympathetic agent. Both buyer and agent will misunderstand the reason for the new linked tracking and may possibly side with the buyer (which they actually shouldn't) and that would open up a can of worms for you to fix. Using an unlinked tracking just makes it cleaner and less for a sympathetic agent to misunderstand. At least that's why I do it. Linking it can further complicate things, but this is a rarity.

OT, I've still lost cases like this when the buyer refuses to pay and the item never arrived back to me (possibly lost, not sure). I would win the ebay INR, but the buyer would then take it to Paypal which I would lose. TBH, those guys are probably scammers.