I sent an item with the address the buyer supplied. It was 'Returned to Sender' by the USPS.

[sitonmycar]

I sent (free shipping for buyer) an item with the address the buyer supplied. It was 'Returned to Sender' by the USPS. Then the buyer asked that I shell out more to send it again. Buyer then filed a bad feedback, criticizing my attitude. How can I have this feedback removed. It was the buyer's fault for the wrong address. If he has an issue with not receiving his  item, it is with the usps, not me.

[wastingtime101]

If the buyer opened a formal non-receipt claim and eBay closed it in your favor then they may remove the neg. If there was no MBG case then the neg may not be eligible for removal, but you could try by sending a request here: https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp

If you get denied then I suggest sending the buyer a partial refund and after that's done, ask them if they're willing to revise the feedback. Actually, I'd send the partial refund regardless of whether eBay removes the neg.

----------

This is my standard advice for RTS (returned to sender) packages. Take the parts that are relevant to your situation.

You have a few options. You should decide which route you'll be taking and communicate with the buyer, but wait until the item is returned (and delivered) to you before you take any of the following actions.

• You can refund the buyer the item cost minus original shipping and minus a portion of your eBay fees (fee credits are prorated on a partial refund so you won't get back fees on the shipping amount you withhold). Go to your orders page, find the transaction and select "send refund." On the next page enter the amount. After that, relist the item and if you still want to work with this buyer you can tell them to repurchase it with the correct name/address.
• Have the buyer sort out their address issue then pay for re-shipping. Send them an invoice through PayPal or give them your PayPal e-mail. This is post-sale so it's OK to exchange e-mail addresses. It's also OK to ship to a different address because it's technically not tied to the original transaction. You would not purchase the shipping label through eBay or upload tracking to the transaction. You would purchase it from an alternate site like pirateship.com or paypal.com/shipnow and you can send the buyer the new tracking # through e-mail or eBay messages.
• A different way to accomplish buyer payment for re-shipping is to create an eBay listing for the shipping cost (bumping it up to factor in eBay fees) and having the buyer purchase it, entering their correct address at checkout. You could purchase a shipping label through eBay for that transaction.
• You can cancel the transaction "problem with address" which will trigger a full refund to the buyer and your FVF would be credited.
• You can do nothing. The buyer's MBG protection is voided when there's a package delivery attempt. I don't recommend this because even though you'll win an INR (item not received) claim on eBay, there's nothing stopping that buyer from going to their credit card to file a dispute and why deal with all that? I also think handling it before it gets to this stage with a partial refund is the "right" thing to do if you're not going to make reshipping arrangements.
• You might also want to direct the buyer to this page so their address is updated for future purchases: Account Settings: Addresses

[sitonmycar]

I just refunded the buyer. I can stomach that. Paid "free" shipping to an address the PO rejected. The buyer maintains the address is good. What I can not stomach is this buyer filed bad feedback because he objected to my 'attitude'. Where is ebay. This bad feedback should be a no brainer to be retracted.

[gamersbaystore]

Had you cancelled before arguing with them to begin with, they wouldn't have been able to leave negative feedback. You're going to have to fight it out with ebay to get it removed now.

In situations like this, I cancel the sale citing problem with buyers address the moment the item comes back, then notify the buyer the post office has issues with their address and that they need to take it up with them. 

If buyers try to argue with me over it, I remind them I am not the post office, and I'm not willing to argue over it.

If the buyer asks me to resend the item, the answer is no and they go on the block list. I don't see any logic in resending something to an address you already know is bad and to a buyer who's obviously shady to begin with.

Transactions flagged by USPS as unverifiable is a huge red flag to me.

This is often the result of scammers trying to having items sent to an address the postal service does not have registered under their name. USPS often flags these shipments and returns to sender in order to prevent fraud.

For instance, if someone were to try and send a package to my someone's home in another state with my name on it, USPS would respond that the address is not verified and refuse to deliver it.

[wastingtime101]

---

@sitonmycar wrote:

I just refunded the buyer. I can stomach that. Paid "free" shipping to an address the PO rejected. The buyer maintains the address is good. What I can not stomach is this buyer filed bad feedback because he objected to my 'attitude'. Where is ebay. This bad feedback should be a no brainer to be retracted.

---

eBay comes down to technicalities very often when it comes to FB removal.

If the buyer opened a non-receipt claim, that claim was escalated and eBay found in your favor, then you would have been protected from neg FB. And you could have issued a refund after the case was closed out.

Since there was no case, it comes down to trying to request removal at the link I posted above and making an argument in the comments box:

Item was non-deliverable because the buyer supplied a bad address. When the item was returned to me I refunded the buyer in full even though I was not obligated per eBay policy as the buyer's MBG protection was voided when they supplied a bad address. Please remove the neg FB buyer left because they were unhappy the package was not deliverable.

Then hope the rep reviewing the case will be able to remove it within policy. Good luck!

[12345jamesstamps]

First thing to do is take photo with information on package or envelope saying why it was returned...and sending it to buyer. The buyer has to get an understanding of what happened. I have had items returned to me with why it was returned. That would have helped. Item package will say why returned on package or envelope.

You can request a revision on feedback from buyer in the 30 days allowed timeframe.

So, everyone does make a mistake. I had mailed something to someone in a country by using the USPS and someone there labeled my envelope as undeliverable. I think the country was Kazakhstan. Anyway, I walked into the post office with the return envelope and gave it to my favorite clerk there and said this was returned as undeliverable. She redelivered it..costing me nothing...and buyer got it. And this had no tracking.

And those words" shell out more to send it again"...if in an email...I can see why the feedback.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@gamersbaystore wrote:

Had you cancelled before arguing with them to begin with, they wouldn't have been able to leave negative feedback. You're going to have to fight it out with ebay to get it removed now.

In situations like this, I cancel the sale citing problem with buyers address the moment the item comes back, then notify the buyer the post office has issues with their address and that they need to take it up with them. 

If buyers try to argue with me over it, I remind them I am not the post office, and I'm not willing to argue over it.

If the buyer asks me to resend the item, the answer is no and they go on the block list. I don't see any logic in resending something to an address you already know is bad and to a buyer who's obviously shady to begin with.

Transactions flagged by USPS as unverifiable is a huge red flag to me.

This is often the result of scammers trying to having items sent to an address the postal service does not have registered under their name. USPS often flags these shipments and returns to sender in order to prevent fraud.

For instance, if someone were to try and send a package to my someone's home in another state with my name on it, USPS would respond that the address is not verified and refuse to deliver it.

---

Once it's shipped, you can't cancel with problem with address. I had a few items come back to me with bad addresses and the cancel option is gone. I can only just go an issue a refund (because I got the item back).

C.