Need some help on a purchase from France

[sextons-sweet-deals]

So, with all this tariff junk going on and the possibility of more scammers because things will get more expensive, I had a sale today, but it is a little confusing. Never had one like this. 

1. Buyer is located in France

2. shipping address is: 

Torrance, CA 90501-4155

3. The buyer's name is nowhere similar in any way to the above address names.

4. I Googled map the address. It is too small to a be a freight forwarder in my opinion.

5. Buyer is in France, but package going to California. I would think more of an east coast freight forwarder service. 

Has anyone else ever had a similar shipping issue? 

Thank you

[tobaccocardyahoo]

This is shipping to a bookseller in California ultimately destined to a toy seller in France.

Probably an informal arrangement to consolidate shipments.

I used to get lots of orders which shipped to a friend or relative in the US.

It is like any other domestic order. You ship to the address on the order, and if the buyer decides he is unhappy, Ebay will probably make him happy.

[jonathanbrightlight]

I never understood the obsession with searching out information about buyers.  They pay, you ship. To the address specified at checkout.  That's all it takes.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

thank you for the positive advice. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Don't come crying here when you do have an issue where you have got burned for not checking out your buyer's profile / feedback.

This is the internet. There is no person-to-person transaction. Your electronic money can disappear in a blink of an eye and will probably never be recovered / refunded without hours of labor at your end trying to fight it and talk to a 'real' person on the phone. 

[slippinjimmy]

@sextons-sweet-deals 

Has anyone else ever had a similar shipping issue? 

Sure, but it's not an "issue".

• Your French buyer may be visiting the US
• Your French buyer may be temporarily in the US attending school
• Your French Buyer May be temporarily in the US on an H1B Visa (working)
• Your French buyer may be buying the item as a gift for an American resident
• Your French buyer may be using a friend as a forwarder
• Your French buyer may be visiting the US in the future and is using a friend to accumulate stuff they will pick up and bring back to France

I would call this a "situation", there really isn't any issue, they bought, they paid, you ship just like any order.

At any given time there are about 10 Million (legal) non-residents visiting the US, one of the most common activities is.......BUYING STUFF.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Too many maybes!😀

Buyer has been on eBay since 2010

Will ship with signature required.

[slippinjimmy]

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@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

Too many maybes!😀

Buyer has been on eBay since 2010

Will ship with signature required.

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What is a signature going to do for you? Unless the order total exceeds $750 it will do nothing except maybe create delivery issues.

You better inform the buyer that you are doing this.

[stuff4divas]

@sextons-sweet-deals   i had a sale, a juicy couture bag (buyer left me a false negative feedback saying they were returning it, but never did) but I digress ...

That bag shipped to a brick and mortar store that allowed packages to be shipped there and people would pick up their packages from that store. Don't remember the specifics, but I thought it odd.

[toysaver]

You don't ship to France so the only way this buyer qualified to make a purchase was to provide a US address.  The inherent danger is if the item is damaged who's responsible?  The CA guy who reships it, customs or you?

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Ah! The question that everyone wants to challenge.

Signature required will weed out the scammer and the package will probably be returned to seller in a few weeks. 

Just makes me laugh at so many who are against spending around $4 bucks for signature for verified / safe delivery, but you can drop $10 every morning for that overpriced coffee. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Signature required was stated in listing details.

Did they read? I don't know.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

Sellers just need to keep their guard up. 

If something seems odd, report it if needed and post for helpful comments.

[glorybells]

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@jonathanbrightlight wrote:

I never understood the obsession with searching out information about buyers.  They pay, you ship. To the address specified at checkout.  That's all it takes.

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And much of the information that you can find online is not accurate.  I recently did a search on myself just to see what was out there.  Multiple sites list me as being deceased.  You might want to argue the point, but I can assure you that I am definitely NOT deceased.

[jonathanbrightlight]

Ok, I won't.  In fact, I've literally never come crying here about any transaction.