Same buyer ID, erratically different addresses, asks to "not send invoice..."

[r_dodson]

All the sudden I have two buyers that are having me send to 5 different addresses, and leaving a note asking I "Please wrap this order well and do not attach a receipt because I do not want my friends to see it. Thank You."  Or similar.

One of them gave me an address that had no zip extention, and as is my habit, I checked with the Post office website.  The address does not exist in it's form on the "View Order Detail" page.  Checking the other purchases by the same buyer, I see they're in completely different parts of the country.  Further, the buyer's ID is based in Indonesia.

Does anyone have any input on this?  Since I sell low price items, and cannot control what happens on the other end, I do not offer returns, so what is sold, stays that way, and I suppose if I did, I would have them pay to return the items...

[chrysylys]

You're being used by dropshippers to fulfill their orders from sales either here or on another site.

Be sure you DO include a packing slip with your Sellername and/or Store name, the item number and the price paid.  They end buyers may come back directly to you if they want more widgets.

[r_dodson]

Ok!  Thank you!  Dropshipping.  I knew there was a concept, but I didn't have a name.  I was actually thinking of getting my server up and written with links to the eBay pages, and adding the URL to the labels on each packet.  It's not as aggressive as your solution, but might serve the same purpose.

[rdj831]

I sell an item, I get paid, I ship it to the address eBay provides. Always include a packing slip with no price. No brainer.

I dont care who, what, why or where if the money is there.

[duggmills]

Send invoice.

Include note.

Don't show to friends.

[a_c_green]

Okay, the piece of paper in question is not an invoice but a packing slip. An invoice is a request for payment; the packing slip is what goes into the package for shipment.

I would put the packing slip in the package anyway, regardless of that request, as the dropshipper (it's pretty obvious in this case that that's what this is) isn't going to know anyway; only the buyer will see it. Snip the prices off it if you like, but leave the Ship From and Ship To addresses in there, as it provides a backup in case the outer label gets too defaced to read. (Your return name and address will be on the outside shipping label anyway, so it's no secret who's really sending the package.)

[myboardid]

HOLD IT!  There have been instances reported here recently of potential thieves messaging sellers after the end of an auction requesting a change of address.  The actual buyer has no idea this is happening, as the thief redirects the purchase to his own address.  Be SURE the person asking for the change is the original buyer - check with that buyer to be sure they are the one asking for the change. 

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

In general packing slips have no dollar amounts. They exist to make sure the items make it into the shipment in the correct quantity.

If it has dollar amounts it's an invoice although since it's after payment it's a paid invoice.

[retrose1]

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@myboardidwrote:

HOLD IT!  There have been instances reported here recently of potential thieves messaging sellers after the end of an auction requesting a change of address.  The actual buyer has no idea this is happening, as the thief redirects the purchase to his own address.  Be SURE the person asking for the change is the original buyer - check with that buyer to be sure they are the one asking for the change. 

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The OP is selling seeds at about $2.50 an order.  I'm finding it tough to think that a scammer would bother.  But a reseller who is using the OP's listing on their gardening website would.

I would include the packing slip with your email and ebay id AND your prices on it in every shipment.  OR raise your prices a bit, so the profit won't be going to a dropshipping middle man.

[dbmm-media]

as long as you ship to the paypal provided address your good.

i would enclose a packing slip.

[a_c_green]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote: 
If it has dollar amounts it's an invoice although since it's after payment it's a paid invoice.

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Well, putting this in eBay terms only, it's just a Packing Slip, and in fact the eBay Packing Slip also includes the words "This is not an invoice" just below the heading, to avoid any confusion about what it is or is not. Other companies may do their shipping paperwork differently, of course...

[r_dodson]

Thank you all for your responses.  My take on this is the idea of reselling is nothing new, and about 90% of my sales are from reselling.  The difference is, I am doing the packaging, artwork, creating the shipping containers, photography and coding.

I'm not really concerned with how the seed gets sold.  However, I don't like the idea of somebody messing my image up, so to speak.  In this case, the reseller/drop shipper has sent me an address that I cannot resolve, and will not answer email I sent to point out this fallacy.

The one problem I see might cause real trouble is, buying then selling the product, having the buyer discover they can get it for less from another place (In this case directly from me.), returning the item at a cost to the producer/seller to buy the same item for less, causing the producer or original seller a loss.

I wanted to toss this out "there," to see what other sellers may think on the subject and tap into that wisdom.  One that didn't occur to me, they could be using my work to sell on their website, or listings in other outlets.  I will look into that and see what I can come up with, but the dropshipper with the lowest number of feedback doesn't seem to have anything else happening.  They must be selling online somewhere...

[18704d]

Raise your prices.

Cut out the middle men... This will solve all your concerns.

Lynn

[a_c_green]

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@r_dodson wrote:  
In this case, the reseller/drop shipper has sent me an address that I cannot resolve, and will not answer email I sent to point out this fallacy.

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So the buyer has paid you; is that correct? And the address accompanying the PayPal payment will not work for printing a Shipping label? (That is, usps.com can't verify the ZIP code for that address as provided?)

If you can't get the label to print due to a malformed address with payment, you can cancel due to problem with buyer's address.

[banana*shoe*boutique]

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@r_dodsonwrote:

Thank you all for your responses.  My take on this is the idea of reselling is nothing new, and about 90% of my sales are from reselling.  The difference is, I am doing the packaging, artwork, creating the shipping containers, photography and coding.

I'm not really concerned with how the seed gets sold.  However, I don't like the idea of somebody messing my image up, so to speak.  In this case, the reseller/drop shipper has sent me an address that I cannot resolve, and will not answer email I sent to point out this fallacy.

The one problem I see might cause real trouble is, buying then selling the product, having the buyer discover they can get it for less from another place (In this case directly from me.), returning the item at a cost to the producer/seller to buy the same item for less, causing the producer or original seller a loss.

I wanted to toss this out "there," to see what other sellers may think on the subject and tap into that wisdom.  One that didn't occur to me, they could be using my work to sell on their website, or listings in other outlets.  I will look into that and see what I can come up with, but the dropshipper with the lowest number of feedback doesn't seem to have anything else happening.  They must be selling online somewhere...

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As for the address you are having a problem with, I would cancel the sale and select "problem with address" as the reason.

You do not have to ship to any address other that the address of the person who paid.  This is your choice of course.  If you want to continue doing this, I personally would drop a note in with the packet stating how they can contact YOU for future pruchases.