Seller is using my address

[mec19808]

For the past 6 months or so, every week or two my USPS Informed Delivery email shows outbound packages from my address, and the date they are expected to be delivered. These are labelled "eBay Powered by Pitney Bowes." When I check the tracking numbers on the USPS site it shows the labels originated from my ZIP code, but they were physically shipped either from Maryland or from a post office in my city, but not near where I live.

I don't have an eBay shipping account and have not sold anything on eBay in at least 15 years (when I did sell a few things it was when I lived elsewhere).  I'm not the one shipping these packages. Whoever is selling these items, whatever they are, has set up their seller's account using my address. 

It is possible this is the previous owners of my home, and they have just never updated the address on their account. But I don't know that for sure and eBay refuses to give me any sort of help. I have made several attempts. They won't tell me the eBay store name that is using my address (so that I can message them through their store) and they won't notify the eBay seller that they must update their address. (It seems like they could just apply a pop-up to the account that tells them they must do so.)

I was told that if something they sell gets returned and shows up at my home, then I should just mark it "return to sender" and drop it back at the post office. Then when it bounces back to the person who bought it and was trying to return it, that will probably lead to the seller realizing the problem with the address. And if there is ever any issue with something being sold on eBay illegally or fraudulently, by an account using my address, then my contacts with eBay Help will serve as evidence that I was not the one doing the selling and I had reported the misuse of my address. So it will get sorted out without repercussions to me. Seriously? I mean, what the heck?

So in theory an eBay seller can just set up a shipping account with whatever address they want and there is nothing proactive the actual occupant at that address can do? Is there really nothing that can be done via eBay? 

I have never met the person I bought my house from, he sent his agent to the closing, but I suppose I could track him down, maybe find him on social media or ask for help from the listing realtor, who probably has, or can get, his current address. But I don't even know for sure if he, or one of his adult kids, is the one using my address, so it just seems weird to do that.

Is this a common issue? Any suggestions?

[dirk12955]

I remember calling the CC company to complain about a purchase I didn't make

 but was charged for.

I should have cornered my 10 year old daughter and asked her,  before calling the CC company.

[yuzuha]

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@dirk12955 wrote:

I'm having a hard time figuring out an ebay seller with all the correct info but using 

somebody else's address.   What for? 

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If the OP recently moved into the house, what most likely happened is that the person who previously lived there forgot to update their ship from or return address in eBay, since a lot of people don't realize that those addresses are separate and that you need to update ALL of them when you move.

[dirk12955]

That makes 100% perfect sense and might be the problem.

[buyselljack2016]

^^^^ this is what I am going with.

5 places for someone to update their address on eBay.

The previous resident at that address has failed to update.

No scam. Nothing malicious. Not a postal inspector/postmaster/manager situation. Just a failure by the person with the eBay account. There is nothing name wise, account wise to link the OP to anything should a buyer have a problem with the seller.

[buyselljack2016]

Back to answering one of the OP's questions from the 1st post.

Is this a common issue?

Possibly not so much a common issue with that tracking showing up in one's "outbound", but somewhat common for a seller to come in here screaming because "eBay" had their "return" sent to their old address.

I can not confirm if those instances were an "eBay" problem, or a PBCAK error, but we have read about if here many times.

[dirk12955]

I see this issue every so often with buyers that haven't updated their address.   Not so hard 

to believe that a seller might make the same error.  

[redmodelt]

But after 6 months as stated in the original post? 

[dirk12955]

Who knows?    

[supercharger-parts]

It makes me wonder if the shipper does not know to change their address in all 5 places on eBay.  They may have changed their registration address but didn't change their return address, their ship from address, their pick up address.  etc

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I think  Yuzuha is correct & I agree it's probably not anything nefarious, just someone who didn't know they have to change their address in 5 different places.   I'm a pretty heavy Ebay user & I didn't know this, when I moved 6 years ago.  

I can confirm that it is normal to get those notifications on your Informed Delivery, I get them every day.  

I would start with your local PO.  

[mec19808]

I'm inclined to think this is what happened. The seller bought another house and moved out of this one in early summer of 2021. I bought the house and moved in here in fall of 2021. Probably just a matter of the seller or one of his adult sons not properly updating the eBay account. I don't know what is shown on the "eBay by Pitney Bowes" labels that go on the packages, but it annoys me to think my address may clearly appear on that label and they just ignore it.

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@dirk12955 wrote:

You're focused on the address which I understand.

USPS is sending notifications to YOUR EMAIL!

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Apparently you have no idea of how informed delivery works?

[ebooksdiva]

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@dirk12955 wrote:

OP is getting notifications of "Informed delivery"  from USPS about outbound packages

with his (TheOPs)  return address.

USPS "Informed delivery"  messages are going to the OPs CURRENT email address.    

Whoever is sending the packages is using the OPs email or he wouldn't get those

notifications.

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They aren’t using the OPs email, someone is using the OPs address, the OP has signed up for USPS Informed Delivery. USPS InFormed delivery will send you an email showing both incoming and outgoing mail from your address. I have Informed Delivery also.

[ebooksdiva]

Haven’t you ever heard of USPS Informed Delivery? 
https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm 

[buyselljack2016]

Not sure if that "address" would be printed on the package as the "senders" address. If it was, it would surely seem that the sender at some time would notice that, and go into panic mode.

When I print a label that "from" is clearly displayed before me when I get ready to ship. Even if the seller/sender was not printing their own labels, such as if they did the "QR" code, and let USPS print the label, that info should be quite evident.