Ship to address different than billing address?

[myatticcorners1]

I seem to remember reading here that when a potential buyer wants a seller to ship to a different address than what is on their account it is a problem.  A buyer made an offer on a scarf- the item ended, as did their offer and I relisted, let them know it was back up and now they are asking if I could ship it to their business address.    I haven't agreed yet. Any thoughts on whether this is OK?  Apparently this person has been on ebay  for several years and has decent feedback.  Thanks for your thoughts

[wastingtime101]

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@myatticcorners1 wrote:

Will clarify that the item has not been sold yet.  They presented an offer but the item expired before I saw the offer.  I relisted and contacted the buyer via Message and they replied with the question about sending it to their business address.  So no transaction has occurred yet.  Thanks

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Similar to how the buyer can change address when they make payment, buyer can also change address on offer screen before they submit an offer. But since you've been in communication with them I suggest simplifying the process and lowering your listing price to the previously agreed upon offer price. Take offers out of the equation and buyer can adjust their address at checkout @myatticcorners1 .

[broto_64]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

@myatticcorners1 

For anyone reading this.  Please note that if you are contacted post sale to change the address, you need to COMPARE THE ID SENDING YOU THE MESSAGE WITH THE ID OF THE BUYER OF RECORD.  

Indeed, it may be an "imposter" pretending to be your buyer.  If that is the case, and you decide to cancel the sale, you are cancelling on the REAL buyer.  If you have an imposter (aka change of address scammer) you can report them on the eBay message itself in the menu bar under the ACTIONS tab. 

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How would an impostor know who ordered from me?

[ittybitnot]

How would an impostor know who ordered from me?

@broto_64 

They don't.  Typically, that scenario will involve high dollar items, and they will follow the sale to see when it is marked SOLD.   It doesn't matter who the real buyer is, the intent is to trick the seller into sending the items someplace else.  Newbie sellers who are not familiar with the scam, are the typical targets for they truly want to "provide good customer service" and are clueless.  

Over the years we have seen many of the ploys and actual messages sent by "change of address scammers."   They can be imposters or the actual buyer of record as well.  The usual scenario was always some sob story that their father had a heart attack (or other such emergency) and they have leave the state to go take care of the problem, and will not be home.  Please send it to:   xxxxxxxxxxxx.  

Lots of times these new  "addresses" are freight forwarders, which may not be apparent to the seller. 

[broto_64]

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@ittybitnot wrote:

How would an impostor know who ordered from me?

@broto_64 

They don't.  Typically, that scenario will involve high dollar items, and they will follow the sale to see when it is marked SOLD.   It doesn't matter who the real buyer is, the intent is to trick the seller into sending the items someplace else.  Newbie sellers who are not familiar with the scam, are the typical targets for they truly want to "provide good customer service" and are clueless.  

Over the years we have seen many of the ploys and actual messages sent by "change of address scammers."   They can be imposters or the actual buyer of record as well.  The usual scenario was always some sob story that their father had a heart attack (or other such emergency) and they have leave the state to go take care of the problem, and will not be home.  Please send it to:   xxxxxxxxxxxx.  

Lots of times these new  "addresses" are freight forwarders, which may not be apparent to the seller. 

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Wow that is really wild, thank you for opening my eyes to this scenario.
Of course I would never send to an address other than the address provided at payment, but it is good to know that I have to be careful with those messages and not assume it was the actual buyer having a change of heart. Wow this could result in so much headache, not only would the buyer be perplexed and possibly  very disappointed but the seller who cancels could end up being reported for "not wanting to complete the sale" and catch a serious defect.

I will definitely keep this in mind.

[mam98031]

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@myatticcorners1 wrote:

Thanks for that explanation.  I will let the buyer know that they must change it before I will ship.

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The buyer can't do that if they have already submitted the payment.  You would need to cancel the order using the reason there is a problem with the address and then post the listing again and let the buyer re-purchase it, reminding them to use the correct ship to address.

[a_c_green]

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@myatticcorners1 wrote:

Will clarify that the item has not been sold yet.  They presented an offer but the item expired before I saw the offer.  I relisted and contacted the buyer via Message and they replied with the question about sending it to their business address.  So no transaction has occurred yet.

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Well, then, no problem. Just confirm with them that they will need to plug in the desired Ship To: address on their payment screen, and then you will ship to the address received with the payment.

[soh.maryl]

If the buyer has already paid and THEN tells you they want to change the address, then you have to cancel etc as I explained in my previous post.  

[maxi314]

Yes, and it is the oddest thing, especially when the Seller is not a novice, but in making inquiries about an item today, (and I do not know why this is in bold), I indicated it would be a gift sent direct to that recipient by the Seller - which I do on a regular basis - no problem.  But the Seller responded, in part, " I can’t send to a different address then what is provided from buyer’s account. It’s against eBay policy."  Well - of course not.   And it did seem to me that it was unwillingness to answer my questions.  This mystifies me.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@maxi314 wrote: ... I indicated it would be a gift sent direct to that recipient by the Seller ... the Seller responded, in part, " I can’t send to a different address then what is provided from buyer’s account. It’s against eBay policy." ...

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The seller was trying to clarify that he has to ship to the name and address that are attached to your payment.

Right on the payment page, eBay provides a link where you can change the name and//or address of the package recipient, so clearly it's OK to do so. If you hadn't brought up the potential change, and had just purchased with the name and address of the gift recipient, he would never have known about it.

[inhawaii]

By the book:

Cancel the order "problem with address".

Tell the buyer to correct their address then re-purchase the item.

Not by the book:

If it's a cheap item, I just send it to the address they want me to send it to.

[kh-shakhib]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.