Strange series of transactions

[kaylashuman]

I have had three transactions recently from two different buyer IDs, but I suspect it is the same person or group, and I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this scenario, which is the same for each transaction: Buyer purchases an inexpensive but breakable item and wants it shipped the same day (I do not offer same-day shipping) by Parcel Select, to a PO box in Florida (two different cities so far). The item is then Returned to Sender  within a day or two of arriving at the PO box. The first time this happened, I had tried to convince the buyer that I would be happy to upgrade to Priority for free and all the reasons that was a good idea, but they were adamant that I use Parcel. That was also the only response to any of the messages I sent them. When the first box was returned, I tried contacting the buyer about reshipping but there was no response, so I refunded the item cost and blocked them. The second time, it was a different  buyer ID, but the request for shipping service and ship day were identical, but to a PO box in a different city in Florida. Here is what the message said: Hello, Please, ship the item via USPS Parcel Select Ground (Parcel Select Economy Shipping), Not the USPS Priority or USPS Retail Ground. I will cover the fees. Please let me know how much do I owe you. Can you ship today? Thank you. I thought it was odd that the message was the same (including the grammatical errors) as for a sale from a different buyer ID, but since it was a different PO box/city, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and sent it off by Parcel Select. Today I see on the USPS website that it is on its way back to me, so I suspect the recipient has refused it.

Between the time the second purchase happened and today, the second buyer bought another item, but this time it was a more expensive antique bowl and I dug in my heels about shipping by Parcel. Since they had implied they were willing to cover extra fees for Parcel shipping, I said I could invoice them for $2 to cover insurance but also said I could upgrade to Priority for free and insurance would be included. No response. At the end of the day, I sent a second message saying that if I hadn't heard from them by noon their time the next day that I would cancel the transaction. There was no response, so I cancelled it. Receiving the specific items they have attempted to purchase does not seem to be important to them.

This is annoying and it makes no sense. It wastes my time and packing material, bounces a breakable item from one corner of the country to another (I'm in the PNW), and they lose what they paid for shipping. (The first item came back unbroken; we'll see what happens with the second one.) My willingness to ship the same day seems to be important because about a month before the first transaction, the first buyer ID asked about same day shipping for three items but due to the timing, I could not accommodate them, so they did not buy. For the following transactions, the request to ship the same day came with their PayPal payment. I was able to ship the same day those times, so I did. 

Sorry for the convoluted story, but can anyone shed some light on what might be going on here?

[myboardid]

I might have a guess.  Are these items also sold by anyone else?  If so, it could be a competitor who is trying to keep them off the market for a while & cost you money at the same time. 

I assume the box has not been tampered with?   The item you sent is still in it when you get the package back? 

BTW, a box that has been delivered and refused is considered as "delivered" by eBay, so you don't have to refund.  Or you could refund less your shipping expenses and eBay/Paypal fees. 

[femmefan1946]

Buyer purchases an inexpensive but breakable item and wants it shipped the same day ... by Parcel Select, to a PO box in Florida (two different cities so far). The item is then Returned to Sender within a day or two

Sounds like an overseas buyer using a freight forwarder.

Generally this is safe and a Good Thing, because the seller's responsibility ends at the forwarder's doorstep, and most of the MBG does not apply to forwarded shipments.

Is Parcel Select tracked? If not, it is possible that the forwarder does not accept untracked parcels because of their own legal responsibilities.  Possible.

If a parcel is undeliverable (ie returned) the seller's responsibility for delivery is ended.

0

FWIW- technically I live in Oak Bay BC, but that is part of the Capital Regional District of Victoria.  Using either city name will be recognized.

What does a map show you about the two cities? How about the zipcodes? Do they match?

there was no response, so I refunded the item cost and blocked them.

That was the right move.

if I hadn't heard from them by noon their time the next day that I would cancel the transaction. There was no response, so I cancelled it.

I hope you used either "problem with address" or "buyer request" as the reason, or are willing to live with a Defect until next December.

If the buyer(s) were using a freight forwarder, they may have some information about when the forwarder ships to their country and are working around that.

Look at your Paypal account. Non-US accounts are charged at 4.4% rather than at 2.9% for domestic accounts.  You can Block non-US payments on Paypal I understand, but that would also include European and Canadian orders, which are generally not a problem.

[fashunu4eeuh]

I agree with the other poster. Could be a competitor.

[kaylashuman]

Thanks for responding. Two of the items are not listed by anyone else, and the other is listed by others but mostly in multiples. I know that some people have separate seller and buyer accounts, but these two IDs don't have any track record of selling. They both have bought from the same other seller, though. Hmmm.... Are they doing the same thing to that seller, I wonder? The first box to come back had not been tampered with and I am still waiting on the second box. Tracking info just shows a day or two lag time between when it was available  for pickup and when the RTS process was started, so it wasn't like it sat at the PO for the requisite 2 weeks before they returned it. Now, that's an interesting thought about the box being considered as "delivered" by eBay. In this case, it was delivered to a PO box, so I assume that's the same as if it was taken to someone's street address. I will give this a good look before refunding when the second box shows up.

[kaylashuman]

In both cases, the addresses were PO boxes only and didn't include the sort of extra ID numbers that buyers using freight forwarders have in their addresses. The first PO box may have been a shipping/PO box business because the first reasons given for not being delivered was that the business was closed on the first delivery attempt. The second was to a PO box that appeared to be at an actual post office.

The two cities are about a 7.5 hour drive apart. Yes, I definitely said "problem with address," although I would have appreciated an option that was a little closer to the mark, like "buyer refused package." As far as I can tell, both buyers have US-based accounts.

Thanks for responding!

[dippitydoo]

What I find perplexing is why would someone prefer ground over Priority?  And if they want same day shipping (presumably because they are in a hurry), why would they prefer 10 day ground over 3 day Priority?  Also odd they'd make a distinction between Parcel Select and Retail Ground, which is the same service from the USPS with the difference being a Ebay generated label or one purchased at the Post Office window....very bizarre!   Also, in general,

ground is cheaper than Priority so why would they expect to pay more for it?  (except for the BIG boxes, it's actually MORE than Priority which is just mind blowing!)

-Dippitydoo

[myboardid]

I would have all the same questions!  Makes no sense to me either. Maybe they somehow think they will save money that way.  I find that most of the time - this season being the exception, that Parcel Select goes just as fast or nearly as fast as Priority. 

I would also say that the buyer refusing the package is tantamount to saying he wants to cancel the purchase. 

Also, different freight forwarders use different systems to identify their clients, so the PO Box could just be a client identification tool.  Are any of the cities Doral, Florida?  There's a big freight forwarding company there.

[kaylashuman]

Yes, exactly! Asking for same day shipping but by the slowest method - sort of "hurry up and wait." And it is odd that they would know about the two different shipping services (PS and RG). For most of my listings, I include a Parcel rate but always upgrade to Priority because with the eBay label printing discount the rate *is* often better, or close enough to Parcel that I happily buy peace of mind by using the faster, insured service. I think most people select Parcel because the listings show it as less than Priority, but this person(s) seems to know that it might cost more to ship Parcel IF I'm using eBay's label service. That's a big assumption, but it looks like they know eBay well enough to understand that.

[kaylashuman]

Good point about refusing the package as being tantamount to canceling the purchase. Neither of the two PO boxes are in Doral. One is in Defuniak Springs (on the panhandle) and the other is in Greenacres, which looks like it's a suburb of West Palm Beach. If I get a moment tomorrow, I may call the Defuniak Springs post office and ask if the PO box is in their facility or not, although at this time of year, I feel badly about bothering them.