Buyer provided an incorrect address and item was returned to seller

[sheborden]

How does the buyer pay for a new shipping label to mail the item to the correct address?

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

This is my standard advice for RTS (returned to sender) packages. Take the parts that are relevant to your situation.

You have a few options. You should decide which route you'll be taking and communicate with the buyer, but wait until the item is returned (and delivered) to you before you take any of the following actions.

• You can refund the buyer the item cost minus original shipping and minus a portion of your eBay fees (fee credits are prorated on a partial refund so you won't get back fees on the shipping amount you withhold). Go to your orders page, find the transaction and select "send refund." On the next page enter the amount. After that, relist the item and if you still want to work with this buyer you can tell them to repurchase it with the correct name/address.
• Have the buyer sort out their address issue then pay for re-shipping. Send them an invoice through PayPal or give them your PayPal e-mail. This is post-sale so it's OK to exchange e-mail addresses. It's also OK to ship to a different address because it's technically not tied to the original transaction. You would not purchase the shipping label through eBay or upload tracking to the transaction. You would purchase it from an alternate site like pirateship.com or paypal.com/shipnow and you can send the buyer the new tracking # through e-mail or eBay messages.
• A different way to accomplish buyer payment for re-shipping is to create an eBay listing for the shipping cost (bumping it up to factor in eBay fees) and having the buyer purchase it, entering their correct address at checkout. You could purchase a shipping label through eBay for that transaction.
• You can cancel the transaction "problem with address" which will trigger a full refund to the buyer and your FVF would be credited.
• You can do nothing. The buyer's MBG protection is voided when there's a package delivery attempt. I don't recommend this because even though you'll win an INR (item not received) claim on eBay, there's nothing stopping that buyer from going to their credit card to file a dispute and why deal with all that? I also think handling it before it gets to this stage with a partial refund is the "right" thing to do if you're not going to make reshipping arrangements.
• You might also want to direct the buyer to this page so their address is updated for future purchases: Account Settings: Addresses

[robbie31415]

Hey do you know how RTS works for ups surepost ?

Specifically eBay. Labels The USPS can't auto bill for it ? Would it just sit with postage due for pickup?

[m*and*l*sales]

To protect myself, I'd cancel the sale and if the buyer wanted to try again, he can buy it again with the new address.

I would absolutely NEVER ship to an address that isn't provided to me by eBay.  Let him figure that out and then come back to purchase again.

[wastingtime101]

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@robbie31415 wrote:

Hey do you know how RTS works for ups surepost ?

Specifically eBay. Labels The USPS can't auto bill for it ? Would it just sit with postage due for pickup?

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It's always been my experience @robbie31415 with both UPS Ground Saver (formerly Surepost) and FedEx Ground Economy (formerly Smartpost) that the first mile carrier (UPS/FedEx) will validate address and provide address correction where necessary before handing off to the last mile carrier (USPS). Generally speaking, there shouldn't be a RTS situation when the package reaches USPS unless the buyer refuses delivery.

That said, eBay labels does offer FedEx Ground Economy but does not currently offer UPS Ground Saver.

Edit: This discussion is about RTS for bad address, but I'm realizing you put "postage due" in your question. If a seller underpays postage then UPS/FedEx will catch that while the package is in their possession before handing off to USPS and UPS/FedEx will apply a cost adjustment, billed though eBay. USPS does not evaluate postage due situations for those services.