Seller trying to find my location on google maps?

[beyondthevintagedoor]

Why would a seller contact me for my shipping address (correct address is on eBay, I have made multiple purchases in last year) stating they are unable to find my location on google maps?  I live on a ranch in the middle of no where, not in town.

Frankly, this makes me uncomfortable.

[1tuna]

it makes me uncomfortable  also

lots of sellers like to use google as an excuse to cancel a sale

the worry wart cancel culture thats afraid of a shadow

@beyondthevintagedoor 

[postcardcountry]

It has never made sense to me....it seems  a waste of time.  I know some sellers do it when they are suspicious about an address turning out to be a freight forwarder.

Yes, I have done it occasionally when I am shipping to my former state and I don't recognize the name of the town.

I know you will not see my house on google maps - it looks like my address is in the middle of nowhere with no little gray box for a building.  And the satellite picture shows an aerial view of woods, no driveway, no house.  So does that arouse suspicion.  Of course it does, especially for those who have never experienced life any place but in a town/city with houses on streets.

Having a valid google address and a valid eBay address does not guarantee your package will be delivered to the right address. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

It would make me uncomfortable, too. There's no good reason for the seller to do this. It wastes his time and undermines the transaction.

Sometimes Google maps is outdated or just inaccurate, or the house is set so far back from the road that it can't be seen.  When my cousin bought a new house, I looked up his address to see what the house looked like -- it showed up on Google maps as an empty lot for two years until they updated their images.

[spark-chaser1]

I know of two cases where entire housing developments that have been completed for at least a half decade still show as wood lots on the Maps.

[glgenterprise]

I very rarely google a buyer's address - mostly only when I am working on a freight shipment quote and need to verify what the buyer is telling me about the location. Just because a buyer tells me that the location is commercial doesn't mean a freight company will bill it as such and I can't afford to eat the difference in the charges.

I will sometimes when it is a seemingly weird address or a town in an odd area. But I don't have the time or interest in noticing the address I am sending items to 99% of the time.

Frankly there is so much information available online about just about anyone and any location, getting creeped out that a seller checked your address is a waste of time and energy to me, but to each their own.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

I would never contact a buyer and ask them this, that is creepy as h***

HOWEVER, I will 100% google maps someone's house when shipping a relatively expensive item, especially if the package is bulky. If it's say $300 and fits in a small padded envelope, I'm a bit less concerned as I presume the mail carrier will stick it in the mail box. (Not left in plain view on porch). A $300 medium flat rate box... I want to see where live so I can decide what the risks are and if a signature may be appropriate. 

Are you in the middle of nowhere? Small suburban subdivision? Inner city Chicago? Major apartment or condo complex? I shipped some gold to an apartment complex, signature for sure because apartment complexes are riskier for mixups than smaller suburban subdivisions...

I just shipped someone a relatively small $500 box, no signature, because they are in a less populated area so I had less concerns... I shipped a $380 very small box with signature because it was going into Chicago (I live just outside the city, I have a decent idea of the area).

So, I will never use google maps to justify the cancellation of a sale, but I will to just get an idea of the layout and potential security concerns over your package delivery if it's expensive. I think it can be justifiable as "good customer service" as it looks out for both of us.

Creepy, maybe. Smart, surely. Definitely not going to creep the buyer out and explicitly TELL them...thats just plain weird...

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@glgenterprise wrote:

I very rarely google a buyer's address - mostly only when I am working on a freight shipment quote and need to verify what the buyer is telling me about the location. Just because a buyer tells me that the location is commercial doesn't mean a freight company will bill it as such and I can't afford to eat the difference in the charges.

I will sometimes when it is a seemingly weird address or a town in an odd area. But I don't have the time or interest in noticing the address I am sending items to 99% of the time.

Frankly there is so much information available online about just about anyone and any location, getting creeped out that a seller checked your address is a waste of time and energy to me, but to each their own.

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I wouldn't be creeped that they did it, I'd be creeped that they reached out and ASKED

[robbie31415]

I've Done it on a few expensive items. Just to see what I'm working with.

It has no influence on whether I'm going to process the order or not and people who abuse the cancel for issues with buyers address should be reported.

On expensive items if it's a FF I just add it in the backside notes that it's a FF for future reference if issues occur.

But I would never talk to the buyer about it. That's completely inappropriate and I would report the seller.

[12345jamesstamps]

I do it for expensive items that I am mailing. And to see if it's a commercial building, office building, hotel or so on. One of the only very few ways a seller can protect himself.