Ship from address question

[j-bundle1222]

Is it a good idea to make the Ship From address the address of your local post office? Why or why not? Oh and I don't have a P.O. box there either, if that changes anything. 

[22ndre_45]

If you don't have a post office box there do not use them as your ship from address. That's also the address that any returns would be sent to, and any packages that can't be delivered would be returned to.

[buyselljack2016]

@j-bundle1222 

My ship from is the same as my return address unless I am going to ship fro a different Post Office. 

I on occasion ship from 4-5 different Post Offices. When I do ship from other than mine, I use the ship from address of that Post Office, so that "financial credit" goes to the office handling the shipment. In those instances my return address on the label remains the same.

Some offices will "pitch a fit" if the "ship from" Zip is not theirs, but by the DMM, it is not required to be changed for most classes of mail when it does not result in a shipping rate change.

[j-bundle1222]

Thanks for the input

[j-bundle1222]

So what your saying is you had no trouble AT ALL with using your post office address as your Ship From address?

[nuvistors]

Most people would  assume that a seller using the Post Office address as their  return address is running a scam.

[lacemaker3]

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@j-bundle1222 wrote:

So what your saying is you had no trouble AT ALL with using your post office address as your Ship From address?

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No, that's not what the responder said, I think you musunderstood them. 

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

@j-bundle1222 

My ship from is the same as my return address unless I am going to ship fro a different Post Office. 

I on occasion ship from 4-5 different Post Offices. When I do ship from other than mine, I use the ship from address of that Post Office, so that "financial credit" goes to the office handling the shipment. In those instances my return address on the label remains the same.

...

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@j-bundle1222;

The return address that is printed on your shipping label, when you ship the package to your buyer, has to be a "real" postal address, where you can receive mail. You can't use the address of your post office because they won't accept mail there for you unless you have a PO Box and include it in the return address.

When you purchase the shipping label, it is possible to specify a "ship-from" zip code (or address) that is not the same as the return address on the label. I believe that is what @buyselljack2016 meant. That allows you to purchase the label with the correct shipping costs when you are going to be shipping the package from a different location than return address on the label. For example: you may be a snow-bird, and your official return ddress is your place in the snow-belt, but you need to ship an item from your place in the South.

As I replied on your other thread, you have to put a real and valid return address on the shipping label. The post office will not accept mail that does not have a valid return address on it, and it is required to be an address where you can receive mail. They won't accept anonymous packages because of terrorists and extortionists sending threats or dangerous packages thorugh the postal system.

Many sellers do not use their home address for their eBay business. That's not required, but you do have to provide a real and valid return address on your eBay account where you can receive mail. Even if you never have a return, or if you just refund all cases without requiring the item to be returned. You have to provide complete and accurate contact information on your eBay account, and keep it up to date if it changes.

If you don't want to use your home address, then you can use a business address instead. If your employer allows you to receive mail there, you can use your work address. It would probably be better in the long run to just get a PO box and use that as your own business address though. Using an empoloyer's address can lead to unforseen problems.

[buyselljack2016]

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@j-bundle1222 wrote:

So what your saying is you had no trouble AT ALL with using your post office address as your Ship From address?

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I do not use my "Post Office" address as my "ship from" address.

My "ship from" address  is my "return address" unless I ship from a Post Office "zip code" other than my own.

I only use "the Post Office address" when I ship from a Zip other than my own.

I have 4-5 alternate "ship from" Post Offices loaded up, and can select the office of choice with 2-3 clicks of the mouse.   There is a check box there to mark that says my "ship from" and "return" addresses are different to keep my return address correct.

All that changes when I do a label to "ship from" an alternate Zip is that the 5 digit "ship from" Zip changes on the label. All else remains the same.

As another pointed out, I do not want a return (for whatever reason) going to ANY "Post Office address".  Needs to come to me. Some of the offices I ship from know who I am, and might get the item back to me, others do not.

As I posted, I use the correct "ship from" Zip to credit the office accepting the item.

[buyselljack2016]

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@nuvistors wrote:

Most people would  assume that a seller using the Post Office address as their  return address is running a scam.

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When I started selling all my eBay selling was via a rented PO box.  It was easy for me to do as it was located within easy distance of work.  Also as a new seller I was hesitant to be using my "home address" for "online" selling.

As I became more comfortable with the selling, and the "box rent" climbed, I gave up the PO box.

Over 90% of the residents in the town where I worked only had PO box delivery.  Very limited street delivery route.

[a_c_green]

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@j-bundle1222 wrote:

So what your saying is you had no trouble AT ALL with using your post office address as your Ship From address?

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I think we need to clarify the difference between the Return Address and the Ship From ZIP address. The Return Address is shown in full on your shipping label, and is the address to which returns should be sent, in case the package gets sent back for whatever reason.

The Ship From ZIP address (which actually only prints its ZIP code on the label) is to show the origin from which the postage was calculated, in case the package will be mailed from someplace other than its return address.

Some PO clerks seem to think that it must match their origin so that they will get "credit" for the package, but in fact it's their tracking system that evaluates credit for how many packages flow through their post office, and unless there is a major discrepancy in the Ship From ZIP value (generally, the first three digits of the ZIP shown must match that of the originating post office), the postage paid will be correct. 

In the past, the Ship From ZIP value needed only the ZIP code alone, but according to eBay, newer USPS regulations now require an entire Zip From ZIP address to be given, even though only the ZIP will be shown on the label. If you have a local address to go with your Ship From ZIP (e.g. if mailing from your home PO), just plug in that address, but if you're at some faraway PO, I would plug in either that PO's street address or just "General Delivery" for the street, plus the appropriate City and State. Again, you can still have your own Return Address showing on the label; it's just the Ship From ZIP address that might need to be updated for a different location, from wherever you're mailing the package.

[nobody*s_perfect]

" but according to eBay, newer USPS regulations now require an entire Zip From ZIP address to be given, even though only the ZIP will be shown on the label."

That's not true. Probably a coverup for some more of eBay's incompetent programming.  There's no need for an exact full address when the purpose of providing this ZIP Code is to ensure that the correct postage rate is paid based on the receiving Post Office.  Here's what USPS themselves asks for if you use Click N Ship to purchase a label:

[lamber9347]

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@j-bundle1222 wrote:

Is it a good idea to make the Ship From address the address of your local post office? Why or why not? Oh and I don't have a P.O. box there either, if that changes anything. 

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Based on your post and comments I get the impression you are mainly concerned about using your home address for security reasons. If that is what the issue is the best solution for you is to simply purchase a PO Box. The cost is minimal but the payout for your own feelings of security will far outweigh whatever the cost is. You can also price them around and may find a less expensive one that is farther from your home. 

When I first started to sell 20 some odd years ago, I opened a PO Box. I ended up using that box for years, it took over my address on everything including my checkbook. I felt so much more secure using it. Eventually I closed it out but I believe I owned that box for over ten years. It was a great investment for me personally. Best of luck to you.... 

[coffeebean832]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

" but according to eBay, newer USPS regulations now require an entire Zip From ZIP address to be given, even though only the ZIP will be shown on the label."

That's not true. Probably a coverup for some more of eBay's incompetent programming.  There's no need for an exact full address when the purpose of providing this ZIP Code is to ensure that the correct postage rate is paid based on the receiving Post Office.  Here's what USPS themselves asks for if you use Click N Ship to purchase a label:

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Stamps.com made the same change as eBay- requiring a full ship from address and not just a zip code. Several of my saved settings with different ship from zip codes stopped working until I entered a full address.

[nobody*s_perfect]

But PayPal still just has a box to fill in the ZIP Code.  

Since USPs isn't asking for a full address, I'd want to get some citation from eBay or stamps.com regarding why they think a full address is required.  As I mentioned above, there's just no logic behind it.

[coffeebean832]

I agree- was just saying that eBay isn't the only one that made the change.