eBay

afkiddagin · ‎09-23-2021

Recently an outrageous seller demanded that I provide a residential address for shipment of an item I won rather than my PO box address. What Ebay policy permits sellers to demand a residential address as opposed to just any street address? What makes a PO box address ( even the IRS use my PO box address) unacceptable? UPS and Fed-Ex both have programs now in partnership with the USPS for delivery to PO boxes. They are legal US addresses. There was no mention of this in the listing for sale. Suppose I was buying the item for use in my business. Does this mean I can't ship to my business address? His position was amazingly supported by Ebay. It would seem to cancel all transactions with businesses using their business address.

1tuna · ‎09-23-2021

in the olden days ,buinesses that only had a PO adress were looked at as crooks

consumer affairs folks will still you never to higher a contactor that uses them.you want a street address

I suspect is has to do with UPS and PO boxes.....I am sure you probably know more than the seller who is just afraid of red tape with tracking.

most of these sllers do disclose it and it might be buried in the terms of sale

I am sorry this is happening but some sellers have timidity when shipping new fangled ways

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up the whiskey hickon
moving right along
19144

soh.maryl · ‎09-23-2021

If the seller uses USPS to ship, that is STRANGE; however, if he ships per DHL, Fed-Ex or UPS, he has to have a street address for you.

afkiddagin · ‎09-23-2021

No he doesn't. UPS has an agreement with the USPS called Surepost. Ups carries the package from the seller to the PO and then USPS deliver to the PO box holder. Times have changed to support all of the new online selling.

soh.maryl · ‎09-23-2021

Thank you. Maybe your seller isn't aware of this feature. I wasn't.

fab_finds4u · ‎09-23-2021

True, UPS My Choice members for a fee can upgrade to SurePost which will deliver to PO Boxes. However, BUYERS can't dictate what shipping method the seller uses or demand they join My Choice and ship to your PO Box.

If the shipping details in the listing says UPS you should provide a physical address.

varebelrose · ‎09-23-2021

I myself have never understood why some sellers refuse to ship to PO Boxes. They are the safest residential address there is. Many of us in rural areas have no choice but to use a PO Box for USPS mail and packages.

afkiddagin · ‎09-23-2021

There were no shipping details in the listing to specify no PO Boxes. Buyer pays for shipping, so why does the seller get to choose the method?

fab_finds4u · ‎09-23-2021

The seller gets to choose the carrier and the method because it's their item and they're the one that is figuring the cost and the best method that works for them.

simba6 · ‎09-23-2021

Could be they don't know UPS or Fedex can ship to a PO box? That hybrid shipping also can add a week to delivery time and they might worry about that too.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎09-23-2021

Yes, eBy sellers are allowed to refuse to ship to PO Boxes, BUT they are supposed to set up their listings to block purchases from buyers whose primary address is a PO Box.

Most Post Offices offer a simple workaround: the "Street Addressing Service" which allows you to use the street address of the PO as your street address. So the seller wouldn't even know they're shipping to a PO Box unless they looked up the street address. This can even be used for regular UPS and FedEx services.

https://www.usps.com/pobox/customer-agreement-for-premium-po-box-service-enhancements.pdf

varebelrose · ‎09-23-2021

"The seller gets to choose the carrier and the method because it's their item and they're the one that is figuring the cost and the best method that works for them. "

I always thought it was acceptable for a seller to upgrade service, but not downgrade; i.e., if a buyer selected and paid for USPS Priority for a book, the seller could not decide to make extra money by sending it media. I also thought the shipping method(s) were spelled out in the listing in advance?

richard1rst · ‎09-23-2021

@afkiddagin wrote:
No he doesn't. UPS has an agreement with the USPS called Surepost. Ups carries the package from the seller to the PO and then USPS deliver to the PO box holder. Times have changed to support all of the new online selling.

BUT as a seller I would NEVER use them (again). FedEx has a similar program called smart post. I used it a couple of time.

THEY ARE SLOW AS THE PROVERBIAL MOLASSES ! As such they are ripe for item not received complaints.

And try to file a lost package complaint. UPS/FedEx points at the post officer, the USPS points at UPS/FedEx.

NEVER AGAIN.

In your case I would cancel the order "Problem with buyers address".

I can not teach anybody anything
I can only make them think
Socrates

yuzuha · ‎09-23-2021

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
Most Post Offices offer a simple workaround: the "Street Addressing Service" which allows you to use the street address of the PO as your street address. So the seller wouldn't even know they're shipping to a PO Box unless they looked up the street address. This can even be used for regular UPS and FedEx services.

https://www.usps.com/pobox/customer-agreement-for-premium-po-box-service-enhancements.pdf

BUT don't you have to sign up specially for that? I know it isn't something that USPS offers as a standard service; it requires action on the part of the PO box holder.