Buyer wants me to ship to alternate address,is that ok?

[nudibranch4569]

if he adds it to his paypal address,when he goes to pay he can change the address for the one time shipping.

[reallynicestamps]

It's allowed and usually not a problem.

But, if the alternate address is not in the same country as the buyer's Paypal account, you should say no.

These alternate addresses are called 'gift' addresses and are usually used for out of town presents or for vacation homes.

Payal only accepts addresses in the same country as the account, and sending to a non-Paypal address voids your Seller Protection.

Ask if he has an alternative, a Canadian relation who will forward the parcel or a shipping company which will do it for a fee (to the buyer).

You can't ask for a non-electronic payment, but if he offers a postal money order you can ship anywhere safely once you have cashed the MO.

[luminites]

Yes, that's OK.

If you want to be covered by Seller Protection, ask him to add the address as his primary shipping address on eBay and to make sure that he uses that address when paying. He can also change his address at the eBay checkout page.

Seller Protection requires sellers to ship to the address that appears on the PayPal Transaction Details page --  not the buyer's address on PayPal.

Just to illustrate how it works from the buyer's perspective:

The address that appears on the eBay checkout page is your primary shipping address on eBay. Click on Change shipping address under 'Ship to' and you'll see this:

Change the shipping address and select 'Ship to this address'. Then click Continue and you'll be led to this page:

After you click 'Confirm and Pay', login to your PayPal account and click Details to see the Transaction Details page:

If you check the PayPal User Agreement, the Seller Protection requirement is to ship to the address on the Transaction Details page. You don't even have to ship to a confirmed address.

Years ago, the buyer's shipping address came from PayPal. That changed -- currently, the address on the Transaction Details page comes from the address that the buyer specifies at the eBay Checkout page.