How do I avoid overseas sellers that won't deliver to a post office box?

[tonycallen62]

I live in a rural area and that is the only means of delivery. This is not mentioned until after commitment to buy...I asked the seller to cancel the orders, but I ended up with 3 "unpaids" anyway, all by the same outfit. They had listed the same item in different listings, having misrepresented themselves as different American sellers each time...and I was snagged 3 times in a row.

 Ebay customer service was no help at all...

[maggiebvintage2010]

Use your 911 address - number and road, as well as the PO Box #, eg:

11396 County Road 19,

Box 395

Anytown, ON

A1A 1A1

I leave out the "PO" part of the box #, and have not yet had any problems.  However, I thought that if a seller does not ship to PO Boxes, they had to put that in their shipping exclusions, so that if you tried to buy you would be blocked.

Having 3 unpaid strikes could affect your ability to buy on eBay.  If I were you, I would try to join next Wednesdays Board Hour where Canadians have the opportunity to pose questions/comments to the eBay Canada staff, and ask if they can help you get rid of them.  It doesn't seem fair that the seller would refuse to ship to a PO Box, and then file an unpaid item dispute.  Also, the seller can be the one to initiate cancelling the orders, you don't have to take on that responsibility.  Their terms, their problem.

Most of these sellers do not understand the concept of a Post Office Box, which is a very secure way to receive packages.  They are simply copying from other listings.

[femmefan1946]

Instead of PO Box , use  123 or just #123, with your 'street' address.

Your letter carrier is probably smart enough to work that one out.

But those Unpaids are probably blocking more purchases than your address.

It takes 12 months for them to age off, once you are down to one Strike you will be able to buy again.

But do try Customer Service again. Start with the fact that the seller(s) is misrepresenting his location.

BTW, sellers who Block PO Boxes and understand why, are shipping by courier.

UPS and FedEx and the like cannot ship to a PO Box because the staff will not sign for your parcel.

If you look at the UPS threads of a few years ago, you may notice that couriers not only charge full duty and sales tax (legally required) but also charge you $25 or more for customs brokerage.

So being Blocked may be a benefit.

Sellers are allowed to have multiple accounts. I have seven myself.

But I think you more likely ran into dropshippers. American sellers who take orders for products they never see and have them shipped by their supplier.

They are also probably ignorant of why some US sellers don't accept PObox addresses.

After all, PO boxes are about the safest destination possible. There is almost no chance of 'porch theft' for example.