I have sold my first product, but there's a problem with the buyer

[torontonian]

New seller here...just sold my first product.

The problem is that the buyer is also new, he registered his account today. He also wants me to ship the product to a P.O box. He is PayPal verified and his P.O. box address matches the one on eBay. My understanding is that in this case I am covered by the Seller Protection (I will be sending the product as a parcel with Canada Post, with a tracking no.).

However , this is very strange to me. I am a new seller (I know some buyers take advantage of this). So is this a new scam I do not know about or is this seller serious? What should I do?

Thank  you in advance!

[silverpinups]

Since your sending the package with a track number and the PayPal account is verified your good to go.

Make sure the eBay address matches the PayPal address.  

[ypdc_dennis]

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@torontonian wrote:

New seller here...just sold my first product.

The problem is that the buyer is also new, he registered his account today. He also wants me to ship the product to a P.O box. He is PayPal verified and his P.O. box address matches the one on eBay. My understanding is that in this case I am covered by the Seller Protection (I will be sending the product as a parcel with Canada Post, with a tracking no.).

However , this is very strange to me. I am a new seller (I know some buyers take advantage of this). So is this a new scam I do not know about or is this seller serious? What should I do?

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Why would you consider a post office box a problem when using Canada Post?

That is usually more secure than a house address.

Also, a lot of buyers make use of Canada Post's flex delivery for parcels which gives the buyer a temporary "post office box" for deliveries. Format for those is always P.O. Box 99900 followed by a code.

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/pages/fd/default.page?murl|pdn|nr|1702

-..-

[femmefan1946]

He also wants me to ship the product to a P.O box.

PO boxes are the safest possible destinations for shipments.

The renter of the box has to present identification and pays a monthly fee for the service.

The box can only be opened with the renter's key.

If the shipment doesn't fit in the box, the PO puts a Notice in the box and the owner has to present ID to the PO staff to receive his shipment.

On the other hand, if the carrier leaves the shipment on a porch, or in an apartment mail room, and some unknown picks it up, both the buyer and the seller are out of luck.

The whole thing with PO boxes goes back to US sellers who early on in eBay were using UPS and other couriers because they would pick up at the seller's location, included tracking and were about the same price as USPS.

Couriers can't deliver to PO boxes because the PO staff will not take responsibility for signing for the packages.

All of which has been addressed by USPS.

But some sellers are stuck in the 90s.

And some lazy newbies copy their Terms of Sale without bothering to think about why.

There is no problem with shipping to a PO box.

It is safer to ship to a PO box than to a street address.

[pjcdn2005]

Many people receive their mail at a box number so that alone is not an indicator of any type of scam.  I've  also sold many items to people who have just registered and haven't had any problems because of it.

A buyer does not need to have a verified or confirmed address.  If you ship to the address that was given by PayPal with payment and send with a trackable service you are covered by seller protection if the buyer claims the item wasn't received and IF tracking shows it was received.

Not all sellers use a service with tracking for all items because it is expensive.  That's something that you may be comfortable doing once you have sold for a while but that is totally up to you.

[hlmacdon]

I've shipped to hundreds of PO boxes over the years. Never had an issue. I use a PO box myself for all of my shipments on the other side of the border and often recommend them for acquaintances in the US since carriers have a habit of dropping packages on unsecure doorsteps.

[momcqueen]

P.O. Boxes are only a no-no if your only choice of carrier is a courier.

The courier companies cannot deliver to a postal box, they have to physically take it to an address and often hand it to a real person. And a Canada Post postmaster won't sign for someone's FedEx delivery.

When you see that 'no post office boxes' on listings or as an option it only applies to courier delivery. If you as a seller are not using a courier, it is irrelevant. Certain other sellers on ebay may have included it in their listings simply because they saw it in other listings and assumed it was 'a thing' without knowing the justification for it. Don't be that seller, the restriction in many cases is born of mere ignorance. 

[momcqueen]

Or, if you're a stingy seller and offering Free Shipping, no Post Office boxes may rule out buyers in remote or northern locations where your 'included postage cost' might be slightly higher than elsewhere. But it will also eliminate many buyers who live in urban centres. As my previous post said, if you're using Canada Post, postal boxes are not a problem. They're only a problem if it's a courier.

Also, it's not uncommon for people to buy stuff on the first day they register. Happens all the time. Embrace it, you are their first seller so don't mess it up and they're back for more.

[pierrelebel]

"I have sold my first product"

Congratulations!  And, as mentioned by other posters, do not worry about shipping to a PO box.  It is safe. In fact safer than shipping to most apartment buildings.

You indicated this is your first product sold.  What happened to the three sales you made on May 9th and 10th?

[torontonian]

My bad, this was actually the second product I have sold.

The ones on May 10th got cancelled. I was not using the "Require immediate payment with Buy It Now" option, so the same buyer added 2 items in the shopping cart and did not pay. Did not respond. Had to cancel.

[momcqueen]

Those go to Unpaid. Don't cancel.

[silverpinups]

The ones on May 10th got cancelled. I was not using the "Require immediate payment with Buy It Now" option, so the same buyer added 2 items in the shopping cart and did not pay. Did not respond. Had to cancel.

If the buyer did not pay or respond to your messages about payment, open a "unpaid item dispute" with eBay so you get your FVF's (final value fees) back.

[hlmacdon]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:

P.O. Boxes are only a no-no if your only choice of carrier is a courier.

The courier companies cannot deliver to a postal box, they have to physically take it to an address and often hand it to a real person. And a Canada Post postmaster won't sign for someone's FedEx delivery.

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As a sidenote, for cases where you are dealing with an international transaction with a  US buyer with a PO Box, USPS has a program (Street Addressing PO box box) where they do in fact sign for courier shipments. These can be differentiated from a standard PO box as they will reference either a Unit #xxxx or have a #xxxx as part of  the address line.