Buyer changed his address after paying. How do I protect myself?

[rythmn.n.light]

A buyer paid for an item and then changed his mailing address to a different state (OLD is CA, NEW is AZ.  I have no problem changing the address to where it is shipped to HOWEVER...

On the list, and when I go to print a shipping label, his old address is what shows where I need to ship it SO......

If I send it to his NEW address and he says he never received it, what happens?  This is a $300 item so I don't want to take the risk of getting shafted.  How can his shipping address for the item be changed "FOR THE RECORD" ON EBAY?

[pjcdn2005]

If it was a $30 item I would send it.  For a $300 item, I wouldn't take the risk.  If they buyer does file an inr and you can't prove that they received the item at the address given with payment you would lose the claim.  eBay tells us that if the buyer asks you in messages to change the address than they would rule in your favor, however, if the buyer makes a claim in PP, you would lose as they only take the payment address into account. If the buyer goes to ebay and/or paypal now to change their address, that doesn't help the situation since PP goes by the address at the time of payment. 

You can either cancel the transaction which would refund the buyer and ask the buyer to make the purchase again and use their correct address. Or, you can go to Paypal, refund their payment and ask the buyer to pay again and change their address on ebay during the payment process.In the second case they wouldn't have to make the purchase again..just make payment again.

[rosscd57]

I have had this happen. Just email or call him and explain to him the you need to be protected and so does he - tell him to change his address in eBay and PayPal. When He does send it.

WITH A TRACKING NUMBER

If he does not change his address well the answer is obvious.

[momcqueen]

I'm in the same boat but my order is of a lesser value and it will be sent with domestic tracking so, from the barrage of messages I received after-the-fact, I've a good feeling this was just a case where the buyer forget they had moved between ebay purchases which seem to be infrequent. I'm going to ship it to his 'corrected' address and not worry overmuch.

But that's because it's a $30 item.

And because I have more of those if it's 'lost'.

And because I have enough feedback and experience on ebay to cushion a blow if it does become a weird situation of unauthorized account activity with either ebay or paypal.

When I was new to selling here, I was more cautious and I would have refunded the buyer citing 'problem with address' and told them to play it by the books: change address and repurchase.

With this one this morning, however, I am willing to take a calculated risk.

If I regret it in three weeks, I'll be back to share that.

[lacemaker3]

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@rosscd57 wrote:

I have had this happen. Just email or call him and explain to him the you need to be protected and so does he - tell him to change his address in eBay and PayPal. When He does send it.

WITH A TRACKING NUMBER

If he does not change his address well the answer is obvious.

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Unfortunately, even if the buyer does change his address in eBay and PayPal, that will not change the shipping address for this transaction. That will stay the same. There is no way for either buyer or seller to change the shipping address (which the buyer approved on the eBay Checkout page), AFTER they pay for the item, and still retain seller protection in both eBay and PayPal.

The seller's only choices in this situation, as others have suggested, is to either accept the risk and ship to the new address, or cancel the transaction with the reason (problem with the buyer's address) and hope that the buyer will repurchase the item.

[rosscd57]

Respectfully - don't agree - I spoke to eBay the last time this happened to me. They told me to message the  the buyer to change his address, to change his PayPal address as well and to give him the reason why. Then, when this has happened,  I was to send the item and we both would be covered. they also told me I could use PayPal labels, to edit the old address to the new one and that's what I did.

No problem.

If there was a problem - there was a paper trail for a eBay Rep. to follow.

[pjcdn2005]

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@rosscd57 wrote:

Respectfully - don't agree - I spoke to eBay the last time this happened to me. They told me to message the  the buyer to change his address, to change his PayPal address as well and to give him the reason why. Then, when this has happened,  I was to send the item and we both would be covered. they also told me I could use PayPal labels, to edit the old address to the new one and that's what I did.

No problem.

If there was a problem - there was a paper trail for a eBay Rep. to follow.

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If the buyer indicated in ebay messages that they wanted an item sent to another address ebay has  said that they would cover the seller in an inr claim if the item was delivered to the new address. However, what the rep did not tell you was that if the buyer made a Paypal claim or a cc chargeback claim rather than an ebay claim......you would not be covered because the item wasn't sent to the payment address.  I've personally never had a problem sending an item to a different address but I still wouldn't be comfortable taking a chance with a $300 item. 

[zee-chan]

I also wouldn't take the risk since it's $300 (I'd be okay with it if under $80). I'd cancel the transaction, refund, ask the buyer to fix their address and repurchase, and then print a new label with the new address and ship that with tracked packet. If the buyer is a serious buyer and knows that it's their fault for not updating their address, then they shouldn't have a problem with repurchasing.

[rosscd57]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

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@rosscd57 wrote:

Respectfully - don't agree - I spoke to eBay the last time this happened to me. They told me to message the  the buyer to change his address, to change his PayPal address as well and to give him the reason why. Then, when this has happened,  I was to send the item and we both would be covered. they also told me I could use PayPal labels, to edit the old address to the new one and that's what I did.

No problem.

If there was a problem - there was a paper trail for a eBay Rep. to follow.

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If the buyer indicated in ebay messages that they wanted an item sent to another address ebay has  said that they would cover the seller in an inr claim if the item was delivered to the new address. However, what the rep did not tell you was that if the buyer made a Paypal claim or a cc chargeback claim rather than an ebay claim......you would not be covered because the item wasn't sent to the payment address.  I've personally never had a problem sending an item to a different address but I still wouldn't be comfortable taking a chance with a $300 item. 

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Well no one can stop a charge back for any reason.

If the PayPal shipping label was made after the buyer registered his new address with PayPal and the item was delivered to that address - I believe 100%  that PayPal would support it.

[pjcdn2005]

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@rosscd57 wrote:

If the PayPal shipping label was made after the buyer registered his new address with PayPal and the item was delivered to that address - I believe 100%  that PayPal would support it.

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Perhaps, but they certainly wouldn’t be required to do so since the item was not sent to the payment address.  It doesn’t matter what the PP address is...what’s important is the address that the buyer indicates at the time of purchase.  Anyway..it’s the sellers choice as to how they want to handle this..we all have different ways of assessing risk. I suspect the op has already decided what to do.