eBay

volts_niagara · ‎12-19-2012

Hello! I sent an item to a buyer who had an incomplete address in both his Ebay and Paypal addresses. It appears that the street number was left out on both. He appears to be new to Ebay, no feedbacks yet.

Now the item has been returned to me and he wants it sent back overnight because it needed for an urgent repair.

I do feel partially responsible for not noticing when I shipped it. It is common sense to expect an address number but it escaped my notice since I printed a shipping label directly through PayPal.

I feel partially responsible but am I obligated to cover the entire cost of an overnight ship, or half of it?....Or should I refund all or part of his original shipping costs? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you!

westernstargifts · ‎12-19-2012

It is up to the buyer to provide the correct shipping address. However it is probably good business to take some responsibility for not noticing the missing number.

Did the buyer pay for overnight shipping in the first place? If not I would bill him for overnight shipping less the original shipping charged (if you want to take partial responsibility). Keep in mind that the buyer could have omitted the number on purpose knowing it would be returned to you and then hoping to get free overnight shipping. Buyers with 0 FB can be newbies or they can be scammers who set up new id's al the time.

dipmicro · ‎12-19-2012

There is no mistake on your part. How are you supposed to know if address is complete ?

Bill the buyer for overnight shipping. If they refuse, refund less shipping and handling and relist.

volts_niagara · ‎12-20-2012

Hello! Thanks for the advice, I think he was a newbie so I let it slide & pitched in for the return shipping. A lesson learned for both of us, I guess.

Thanks again!

dipmicro · ‎12-20-2012

You are conditioning your buyer to expect a free pass on his next purchase from another ebay seller.

stevephinn2012 · ‎12-20-2012

Thing is if he filled with paypal for an "item not received' he would have gotten a FULL refund.

At least you took the time to work it out with the buyer and now have a happy buyer .

Anonymous · ‎12-21-2012

The town I live in has approximatley 1500 residents. There is no home delivery for postal mail unless it is rural. Everyone in town is urged to use Post Office box numbers on in coming mail. The street address is not required. I sell worldwide and I have seen some addresses that make no sense to me or a Canada post employees, so we have to rely on the system to forward the item to the right country where employees can decifer the address. Your buyer needed this wakeup call.

volts_niagara · ‎12-21-2012

Hi everyone, Thanks for chiming in, I truly appreciate it. My friend always says I am "milquetoast". The good side is that I will, for the next 100 years, check the address over and double-check with the buyer if anything looks off.

inuk_the_polar_bear · ‎12-21-2012

I hold buyers accountable for their addresses. They do not want to include their suite number in a five-plex of buildings all with the same street address, not my problem. Do not want to have a mailbox because "They jess leave it on the ground under the bush anyway" and it comes back to me, not my problem.

Move into a new developement that does not have door to door delivery and all they give is a non-deliverable address, not my problem.

A lot of folks expect society to hold them by the hand. They can make any mistake they want because someone else will clean it up.

I used to double-check addresses, look for the ZIP locater code, no phone number for the Expedited form, etc. I quit. The buyer does not care, I will not.

stevephinn2012 · ‎12-21-2012

I hold buyers accountable for their addresses. They do not want to include their suite number in a five-plex of buildings all with the same street address, not my problem. Do not want to have a mailbox because "They jess leave it on the ground under the bush anyway" and it comes back to me, not my problem.

While that sounds good in "principal" IF you cannot prove that the item was actually delivered to them paypal gives them back EVERY dime they paid you including shipping. Which means you are then out you ebay fees,paypal fees and the original shipping costs.