Buyer had wrong address, item was sent back, what now?

[intr5555]

Like the subject, I had tracking, and the tracking says that the recipient was not found and the item was returned to sender. I sent the item to the address listed under "Order Details". I contacted the buyer, and he says that the house number was off and he's not sure why.

My question is how to resolve this, all while remaining under ebay protection. It seems that no matter what, I am going to be down the shipping cost. From what I gathered, If I refund through ebay, I have to refund full price, shipping included. If I send it back, There's no way to have buyer pay shipping costs again through ebay protection and no way for me to safely ensure it is indeed the correct address.

Am I correct? Is there something I can do?

[mr.elmwood]

Pretty much. I had something like this last winter. Parcel went to the listed address. I get an email from the buyer asking where I sent it, oh that is wrong, send it here. It was already on the way. Parcel comes back, buyer is less than helpful, I refund, get a neg. Phone eBay and they said I should have tried harder.

Thanks for the policy violation on your part eBay.

Two moths ago, a parcel comes back. It should not have. Buyer was truly bewildered. I argued with CP and got a refund from them and re-shipped. Parcel went through, just fine, on the second try, same address.

Me? I would eat it and send it out. If I had not received the refund from CP, I was going to eat the cost and re-send.

This is very rare that this happens. Very rare. I judge each case on its' own merits. This one sounds like my most recent one. Buyer was truly baffled.

If it is not the buyer's fault, how can you hold them accountable?

[vintagenorth]

Did you send to the address shown in PayPal? That is the address that you need to use, not the one shown by eBay although they really should be the same (but not always). The PayPal address is the confirmed ship-to address.

If the address is correct as per PayPal and you sent the item with tracking then you could ask the buyer to pay to have it re-sent. Send him/her an invoice for the extra shipping cost through PayPal. The only thing is, you could still get bad FB from your buyer if he is unhappy having to pay for shipping again. Not sure if it would be removed by ebay.

[mr.elmwood]

Vintage, I got a neg for exactly that. eBay said I should have tried harder.

[mdf_jersey]

If you sent this item to the address that was listed as the buyers account address, then this is the buyers fault. Obliviously this can get tricking as the buyer could refuse to pay additional shipping to resend the item.

I would ask for charges from the buyer to re ship. I would also ask the buyer to fix the address before you resend. If the buyer refuses to send money for re ship, then I guess its up to you on what you want to do.

I have had a few cases such as this and usually the buyer has sent money for a re send. Cant hurt to try this first.. Dont say to the buyer , this was your fault. Just state that you sent it to the address the buyer had listed and you will need added funds to resend. Or split the charges.

Good Luck

[mdf_jersey]

Vintage, I got a neg for exactly that. eBay said I should have tried harder.

I received a neg for charging GST. LOL. I was able to call ebay and surprisingly they removed the neg, saying it wasnt fair. It may also work in this case that you get a Neg, because this is not your fault. You did everything correct.

[intr5555]

Well, The added problem is that the item is quite large, and the shipping reflects that. So it's not exactly guaranteed that he would want the item shipped back. 

So What would happen if the buyer didn't want it back? Can ebay help recover shipping costs at all?

What happens if I don't do anything? Negative feedback? 

[vintagenorth]

Well, if the buyer doesn't want it back then you should refund his payment but if he gave you an incorrect shipping address you could deduct your shipping cost from the refund. However, this could mean a neg from the buyer. If the address error was your fault then refund the entire payment. You haven't really said where the address error was. Was it the fault of ebay, the buyer, seller, or the post office?

[reallynicestamps]

where the address error was. Was it the fault of ebay, the buyer, seller, or the post office?

Personally, I blame the unhelpful neighbour who didn't accept the package then walk it next door.

I'd be asking the bidder if he would agree to a Mutual Cancellation. You're still out the postage and profit on the sale, but you have the item back and both you and the buyer can leave feedback.

Keep it friendly.

Politely.-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds.