Buyer put SW on ebay when it should have been SE. Item being returned by USPS, WWYD?

[musicyouneed]

Buyer put 16 Ave SW on ebay file when it should have been 16 Ave SE. Item being returned by USPS as no such address, WWYD?  I sent her pictures of what she had listed on ebay, what it shows on USPS and listing for purchasing postage all show 16 Ave SW.  She admits to making an error on the address.  How do I handle this?  I don't want to refund the shipping amount to her. 

[reallynicestamps]

If she made the error then eBay does not require you to do anything.
https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...
 
This is the part I'm referring to:
 
Exclusions and special coverage when the buyer doesn't receive an item


Items collected by a third party on behalf of the buyer
Not covered


The buyer arranged their own shipping method, such as a courier pickup
Not covered


The buyer provided an invalid or incorrect address at checkout
Not covered

So that's the rules.

Did you print the label out from her payment? If so, make a copy of that payment notice with the incorrect address as a backup.

Now.

You still want a happy customer but you shouldn't have to lose money on the transaction.

Tell her that you will be happy to reship the purchase when you get it back. Tell her you will notify her when that happens.

• She agrees. You ask for the cost of shipping and give her your Paypal address. You can do this because you have been in a transaction. She pays, you ship to the CORRECTED address.
• She does not agree. When the item comes back to you, you refund her the selling price of the item, but not the shipping cost which went to the shipper.
• Some sellers will also reduce the refund by their costs (basically fees). Your choice.

She has 60 days to leave feedback.

She has up to 180 days from payment to open a Not Received claim with PP or a chargeback with her credit card. This is where that backup copy of her incorrect address can be useful.

Try to keep everything polite, cheerful and friendly. Everyone makes mistakes at some point

[musicyouneed]

Thanks for your response.  The address was downloaded right from ebay and the tracking # was posted to ebay.  The return address is my postal outlet in the US and it won't get back until sometime late next week and it will cost me a $3 fee to pick it up.  It is a Christmas CD so even remailing it, it won't make it to her.  She is a brand new buyer, mine is the only feedback.  I would like to email her a response stating that I will only refund her the cost of the item not the shipping or what ever you suggest.   I want to make it nice to I don't get a negative feedback.

[reallynicestamps]

"Buyer gave wrong address and CD returned by USPS.  Purchase price refunded" would be accurate in that case. No mention of shipping cost or your other costs.

Also, people buy Christmas music CDs? I thought they just appeared like safety pins and coathangers.

[musicyouneed]

Thanks, yes, people still buy Christmas CD's.  I have sold 5 in the last week and 2 just today.   I still use safety pins and coathangers too!

I did call ebay and they looked at my messages from the buyer and the proof I sent her and made a note on my file of the incorrect address the buyer provided.  And according to money back guarentee she wouldn't be eliglble as she provided the wrong address.  

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@musicyouneed wrote:

Thanks, yes, people still buy Christmas CD's.  I have sold 5 in the last week and 2 just today.   I still use safety pins and coathangers too!

I did call ebay and they looked at my messages from the buyer and the proof I sent her and made a note on my file of the incorrect address the buyer provided.  And according to money back guarentee she wouldn't be eliglble as she provided the wrong address.  

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@musicyouneed 

In the recent Seller Updates for December this tidbit arrived.

Our team is working hard to connect your items with buyers and provide tools and services to make listing, selling, and shipping for holiday easier.

• We rolled out a new address validation tool to ensure buyers enter the correct address.
• We expanded the number of photos available in each listing from 12 to 24.
• We compiled a list of key shipping deadlines for major carriers leading up to the holidays.

The new address validation tool will check the address a buyer enters during checkout against postal service records. In the event the buyer accidentally misspelled the address or entered the wrong postal code, eBay will now notify the buyer and suggest a change.

I recently had a parcel go to a customer in rural area outside of Ottawa. When I noticed the parcel was being held for pick up (almost a week)I forwarded on a note just to let them know. When they responded they advised me that they had moved and had not updated their address on ca. They had on com. I had just sent to address that arrived with the order. They were now 1 hour away but would pick up.

Last update on the parcel:

Nov 19, 2022

7:08pm

Final Notice; Item will be returned to sender if not collected within 10 days

So if the item was not picked up I would be on the hook for return shipping.

Was able to sneak this parcel in a Prepaid box to reduce shipping and passed on the discount. So IF it does get returned, not sure how/what  I will be billed. Because the address info was never updated there is no other way to contact the customer other the eBay messaging and there has been no follow up.

Doesn't sound like the new verification system worked in either of our cases. It should catch  problems like yours with SW/SE but not so much with a wrong address being used(chosen).  Whatever happens, both of us may be out some money if these order are returned to us. 

-Lotz

PS. According to CP this customer would have problems picking up their parcels because they would not have the card and item must be picked up the resident unless they had done a physical change of address then it would have all been moot.

As a side: Maybe there should be a bit more done(validating info) to confirm that phone numbers are correct/actual when customers set up their accounts. This is extremely important when there are problems with a delivery especially when customs is concerned.

[reallynicestamps]

unless they had done a physical change of address then it would have all been moot.

It's been my understanding that CoA card purchase does not apply to parcels. At least not to forwarding parcels.

But I suppose if the clerk is in a reasonable mood, as most are most of the time, presenting proof of the old address plus proof of the new address would work on a casual basis.

Which is why we should be polite to retail workers. Besides, her feet hurt.

[fergua3]

i'm not sure if this is a helpful comment, but i double check every address i ship to using 'zip code lookup' and 'postal code lookup'.   Takes a minute or two but it has saved me from situations like this a few times over the years.

Just google 'zip code lookup' and you will find the USPS address lookup.  Enter the address and it will tell you if it's valid or not.  Googling 'postal code lookup' will get you Canada Posts' lookup......enter the address and you can quickly verify if the address is valid.

For foreign addresses i just google the address i'm shipping to......if you get lots of returns showing that address you're good to go, if not or if they are a bit different, there's a problem.

[ricarmic]

I'm probably going to be the odd man out on this stuff, but I play the long game for situations like this. Keep in mind that about half of my sales come from repeat customers, which might not be the case for others.

I would advise the buyer that once the item came back I would reship to them again for no charge.

I've shared some extreme success stories in other threads where my customer becomes a very good repeat customer ($1000s in sales) after a situation like this. This is not "always" of course but one only needs a couple!

I use my "cookie jar" insurance fund for a variety of situations like this along with the usual INRs. At least in my world this kind of situation is only a couple times a year event so the overall $$$ risked/lost is pretty small.

[musicyouneed]

Me remailing it to the customer is not going to happen.  I live in North Vancouver and the mail is going to a Postal outlet in Blaine.  I have to arrange to go to Blaine by driving for an hour, (58 kilometers one way) pay $3 USD at the outlet just to pick it up and there is snow on the ground.   

This is a CD where at most I had a $4 profit originally but after paying the postal outlet the $3 you get my drift.   I don't think by her email she is the brightest crayon in the box.  Even her zip code corresponded to the wrong address.  

I can see by USPS that it had been returned to Blaine today, and I now need to decide whether to repay her for the original item less shipping and whether to include any other expense.  How would you handle this?

[musicyouneed]

I used to do that too for any new buyers.  I stopped I guess I will have to start it up again.  

[ricarmic]

My situation is different from yours because I don't use chitchats (or whatever I forget who you use and I'm too lazy to look it up in other threads) so theoretically it comes back to my own post office.

The last time I had a bad address a few weeks ago, it was addressed to 3180 instead of 3190, I treated it like an INR, I fully refunded the buyer and hoped it came back (never has yet anyway). The buyer subsequently purchased other stuff from me with the correct address*, so overall it worked out ok.

*The buyer was polite and positive in the conversation around the MIA item so I broke my rule and did NOT block them as I normally do for MIA packages. I am surprised that it hasn't gotten back yet, but sometimes these things take months to get back.

[pjcdn2005]

I don't know for sure what I would do. In this case I would probably refund for just the item, not the original shipping because its very clear cut what the problem was.  If you only made a few dollars on the sale, I am guessing that refunding the shipping would put you in the hole.