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Most of the time ebay works fine but when you run to an exception you often end up in one of those situations which can be needlessly frustrating because site documentation on policies and procedures as well as answers from customer service reps are conflicting. Here is a recent scenario that occurred: a buyer placed an order then subsequently asked for the item to be shipped to a different address. Fortunately, it was caught before the order was processed as it is next to impossible to get a package intercept on international first class with USPS and it can take months for a package to be returned for an incorrect address, if it makes it back at all.
If the customer is a regular, I generally have no problem with this request and ship away to the new address. Having dealt with the headaches of paypal chargebacks in this scenario previously, if the customer is a new customer I have not dealt with before I’ll advise them I will be happy to do so by processing a cancellation for the existing order and placing a new order, in keeping in line with guidance from paypal as well as previous guidance given by ebay.
The buyer was responded to within 20 minutes of the transaction explaining it was no problem to ship to their new address but I would need them to update their address in ebay and place a new order after accepting a cancellation request and confirming their refund as I am required to ship to the address on the order. The buyer subsequently followed up stating the item had been shipped to the incorrect address which was odd given that they had replied to the message I had sent them. To ensure clarity a reply was given to reiterate how to proceed with more detailed instructions in case they were unaware how to update their address and to ensure they were aware their order was being held and not shipped out to the incorrect address and how the cancel/refund process works. The buyer then subsequently left negative feedback several days later stating they had not received their item. The buyer was then again messaged explaining again the situation at which point they apologized and asked for their item to be resent.
As I have seen contradicting information posted by ebay reps on this situation and questions from others sellers regarding this I decided to test how they handle such a situation in practice. First let’s look and see what guidance ebay provides to sellers. In the below screenshots you can see a typical example of where ebay documentation is not consistent on the site. If you for search for “changing your shipping address” you get guidance stating that if you need to change your shipping address, ask the seller if it is possible to send to a different address if they have not already shipped your item. If you search for “item being sent to the wrong address” you get guidance stating that if you have paid for your item the seller has to ship to the address listed on the order details page. So far not so good. Perhaps a phone call can shed some light?
After explaining the situation to a phone rep they explained if a buyer asks for an order to be sent to a different address and does so through the ebay messaging system you are “covered” by ebay. I then asked what that coverage entails since in this scenario you are not covered by paypal if you ship to an address other than that on the transaction. I also pointed out the text on the ebay site that directs a seller to only ship to the address on the buyer’s order. I specifically asked if the buyer files a chargeback with paypal would I receive a courtesy refund from ebay since I am “covered” as the buyer provided the new address. The rep replied I would not be given a refund by ebay in this scenario if paypal refunded the customer as they cannot control a third party refunding the customer. I then asked about feedback removal, at which point they stated they could delete feedback comment as a courtesy. On to phone call two!
The second phone call proved more fruitful after being redirected to someone more familiar with this area. The customer service rep stated as a seller we have to ship to the address provided and confirmed that a cancellation request and asking the buyer to place a new order was the correct procedure to follow. I explained the contradictory advice been given by reps on the phone as well as posted on the community forums and ebay site itself. The rep again reiterated a seller should only ship to the address on the order and to follow up with a cancellation request and new order to service the customer. I inquired about negative feedback received in this situation and the rep stated the feedback should and would be removed, and that just removing the feedback comment was not the correct procedure in this case.
This is where there is needless frustration for both the buyer and seller. I can see from a buyer’s point of view how they can be confused by a cancelation request given the customer help pages on the ebay site regarding an incorrect order address give conflicting answers depending on which search terms you use. I’m fine with updated polices and changes, but those need to reflected in the documentation on site to avoid unnecessary friction between a buyer and seller. Furthermore, those need to be clearly communicated to customer service reps. There is always the potential for customer service training and experience shortfalls, so it is important that written policies and procedures are documented properly and are consistent.
Yeah, I see that now. The first message was not clear, so that's why I responded. But the new message does say the same thing. 
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