Ebay item not received when sent to buyers registered address

[Nutbeem]

I recently sold a pair of Bib Tights on Ebay, seller has said item not received & is asking for a refund.

Checking my messages from Ebay the item sold email showed the buyers registered address, which is what I used to post the item. I’ve now seen that the payment message showed a different delivery address.

I’ve sent a screen shot of the Ebay message to the buyer and explained this is where I posted the parcel to. His response has been to show me his own screenshot of his Ebay delivery address and demanded a refund.

He hasn’t commented on the registered address in my screenshot. The two addresses are 3 miles apart, I suspect he has moved at some time and has not amended all his Ebay details. He also says he is not able to check for the item at the (nearby) address.

I sympathise with him for having paid for an item he has not received, but at this stage I’m not convinced it is my fault. Ebay Help pages keep sending me in circles with no obvious option for me to ask them why the address is wrong.

Any thoughts on where I go next with this?

[phantasmagoriana]

As a seller, you need to post to the address the buyer provides in PayPal checkout. Pretty sure eBay will make you refund if this isn't the case.

This thread seems to be about a similar situation:
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Archive-Seller-Central/Buyers-delivery-address-different-to-that-on-the-invoice/td-p/5415251

[Nutbeem]

As a seller, you need to post to the address the buyer provides in PayPal checkout. Pretty sure eBay will make you refund if this isn't the case.

This thread seems to be about a similar situation:
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Archive-Seller-Central/Buyers-delivery-address-different-to-that-on-the-invoice/td-p/5415251

Yes I've seen that now, not something I've encountered before. I can see lots of others have been caught out in the same way, suggesting to me a fundamental flaw in the system.

I think you're right that eBay will make a refund, but at the moment he's asked me directly and hasn't said anything about the registered address that I have shown him - so my question is what isn't he telling me?

He also says he can't go to the address to see if the item is there. If it were me and the item is at a nearby address that would be my first action before asking for a refund.

[grams]

tbh There are plenty of legit reasons why someone wouldn’t want to revisit their old address. I’d include CBA among them.

[Paul H]

For the price of a couple of stamps, you could write to the address you sent to with a SEA (And a phone number) and ask what happened to the package.
The buyer could be more co-operative, but IMO it was your error.

[phantasmagoriana]

tbh There are plenty of legit reasons why someone wouldn’t want to revisit their old address. I’d include CBA among them.

Yes - as a buyer, I'd be annoyed if I had to do this.

I don't think the registered address is relevant here, rightly or wrongly, and I don't think the buyer has to answer any queries about it (eBay are generally pretty much on the buyer's side unless they've done something very wrong - I have experience of this from both sides!). They've given their preferred postal address during checkout, and the item hasn't been sent there.

[citoyen]

Pretty sure eBay will make you refund

This. They won’t be interested in discussing it with you to explain their reasons. And certainly won’t be interested in admitting it’s their fault for not making the information more clear.

Unfortunately, it looks like you’re going to have to suck this one up.

[rafletcher]

I’d tell the buyer to request the refund via PayPal in the normal way, and see what happens. It’ll likely result in you being made to pay of course, but at least it’s all in the open that way.

[Nutbeem]

As a seller, you need to post to the address the buyer provides in PayPal checkout. Pretty sure eBay will make you refund if this isn't the case.

This thread seems to be about a similar situation:
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Archive-Seller-Central/Buyers-delivery-address-different-to-that-on-the-invoice/td-p/5415251

In those examples people have different addresses for obvious reasons; e.g. registered address home, delivery address work.
In these instances the situation would be inconvenient, but resolvable.

In my situation the buyer is suggesting he has no connection to the registered address & this thread would be more applicable:

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Archive-Buyer-Central/i-have-bought-an-item-but-they-have-been-sent-to-my-old-address/td-p/2727808

It looks like I'm not the first seller to have been caught by this.

[Nutbeem]

I’d tell the buyer to request the refund via PayPal in the normal way, and see what happens. It’ll likely result in you being made to pay of course, but at least it’s all in the open that way.

Yes, it's looking like I will have to make a refund, which is frustrating. In the circumstances I will be asking the buyer to put his request through Ebay so I can present my side of the case, not that I think it will make much difference.

[quixoticgeek]

And yet I see a number of sellers who claim they will only send to the registered address of the paypal account...

J

[MikeFromLFE]

And yet I see a number of sellers who claim they will only send to the registered address of the paypal account...

J

That's the approach I used to take, but now that PayPal isn't the only payment option there's more scope for significant foul ups as I see it - the OPs example being an example.

[grams]

If you print your labels with eBay it picks the address for you, which should give you some protection as a seller.

[Nutbeem]

For the price of a couple of stamps, you could write to the address you sent to with a SEA (And a phone number) and ask what happened to the package.
The buyer could be more co-operative, but IMO it was your error.

Update and letter sent and package returned to me "Not Known at This Address".
Refund sent and I'm just down by the postage, so reasonable result.

Still no idea why the buyer had wrong address or didn't want to try and retrieve the parcel himself, but that's his loss.