Absured PO Box policy

[george744]

I am noticing more and more transactions that cannot be completed with shipping to a PO Box here in Australia.

PO Boxes in Aust. Are government run and expensive.

We use this because it's secure. The roadside box is anything but.

Last week I tried to order a product from a vendor in Australia, albeit likely another drop-ship.

I was blocked at checkout.

I contacted the seller.

They swore black and blue that I could ship to the PO box, and they did this frequently.

Eventually I found the same vendor, same product and the same price on Google.

I ordered and guess what … the product was shipped via an eBay service even though a direct transaction.

What does this prove?

Few if any sellers understand the default shipping options.

They don't understand that it excludes so many buyers.

They have not noticed that it is a relatively recent change.

Far worse is the fact you've got to now read the fine print in the shipping even when you receive an offer from a vendor.

I've tried calling eBay several times … they just don't get it.

Same old “we understand”  … clearly they do not.

Really and truly, this needs fixing … yesterday.

[paper-jack]

If you are on good terms with your local PO, have items shipped to their street address. One of my customers does this and seems to work fine.

[george744]

Thank you Paper-Jack,
This may work, but it is not a guarantee.

Australia Post has an option where you pay an extra $26/yr on top of the massive PO box fee, but I've not seen how this works.

When you read the exclusion lit for these vendors the term PO box, looks like it has been dropped in with a bunch of Third World countries.

It was clearly ill-conceived and not understood by the vendors.

Ebay's loss as I now do the bulk of my shopping on AliExpress – cheaper, will post to a box and sometimes faster.

Rgds

[viewmont1071]

Many vendors only use couriers. Couriers can not and do not deliver to PO boxes.