Buyer had address "to post office" and Sendle can't deliver. What should I do?

[miske987]

Hi guys,

Buyer that bought more then couple of items and had the address saying "to Post Office" but didn't give me any additional informations or selected the preferred method of postage so I used Sendle as cheaper option. Now it seems that item can't be delivered so it will probably come back to me. Now I said that I would be happy to refund him in case it comes back or he can pay for the shipping by AUpost but he insist that he wants it send back without paying the shipping again. Not sure what should I do in this case because I already gave him cheaper prices and if I pay for postage again I will be loosing money. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

[padi*0409]

You could ask them their address and get Sendle to redirect the parcel - whether they do or not is the question, they generally use the cheapest courier option with it's associated problems.

By using Sendle , even though they are cheaper, you are getting into a bit of a minefield. I will always avoid sellers that use them due to past experiences with them.

Edit. You could refund the buyer when you get the items back, but you are likely to get a neg if you do.

[miske987]

He does not want to have it to go to different address, he wants it to go to that post office. 

[padi*0409]

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@miske987 wrote:

He does not want to have it to go to different address, he wants it to go to that post office. 

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Well Sendle will not deliver to a PO box, so your only option is to send by AP when you get the parcel back.

You can't expect the buyer to pay 2 lots of postage for what, in effect, is your problem. You should have known that couriers don't deliver to PO boxes (apart from Startrack).

[oddsandendsoz]

When I was at the PO yesterday (waiting a crazy amount of time btw) I overheard the AP person helping a customer who was applying for a PO Box and she mentioned that he could sign up for PO Box Plus which would mean other courier companies could also drop off parcels there. I had never heard of it and I am pretty sure she said it was only $10 extra.

Having looked into it more, it is supposed to be more than $10 and it is limited to 50 parcels per year I think. Not sure what happens when you reach the 50 parcels.

[padi*0409]

Yes, I'd heard about that option a year or so ago, but I have no idea how the courier companies would know that certain PO boxes can be used free of charge for them.

Couriers can in fact deliver to PO boxes, but they have to pay AP for the use of that service, which is why they almost always refuse to do it.

[siddieswans]

I use Post Office Box Plus. It is an extra $24 per year on top of your PO Box fee; that covers 50 deliveries per year. After that a $3 fee is charged for any extra delivery. As I live in a large complex with security access it is well worth it for me as couriers will often just dump a parcel outside the building door without even trying to see if anyone is at home. The address doesn't look like a PO Box - it is Suite XXX (your PO Box number) and then the physical address (number, street, suburb) of the Post Office. The only problem occurs when a novice courier (and there were lots of those during COVID) sees the address is a PO and just says "I can't deliver there". So when I am buying on-line I try my PO Box address first, and if that is rejected, I use the Suite XXX one.

[janeababe]

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@miske987 wrote:

He does not want to have it to go to different address, he wants it to go to that post office. 

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-When the item returns back to you, cancle the sale as *problem with buyers address*  as the reason. 
-Give full refund.

-Email buyer that you will list again with AP with tracking as ONLY postage option for them to purchase  again.

-Must Use tracking. I think this buyer is going to be trouble.

-If they leave a neg, come back here and we will advise you on what to do. Hopefully get it removed. 

[papermoon.lady]

It's up to you what you want to do in this case. If you refund the buyer after the item is returned to you and the buyer leaves you a neg, I think you could have it removed by eBay.

In the future, you might want to specify in your listings that Sendle does not deliver to PO boxes and offer AusPost as an alternative to people who have PO Boxes.

[countessalmirena]

papermoon.lady, that would work if every buyer were sensible and honest and actually read the information in a listing.