Buyer has paid for item but wants it sent to a different address

[chezzy]

Item was purchased as buy-it-now with immediate paypal payment requirement

Which option below is going to cause the least amount of dramas?

1) ask buyer to cancel transaction > I then refund payment > I then relist item > ask buyer to purchase again ensuring they change the address during checkout to the one they want (re paypal seller protection)

2) as above but with me the seller issuing the cancellation request

3) I log into paypal and select refund (do refund) and then get buyer to go through purchase again (can I even do this instead of cancel transaction etc....)

Just not sure which is the best option

Thanks!

[chezzy]

What a pain in the tail this is. I ended up calling paypal this morning because it still would not allow me to refund the

buyer (same message on the system). Even on the phone paypal tried to tell me I did not have sufficient funds to cover the refund.

When I pointed out that yes I did, that the paypal balance of XXX USD converts to more than enough to cover the AUD refund they had to put me on hold to figure it out. Then came back and told me they have now reversed the transaction. But this will now take a few days to clear.

I am pretty keen to avoid dramas, fees and phone calls in future so thinking about adding a note to my listings so that buyers ensure they check the shipping address during checkout.

[davewil1964]

If your funds are in USD, that is probably the reason. As you are trying to refund from a different currency.

Why, if you are paid in AUD, are your funds in USD?

[chezzy]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

If your funds are in USD, that is probably the reason. As you are trying to refund from a different currency.

Why, if you are paid in AUD, are your funds in USD?

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In the past I have often had to "think" in USD /US purchases and so tended to keep my balance in that currency.

Less need these days due to a certain GSP. So will have to keep an eye on things.

The American voice at paypal mentioned something about a glitch, did not seem to want to expand on that.

Interesting though that I actually tried to convert the currency before again attempting to refund but I experienced a 'glitch' with that also.

[curraone]

I know this is quite the wrong thing to do,  but if the buyer has emailed me saying he wants his item posted to a different address, I email back and say I will do, "and will keep his email for ebay's and paypal's records".     I think most buyers are genuine and will not attempt anything untoward.

And I don't give feedback straight away (like I usually do) but wait for feedback from him.

And on the packing slip, I print a copy of his email, and keep a copy for me.

This has happened a few times and it has ended ok.

Of course, if it was a very expensive item, I would probably re-think.

[chezzy]

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@curraone wrote:

I know this is quite the wrong thing to do,  but if the buyer has emailed me saying he wants his item posted to a different address, I email back and say I will do, "and will keep his email for ebay's and paypal's records".     I think most buyers are genuine and will not attempt anything untoward.

And I don't give feedback straight away (like I usually do) but wait for feedback from him.

And on the packing slip, I print a copy of his email, and keep a copy for me.

This has happened a few times and it has ended ok.

Of course, if it was a very expensive item, I would probably re-think.

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Are "records" going to cut it though re paypal seller protection? That was my main concern. I can see though that some sellers would just take the risk with items of lower value or that are easily replaceable. That makes sense to me.

I too keep records, especially of those things that deviate from the norm.

[curraone]

No, I don't think it will help much with paypal - it is just for the buyer's benefit, hopefully they won't know that

And thinking it over, if it was an expensive item, maybe I would send it registered post or signature with delivery, or insured, and rely on Australia Post's insurance.

[rocket2retro]

Reading this thread shows how ridiculous the whole system is. If you try to follow the buyer's wishes you're 'damned if you do and damned if you don't'.

A PayPal refund WILL earn you an 'out of stock' defect & cost you the 30 cent transaction fee. At best you're up for a lenghty chat with Ebay support & can hope for a retraction.

There is no guarantee that after refunding the money the buyer will pay again (they might have found a cheaper one in the interim etc etc).

Cancellation requests are invariably ignored by buyer in my experience (so at best a long wait ensues)

Personally, I too, keep the buyer's email and post to their preferred address.

Of course I run the risk of it going awry but I can't be bothered with all the BS you need to go through for something seemingyl so simple!

[curraone]

I agree, why take a chance of getting the buyer cross or irritated about jumping through hoops, when all he wants is the item sent to his preferred address.

He probably feels silly already, for not changing it in paypal when paying.

[chezzy]

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@rocket2retro wrote:

Reading this thread shows how ridiculous the whole system is. If you try to follow the buyer's wishes you're 'damned if you do and damned if you don't'.

A PayPal refund WILL earn you an 'out of stock' defect & cost you the 30 cent transaction fee. At best you're up for a lenghty chat with Ebay support & can hope for a retraction.

There is no guarantee that after refunding the money the buyer will pay again (they might have found a cheaper one in the interim etc etc).

Cancellation requests are invariably ignored by buyer in my experience (so at best a long wait ensues)

Personally, I too, keep the buyer's email and post to their preferred address.

Of course I run the risk of it going awry but I can't be bothered with all the BS you need to go through for something seemingyl so simple!

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And that is it in a nut shell! I so wanted to make this as painless for me the seller as well as the buyer. But nope, the 'system' and its various processes and procedures seems to put a stop to that. Ebay last night (live help/chat) were adamant I wouldn't get a defect if the cancel/refund process was followed. Which I have done. So I will have to check with them about the defect and fees.

[justcruising48]

Are you sure the sellers payment actually went thru' as that would prevent you refunding in the first place. It may have just been pending -that has happened to me. Also I recently had to cancell a sale as the buyers address was in Japanese figures that I could not read never mind write it. I just refunded the money, and rquested them to cancel the sale with problem with address. All was instant, I relisted and they bought it again. A bit of a problem as did not get the fees refunded originally, but 2 calls to ebay and it was done. Depends on who you get when you phone ebay, I;m always asking for a supervisor now