Correcting address details after payment

[australisblue]

Long story short: the seller needs to update my address from my US address to my Australian address. I actually paid for international shipping but due to a total train wreck we've ended up in this situation where the address on the transaction is wrong and they can't print USPS labels to get the eBay rate.

This is not ideal (at all, so don't judge me!) but the seller seemed to have great difficulty updating shipping methods and when adding an AU shipping option did something weird, they somehow updated the domestic US shipping method to charge the correct international rate but wouldn't let me enter my Australian address still. I explained this but I feel like perhaps they are older and/or not good with technology and were having trouble working it out. In the end I just wanted it done and the pain to end so I agreed to their suggestion where I could just enter my US address so I could actually pay and they would ship to my correct Australian address (which they had as I'd sent them a screenshot showing them the error it was displaying while I was trying to pay).

This probably would have worked but instead of $100 shipping eBay quoted, USPS wanted $250 so they aborted at the post office.

So the question is, what are the options in getting this fixed? Preferably the easiest way for them.

1) Ideally we can get it fixed up, my correct AU address selected. This would require a GST payment as well (which I never tried to avoid in the first place).
2) If fixing it proves too hard for them, is there a way they can refund the excess shipping amount and just ship it to my US forwarding address I entered? I'd prefer option 1) though so would still appreciate some options.

I could just ask them to refund the whole thing and walk away from it but the item was hard to find in good condition so I really don't want to give it up. I'm also not suspecting any kind of scam here, they just seemed to have some troubles adjusting their shipping options.

Thanks for any assistance.

[australisblue]

I'm thinking even with option 2) where they refund the difference and ship domestically, it will have the wrong shipping method selected in eBay and maybe they can't print labels or get the correct rate or something anyway...

[sugar249]

Firstly as a seller we must send to the address the buyer gives in the original transaction, or else Ebay wont always cover us if something goes astray.

Best way is cancel that sale.   Then the seller relists, and this time you purchase with the correct address.

If you would have done that on one of my sales, I would have cancelled with incorrect buyer address (or whatever the Ebay term is).

Always check your address before purchasing,  don't put it on the seller to fix your mistake.

[siddieswans]

Sugar has explained it perfectly. It is up to you to ask the seller to cancel the sale (they can use the reason "buyer request" without any sanction from eBay) and all the money you have paid will be refunded. Then ask the seller (nicely) to re-list, ideally with a title that will not attract other buyers (ie Special Listing for XXXX) and you can purchase using the Australian address.

"Firstly as a seller we must send to the address the buyer gives in the original transaction, or else Ebay won't always cover us if something goes astray." Exactly - it is not a question of the seller "having trouble working it out". It is up to the buyer to make sure that they purchase using the appropriate address.

[australisblue]

Thanks for the replies. I will point out though that I didn't enter the incorrect address myself and then ask the seller to fix it. They were the ones who asked me to do this as they had trouble fixing the shipping method, they basically got the right shipping rate but wouldn't allow a non-US address to be enter. I explained this to them that it was wrong and I tried to get them to fix it properly beforehand but they seemed to be struggling and decided to give into their suggestion of just entering an address that would allow me to complete the transaction and pay and that they'd send to the correct address. I was definitely not pleased with this solution to the problem but by agreeing thought I might make it easier for them to just get it done - I did initially type out what happened in detail that explained it better but then realised no one would read a medium length novel about how it all came about.

[australisblue]

Thanks for the reply sugar249, I appreciate it. To clarify, as explained in my last reply above to someone else, the seller was the one who had asked me to do this, I was definitely not putting it on the seller to fix my mistake. My mistake was giving in and doing what they suggested in the thought I was making it easier for them, in hindsight I should definitely not have done what they said. I wasn't very comfortable about it in the first place.

Do you know of a good tutorial I can send them in setting up a new listing that has the correct shipping methods that will allow my AU address? I am just worried given they had trouble fixing their existing listing before I even paid that they might equally have troubles creating a brand new listing and getting the shipping options right. They are not a regular seller on eBay and don't seem at all familiar with how to set things up properly.

[sugar249]

Not sure why you keep blaming the seller,  the buyer provides the address,  I as a seller never see the address until the buyer commits to buy.   If you werent happy with that address,  you shouldnt have provided it.   I feel sorry for this seller having to deal with it.