posted on January 27, 2003 11:17:40 PM new
I recently quit accepting unconfirmed addresses (or is it s'?) due to a chargeback for $160.00. Right away, I've had some bad response to this change from my customers. I need to save time in micro-managing emails as is. Now I seem to have added a new flame to the fire.
It seems as if a large minority of people purchasing items on ebay are buying gifts for other people and want them shipped to an alternate address. I also have students away at college, who have a home address (with their parents) registered at paypal.
So, my bottom line is whether sellers find confirmed vs. unconfirmed better? Anyone out there have experience changing their policy over to only accepting confirmed? Did you have more people end up flaking on payments? And finally, did the rate of paypal payments go down by changing this policy? Personally, I wouldn't mind it if I received more mail payments, but don't care to sacrifice it for an increase in non-paying bidders.
Thoughts, advice, darts, laurels are all welcomed.
posted on January 28, 2003 04:31:20 AM new
I have a lot of customers who request their items be mailed to their place of employment. Like me, they don't want their items left sitting on their porch for the entire day. In order to confirm an address, it has to be the address your credit card is billed to. Or, am I wrong on this? Let me know if I am. If items I bought were to be left sitting on my porch, the chances are great that they would not be there when I arrived home. I haven't had any chargebacks yet, so maybe I'll change my tune if that ever happens (knock hard on wood). I do send to unconfirmed addresses if it is obviously someone's place of employment. If not, I won't do it.
posted on January 28, 2003 04:36:31 AM new
Sorry, I dont have an answer for you but I would love to hear the responses. I, too, was just considering unconfirmed addresses yesterday. In fact, I would say about one third of my paypal payments are from unconfirmed addresses. I have always honored them as most of them have been small end amounts. This month has been good to me and I have been taking in almost double the normal payments. Now I have to start questioning accepting these. It is going to hurt a lot more if someone made a chargeback on these. I am all ears because I also really need advice on this one.
posted on January 28, 2003 04:55:47 AM new
If it's anything over about $100 I won't ship to an unconfirmed address. I recently sold a laptop and I put right in my TOS that for PayPal I would absolutely not ship to an unconfirmed address. For smaller items, I don't really care.
http://www.ezinkjetstore.com
posted on January 28, 2003 07:16:10 AM new
I auctions state that if the buyer not a confirmed user or unconfirmed address the item will not be shipped until the funds clear my bank account. I have never had a problem with a buyer complaining.
posted on January 28, 2003 07:53:34 AM new
It takes just a few minutes to confirm an address with PayPal. I personally have two, and use them both depending upon the item.
When I'm selling, I have my PayPal controls set to ask me whenever a buyer tries to use an unconfirmed address. Then I just click on the refuse button and their payment is rejected until they can comply with the TOS - where it is stated that I ship to confirmed addresses only.
Only had one real complainer because he didn't want to give PayPal his CC# just to confirm his address. I reminded him the invoice had other payment options that might work better for him, after which he sent a money order.
posted on January 28, 2003 08:44:35 AM new
if you accept paypal,paypal notices go out after auction end and it is so convenient for your paypal fans to click and pay you.
it depends on what you sell and how much is the amount involved and where do they want you to ship to(if unconfirmed addr).
if you dont feel comfortable shipping to russia,romania,indonesia,guam etc,just say so.
they can always go to bidpay and get you a money order using their credit card.
for the kind of merchandise i sell,i have no problem shipping to unconfirmed addr
posted on January 28, 2003 09:06:13 AM new
I ship to unconfirmed addresses, too. If it's a high dolllar item, I e-mail the bidder and ask them to confirm the address in an e-mail. As long as the address on PayPal matches what they send me I'm OK with it. I view it like sending the package to a work address. Something you have to do for business.
posted on January 28, 2003 12:19:14 PM new
Here is a new scam:
Someone places a large order using a credit card and asks that it be sent to their work address. They did not provide a home address so I can't process the order because without a billing address it doesn't go through. So I try to track them down in Internet directories and can't find any person with that name in the state where the package is going. So I call the "work place" and find out that it is a freight forwarder. The person does not work there. They just paid the forwarder to accept packages for them and ship them to RUSSIA! Of course the credit card was stolen.
There is a reason why you should verify addresses and a reason why Paypal has a confirmed address. I'm happy to hear that most of you have had no problems. Just remember that if you do have a problem, don't come back on the boards whining about how paypal screwed you. It is your choice to follow the rules and your risk if you don't.
posted on January 28, 2003 12:47:36 PM new
I ship to unconfirmed as well. And, I have asked them to ship to my PO box which is unconfirmed and had no problems with sellers doing so.
As far as one step to confirm? I have tried over and over to get my PO box confirmed and I just can't seem to get it accepted.
posted on January 28, 2003 12:55:47 PM new
yisgood
Paypal does not verify the card holder, so this is a crap shoot at the best of times.
I do ship a lot to unconfirmed addy's as my bidders do buy for gifts etc. So far so good.
Over a certain dollar amount I will only take bidpay or postal money orders to do this.
Paypal is a great system, but one must use common sense to truly have sellers protection.
posted on January 28, 2003 01:31:17 PM new
I suppose the problem would be solved if paypal would take more steps when people set up an account. It's not an unreasonable thing for them to do. I get requests all the time to ship to other addresses, and have not been burned. (Doesn't mean I can't be) but quite honestly, you can be burned shipping it to a confirmed address. I ship everything via delivery confirmation and hope for the best. You aren't going to be in this business without being screwed though, just isn't possible. I've had chargebacks on stolen credit cards outside of paypal, it is always the merchant that loses in these situations.
posted on January 28, 2003 04:48:57 PM new
I haven't received official notice from Paypal (another great move on their part). I am guessing it was stolen b/c another seller received a chargeback from the same buyer.
Paypal also removed all relevent information concerning the payment including whether the address was confirmed or not confirmed. Then paypal requires me to furnish proof of delivery (tracking) as proof that I truly shipped it within 7 days. I didn't have delivery confirmation, but I had the USPS insurance form I filled out with the insurance tracking number. Paypal's answer on that... That won't work. Yet the post office will provide the tracking info on it with just insurance coverage. Local Claims rep at the post offic told me it was delivered, but no signiature was done, which ticked her off. I asked her, "how am I supposed to know if it was delivered correctly if the delivery person failed to get a signiature and left it. She sounded frustrated. I find that to be a good sign in filing the claim for insurance coverage, but who knows...
posted on January 28, 2003 04:59:10 PM newfind that to be a good sign in filing the claim for insurance coverage, but who knows.
Lots of luck with that one. Post office will just say sorry, It was delivered. So now you will be out of luck.
For $160.00 dollars worth of goods best to use another form of payment. Problem is that you do not see the CC# or name, other wise you could check with the bank to verify the card holders name and addy.
posted on January 28, 2003 08:47:02 PM new
I have no problem with sellers who say they won't ship to an unconfirmed address - up front, in the auction text. That's their right, and if I want the item badly enough (which would be rare. It's never happened yet) I'll bid anyway and plan to pay with an MO. Otherwise, I'm confident the item will roll around again and someone else will take my money.
But if they try to add to their TOS after the auction ends, I have a problem - a big one. My buyer account has over 300 unique positive fb, no negs, two neutrals from the "old days" when NARUs were converted to neutrals. I am practically a charter member of Paypal. But Paypal refuses to verify a PO box - under any circumstances, including re-routing your credit card statements there or using their "alternative address verification" process - and my PO box is the only address at which I can receive packages. They WILL be stolen if delivered to my house. (Paper mail goes through a slot in the door, which is right on the street.)
In addition, there are many women who are very nervous about releasing their home address to strangers. I'd say about 2/3 of the people I see checking PO boxes at my post office are women.
If you have a stack of information that makes you nervous about a particular bidder (they seem shifty, their emails are suspicious, you're getting calls from police officers asking about the auction they won) then clearly the unconfirmed address might be the last straw in their trustworthiness, and you might - MIGHT - be justified in deciding not to continue the transaction and refund the payment on a one-time basis. But if you're going to make a habit of it, I'd suggest you put honest bidders who need to use a PO Box on notice by letting them know up-front that you don't intend to take their money.
I guess I'm a little impassioned on this subject ... just recently had a seller who tried to change the terms after-the-fact on me. She's the one and only seller who ever refused to accept my payment (a few others have balked, but came around after an explanation) and she refused to accept that Paypal would not confirm a PO Box. Finally, we agreed to cancel the sale by mutual agreement ... now I'm waiting to see if she'll try to sneak in a neg.
[ edited by msincognito on Jan 28, 2003 08:48 PM ]
