Suspicious buyer...

[LeicaFoReVer]

I have just sold my Canon P for 174$ 🙁

while I feel it is sold below its value, the buyer sounds me suspicious...(on ebay)

He says he just moved to NY from NJ and on paypal his NY address appears. And he wants me to send it to someone else's name (his landlord) as he says his contract still has not been finished so he gave his landlord's name for me to send the box.

Doesnt it sound suspicious? Any suggestions?

He says he will change his address on paypal and he will check the apartmant's post policy on Monday. Come on you dont need apartment policy to pick up the box from post office...

 

[elshaneo]

It does seems quite suspicious to me, I would hesitate to send the camera...

 

[Rayt]

There had been many time I bought stuff here and Photo.net and had stuff sent to another address that is not my PP address. If the seller objects to this arrangement then I would understand of course but no one ever made a fuss of it.

 

[35mmdelux]

I would be hesitant even after 400+ trades (100% pos FB). Tell him your policy is to ship to the address forwarded by Paypal. Why cant he change PP address IMMEDIATELY?

EDIT: On occasion I have shipped to diff address but only after answering all my questions without hiccup.

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

well if he claims that he didnot get the package I can not prove that I sent the item to him as the addresses are different and names are too...Even if I put the tracking number how can I persuade paypal? That is the issue...I will wait him to sort it out on Monday and if he can not I will not ship it. Well he sounds positive to anything to solve the problem but I will not make a mistake...

 

[Bill58]

I'd give him the boot and sell it here on the RFF market! BTW-I'd price it here, if clean/ functioning, for about $250 USD.

 

[Lilserenity]

I think the safe thing to do is say you will ship it to that name and address when the Paypal account changes until then you are happy to ship tomorrow to the current address on his account.

If he gets all shirty with you and gets eBay on your back, what's the worst they're gonna do? E-mail you and ask you why when you can explain the predicament. eBay should understand where you are coming from.

Stick to your guns and if the buyer has an ounce of patience and sense they will understand.

 

[__hh]

don't do it!!!

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

thank you guys for suggestions...I will wait and see...

I was also thinking beforehand to list it here but than I think it is not a good idea as I dont have any references...

 

[historicist]

yeah, it sounds dodgy to me. If the buyer chooses to file a claim with Paypal, he will win it, and there will be nothing you can do about it.

Although there could be legitimate reasons (at the moment my shipping address isn't the same as the address Paypal has and there's nothing I can do to change it), shipping to a different address places all of the risk on your side.

 

[historicist]

btw, you should refund him now and tell him he can pay again on Monday when his address is changed.

 

[JohnTF]

You basically never ship to an address other than the billing address of the credit card behind it all. If something happens, you are left with no recourse as I understand it.

If you know someone, you can do as you wish.

My friend in camera retail lost a few thousand dollars worth of equipment with no refund as the item shipped was to a non billing address.

Probably not a crook, but why take all the risk with little reward?

I cannot see Paypal or a credit card backing you in case there is some problem.

Regards, John

 

[__hh]

I have actually sent (valuable) items to addresses that do not match PayPal addresses. However, these were done with/to RFF members who I have seen a long time here and have respectable track record.

Comes down to judgement and commonsense (and a fair bit of trust).

 

[LeicaFoReVer]

exactly how I think! there is no reason to risk it.

btw he didnt pay it yet. and he said he changed his address in paypal but I didnt see any change! It smells fishy now...

 

[btgc]

Sometimes I ask to ship to different address which is because I can forward goods through Germany when seller ships only within Germany.

Though in case like moving to another city I'd not bother getting camera ASAP. So even having chance to grab camera under market price I'd pay and agree with seller to ship later to new address when I'm settled.

 

[elshaneo]

Report it to Ebay. It is certainly fishy now since he has not even paid You yet and is asking You to ship it to a different address!!!

exactly how I think! there is no reason to risk it.

btw he didnt pay it yet. and he said he changed his address in paypal but I didnt see any change! It smells fishy now...

 

[Never Satisfied]

I've asked the seller to ship to addresses other than my Payapl to stop my wife finding out!

Give him the opportunity to change his address 1st.

Andrew.

 

[David Murphy]

This is the upshot of eBay eliminating buyer feedback. A total crook can have 100% good feedback and he's covered by Buyer-Protection too (paid for by the seller!). It used to be in the old days of eBay that one could study a buyers feedback and make a reasonable judgment as to whether it was safe to ship to an alternate address.

 

[ray*j*gun]

I try to trust my instincts in a case like this.....especially on ebay.... as David points out the system is biased towards the buyer.

 

[thinkfloyd]

I sometimes have stuff I buy shipped to a different U.S. address (my paypal address is in the Philippines) to save on shipping...

What's disturbing is that he doesn't want his name written on the box. If he insists, you can suggest writing his and his landlord's name like so: "to *buyer's name* c/o *landlord's name*". At least that's what I ask to be written when I have stuff shipped to a different address...