Stupid ebay newbie question

[MonkeyloveGood]

Why don't sellers like to ship to PO boxs? What problmes might occur with shipping to a PO box in the the virgin islands?
Thanx

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: MonkeyloveGood
Why don't sellers like to ship to PO boxs? What problmes might occur with shipping to a PO box in the the virgin islands?
Thanx

It is totally untraceable. A PO Box can be opened with cash. If the payment the person made is invalid and you shipped the item to a PO Box then you are SOL. If you shipped it to a maling address or a Paypal confirmed address than there is some recourse.

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

The PO box is a confirmed address though. Would that make a difference at all?

 

[Thegonagle]

Don't send your stuff to anywhere except a US street address, with signature required! To protect yourself, YOU set the payment and shipping terms, not the other way around. See what happened with that Phillipines-Paypal fiasco?

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

Also, isn't a PO box just a slot in the wall? How do they fit a package into a slot? Plus, I just realized there would be no way for the person to sign for it. It's either ship to a unconfirmed address or a confirmed PO box in the virgin islands for me.=(

 

[Thegonagle]

UPS and FedEx don't ship to PO Boxes.

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
Don't send your stuff to anywhere except a US street address, with signature required! To protect yourself, YOU set the payment and shipping terms, not the other way around. See what happened with that Phillipines-Paypal fiasco?

lol, you remember that. Yeah, well the funds were yanked and nothing was sent. Just had to go through trouble of recovering over 50$ in ebay fees (but would of had to do that any ways since the guy already bid and won). Still don't like that paypal didn't even send a warning instead of just yanking money like that. Darn trouble making ebay people. Now I might have to relist/etc again if this guy backs out.

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
UPS and FedEx don't ship to PO Boxes.

But USPS does though.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: MonkeyloveGood
The PO box is a confirmed address though. Would that make a difference at all?

It only makes a huge difference if the payment is received and cleared before the person ships.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: MonkeyloveGood

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
UPS and FedEx don't ship to PO Boxes.

But USPS does though.

True. But I've provided you with an excuse.

I really guess I don't have any further advice for you. Perhaps the confirmed address is 100% fine though. This one isn't as bloody obvious as the Phillipines one. (This guy didn't win ALL your auctions, did he? If so, I call red flag! Otherwise, I'm just not sure.)

Bump for more advice, help this guy out!!! He was already almost screwed once, and he'd like to get his stuff sold.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: MonkeyloveGood
Also, isn't a PO box just a slot in the wall? How do they fit a package into a slot? Plus, I just realized there would be no way for the person to sign for it. It's either ship to a unconfirmed address or a confirmed PO box in the virgin islands for me.=(

Correct and usually you can't fit the package into the PO Box mail slot unless the box is small.

The USPS postal employee will leave a "you have a package" notification in your PO Box, you take the notification to either their retail counter or will call, hand them the notification tell them your PO Box number and they hand it to you. If the package was sent with delivery confirmation they will scan it before handing it to you.

If I sell something of high value (over $100) I usually prefer to ship FedEx Ground with insurance and signature required to cover my ass.

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

hehe, no he didn't. He's had 2 transactions already and I don't want to go through the Hassle or relisting. So I think the PO box route would be safer then? The address is confirmed and I will of course wait til the payment clears before shipping. What do youguys think? Any ebay pros out there? USPS shipping to the virgin islands is the same as shipping from here(illinois) to cali so there's no problem in cost.

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

Correct and usually you can't fit the package into the PO Box mail slot unless the box is small.

The USPS postal employee will leave a "you have a package" notification in your PO Box, you take the notification to either their retail counter or will call, hand them the notification tell them your PO Box number and they hand it to you. If the package was sent with delivery confirmation they will scan it before handing it to you.

If I sell something of high value (over $100) I usually prefer to ship FedEx Ground with insurance and signature required to cover my ass.[/quote]

USPS is the only option since it's in the Virgin Islands. The guy does not seem to be a scammer at all.

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle

Originally posted by: MonkeyloveGood

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
UPS and FedEx don't ship to PO Boxes.

But USPS does though.

True. But I've provided you with an excuse.

I really guess I don't have any further advice for you. Perhaps the confirmed address is 100% fine though. This one isn't as bloody obvious as the Phillipines one. (This guy didn't win ALL your auctions, did he? If so, I call red flag! Otherwise, I'm just not sure.)

Bump for more advice, help this guy out!!! He was already almost screwed once, and he'd like to get his stuff sold.

Well, that one I knew was a scam was just curious as to what he was pulling. I also wanted some input from some ebay pros about why sellers shouldn't do such things and what might be suspicious activity, etc. This time, it doesn't seem like a scam as the names on his e-mails match etc. I guess the only thing I'm worried about is he might claim that he never got the camera. I'll get delivery confirmation definitely but was wondering where the ship to address was a PO box and in the virgin islands might cause some problems...for me the seller.

 

[RossMAN]

How did he pay you?

If via Paypal, was it instant funds transfer or credit card? Is he a verified member and does he have a confirmed shipping address?

 

[MonkeyloveGood]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
How did he pay you?

If via Paypal, was it instant funds transfer or credit card? Is he a verified member and does he have a confirmed shipping address?

He initially paid me with an address to his mothers (unconfirmed). I refunded that and he's sending me a new payment with his confirmed address(his PO Box address). He is a verified member and has had 2 feedback already. He's been sending me mail from his paypal e-mail address so the account is not stolen (unless he stole the e-mail too which is highly unlikely). Everything seems legit. He's going to be sending me payment in a couple mins I believe. I was only worried how the package would fit througha po box but since I find out that they only slip a notice into the po box to pick up the package from the post office, that seems fine as well.

edit: the payment is instant transfer btw.