GGBG and eBay

wizzywig27

I recently sold a laptop on eBay. After wiping it I went to ship and typed in the postcode and it does not show on Hermes website. I messaged the buyer as his address was random - numbers before his name, GGBG on numerous lines within the address body. 

After I explained that the address (according to Royal Mail) does not exist he just said send to the address on Royal Mail he is sure they will pass it on.

After a little bit of pushing he replied and advised he used a company called GGBG to post the item to him in Bulgaria. The numbers before his name are to locate the package to him. 

I have searched GGBG and they do appear to exist but I am a little concerned. I don’t want to be scammed, they buyer has zero feedback, however it has been approx 5 days since he won and I’ve not had any emails from eBay to advise it’s a scam or anything. 

Does anyone have any thoughts?

soolin

wizzywig27 said:

I recently sold a laptop on eBay. After wiping it I went to ship and typed in the postcode and it does not show on Hermes website. I messaged the buyer as his address was random - numbers before his name, GGBG on numerous lines within the address body. 

After I explained that the address (according to Royal Mail) does not exist he just said send to the address on Royal Mail he is sure they will pass it on.

After a little bit of pushing he replied and advised he used a company called GGBG to post the item to him in Bulgaria. The numbers before his name are to locate the package to him. 

I have searched GGBG and they do appear to exist but I am a little concerned. I don’t want to be scammed, they buyer has zero feedback, however it has been approx 5 days since he won and I’ve not had any emails from eBay to advise it’s a scam or anything. 

Does anyone have any thoughts?

I posted recently about an increase in people using third party shippers, it is becoming more common probably due to many sellers (like myself) using GSP . I usually have no issues using a shipper, the address given by ebay is the one to post to and as long as you have delivery confirmation to that address you are covered. However, the fact that you don’t appear to have a valid address is an issue, but I wouldn’t necessarily rely on Hermes- check the post code on Royal Mail before you do anything else. Any random bits are immaterial, but you will need a location , street etc and a postcode , the rest is just filler. 

ElefantEd

I recently sent something to one of these onward shippers. The first line was the recipients name and a code that told the company where to send it on to; the rest was

Unit 8 GGBG, Optima Park
Thames road
GGBG 37678
Dartford

Kent DA1 4QX 

It got there Ok, and I presume they sent it on as he hasn't complained! So I think it is legit.

wizzywig27

Thanks all, I spoke to eBay chat and they confirmed what was said above. The address above was the same one I was given also, although not quite as clean 

MalMonroe

wizzywig27 said:

Thanks all, I spoke to eBay chat and they confirmed what was said above. The address above was the same one I was given also, although not quite as clean 

I've also seen those letters and it's good to know what they mean.

However, I'd just advise to ALWAYS just do everything through eBay. All communications and everything else. That way you WILL get your money back it there's any scam because they guarantee that 100%. But only if you've gone through their own proper processes. Good to know that you had one of their chats and everything was verified.   

soolin

wizzywig27 said:

Thanks all, I spoke to eBay chat and they confirmed what was said above. The address above was the same one I was given also, although not quite as clean 

You said the address was wrong in the OP and did not exist, did you mean it was just the extra bits or the physical address that was wrong? 

If it’s just the extra identifying bits then there was never anything too worry about anyway. I sent one to a military address yesterday it has 2 lines more than Royal Mail show when you search the postcode (I wouldn’t normally notice as I print direct from EBay but eBay was down for me so I had to use click and drop) . I just used the address that came up on click and drop and added the 2 extra lines as an edit. It didn’t mean the address was wrong, it probably just meant that the recipient was actually somewhere else and needed an identifying code to reach them. 

Your address was just the same as when GSP is used as eBay add an identifying code then as well which wouldn’t appear if you use Hermes but which needs to be added. 

Ebay_Detective

wizzywig27 said:

I recently sold a laptop on eBay. After wiping it I went to ship and typed in the postcode and it does not show on Hermes website. I messaged the buyer as his address was random - numbers before his name, GGBG on numerous lines within the address body. 

After I explained that the address (according to Royal Mail) does not exist he just said send to the address on Royal Mail he is sure they will pass it on.

After a little bit of pushing he replied and advised he used a company called GGBG to post the item to him in Bulgaria. The numbers before his name are to locate the package to him. 

I have searched GGBG and they do appear to exist but I am a little concerned. I don’t want to be scammed, they buyer has zero feedback, however it has been approx 5 days since he won and I’ve not had any emails from eBay to advise it’s a scam or anything. 

Does anyone have any thoughts?

I have an Ebay order to go to this address also, details as follows:

Username:  (I shouldn't share this information I suppose)

Location: Bulgaria

Ebay Member since: 29 Oct, 2017     (feedback of five, latest over six months ago)

Postal name and address:-

Recipients Name

Unit 8, GGBG, Optima Park
Thames road, 27330 GGBG
DARTFORD, Kent DA1 4QX
United Kingdom

(mobile number search in Google gives links to ggbg.bg)

Google the address - Google Reviews posted for this business address have negative posts from Ebay users stating it is a scam.  Reading them over, a few have just jumped on the bandwagon refusing to post to that address because of the scam reviews and have therefore been left negative feedback from their buyers for not posting the item and cancelling the transaction.  HOWEVER, nobody has given details on how they have been scammed.

As a seller, posting an expensive item, my concern is also 'not to be scammed' out of £1000's. 

A conversation with Ebay was fruitless, they stated (at least five times) that MY job is to post the item to the postal address of the buyer, which is verified by Ebay, I am covered for anything untoward through Ebay.

Googling the address is how I found this MSE forum thread.   

The website for the shipping company, ggbg.bg , states the following:-

Who are we?

GGBG is a fast-growing company established in 2012 by people with extensive experience in logistics and transport services.

Our main activity is delivery of customer packages from abroad. The company started by serving a single destination – the United Kingdom. Over the years, GGBG expanded its scope of activity in Germany, USA and Spain and already has a track record of over a million successfully delivered packages.

The range of services is also gradually enhancing to include pallet shipments, car and motorcycle shipments, making online purchases on behalf of the customer, special care of packages (returns, forwarding, inspection of contents, repacking, insurance), collection of packages from addresses abroad, door-to-door delivery in Bulgaria, etc.

It is our pleasure and responsibility to deliver your packages!

Deducting all of the above information, ElefantEd had it, in a nut shell, the buyer is the username however the shipping company is the destination address in this country.  It will then be shipped by GGBG to (in this instance) Bulgaria (the usernames location, which we of course are not privvy to).

The username's real name is the name in the shipping address and the code number in the address tells the shipping company the client's identity and they will know where to ship it onto.

The contact phone number on the order is the same mobile number posted on the shipping companies website.

I would like to find out if it was a happy outcome for the seller of the laptop?  If so, could you follow up on here to inform others, as I shall after posting my package.

If anybody else reading this could also leave a Google Review for the shipping company, stating the facts rather than angry words stating 'scammed' it would be exceedingly helpful to sellers.  If the deal went sour, why did it and how did it?  Maybe post the facts within this thread too.

Thank you to all those who responded to this original thread of wizzywig27 and of course, many thanks to wizzywig27 - I was ready to cancel my transaction too after reading the Google reviews of the shipping address.  I have now been able to make the positive decision to post the package.

Fingers Crossed for the package (and my money).

I shall keep you updated  :-)

Hoping this is useful to other sellers out there who are concerned about shipping to this company in particular because of the negative Google reviews.

stumpyjake

Ive just gone through the same with the sale of a 3D printer.  Same concerns as everyone else here.  I actually contacted GGBG UK and spoke to someone there.  They explained that they were a forward shipping company.  The four number ID is their way of identifying the customer to ship items to.  I also spoke to eBay and had a lengthy conversation with them to make sure that if I follow all their procedures then I would be protected.  Ive sent to exactly the same address as I was given on the eBay buyers communication.  One thing I had with my buyer was that the formatting of the address was bad.  Creating the postal label through eBay threw up a error as the formatting was incorrect.  Again confirmed with eBay if I purchased the label through the Post Office that I would be protected, they confirmed.

I think if you follow all eBays procedures on selling items, posting them to the verified address they hold and making sure everything is tracked you should be OK.  Time will tell.  I paid an extra £1.20 to have the item signed for when it arrives at CCGB UK so at that point my responsibility to send the item to the correct address is completed.  I will have the signature of someone there signing the item in.  What happens after they take delivery I assume is the buyers issue.

Ive also taken pictures all along the way.  The item as it was sold, in my case it was a BNSIB item.  Pictures of the delivery labels attached to the box.  Ive printed off a copy of the tracking number.  I shall find out in the next few days if all is well when I receive the money.

stumpyjake

stumpyjake said:

Ive just gone through the same with the sale of a 3D printer.  Same concerns as everyone else here.  I actually contacted GGBG UK and spoke to someone there.  They explained that they were a forward shipping company.  The four number ID is their way of identifying the customer to ship items to.  I also spoke to eBay and had a lengthy conversation with them to make sure that if I follow all their procedures then I would be protected.  Ive sent to exactly the same address as I was given on the eBay buyers communication.  One thing I had with my buyer was that the formatting of the address was bad.  Creating the postal label through eBay threw up a error as the formatting was incorrect.  Again confirmed with eBay if I purchased the label through the Post Office that I would be protected, they confirmed.

I think if you follow all eBays procedures on selling items, posting them to the verified address they hold and making sure everything is tracked you should be OK.  Time will tell.  I paid an extra £1.20 to have the item signed for when it arrives at CCGB UK so at that point my responsibility to send the item to the correct address is completed.  I will have the signature of someone there signing the item in.  What happens after they take delivery I assume is the buyers issue.

Ive also taken pictures all along the way.  The item as it was sold, in my case it was a BNSIB item.  Pictures of the delivery labels attached to the box.  Ive printed off a copy of the tracking number.  I shall find out in the next few days if all is well when I receive the money.

Just an update.  My sale on eBay went without a hitch.  Got paid and the buyer confirmed receipt. 

Zac88

Ebay_Detective said:

wizzywig27 said:

I recently sold a laptop on eBay. After wiping it I went to ship and typed in the postcode and it does not show on Hermes website. I messaged the buyer as his address was random - numbers before his name, GGBG on numerous lines within the address body. 

After I explained that the address (according to Royal Mail) does not exist he just said send to the address on Royal Mail he is sure they will pass it on.

After a little bit of pushing he replied and advised he used a company called GGBG to post the item to him in Bulgaria. The numbers before his name are to locate the package to him. 

I have searched GGBG and they do appear to exist but I am a little concerned. I don’t want to be scammed, they buyer has zero feedback, however it has been approx 5 days since he won and I’ve not had any emails from eBay to advise it’s a scam or anything. 

Does anyone have any thoughts?

I have an Ebay order to go to this address also, details as follows:

Username:  (I shouldn't share this information I suppose)

Location: Bulgaria

Ebay Member since: 29 Oct, 2017     (feedback of five, latest over six months ago)

Postal name and address:-

Recipients Name

Unit 8, GGBG, Optima Park
Thames road, 27330 GGBG
DARTFORD, Kent DA1 4QX
United Kingdom

(mobile number search in Google gives links to ggbg.bg)

Google the address - Google Reviews posted for this business address have negative posts from Ebay users stating it is a scam.  Reading them over, a few have just jumped on the bandwagon refusing to post to that address because of the scam reviews and have therefore been left negative feedback from their buyers for not posting the item and cancelling the transaction.  HOWEVER, nobody has given details on how they have been scammed.

As a seller, posting an expensive item, my concern is also 'not to be scammed' out of £1000's. 

A conversation with Ebay was fruitless, they stated (at least five times) that MY job is to post the item to the postal address of the buyer, which is verified by Ebay, I am covered for anything untoward through Ebay.

Googling the address is how I found this MSE forum thread.   

The website for the shipping company, ggbg.bg , states the following:-

Who are we?

GGBG is a fast-growing company established in 2012 by people with extensive experience in logistics and transport services.

Our main activity is delivery of customer packages from abroad. The company started by serving a single destination – the United Kingdom. Over the years, GGBG expanded its scope of activity in Germany, USA and Spain and already has a track record of over a million successfully delivered packages.

The range of services is also gradually enhancing to include pallet shipments, car and motorcycle shipments, making online purchases on behalf of the customer, special care of packages (returns, forwarding, inspection of contents, repacking, insurance), collection of packages from addresses abroad, door-to-door delivery in Bulgaria, etc.

It is our pleasure and responsibility to deliver your packages!

Deducting all of the above information, ElefantEd had it, in a nut shell, the buyer is the username however the shipping company is the destination address in this country.  It will then be shipped by GGBG to (in this instance) Bulgaria (the usernames location, which we of course are not privvy to).

The username's real name is the name in the shipping address and the code number in the address tells the shipping company the client's identity and they will know where to ship it onto.

The contact phone number on the order is the same mobile number posted on the shipping companies website.

I would like to find out if it was a happy outcome for the seller of the laptop?  If so, could you follow up on here to inform others, as I shall after posting my package.

If anybody else reading this could also leave a Google Review for the shipping company, stating the facts rather than angry words stating 'scammed' it would be exceedingly helpful to sellers.  If the deal went sour, why did it and how did it?  Maybe post the facts within this thread too.

Thank you to all those who responded to this original thread of wizzywig27 and of course, many thanks to wizzywig27 - I was ready to cancel my transaction too after reading the Google reviews of the shipping address.  I have now been able to make the positive decision to post the package.

Fingers Crossed for the package (and my money).

I shall keep you updated  :-)

Hoping this is useful to other sellers out there who are concerned about shipping to this company in particular because of the negative Google reviews.

Hi sorry for digging old thread but I just had someone purchased a phone on ebay and it has same address how did your experience went ? Is it OK to send it to this address ?

daddyelf

If the item was sold on eBay as long as you prove delivery to the address given, then you are protected. I would always send the item though to a third party shipper with some form of tracking, if a phone probably special delivery which is RM's secure mail. (depending on the value). When sending an item overseas, this in my mind is one of the best ways to do so on ebay, as you only are responsible to the shippers address in the UK.

Ensure when you send that any code numbers/letters forming part of the address are there, as this is usually the unique identifier of the recipient. Obviously once dispatched upload the tracking number too against the item. Finally it may sound daft, ensure your short senders address is on the item eg house name or number and postcode. In the event of non delivery Royal Mail will know where to return the item too, instead of it ending up in Belfast.