Item returned .. incomplete address

WLM21

I posted off an item last week to a buyer.

The order has the address as ...

Buyer's Name
House number and street name
Glasgow
Post code 

I wrote this exactly the same on my address label, but the parcel has been returned to me today, with a Royakl mail sticker saying .. address incomplete

I tried to contact ebay, but it seems not operating today ... asking chatbot for somebody to call me

What do I do now .. if the buyer changes the address, am i expected to buy new postage.

I've just looked upo the postcode and it seems there are blocks of flats .. g38qd

Teapot55

Could you contact the buyer through EBay and tell them what’s happened? It might be they will come back to you with a correction to the address they gave you?

WLM21

Teapot55 said:

Could you contact the buyer through EBay and tell them what’s happened? It might be they will come back to you with a correction to the address they gave you?

yes, I'll do that .. but who has to pay for the postage ?

I have copied the order details, then at least if they change the address I know it was wrong before

WLM21

km1500 said:

if this happens to me or I wish to check an address I usually type the postcode into Google and see what comes up

Yes, I have done that ... it seems to be a block of flats, so the buyer has not added this detail to the address.

I am just wondering whether eBay will make me send it again at my expense or does the buyer have to pay the additional postage.

molerat

I always use the RM post code checker to see if there is anything untoward in the address provided.  Looking at the postcode provided they have missed out the flat number, just giving the building number.  In the good old days the postie would have known that Fred Smith lived at flat 0/2 and delivered it but today with the staff turnover and different postie each day there is a reduced chance of that happening.

soolin

WLM21 said:

km1500 said:

if this happens to me or I wish to check an address I usually type the postcode into Google and see what comes up

Yes, I have done that ... it seems to be a block of flats, so the buyer has not added this detail to the address.

I am just wondering whether eBay will make me send it again at my expense or does the buyer have to pay the additional postage.

You can always ask the buyer to pay the new postage cost but if they refuse all you can do is refund them and cancel original sale and you lose the original postage anyway plus the 30p that eBay retain. It’s an absolute nuisance as the seller loses whatever they do just because a buyer doesn’t know where they live. 

km1500

Yes you have to pay - one of the countless joys of selling on ebay.

WLM21

OP here

I managed to get through to eBay Support and their advice was to message the buyer and explain the situation, then ask them to pay the new postage using PayPal. I actually typed my message as I was on the lime with eBay.

I asked, what would happen if the buyer decided to cancel .. their advice was I could provide a partial refund, ie excluding the original postage.

The buyer responded saying they didn't have PayPal.

My response was .. Ok, I think the best way would be for me to cancel the sale, refund the 'purchase price' then I could relist it. they could then buy again with the correct address. I did that on the 3rd June, then when refund had cleared relisted the item

It hasn't been bought yet, but at least I'm not out of pocket too much .. I didn't know about the 30p thing

thank you for all your replies