posted on February 1, 2001 01:07:07 PM new
Ok, I see such wonderful advise passing through here every day and am wondering what I should do as I haven't had this happen yet:
Rec'd an email from PayPal that a buyer has paid for an auction but it also says that I need to accept or reject the transaction because they have not provided a verified address. Now, I understand the concept of the "accept or reject" option, but my question is regarding the fact that he hasn't provided to PayPal a verified address. Is there any legitimate reason that someone's address wouldn't be verified, and is that any reason that I should be suspicious??? I'm stumped as to what to do. The sale is only around $60, but I still feel uncomfortable as I have received MANY payments through PayPal & have NEVER gotten an email that says their address is not "verified"...
PS...I know there are several people who hate paypal. That's not the issue here. I have had no problems with them, nor have any of my buyers.
THANKS in advance for any advise!
shark
**PLEASE SEE THE SECOND SCENARIO I HAVE BELOW! AM REALLLLY WORRIED ABOUT THAT ONE!**
[ edited by sharkbaby on Feb 1, 2001 06:31 PM ]
posted on February 1, 2001 01:10:25 PM new
Could be they have an account like mine, I don't have a CC on file with them, I use exsisiting funds always and have never given them a CC number, thus no verified CC address is available for me either. ALthough I am a verified user, a seller would still get that email about me.
Check their feedback and ask them why if you want, but more than likely that could be the reason.
posted on February 1, 2001 01:34:36 PM new
Thanks, dannkim, for that information and your suggestion. I'll look into it further as I really don't want to delay shipping to the buyer any longer than I feel I have to!
Upon further investigation of the payment, I see that the buyer is a verified member of PayPal, just no address. Not sure that I understand all this gibberish, but I think I feel more comfortable with the situation. The source of funds is "non credit card", so I assume that means funds from his paypal balance. ??
His feedback didn't leave me with much because, although they are all positive, there are only 12 of them and he has been a member since 1998. Just my paranoia, I'm sure!
[ edited by sharkbaby on Feb 1, 2001 01:41 PM ]
posted on February 1, 2001 01:43:09 PM new
If they paid you by credit card, do not ship without a good explanation. If the address you ship to doesnt match the one on the card, they can charge it back and you lose. Showing proof of shipment will not help. If they paid from their PP balance, you are probably safe, but email them and ask. Some folks have a postal box and their CC address is their home but they want things shipped to their box.
posted on February 1, 2001 03:15:15 PM new
I can answer your question. I just moved from New York to Florida. On several occasions I have put my new address into Paypal, as well as my new business address. For some stupid reason, whenever I go to send a payment to someone the address defaults to the old address. Yes, I did click on the address bar to see if my new address shows up and it does, but my business address does not and that is where I want all my stuff sent. So, I check the box that says "do not send address info" and I include a statement to the seller in the field "please ship to: xxxxxx". I also reply to the seller with the same information upon auction end.
Don't automatically assume you have a problem bidder.
Today, while sending a payment to a seller, I got the message that they could reject or accept payment because I didn't include an address. While I did include one, just not in the field they wanted. It was the first time I saw this message, so this must be something new on Paypal's part. In my opinion rejecting the payment would be foolish. If you are unsure, email the bidder and ask for an explanation.
Hope that sheds light on another aspect of things.
posted on February 1, 2001 03:19:13 PM new
Thanks, xena! That really does shed more light on the situation. I accepted the payment. Just was wondering what the address thing was initially because I had never seen it before and I read of so much fraud that I'm more paranoid than ever! I have used PayPal for a long time now and when I signed up for PayPal there weren't all these "verifications" to deal with!
posted on February 1, 2001 04:10:18 PM new
I use a bill payment service, so all my bills are sent to an address in Virginia, and that's the address Paypal has. My packages are, of course, mailed to a completely different state.
So it can be quite innocent, but it can also be fraud. Since they've been an eBay member for awhile, I personally would feel pretty safe about it.
Lisa
posted on February 1, 2001 04:54:01 PM new
Geez! This must be my day! Now I get a payment (and this one is well over $100) through PayPal with these characteristics: Unverified member, no verified address, the name on the account is different than the name the buyer gave me for shipping, new bidder with 2 pos feeds and no negs. hmmm...
So I wrote him to see if any of this could be clarified as he wants me to overnight the item so that he can receive it asap for a gift. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS??
PS..Oh yeah and this one IS a credit card transaction and he has a different email address too on PayPal, but he put in the notes what his primary email is, which is the one that I have from ebay.
Thanks gang!
[ edited by sharkbaby on Feb 1, 2001 04:55 PM ]
posted on February 1, 2001 05:49:53 PM new
Now that last one might scare me, since he is not verified and all the other info is different, and wants it overnighted, oh boy, you won't be protected in case of a charge back.
SOrry can't be of much help on this one, hopefully someone else can be.
posted on February 1, 2001 05:56:57 PM new...he wants me to overnight the item so that he can receive it asap for a gift. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS??
I'd be uncomfortable with this transaction. Credit card transaction from an unverified buyer and wants it shipped to a different address overnight? hmmmmmmm
I'd be curious how long he's had his PayPal account. Go through the motions of sending 1 cent and see (cancel the transaction before you actually send it).
Just with the information you've given I'd be uncomfortable.
posted on February 1, 2001 07:13:20 PM new
It's your call, of course, but with what you have given us about the 2nd situation, I'd reject the PayPal payment. More red flags than our recent Chinese New Year celebration.
I would insist on a more secure form of payment, such as a U.S. Postal Money Order. You can word your e-mails politely, but firmly.
Fall back on the "it's my policy" line. Such as: "It is my policy to only accept PayPal payments from verified members--or to only ship to the verified address on the PayPal account. The information I received on your recent PayPal payment attempt states blah, blah, blah. Please correct the payment to reflect verified information. Or, you may send a U.S. Postal Money Order to this address... Thank you for your business...etc."
A serious buyer will understand and comply with your requests. A scammer will go postal on you and accuse you of all kinds of high crimes and misdemeanors. Best to flush 'em out right from the start.
posted on February 1, 2001 07:21:05 PM new
I think I pretty much agree with you, misscandle! I emailed him almost 3 hours ago, right after I saw his paypal pmt on my acct, and he has yet to respond. I simply and politely pointed out that paypal doesn't have his address so that I can verify it with what he gave me and that they have a different name too. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to feel comfortable with the situation!
