Shipping to PO box - dangerous?
We just had an order where the buyer put a commercial PO box (as in, one not operated by a mail company, just boxes for rent) in the address. This implies the buyer will not be there, so even if we ship it with signature required on receipt they will still win an INR, as the box rental employee will be the one signing. Is there any rule about shipping to third party addresses that we could use to defend in case of an A-to-Z claim?
17 replies
Seller_t9axAefQD4v9m
Do you mean something like a Parcel Motel?
Seller_y7wlA8Npjq1Or
I personally have never had an issue with a P.O Box, but I don’t get many in a year done 7 so far this year without issue,
Seller_2BrPSydGy6oyq
You only need prove delivery to the address provided by Amazon, not obtain the buyers signature, so an employee signing for delivery at the address is acceptable, what happens after that, if a forwarding company, is not the sellers responsibility.
Seller_MFzLD0Rys6jOi
I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous.
A bit risky maybe.
But there should be no harm to your life or limb.
Seller_JB8wPCk9zkyad
Never had a problem with Parcel Motel ( Irish shoppers are not saving on postage via Parcel Motel, simply, ROI cannot purchase from Amazon UK ) or Amarex House in Slough for Middle East.
Customer seem happy to track down that rare item they can’t get in their countries.
I would say that users probably would be putting their accounts at risk by abusing the system ? They would rather keep shopping ?
Seller_oPEw9rj5vWsYf
I use parcel motel and packages are signed for by someone at the warehouse. I don’t know if this would be enough to win an A to Z. Just make sure you include the pm number or it won’t be forwarded to the buyer.
Seller_oGFKRixtdkjxL
Approach with a slight degree of caution. We had one that went to Parcel Motel and was then forwarded to ROI, just under 90 days later the buyer complained, and expected international airmail costs to be reimbursed, they also wanted us to airmail a replacement directly to them, which would have been against policy. A long story short, we ended up with an A-Z case to answer - which we won. The whole thing was a PITA and we suspect fraudulent, we don’t ship internationally and have no desire to, given the added complexity. The buyer complained at the return airmail cost and could or would not comprehend this was entirely their responisbilty, we are only responsible for domestic costs to the forwarding company, basically they (mistakenly) thought if it was not cost-effective for us pay for the return costs, the item would be written off and we’d simply refund. They did not realise they were responsible for all shipping costs outside of the UK.
If the buyer is having their mail forwarded outside of the UK and you only ship domestically, then they are breaking their participation agreement with Amazon, as they are seeking to circumvent geographic limitations placed on their account. Also by using a communal delivery address, this sort of invalidates INR A-Z claims, as the named addressee would not be able to sign for a parcel (check the A-Z policy terms).
If it’s a highish value item, register a cause for concern with Seller Support before you dispatch in case of a subsequent INR case, highlight the buyer has specified delivery to a non-residential commerical forwarding company so the consignment cannot be signed by the named recipient; as long a signature at the address is obtained you should be covered.
We have subsequently shipped to Parcel Motel, but only after considerable caution and I’m not sure we would for high value items in the future.
Hope that helps.
Seller_Rytpyl3QXnUL3
From the conversations I have had with Amazon regarding shipping, it appears your policy will weigh heavily with them in any dispute.
I would suggest updating your shipping policy, which is found in Settings>Your Info & Policies>Shipping
When updating your policy, I would recommend being detailed about shipping to 3rd party address, acknowledging that the buyer will not be the one signing for the item. You can, for example, either state you will not ship to 3rd party addresses or you will ship to a 3rd party address; however, any item sent with the buyer assuming the risk.
Seller_IotgWgSZV4UrT
For international services, RM state ‘We recommend that our signature services (International Signed & International Tracked & Signed) are not sent to PO Boxes as treatment of this mail varies from country to country where there is no one to sign for the item. This excludes destinations in Africa or the Middle East, where PO Boxes are routinely manned to accept mail and provide signature.’.
BFPO addresses can have similar problems. 2D tracking isn’t provided for BFPO.
Has anyone ever had a return from a BFPO address?
I’ve had problems with the delivery time to BFPO, if using 1st class the time is still stated as something like 2-3 days, even if it may be going to a Middle East warzone.
