Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

macroy · Jan 9, 2005, 06:51 PM

I just 'sold' my camera on e-bay. And the buyer has already posted the payment on pay pal. However, I just noticed that his/her address is "unconfirmed" and thus the transaction is ineligible for the seller protection plan. Is this something I need to worry about?

The address is also a PO Box... and UPS won't deliver that (which is what they chose as a carrier). So I shot an e-mail out to see if the buyer can provide an alternate address (and preferably, a confirmed one).

Just wondering if anyone who may have a bit more experience in this can provide some info on if this is a possible red flag. My feeling is that since its already been paid for (Thus, I can withdraw the funds) - I should be alright.

Thanks in advance.

Mafia · Jan 9, 2005, 06:57 PM

if it was a credit card payment i'd be a little worried. but if it came straight out of his bank account then go ahead and ship it but make sure you have an email from him confirming that it is alright to ship w/ the above carrier to the above address.

skipjack · Jan 9, 2005, 07:14 PM

My address was unconfirmed for the longest time because I did not want to update my credit card information when my bank cancelled the number because of "suspicious" activity. I normally pay by bank transfer, so had no use for the credit card option.

However, I ran into too many people who did not want to ship to an unconfirmed address, so eventually, I updated my credit card information.

Anyway, this is to propose an explanation for the "unconfirmed address" and I would think that, as long as the buyer did not pay with a credit card and that you have access to the funds, this would be a safe transaction.

JHromadka · Jan 9, 2005, 07:20 PM

I was unconfirmed for the same reason.

Disgruntled Head of C-3PO · Jan 9, 2005, 07:22 PM

Either way Pay Pals "protection" is just an illusion.

macroy · Jan 9, 2005, 07:23 PM

This person is unconfirmed - and unverified... does that make a difference?

I think I do have access to the funds (how can I tell if the funds were from his/her bank or a CC? I would think it be no business of mine to know).

I may just wait for his/her reply.

Thanks for the info though.

effgee · Jan 9, 2005, 07:23 PM

I may be over-cautious when it comes to eBay but I wouldn't ship a rather expensive item like a camera without a confirmed address. How much $$ we talkin' about here? Also, I'd look into PayPal's terms and conditions to see what happens in case the whole thing goes belly-up - if you already withdrew the funds, will you have to pay them back?

Eriamjh · Jan 9, 2005, 07:27 PM

Unconfirmed means that no bank account or other information has been used to verify the paypal users address.

Ship it with "delivercy confirmation" and remove all funds from your paypal account to be safe. Then they can't charge back to you and say they didn't get it. Also photocopy/scan/picture the addess you send it to so you can prove you didn't send it to the wrong address.

skipjack · Jan 9, 2005, 07:52 PM

Originally posted by Eriamjh:
Unconfirmed means that no bank account or other information has been used to verify the paypal users address.

I do not believe that this is true because I had my bank information on file and was still unconfirmed. I believe that PayPal only uses credit card information to verify addresses.

Regarding how the seller might know the buyer's source of funds: in the past when I made a bank transfer, the seller would get an e-mail saying that they had been sent an "e-check" and would be sent payment when the check cleared. This took a couple of days. Some sellers sent me e-mails because they did not know what an e-check was. However, I have not had any of these inquiries lately, so the procedure might be different now. Other than that, I have had no transactions as a seller, so have no other clue how to determine the source of funds.

lavar78 · Jan 9, 2005, 08:16 PM

I shipped a camera to an unconfirmed address without incident. Still, it pays to be cautious. I was worried about it, so I can empathize.

Ruffcat · Jan 10, 2005, 07:00 AM

because Paypal uses credit cards to confirm addresses, those of us outside the US can't get our address confirmed (well, I couldn't at any rate), though accounts can be verified.

Is their feedback rating reasonable?

turtle777 · Jan 10, 2005, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by Ruffcat:
because Paypal uses credit cards to confirm addresses, those of us outside the US can't get our address confirmed

That's not true.

I have a German PayPal account, which is verified.
Don't remember what I did, but it is possible !

-t

m a d r a · Jan 10, 2005, 01:11 PM

Originally posted by Ruffcat:
because Paypal uses credit cards to confirm addresses, those of us outside the US can't get our address confirmed (well, I couldn't at any rate), though accounts can be verified.

Is their feedback rating reasonable?

this is true, i think. i've had a paypal account for about three or four years and have various cards registered with them but my address is still unverified, coz i'm not in USA.

so i wouldn't necessarily worry about the address being unverified, however the fact that it is a PO box would set the alarm bells ringing. that's got "stolen credit card drop house" written all over it!

RAILhead · Jan 10, 2005, 02:31 PM

From PayPal:

What is a Confirmed Address?
A buyer's Confirmed Address is checked against the credit card billing address maintained by his or her credit card company.

How is address confirmation useful?
Address confirmation is useful because it provides a way for a seller to verify a buyer's identity. Shipment to a confirmed address, however, is not a requirement for coverage under the Seller Protection Policy since not all PayPal users are able to confirm their addresses. If a transaction is eligible for coverage under the Seller Protection Policy, a seller must ship to the address found on the Transaction Details page (regardless of whether that address is confirmed or not). For transactions that are ineligible for coverage under the Seller Protection Policy, we recommend that a seller ships to a buyer's Confirmed Address.

What is an Unconfirmed Address?
An Unconfirmed Address is any address which is not associated with a credit card or which has not been verified by PayPal. Most non-U.S. addresses cannot be confirmed at this time because many international credit card platforms do not support methods to do so.

sworthy · Jan 10, 2005, 02:57 PM

another potential situation:

I have an unconfirmed address because I'm a college student and my billing address is my parents. As long as the funds are in your account you should be alright.

sir_hc · Jan 10, 2005, 04:45 PM

I may be wrong but I thought that as long as you ship to the address that Paypal gives you you are still covered by Seller Protection. I think it said it doesn't have to be confirmed but just the address that Paypal give you and you need to send it by trackable means too.

I started selling stuff a few months ago and remember being confused and going over this issue again and again so please go and please do check the terms very carefully again.

I shipped regularly to unconfirmed addresses with no problem but with more expensive items I would be more wary.

And don't forget to always confirm the address with the buyer before shipping as they may have not updated their records or something silly.

And always follow Paypal terms to the letter in case something does go wrong. Note what Paypal considers a trackable means of shipment also.

Hope that helps somewhat.