# Is this suspicious? (eBay related) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 14, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669 "2012-10-14T04:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/1 "2012-10-14T04:45:16Z")
Someone won my auction. He paid via PayPal. The real name that he has given to eBay, is not the same as the name on the shipping address (not even close). Also the shipping address is a PO box. Should I be worried about this or is it normal? If it is suspicious, is there anything I can/should do about it? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/2 "2012-10-14T06:47:45Z")
Why are you bothered? He has paid you. There are many reasons why the purchaser and the recipient might be different- it might be a gift, or purchased at someone else’s request. Either way, there’s nothing illegal about sending a parcel. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/3 "2012-10-14T08:29:15Z")
My PayPal name is lynnbodoni. However, that’s not the name on my credit card. And last year, I bought a gift for my father and asked the seller to send it to my dad, and he doesn’t live in the same state as I do. I don’t think this is suspicious at all. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/4 "2012-10-14T10:04:45Z")
I just realized that the first name on his shipping PO address, is the last name on his PayPal account, backwards. It makes no sense as a first name but it is a common last name. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/5 "2012-10-14T10:53:46Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Why are you bothered? He has paid you.. If payment was made via a hijacked account (which it may or may not be), there’s a very good reason to be bothered - PayPal will just reverse the payment. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/6 "2012-10-14T11:38:59Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Why are you bothered? He has paid you. For eBay sales the seller should send the item recorded delivery. If the purchaser denies receiving the item, he can demand a full refund. Having a tracking number prevents this. You can’t get recorded delivery on a PO box. ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/7 "2012-10-14T12:05:05Z")
So what should I do? ---
**Author:** ![by-tor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/by-tor/32/266_2.png) [@by-tor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/by-tor)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/8 "2012-10-14T12:23:32Z")
Never mind, I refunded him the money. It was just too fishy. Thanks for the info! ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/9 "2012-10-14T12:45:56Z")
Oh dear, you shouldn’t have done that. It might earn you a non-performance strike if the customer complains. You should ask him to give you a proper delivery address. Only if he fails to reply can you cancel without risking penalty. Maybe it’s not too late. Try emailing him and ask for an address. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/10 "2012-10-14T13:29:53Z")
If the PayPal ship-to address is “verified,” you are covered by ebay / PayPal’s seller protection. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/11 "2012-10-14T18:16:03Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > If the PayPal ship-to address is “verified,” you are covered by ebay / PayPal’s seller protection. This. And if the address was not “verified”, I would have asked the buyer about the discrepancy. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-suspicious-ebay-related/637669/12 "2012-10-15T02:28:15Z")
Yeah, youre good- unless it’s something like a i-phone 5 or something that is instantly convertable to cash. What is his FB like?