Q&A: Incorrect shipping addresses - how should I handle them?

QUESTION: I've had a few books returned because the Postal Service said they were "undeliverable" to the address given by the buyer. In some cases I've been charged "Postage Due" for the returns. What's the best way of handling this?

ANSWER: It's a no-win situation. If you accept the return and re-ship the book without charging the customer, you've paid postage three times. And if the customer simply asks for a refund, you're out two postage fees -- unless you subtract it from the customer's refund.

This problem is always the buyer's fault, but they never see it that way. They always claim -- and seem to believe -- that it was Amazon's fault, or PayPal's fault, for supplying an incorrect address. The most common culprit, I suppose, is buyers using Amazon's one-click checkout without checking the address.

The Postal Service will return Priority Mail packages at no charge. But they're supposed to charge you again for returned Media Mail packages.

I usually eat the postage costs in these cases, and consider it a cost of doing business. I'm unwilling to risk bad feedback on a customer who has already insisted they're "in the right." Once the customer has decided they're right, there's little chance you're going to convince them they're wrong.

Fortunately, address mixups have gotten much less common since Amazon began allowing customers to cancel orders they've placed within the past 60 minutes. Evidently most of the folks who've used an incorrect address are canceling after getting the e-mail showing their old address.
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