Postcodes keep an eye out for none compliant

[moldosgifts]

Royal mail have just intoduced the incorrect postcode policy.

Just had my first with the yellow triangle (account postage)

If your a buyer just check your postcode or you may not get your item.

I messaged my buyer hopefully they get what i'm saying they used a letter O insted of 0 its as simple as that.

[zoomingmouse]

It would be such a good thing if Ebay auto flagged an incorrect postcode to the buyer when they input it so they are prompted to check & correct if needbe. 

I've lost count of the amount of times I've had to research an incorrect address when there isn't really time to wait for a buyer to reply to the question.

[*vyolla*]

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@zoomingmouse wrote:

It would be such a good thing if Ebay auto flagged an incorrect postcode to the buyer when they input it so they are prompted to check & correct if needbe. 

I've lost count of the amount of times I've had to research an incorrect address when there isn't really time to wait for a buyer to reply to the question.

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I'm 100% in agreement with you there, on my website I'm surprised by people's inability to know their own post code and end up having to Google the address and correct it.  It sems to be mainly youngsters too, which is a little sad, I feel. I wish they'd have a 'life skills' lesson at school which would cover how a post code works, credit cards have interest rates etc. 

[zoomingmouse]

It seems like such a simple thing to implement, yet has never been done, well I can't remember a time when it was in place, but I may be wrong.

I've had a few that are students, obviously in new digs.

A quick prompt, now & then would be all it takes to keep everyone up-to-date.

Must be a nightmare for anyone who sells lots.

[ett1954]

Why would eBay use an address / postcode verifier to help the buyer / seller when it costs money?  Especially as the responsibility lies with the seller to get it to the buyer.

It is much the same if you use eBay's ISBN catalogue to quickly fill in your book's specifics.  Quite often the number generates a book that bears no relation to the one you are trying to sell; never mind the edition.  It seems they have simply used what a previous seller has entered as being correct; no verification.  Quite often when you do have the correct book some of the specifics are incorrect or bear no relation to the book's contents resulting in an inordinate amount of time wasted double-checking everything.

[johnwash1]

If you buy your postage on RM's Click and Collect site, it's immediately evident when you don't have the right postcode.

[zoomingmouse]

I thought, perhaps naively, it would be an easy thing to add in to the system.

I don't sell lots, but even I come across the problem more that I would expect.

At the moment it gets flagged usually when entering the details on RM's site, but that's just before I post out so too late usually to mail the buyer to check.

[ett1954]

You can verify or correct via Royal Mail's website (postcode checker).  I think you are allowed around 50 checks per day before it becomes chargable.

Like you I use Royal Mail who flag up incorrect postcodes sent via your integrated eBay account.  I occasionally find incorrect postcodes highlighted which I quickly correct by the above.  The Irish postal system have a similar postcode verifier.

[johnwash1]

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@zoomingmouse wrote:

I thought, perhaps naively, it would be an easy thing to add in to the system.

...

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Not naive IMHO.  I had to do something rather like this some 10 or 15 years ago.  No idea what it's like now, but back then RM would send out a file that one could use, updated every 3 months.  And the updates are necessary, because not only do new houses get built, but existing properties sometimes get their postcodes changed.  My in-laws lived in a 100-year old house that was beside a T-junction and I believe the reason for changing their postcode once was because they'd been put onto a different postie's route.

Still, you're hoping that ebay's web design team have a clue.  A triumph of optimism over reality?

[kath3735_wxmjn]

the responsibility of the seller is to send the item to the address on the sale info not to be running around checking if the buyer has inputted the correct address/postcode.

[ett1954]

Royal Mail will not print a label with an incorrect post code - so what do you suggest?

[vinylscot]

How do you think the item is going to arrive at the address given, if that address has a wrong postcode?

[zoomingmouse]

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@johnwash1 wrote:

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Still, you're hoping that ebay's web design team have a clue.  A triumph of optimism over reality?

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I've just gone through the motions of adding a new delivery address & was surprised <I know there's that glass half full again!> that although there were some auto addresses coming up as I typed in the 1st line of my address, none were remotely correct.

Probably because the post code is the last entry, rather than the 1st, which is usually the case on most websites I've used, allowing the user to auto select their address from a dropdown menu. 

It may be that the option works differently once at the checkout stage?

This is the page I get on this account for adding or altering addresses <non-seller account, only buying>, under account settings.

[m25jet]

@ett1954 wrote:

Royal Mail will not print a label with an incorrect post code - so what do you suggest?

If you do not have the buyer's postcode - or if you are uncertain as to whether he/she has inputted the postcode correctly - run a Google search on the rest of the address.  So, for example, let's say that the buyer has entered his/her address as "33 Norfolk Street, Boston, Lincolnshire" but has either failed to include the postcode, or something about the postcode just doesn't seem right. The correct postcode in this example is PE21 6PW, but let's just say for argument's sake that the buyer inadvertently typed an upper case I in place of the number 1.  A quick Google check would confirm the correct postcode, and avoid the problem of the Royal Mail flagging the parcel as bearing an incorrect postcode.

Another way to avoid posting an item bearing an incorrect postcode would be to avoid printing off an eBay postage label, especially if the buyer has either missed off, or mistyped, his/her postcode.  Write the buyer's address manually onto the parcel in clear block capitals, including an "If undelivered please return to..." address on the back of the parcel so that you get the parcel back again if it cannot be delivered for some reason, and then purchase a postage label to affix to the parcel.  Once that's done all that remains to do is post the item to the buyer.

[wyntersemporium]

I've done this tonight, researched the address buyer had put the last letters  of the postcode the wrong way round