IsBuyerLegit
Back to stories
Address change after payment Avoided loss

The address-change request from a different eBay account

A seller received an address-change message right after an $800 sale, but it did not come from the actual buyer.

What happened

A seller sold an $800 item and soon received a message asking for the shipping address to be changed.

The problem was that the message did not come from the buyer account that placed the order. It came from a different account entirely.

Both accounts appeared to be new. The requesting account was suspended shortly afterward.

The tactic depends on speed: message many recent sellers and hope one ships to the wrong address.

The red flags

The signals below are the ones that mattered in this case.

  • Address-change request after a high-value sale
  • Message came from a different account
  • Both accounts were newly created
  • Requesting account was quickly suspended

What to do

I ship only to the address on the eBay order. If the real buyer needs a different address, they need to cancel and re-buy with the correct address.

A request from an account that is not the buyer is different. I treat that as a scam attempt, keep everything in eBay messages, and escalate instead of shipping.

I do not let urgency or a convincing message move the package away from seller protection.

Not sure about your own buyer? Run the 60-second check.

Save this for the next time a buyer feels off.

Sources

Disclaimer & Terms

Independent educational tool.

IsBuyerLegit is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by eBay Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc., OfferUp, Craigslist, PayPal, or other marketplaces or payment providers. Risk verdicts are heuristic guidance, not financial, legal, or business advice. You remain responsible for your own transaction decisions.