A company hamstrung by its own system, unable to have an actual person solve a simple problem.

[rheomode]

The following is an email I just sent to Customer Support, after selecting what topics apply, none of which options remotely do apply:

None of the options in topic or sub-topic are helpful and do not apply to this issue; I am hoping that this is read and makes it to the appropriate department:
I am trying to finalize a sale with a buyer in Vietnam. We want to have the item shipped to an address in California, but when the buyer tries to make payment the 'ship to' address reverts to the California address plus HA NOI 100000 after the CA address. And when he tries a workaround by putting in a new address, the system defaults to Vietnam as country; he has no option to put in USA. I have contacted PayPal by phone to see what can be done about getting the HA NOI removed from the ship to address. I was advised to have the buyer contact this number:
65 6510 4584, that they could walk him through the process in real time. Buyer has called the number, and this is the info that he sent on 4/18 to me regarding the conversation:
"I have called PayPal in Singapore yesterday, they will email me with guide how to fix this bug
Still waiting for their email"
Later on 4/18 I received this email from him:
"Unfortunately still have not received their email yet. They told me to send more info to their email
I sent email including photo and video (of his trying to put an address on his addresses page with only California as destination) but still have not received reply.
Actually it's not easy for me to call to Singapore."
It appears that this issue has slipped through the cracks. There doesn't appear to be anyone so far who is able or willing to solve it. I am going to lose the sale as a result. Surely there is a department that can see to it that this issue is resolved. It seems simple enough -- get the HO NOI off of the shipping address, allow the buyer to add a new address in a country other than Vietnam.

Perhaps there will ultimately be a solution to the above. But it's unconsciounable that it should be so difficult to do, that it should invove this much trouble. And if not resolvable by the Support, perhaps there is someone who has faced the same issue and has come up with a solution.

[kernowlass]

@rheomode

Paypal is country specific, you can't add an international address to a countries paypal account.

[rheomode]

This thread has nothing to do with adding an international address to a country's paypal account. (Not quite sure actually what you mean by that.) It has to do with purchasing a product and having it shipped anywhere in the world you want, not just to the country your paypal account is in. I can purchase from any country through paypal and elect to have the item shipped as a gift to a friend in another country. PayPal is not country specific for shipping.

[kernowlass]

@rheomode

Wrong.

If you buy something and want it shipped to a friend in another country that is fine IF and only IF the seller is happy to do that BUT he would have 0 seller protection as for that you have to send to the paypal registered address of the buyer.

The only way he would be protected is if he added a ''gift'' address to his paypal account and then he could select that when he paid.

BUT if that gift address was in another country he would NOT be able to add it as you can't add an international address to a countries paypal account.

That is why your buyer can't add a U.S address to his Vietnamese paypal account.

[rheomode]

This only confirms my original complaint. Not one of 4-5 "Support" agents has mentioned such when I have called. They've said that the buyer needs to phone PayPal in Vietnam (they gave me the number to pass to him) to "walk him through" achieving a pure ship-to California address (he has a business there that then sends it to him in Vietnam). Then, by phone, PayPal Vietnam asked him to email them info, including video, as to how he has tried to get the California address added to his Ship-to list, so they could advise him how to get around the "glitch," their word (or a close translation of). So the left hand at PayPal does not know what the right hand is doing. And both buyer and myself have wasted a lot of time and energy . And if, as you say, one cannot ship anywhere in the world one wants using PayPal, it's shocking, actually. I wonder how much business PayPal loses as a result. In any case , why could the buyer not simply Gift me the money, and then I ship the item anywhere I darn please? Oh, right, then the buyer is not covered. Impasse, and check-mate. But still, if "Support" is anything to go by, it all ends with a big question-mark.

[kernowlass]

@rheomode

A lot of customer support agents are not the brightest lights in the harbour and to be honest often say anything to get you off the phone.