If you are intending to sell goods on Ebay and post to Europe then please read on.

If you are going to post goods to a European buyer then please be aware that the postal address which will be given for your customer at the end of the sale,will almost always be in the incorrect format FOR THAT SPECIFIC COUNTRY.

This is because when an Ebay member fills in their address form for their postage address details, they fill it out in this order and it is displayed so:

1. Name,
2. Street number,
3. Street,
4. Town,
5. Postcode,
6. Country.

This will produce an address like this.

Mr Smith,

16 Green Street

Greentown,

ABC 123

Greenland.

A typical "English Style" address.

You would assume that this was the correct address,but it isn't in the right order for many European addresses.

Since nearly all European Addresses have the Postcode BEFORE the Town name AND on the same line ,and many have the Street number AFTER the Street name then it could be incorrectly addressed and could lead to non postage of your goods and endless hassle,negative feedback etc....

A correct German  type Address would be as follows,

MR SMITH,

GREEN STREET  16

ABC 123   GREENTOWN

GERMANY.

But this would appear in the same format as the English type address when the details are sent to you as a delivery address for your customer .i.e with the house number BEFORE the street name in many cases and the post code AFTER the Town name.

In Germany especially, if the postcode isn't written BEFORE the Town name, then the letter is usually automatically rejected by the postal system and It WILL NOT be delivered and will be returned to sender,provided you have put your return address on the envelope.

So please be careful and confirm the address with the buyer if you are not sure.

I learnt this the hard way by having mail returned or "lost" and wondered why it was always to German addresses until I realised the problem.

Have a look on the Royal Mail website for more specific foreign addressing issues, of which there are many.

I hope you found this information helpful, If a bit longwinded.

If you found this information helpful then please click "YES" Below,Thanks.