question about a pushy buyer?

littlepinkstars44

I had an auction on ebay for a bunch of old vogue magazines, and had them down as local pick up only.
The winner is somewhere is England, and has emailed me to say she will arange a courier to pick them up...fair enough.

But firstly...my auction was for local pick up only, shouldn't she have emailed me before hand to ask if this was ok?

And i have nothing to put these magazines in for them to be couriered to her, meaning i am going to have to go out and buy a box to put them in, should i ask her to pay for this too?
To be honest, buying a box for them will end up costing more than what i got for the magazines!

custardy

yes she should
i would tell her you are not available to wait in for couriers
hence why its collection only

chja

Well, I guess the courier will be picking up locally, but this should be at your convinience not theirs.

When the courier calls to arrange a convinent time for them to pick up, you could tell them that the items are unboxed. Alternatively, your local supermarket may have an empty one you could use.

StaffsSW

My tale of woe in this situation is on this thread - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1593793

appleblossom

chja wrote: »

Well, I guess the courier will be picking up locally, but this should be at your convinience not theirs.

When the courier calls to arrange a convinent time for them to pick up, you could tell them that the items are unboxed. Alternatively, your local supermarket may have an empty one you could use.

In my experience, I have never had a courier call me to arrange a collection time - it is generally any time between 9-5.30pm.

Personally, if I had other bidders, I would refund her money, tell her it was collection only and you are not willing to 1/ buy packaging 2/ sit and wait in for a courier (if you work you wouldn't be able to do this anyway) and then do a 2nd chance offer - explain to the 2nd bidder why the sale has fallen through.

soolin

I also would not allow a courier for a collected item. Collected means to me you arrange for the buyer to call at say 5.30-6pm on a Tuesday and maybe you'll help carry the stuff to the car boot but basically they just take the stuff at the door and pay cash.

I would NOT wait in all day for a courier, nor would I be prepared to have everything boxed and weighed (does buyer even know the wrapped weight for an accurate courer quote?) If a courier does arrive you need to make sure it is legit, you'll need full tracking and a despatch note of some sort and confirmation that receipt can be tracked online to protect against a paypal claim. What about labels on the box, you'll have to print them all of etc.

One other word of warning, even if buyer does collect try and talk them out of using paypal due to the issue of fake chargebacks where no proof of delivery is possible.

whatusername

Not trying to be picky here but if a courier is collecting it then she has stuck to her side of the deal by local collection. Weather or not convenience etc becomes an issue for me the buyer really hasn't done anything wrong.

Personally if i was selling and offering a local collection i would insist on cash payment on collection which would stop paypal fees, chance of chargeback and the chance of courier collection.

StaffsSW

whatusername wrote: »

Not trying to be picky here but if a courier is collecting it then she has stuck to her side of the deal by local collection. Weather or not convenience etc becomes an issue for me the buyer really hasn't done anything wrong.

What about packaging and time waiting for courier?

To most of us, local collection means somebody turning up to stick something in the back of their car with ablanket around it maybe, at a time mutually agreed.
It is not taking a day of work, and spending hours finding materials and packing something that you had never intended to.

If the courier is willing to turn up at a time that suits me, and they are willing to box, protect and label said item, then maybe so, but otherwise the tail does not wag the dog.

soolin

whatusername wrote: »

Not trying to be picky here but if a courier is collecting it then she has stuck to her side of the deal by local collection. Weather or not convenience etc becomes an issue for me the buyer really hasn't done anything wrong.

Personally if i was selling and offering a local collection i would insist on cash payment on collection which would stop paypal fees, chance of chargeback and the chance of courier collection.

Sorry but no, are you honestly saying that someone coming to the door at a pre arranged time is the same as me having to pack up an item, print off packing labels and wait in all day for a courier You may have all the time in the world to sit at home and wait but i have a life outside of ebay and am out for a good few hours every day at least.

If someone wanted to send a courier for an item that I had up for collection then I would say yes as long as that courier would take stuff completely unboxed in loose carrier bags if this is how it is stored, with no packing labels and at a time that I specify and within 30 minutes of that time. I would also want the courer to pay me cash on behalf of the buyer..now is that reasonable?

littlepinkstars44

Thanks everyone, i have taken your advice and emailed the seller to explain that i cannot possibly stay in and wait for a courier. I am a full time student, and work 25 hours a week. I do not get a day to myself at all!

I have also issued her a refund, but she has not responded yet.

7db

Good answer.

We do a lot of collections, but we're around a lot and have clearly defined times when people can collect. Some people like to send a courier -- we are very clear in the auction that this is fine but that we won't be doing any wrapping or addressing.

Some couriers can do that (van couriers etc). We've had Citilink (hired by a buyer to do a "collection") refuse to take some things from us -- we know that the reason we have listed it as collection is that it's not possible to pack it to their standards!