item listed as collection only buyer now wants courier,????

angeleyes

I listed a guitar on e bay clearly as collection only/cash on collection, had lots of watchers but only 1 bidder who met the reserve price,after bidding had ended they said they hadnt noticited it was collection only .... even though was stated twice on the auction, advised it was collection only and didn't recieve a response until 1 week later when I opened a dispute as they lived over 200 miles away persumed not coming to collect item.


i listed this as collection only as didnt want the hassel of arranging couriers and packaging up etc, and I had lots of intrest so if had listed as a courier option would have receieved more bids.( if I had wanted to be bothered)

now buyer has started trying to arrange a courier which I dont want as it was not listed as this on the auction and am wary of having buyer go through paypal for this amount of money in case they get item and try to do a chargeback etc.

now I will lose my final fee dispute at cost of £50ISH is there anything I can do as the bidder has not followed the auction instructions.

I have stated my reasons etc to the buyer and asked to mutually end this to which they have stated to e bay they are trying to complete via courier.

will ebay make me lose my fees etc

any ideas or advice
thanks

cyril82

Send him a message stating clearly that you stated collection only on the listing and arranging a courier is not an option. You accept that he made an honest mistake but it is ultimately his responsibility to ensure he reads the listing before bidding.

Therefore unless he can comply with the requirement for collection only then you only have two options, close the sale without his co-operation which will lead to a strike on his account, however you would much rather just end the sale mutually which will result in you receiving your fees back and will not result in him receiving an unpaid item strike, make a point of politely pointing out at the end that as the mistake was his you feel that you are being very fair and reasonable, but unless he can comply with the stated terms of the listing and collect you see nothing else you can do but try to end the sale amicably.

He should hopefully just agree to close the sale, or come and get it depending how much he really wants it.

jonnyd281

Isn't the buyer arranging collection only by arranging their own courier? After all OP isn't paying or doing anything to arrange couriers.

pboae

Surely the seller will have to package it up before the courier arrives, and if it gets damaged in transit and the courier claims it's inadequately packaged then the seller will be liable.

I wouldn't want the hassle either.

Lynsey

jonnyd281 wrote: »

Isn't the buyer arranging collection only by arranging their own courier? After all OP isn't paying or doing anything to arrange couriers.

Packaging.

Lynsey

basilseal

Technically, what is the difference between the buyer collecting them selves and sending a courier to collect it for him?

You have two choices here, either go along with is request, after all he is prepared to pay what you wanted for the item, and i presume you put it o ebay because you wanted to sell it. Pack it well and insit that he takes out adequate insurance to cover the cost of the item should it be damaged. Make sure you keep the courier collection receipt then you will have the tracking info required to chalenge a pay pal charge back in the unlikely event that one occurs.

Alternatively, tell the buyer that you accept they have made a mistake and offer to release them from the sale, send a mutual withdrawal notice to them to get your fees back, you could say that there is no one in at your house during the day so a courier is not an option, that would be a more reasonable motive for making the auction collect only, rather than 'i couldn't be @rsed'.

Services like parcel2go and interparcel would move an item like this for less than £10 including some insurance, it's also possible to get free packing materials if you go round to a few local businesses, especially ones you are a customer of, and ask them for old packing boxes, most will be glad to get rid as they have to pay to dispose of them.

By not offering postage you greatly restrict your potential buyers and hence the end price is often less, i frequently buy collect only items at cheap prices and send couriers for them, but i always ask the seller first before bidding, most say it's fine, they just didn't know how to get them posted.

ultimately it's your perogative to do what you want, but if you don't want to involve yourself with couriers and distance buyers, then perhaps the local paper small ads might be a more appropriate place to sell than ebay.

NotQuiteNorbert

basilseal wrote: »

Technically, what is the difference between the buyer collecting them selves and sending a courier to collect it for him?

Surely the point of local collection is so that the seller does not have to package the item up, and also does not have to wait in on a specified day for the courier to collect. If the seller wanted to send the item via courier, wouldn't they have posted this as an option in their listing?

basilseal

NotQuiteNorbert wrote: »

Surely the point of local collection is so that the seller does not have to package the item up, and also does not have to wait in on a specified day for the courier to collect. If the seller wanted to send the item via courier, wouldn't they have posted this as an option in their listing?

You'll still have to be in for the buyer to collect in person, which can be just as much trouble as waiting for a courier, and yes, you do have to pack the item up, but do you want to sell it or not? it's not a great deal of effort to stick something in a box for the sake of the extra value it will achieve.

As i said though, it's entirely the seller's perogative to do what they think best, i was just expressing the opinion that it is a rather counter productive stance to take when selling on a national internet auction site.

Nex0

NotQuiteNorbert wrote: »

Surely the point of local collection is so that the seller does not have to package the item up, and also does not have to wait in on a specified day for the courier to collect. If the seller wanted to send the item via courier, wouldn't they have posted this as an option in their listing?

Amen to that.

Looking at some peoples posts on this forum recently i'm glad I have given up on ebay!

Nex0

basilseal wrote: »

You'll still have to be in for the buyer to collect in person, which can be just as much trouble as waiting for a courier, and yes, you do have to pack the item up, but do you want to sell it or not? it's not a great deal of effort to stick something in a box for the sake of the extra value it will achieve.

As i said though, it's entirely the seller's perogative to do what they think best, i was just expressing the opinion that it is a rather counter productive stance to take when selling on a national internet auction site.

Not really as the seller can tell you they will be there at say 1.

A courier can give u a time between 9-5

I know which id rather choose.

StaffsSW

I was stiffed once by a buyer who arranged their own courier to collect something I had listed as collection only.

I faffed around for a day trying to find something suitable to wrap it and pack it which cost me about £10 in materials, I waited in all day for one to turn up, only for the buyer to then email to say they hadnt had a chance to arrange it yet. I had to take another day off, and when the courier arrived, the item was too large for the service the buyer had paid for, so he refused to uplift it. It was a third day off work before a different corier turned up in a HGV truck to pick it up.

All in all it was a proper shambles for a £40 sale, and not something I would recommend for anyone else to do.

The seller dictates the terms of the sale, not the buyer. If they are not happy with what you have on offer, then they shouldn't try to force you into a corner.

It's a case of the tail wagging the dog.