Private seller and DSR / Paypal

Tiddlywinks

I am a very low volume seller (not sold anything for over a year) but buy regularly and have a cabinet I want to sell for collection only. Please could you help me with some questions I have.....

If I list the cabinet on a 'buy it now' as a private seller then do the distance selling regs apply to me?

Also, it won't let me list (because I haven't sold much up tp now without offering PayPal, whereas I'd prefer cash on collection - this worries me because someone could pay with paypal, collect and then later apply for a refund from PP.... any ideas?

I'm only nervous because I've had a few bad selling experiences in the past and I want to try to give myself a fighting chance .

George666

Hi OP everyone has to offer paypal as a payment method on ebay unless youy are listing in the motor vehicles catagory so yes you are left open to the not recieved scam.
But you can say in your description thet you would prefer cash on collection and make it a collection only item.
You cannot however state no paypal but the buyer would have to tell you face to face why they do not want to pay with cash and this may deter some scammers if you write clearly on the listing that you would prefer payment by cash as it is a collection only item.

pinkshoes

As above, it's ebay rules that you MUST offer paypal.

If you put a note in your auction saying you ONLY accept cash on collection, you risk getting your auction pulled, so make sure you phrase it that "cash on collection is preferred".

If someone who won paid with paypal, then you could always refund them and ask them to pay cash on collection. Or you could try putting courier as an option, but not put a price, and tell buyers to contact you. (And tell them it's REALLY expensive!).

Crowqueen

Distance selling regulations don't apply to private sellers, even on BINs. Make sure yourself your buyer has a chance to inspect the item though, don't just take a chance on them remembering to check it over - play fair as the Sale of Goods Act still applies.

I know the general consensus here is on the side of no Paypal on collection, but the incidence is less than the possibility, so it's your choice as to what you put in your listing up to a certain point, but cabinets are unlikely to be highly scammed items and I would personally accept Paypal on those kind of items for a pick-up.

I suspect most people would bring cash unless it was an amount that I wouldn't feel happy with carrying around an unfamiliar neighbourhood, but there is hysteria and then there is reality, which is that cabinets are less likely to be targets of a scammer than TVs or laptops.

George666

Hi OP one more thing DSRs do not apply to anyone even a business seller on a collection only item no matter how it is sold either buy it now or auction as the buyer has had the chance to actually see the item before they accepted the transaction.
DSRs only apply to items sent to a buyer either in the post or by courier where the buyer has only had a photograph and a description to decide if they should buy the item or not and they have not had the chance to physically touch or hold the item.
The normal ebay terms and conditions still apply though as do a customers statutory consumer rights if you are a business.

cyberbob

George666 wrote: »

But you can say in your description thet you would prefer cash on collection a

You can't state that you cannot preference one method over another or discourage from another method which you would be doing you risk getting your listing pulled. Saying you prefer it is preferencing it and listings have been pulled for less.

The safest thing to do is immediately after they have one email the buyer and politely say that you would prefer cash on collection if you tell them it means that they can check the item before paying. Most buyers will be fine with this.

ebay wrote:

Misleading & Discouraging Payments
Sellers who state in their listing that they accept certain payment methods must not selectively offer those payment methods to buyers or discourage buyers from using those payment methods.
This means that sellers must always accept payment from buyers through the payment methods they have selected in their Payment Details section of their listing, including PayPal, and must not act in any way to discourage buyers from paying by these methods. For example, you may not insist that a buyer pay a surcharge, if paying through a certain payment method.
Breaches of any part of this policy may result in a range of actions including:

• Listing cancellation
  
• Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
  
• Limits on account privileges
  
• Loss of PowerSeller status
  
• Account suspension
  

George666

cyberbob wrote: »

You can't state that you cannot preference one method over another or discourage from another method which you would be doing you risk getting your listing pulled. Saying you prefer it is preferencing it and listings have been pulled for less.

The safest thing to do is immediately after they have one email the buyer and politely say that you would prefer cash on collection if you tell them it means that they can check the item before paying. Most buyers will be fine with this.

Is this not the same thing you are suggesting only by a different method as you are trying to discourage a payment by paypal in favour of cash if the buyer reported you for this you would have breached the same rule you quoted only you will have done it via email not on the listing itself.
And this way a buyer has no idea what is comming if I wanted to buy something from you and collect it but use paypal so I could put the purchase on my credit card and pay for it through my credit card later then I recieved an email from you saying you prefer cash I would not be happy and pay by paypal straight away.
I think that this is about the only valid reason for a genuine buyer to use paypal on a collection only item that or the buyer is a seller really wants the item and has cash for the item in his paypal account but does not want to wait for it to go into his bank account before buying the item.
Some other buyers may act differently to an email like this under these circumstances but I would say this has a bigger risk of complaint as the buyer will not be expecting any problems using paypal as a payment method and may now think due to your email that there is a problem.

Crowqueen

There is no "valid reason" for a buyer to pay by Paypal, only they can and they might.

I think there is an awful lot of scaremongering going on about this subject. Because the possibility exists does not mean it is regularly exploited. There is more chance of a fake INR on an item sent untracked than this happening on a cabinet.

I agree with George that refusing a payment by Paypal would be difficult and that it may ring more alarm bells in the buyer's head than the seller's head if they are refunded.

George666

I say valid reason because if I did not know how ebay/paypals refund system worked and I had only ever bought from ebay or only sold a few odds and ends on ebay I would feel much more comfortable handing over my cash after I had a chance to see exactly what I was buying and give it a good look over.
This is why I think most buyers who would want to buy something like a cabinet would themselves rather pay cash on collection that way they can take a good look at it see how big or small it is before paying anything to the seller.
Some ebay buyers actually think they have been ripped off straight away when an item is a day or so late in arriving and that they have no chance at all of being refunded we see posts like this on this forum all the time then bob or soolin or sometimes even me post and explain to them just how safe and secure paypal really is and that with just a few clicks of the mouse how they can open a claim and get refunded if their item does not turn up.
This is what I base my valid reason on, that most ebay buyers who have never had to claim before would if they can avoid making one.
I know the probability of being ripped off over a cabinet is low but that had it been an iPhone the probability would rocket and in my opinion selling a cabinet cash on collection raises a different problem if the buyer does not like it let's say it's bigger than they thought it would be then they can just walk away and the seller is left to chase up their final value fee.

lindseykim13

I always put 'cash on collection please' not had a problem with it since and hav sold quite a bit lately like this as clearing the house out. Only had one case of someone paying by pp. I just refunded and put a note in saying 'thanks for paying but it is cash on collection, hope you don't mind' didn't bother them.

It's telling them in a polite way whilst still offering paypal as it's clearly there in the payment methods.

martindow

lindseykim13 wrote: »

I always put 'cash on collection please' not had a problem with it since and hav sold quite a bit lately like this as clearing the house out. Only had one case of someone paying by pp. I just refunded and put a note in saying 'thanks for paying but it is cash on collection, hope you don't mind' didn't bother them.

It's telling them in a polite way whilst still offering paypal as it's clearly there in the payment methods.

The problem is that if someone insists on paying by PP then you refund and insist on cash you could end up with a nps claim and a neg. Good that this is working for you but there is a risk with this strategy.