Collection of Item - Storage in Meantime

rebeccauk · 25 September 2011 at 12:15PM

Hi
I've purchased an item which was advertised for collection or courier postage which is near me. I'm pretty sure that the seller was to make a good profit on the courier postage as I know the weight of the item and how much it would cost to send by courier.
Anyway, I won the item and because we're nearby I told the seller I would collect in person although it would either have to be today or next weekend (as we go away Mon-Fri) this week. The seller said it was ok to collect in person but I couldn't go today as he is out all day and evening and if it has to wait til next weekend then he will put the item in his garage which isn't damp-proofed and I will have to take responsibility if any damage happens to it.
The item is a hornby trainset so I'm a little concerned about damp getting to it and although I can understand that it's not the sellers place to store the item and it's my problem that I bid on an item that was due to finish the day we go away for a mini-break I still can't help being concerned. Do I have any come-back if the item does get damaged? It wasn't cheap and was advertised as being in full working order. I get the impression that the seller would have preferred to send the item by courier rather than have people collecting and he may be trying to put me off but it seems daft to have something sent by courier which is 1. Really close to where I live and 2. will go back to the depot anyway as I won't be home to accept delivery.
Do I just have to take my chances that the item remains ok whilst in storage in his garage?
Rebecca

mournemaid · 25 September 2011 at 12:19PM

Could you not get someone to collect it for you?

zenseeker · 25 September 2011 at 1:03PM

If you pay for cash on collection you would forfeit any eBay protection anyway. You should really have discussed this with the seller before bidding, buyers like you are a pain in the !!!!

Jen_Jen1985 · 25 September 2011 at 1:38PM

If you are paying cash on collection then inspect it before you hand over any money, if your not happy with the condition then just say no thank you and walk away.
If you are paying by paypal then you can still inspect it when you collect and if its not suitable then ask for a refund, if they say no then open an INR case as they wont be able to prove deliverey.

Where has the guy been storing it until now and why cant it stay there a few more days?

sharnad · 25 September 2011 at 2:32PM

turn up next weekend look it over it is suffered damage dont pay for it

hermum · 25 September 2011 at 2:55PM

rebeccauk wrote: »

Hi
I've purchased an item which was advertised for collection or courier postage which is near me. I'm pretty sure that the seller was to make a good profit on the courier postage as I know the weight of the item and how much it would cost to send by courier.
Anyway, I won the item and because we're nearby I told the seller I would collect in person although it would either have to be today or next weekend (as we go away Mon-Fri) this week. The seller said it was ok to collect in person but I couldn't go today as he is out all day and evening and if it has to wait til next weekend then he will put the item in his garage which isn't damp-proofed and I will have to take responsibility if any damage happens to it.
The item is a hornby trainset so I'm a little concerned about damp getting to it and although I can understand that it's not the sellers place to store the item and it's my problem that I bid on an item that was due to finish the day we go away for a mini-break I still can't help being concerned. Do I have any come-back if the item does get damaged? It wasn't cheap and was advertised as being in full working order. I get the impression that the seller would have preferred to send the item by courier rather than have people collecting and he may be trying to put me off but it seems daft to have something sent by courier which is 1. Really close to where I live and 2. will go back to the depot anyway as I won't be home to accept delivery.
Do I just have to take my chances that the item remains ok whilst in storage in his garage?
Rebecca

That would have put a lot of sellers backs up.
The seller is within his rights to refuse to allow you to collect.
You know how much a courier will cost but do you know how much the packing the seller will use would have cost him?
Check it when you go to collect it, if you don't want it then don't pay.
People will no doubt come on saying that you must pay by Paypal so that you have paypal cover etc, I think that you should pay by cash, as you've not been a particulary good buyer in this transaction.
If you want to pay by Paypal the seller, will probably insist on posting it.

OP apologies, I didn't take in the bit that collection was also offered, I focused on the bit about him making money on the courier.

Crowqueen · 25 September 2011 at 5:07PM

hermum wrote: »

That would have put a lot of sellers backs up.
The seller is within his rights to refuse to allow you to collect.
You know how much a courier will cost but do you know how much the packing the seller will use would have cost him?
Check it when you go to collect it, if you don't want it then don't pay.
People will no doubt come on saying that you must pay by Paypal so that you have paypal cover etc, I think that you should pay by cash, as you've not been a particulary good buyer in this transaction.
If you want to pay by Paypal the seller, will probably insist on posting it.

OP's post states: I've purchased an item which was advertised for collection or courier postage which is near me.

Item seems to have been advertised as either/or so if seller wasn't prepared to either wait for buyer's agreeable date or to package it for a courier, then they shouldn't have listed it.

OP has been fairly reasonable - I don't think sellers should insist on the item being picked up immediately, it may take people a while after EOA to collect something so sellers should plan for that.

Buyers are not PITAs for asking for a reasonable time after EOA to organise collection, sometimes things can't be done immediately when the buyer doesn't know whether they have definitely won or not. Sellers have an interest in a smooth sale so not everything should be at their convenience only.

If I've missed something I'm sorry, but the seller should be a little bit more flexible if he wants the sale.

MissGivings_2 · 25 September 2011 at 5:59PM

Well, if the seller puts the train set in his damp garage and he spoils it, he'll have spoiled his sale, because you'll examine it and see it's damp.
Then you can leave appropriate feedback for what you thought of the transaction.

' if it has to wait til next weekend then he will put the item in his garage which isn't damp-proofed and I will have to take responsibility if any damage happens to it.'

Telling you that you have to take responsibility for any damage is utter drivel. Silly seller.

rebeccauk · 25 September 2011 at 6:26PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. All appreciated.
I did check with the seller that he was happy for me to collect before I bidded even though the listing did say collection in person was available and he said it was ok but I didn't realise at this time that my husband would be booking the mini-break which is a surprise gift for my birthday so in that case perhaps I have been an awkward buyer as I am now not able to collect all week but I did offer to collect at anytime today day or evening (auction finished this morning).
Unfortunately I can't get anyone to collect it for me without them having to travel a bit of a distance.
Thanks anyway

scheming_gypsy · 25 September 2011 at 6:49PM

To be honest, it's fairly unlikely that anything would happen to it in a week. If his garage was that bad that he can't leave anything in it for a week at the end of summer, he'd have knocked it down

System · 25 September 2011 at 6:54PM

If he has to store it in the garage AFTER the sale then logic says that that is where it was BEFORE the sale. Being sold doesn't suddenly cause a storage problem.