Seller wants cash on delivery for large item purchased on eBay...

pondskater_2

bigwal wrote: »

I have been caught out paying cash on collection. When I got the item home, it was faulty and not as described. the seller refused me a refund and e bay would not intervene as we did not go through Paypal, we were not subject to their Buyer protection scheme. The only remaining option for us is a small claims application.

This is a warning to anyone paying cash on collection to be absolutely sure the item is as it should be and check it with a fine tooth comb. I know it can be a bit daunting when the seller is hanging around waiting for their money. However, they are protecting their own interests by asking for cash on collection, so make em wait till you a sure you are happy with the item.

soolin

We are all aware of the PayPal on collection scam and it is well covered on the various sticky threads.

However, a seller cannot refuse PayPal and OP is perfectly entitled to pay by PayPal if they wish and we must be careful to ensure that buyers are aware of their rights.

If OP pays by PayPal and seller refunds it (as he may well do) then buyer is perfectly entitled to walk away from the transaction and leave seller with the fees to pay. sellers need to be aware of the PayPal on collection scam, but also need to be mindful that they risk losing their fees if they refuse to accept it.

Many of us do take PayPal if a buyer exercises their right to use it, but I for one factor it into my sales strategy nd if it is out of my comfort zone I would sell the item elsewhere.

bris

We all know they are allowed to pay by paypal, but why even bother to buy an item that clearly states cash on collection only, if they have no intention of doing so.
Op you can inspect the item is as described and working before you pay for it, so there should be no issue after you get it home.

I know this is an ebay board and the rules are clearly important to some people, but if you buy a cash on collection item and pay with paypal you are just looking for problems. I would let the buyer come to collect it, then tell them to pay cash (refunding the paypal payment) or go away, if they want to muck me about it can go both ways.

soolin

bris wrote: »

We all know they are allowed to pay by paypal, but why even bother to buy an item that clearly states cash on collection only, if they have no intention of doing so.
Op you can inspect the item is as described and working before you pay for it, so there should be no issue after you get it home.

I know this is an ebay board and the rules are clearly important to some people, but if you buy a cash on collection item and pay with paypal you are just looking for problems. I would let the buyer come to collect it, then tell them to pay cash (refunding the paypal payment) or go away, if they want to muck me about it can go both ways.

This board is for buyers as well as sellers and if a buyer wants to use paypal then they are perfectly entitled to do so.

There is more than one reason for using paypal, one of my buyers explained they wanted to use a 0% credit card to buy my item and so had to use paypal- yes they could have been a scammer but that was not my judgement to make. I listed on ebay as collection only and understood the risk. We should not be arrogant enough to assume that everyone is in a position to pay cash- just because a seller hopes to avoid ebay rules by 'insisting' on it.

armadillo1899

Thanks all for your comments so far. I assumed the seller doesn't want to use paypal to avoid 3.4% fees. The item is a bicycle from a London seller with 99% positive feedback (over 200 auctions). I am a little apprehensive about paying cash on collection as I'd have little protection should there be a problem. One thing that does make me wonder is that the seller has sold over 30 bikes which seems very high personally (admittedly all positive). I feel bad for thinking the worst, but instinct tells me otherwise.

soolin

armadillo1899 wrote: »

Thanks all for your comments so far. I assumed the seller doesn't want to use paypal to avoid 3.4% fees. The item is a bicycle from a London seller with 99% positive feedback (over 200 auctions). I am a little apprehensive about paying cash on collection as I'd have little protection should there be a problem. One thing that does make me wonder is that the seller has sold over 30 bikes which seems very high personally (admittedly all positive). I feel bad for thinking the worst, but instinct tells me otherwise.

Only you can decide now what you want to do here, but instinct is sometimes something not to ignore. If you really would prefer to use PayPal you could tell the seller you will be paying by PayPal, and if he says no suggest you just do a mutual and walk away from the transaction.

techspec

armadillo1899 wrote: »

Thanks all for your comments so far. I assumed the seller doesn't want to use paypal to avoid 3.4% fees. The item is a bicycle from a London seller with 99% positive feedback (over 200 auctions). I am a little apprehensive about paying cash on collection as I'd have little protection should there be a problem. One thing that does make me wonder is that the seller has sold over 30 bikes which seems very high personally (admittedly all positive). I feel bad for thinking the worst, but instinct tells me otherwise.

Perhaps you should have been a bit more apprehensive BEFORE you wasted the sellers time by bidding.

What can go wrong with a bicycle that cannot be seen on purchase? Sounds like your the one wanting to keep their options open - maybe a claim for item not as described when you get a flat tyre?

Either pay up or put up and cancel - then move on

Strapped

techspec wrote: »

Perhaps you should have been a bit more apprehensive BEFORE you wasted the sellers time by bidding.

Completely agree.

I understand the OP's point about "I hope I'm not buying stolen goods" but I'm not sure whether PP would protect you anyway in that instance and it's definitely something to consider BEFORE pressing the button, not after.

Let's hope they don't have a wasted journey eh.

Strapped

soolin wrote: »

This board is for buyers as well as sellers and if a buyer wants to use paypal then they are perfectly entitled to do so.

And a seller is fully able to then tell the buyer to sod off. (Yes, there are rules and consequences blah blah blah, yawn but that won't help the OP get his bike!)

soolin

Strapped wrote: »

And a seller is fully able to then tell the buyer to sod off. (Yes, there are rules and consequences blah blah blah, yawn but that won't help the OP get his bike!)

If you read my posts I have never said that OP can force seller to allow him to use paypal and get him the bike.

Seller can tell buyer to tee off and refund paypal payment, I hope I made that clear. I also hope that I made it clear that seller would then be in a position of losing his fees and the sale.

I believe my solution of telling seller in advance that OP was going to use paypal but agree to a mutual if seller declines is still the best way out of this without it getting nasty. OP has to decide here whether he wants the bike enough to use cash, or if he wants to walk away and buy elsewhere, and yes this was something that perhaps should have been done first before bidding.