Sold collection only item but now buyer wants me to arrange postage

gettingtheresometime

..if they pay for it.

personally I'm quite prepared to cancel the sale but is there any come back if I say no? At the moment the payment is on hold by PayPal until the dispatch details are added

soolin

gettingtheresometime said:

..if they pay for it.

personally I'm quite prepared to cancel the sale but is there any come back if I say no? At the moment the payment is on hold by PayPal until the dispatch details are added

Have a read of the sticky thread about collection only items, also- PayPal on a collected item, are you aware of the risks? Personally I don’t think EBay is the place for collection only unless the seller is on managed payments or unless you understand the potential issues about taking PayPal.

If item was definitely collection only and states that clearly on the postage options then yes you can cancel as buyer has not complied with your listing requirements, buyer can still leave feedback though .

Spoonie_Turtle

If they wanted the item posted they should have asked you before they bought it, and if you agreed then you'd have included the cost in the invoice and it would be just like any other item.  They've left it too late to ask for it to be posted though now!

The only thing is you won't get the PayPal fees back, but it's likely worth it to avoid the hassle of potentially being scammed (or the item getting damaged or broken in transit - which presumably is a reason you listed it as collection-only in the first place).

maxsteam

You need to be polite with the buyer as you can still receive feedback whatever happens. If you are willing to parcel up the item, you can ask the buyer to arrange for a courier to collect. The buyer will want to know the weight and dimensions of the parcel and it's worth getting the tracking details if you do this. If you are not willing to wrap up the item, you should politely tell this to the buyer and suggest that they either arrange a mutually convenient time to collect or agree to cancel the transaction. If you cancel, your selling fees will be refunded. Your listing fees will not be refunded but you can relist.
As you are holding the buyer's money, you should make contact today and offer to resolve things promptly and politely. While it's reasonable to hold the money while you are waiting for the buyer to reply to a message, it's not reasonable to delay sending your messages for more than a day or so.
If you suggest that the buyer was foolish for not reading the description properly, while this is true, stating it is likely to annoy the buyer.
You've not mentioned if the item is large, fragile or valuable. These factors will undoubtedly have a bearing on your decisions.

challengedavid

"you can ask the buyer to arrange for a courier to collect." 

please dont ask them this, as far as i understand it the couriers contract is with person who takes it out, so if it goes missing or damaged you have no recourse and your buyer might not help

but i could be wrong

soolin

challengedavid said:

"you can ask the buyer to arrange for a courier to collect." 

please dont ask them this, as far as i understand it the couriers contract is with person who takes it out, so if it goes missing or damaged you have no recourse and your buyer might not help

but i could be wrong

You are correct, a courier sent by buyer opens a new level of issues.

bris

soolin said:

challengedavid said:

"you can ask the buyer to arrange for a courier to collect." 

please dont ask them this, as far as i understand it the couriers contract is with person who takes it out, so if it goes missing or damaged you have no recourse and your buyer might not help

but i could be wrong

You are correct, a courier sent by buyer opens a new level of issues.

Yes but surely the issues would be the buyers not the sellers.

Technically a collection only item is the buyers responsibility so them sending a courier is as good as them picking it up themselves, no?

The biggest problem is the Paypal, to accept Paypal on a collection only item is its own can of worms. 

Isn't there a way now to protect yourself from Paypal claims with collection only though? A scan or something? Either way the risk is the same with Paypal and collection.

pbartlett

you risk would be lower (although not zero) if you refunded the paypal payment and told the buyer to pay you via friends and family. they can then send a courier. if they refuse then relist.

they may complain to ebay that you are not accepting paypal. 

you could find out how much to post it, probably a large parcel with high postage cost, but at least you would get a tracking number. however the buyer could raise a snad and make you pay the return postage back.

it is a minefield and getting worse

theonlywayisup

pbartlett said:

you risk would be lower (although not zero) if you refunded the paypal payment and told the buyer to pay you via friends and family. they can then send a courier. if they refuse then relist.

they may complain to ebay that you are not accepting paypal. 

you could find out how much to post it, probably a large parcel with high postage cost, but at least you would get a tracking number. however the buyer could raise a snad and make you pay the return postage back.

it is a minefield and getting worse

Friends and Family is a bit of a red herring.  There is no seller protection with F&F which means if the buyer starts a chargeback there is absolutely no defence.  The money is gone. 

soolin

theonlywayisup said:

pbartlett said:

you risk would be lower (although not zero) if you refunded the paypal payment and told the buyer to pay you via friends and family. they can then send a courier. if they refuse then relist.

they may complain to ebay that you are not accepting paypal. 

you could find out how much to post it, probably a large parcel with high postage cost, but at least you would get a tracking number. however the buyer could raise a snad and make you pay the return postage back.

it is a minefield and getting worse

Friends and Family is a bit of a red herring.  There is no seller protection with F&F which means if the buyer starts a chargeback there is absolutely no defence.  The money is gone. 

This is something all sellers should read and understand, we have seen this on a thread on here and it is beginning to be picked up by scammers. I agree with comments on the other thread that this is likely to only be tried by a serious ‘professional’ scammer but it is worth noting that this scam does happen and may become more common. 

soolin

bris said:

soolin said:

challengedavid said:

"you can ask the buyer to arrange for a courier to collect." 

please dont ask them this, as far as i understand it the couriers contract is with person who takes it out, so if it goes missing or damaged you have no recourse and your buyer might not help

but i could be wrong

You are correct, a courier sent by buyer opens a new level of issues.

Yes but surely the issues would be the buyers not the sellers.

Technically a collection only item is the buyers responsibility so them sending a courier is as good as them picking it up themselves, no?

The biggest problem is the Paypal, to accept Paypal on a collection only item is its own can of worms. 

Isn't there a way now to protect yourself from Paypal claims with collection only though? A scan or something? Either way the risk is the same with Paypal and collection.

I alluded to this in my first post , as PayPal is involved OP is not on managed payments so the QR code is no good for protection as it only protects against an eBay claim not a PayPal one. . If OP had been on managed payments, and if courier was prepared to use the scan , and I’m not sure how that would work now with no contact pick ups and collections, then the QR code would work.