Selling on eBay - cash on collection under the new eBay payments system?

ANNA

I'm selling a few bulky household items after a break of more than a year from eBay!

I have no experience of the new (2021) eBay payments & fees system.

All items I sold yesterday (and my active listings) are collection only. I asked for cash on collection in my listings.

Under the new system, can I - and should I - still insist on cash on collection? In order to prevent a possible charge-back, as I have no proof of delivery.

My buyers paid by PayPal instantly, (despite my listing asking for cash) and each wants to collect their item same or next day.

But payments have not yet reached my bank account. Is the money safe once it hits my bank account, or can eBay still withdraw it for any reason?

Is there a way I can reverse the payments my buyers made to PayPal and take cash on collection instead?

This is not about avoiding seller fees. It's about the convenience of having cash at home, and for the avoidance of any possible charge-back or similar fraud.

I'd be really grateful for some simple, basic advice.

jon81uk

Use the proof of collection system detailed here Offering local collection | eBay

You can refund the payment via eBay if you wish but you will still get charged the fees.
But if you follow the guide at the above link you are protected anyway.

soolin

You have never been able to insist on cash on collection, and in fact this new system is much safer as you have seller protection if you follow and read the link helpfully posted by jon81uk. 

Your buyers might not necessarily have used PayPal , they can now use cards and credit options as well as PayPal, it makes no difference to what you see when you get the money. 

TripleH

You should get a QR code from the buyer todcan on collection.

When organising them to collect, remind them that if they don't bring the QR code, they can't have the item. That would be your defence.

ANNA

Thank you all, very helpful. I've now had buyers collect and used eBay's scanning proof of collection successfully each time.

ANNA

I have progressed to listing items I'm willing to post. So the postal system has changed on eBay as well!

It is confusing, with far too many choices of postal companies. I thought the only acceptable mode is tracked postage? I chose tracked (RM 48) each time from the long list of options for each of my listings.

I have sold my first item. If I click on "purchase postage label" it takes me to an eBay ship page which doesn't seem to have retained the postal choices information I had inputted to my listing. For instance, it highlights "small parcel" which costs £2.85 and is untracked, whereas I had selected "medium parcel" RM 48 £5.35 in my listing.

I don't understand where I went wrong. What's the point of entering postal choices in the listing, if this info is not retained when it comes to paying for postage!?

Please help, again with simple advice.

soolin

There is no point in the postage options, just choose what you want and charge accordingly. The listing information and the postage label purchase section are not linked at all.

You don’t need tracking for eBay and anyway standard parcels now have delivery confirmation which satisfies any INR claim (assuming item has actually arrived of course) . Just make sure you use a service that insures your loss adequately if something gets lost, standard letters LL and parcels have compensation up to £20. Make sure you don’t price yourself out of the market by choosing un necessarily expensive options you don’t need. Also make sure you get proof of purchase for every item from the PO or mail centre when you drop them off. 

RM24 and RM 48 though are excellent services, for standard parcels only slightly more expensive than online standard parcels, I’ve started to use the 48 service quite a bit. The only disadvantage is that it can only go to a mail centre , not to the PO and I don’t get to the PO every day as I use a mix of mail centre and PO . 

soolin

Just to add, when I use eBay postage I don’t get Rm24 or 48 as an option , it disappeared and have Togo via the RM site. At the moment collection is free as well if you can’t get to a mail centre. 

prowla

I collected something over the weekend and the seller wanted payment via PayPal; it wasn't an issue for me, though I was surprised he preferred that to cash.

However, trying to confirm collection didn't seem to work - he scanned my QR code but it just went to his sold items and mine didn't give an option to say collected.

In the end, he marked it as delivered and I left him feedback saying thanks (I also said he could take a picture of me with the item if he liked, but he said he already had that on his security cameras anyway.

We had a good old chat at the door, but the ebay collection verification method seems broken.

MalMonroe

I'd never do cash on collection, simply because I don't trust people I don't know. It's a sad state of affairs but with eBay you know that if you sell something, the buyer will pay first and then eBay will let you know. I have just sold something over the weekend, posted it to the buyer (via eBay's courier system) and the money's in my bank account today. Even before the buyer has received the item. (Which I hope they do as Evri took it away!)(gulp)

I think that's quite fabulous. 

Even if people want to collect from my home, I don't think there's a problem with them paying up front to eBay first. It's a far more reliable system and fair to both parties. And I'm sticking with it. 

subjecttocontract

Trouble is the EBay fees are 14% +.
Cash on collection......does have advantages.
Gumtree don't bother with all that rubbish it's collect only, cash on collection only.....no hassle.