Collection only item - buyer wants to arrange courier

tightauldgit

I'm selling a musical instrument and generally I list anything like that as collection only since I know that sending them via courier only causes headaches. 

I've been made an offer by a buyer who wants to arrange their own courier to pick it up. I'm reluctant. What risks would I be opening myself up to here? 

If the buyer receives it and then it's damaged in transit then do they have any comeback? Can they file an item not as described and ask for a refund?

I feel like Its probably a lot of stress waiting to happen but I would like to sell the item and move it on. 

GrubbyGirl_2

Personally I don't think it's worth the hassle

MikeJXE

I did it once on 2 white leather settees and there was no problem

Make sure the buyer give you the names of the courier and theres no comeback on damage in transit 

serpico100

If the buyer arranges their own courier the purchased items are not covered by Ebay’s Money Back Guarantee. So they can’t open an item not as described dispute. Any damage occurred in transit will be between the buyer and the courier.

km1500

don't forget to ensure the courier scans the ebay qr code to prove they have the item

TripleH

serpico100 said:

If the buyer arranges their own courier the purchased items are not covered by Ebay’s Money Back Guarantee. So they can’t open an item not as described dispute. Any damage occurred in transit will be between the buyer and the courier.

Not sure above is true. Item could get damaged in transit but buyer argue that was the condition when you sold it so open an 'item not as described'. Unless you are paid in cash, I think the buyer can still lodge an issue via ebay.

soolin

serpico100 said:

If the buyer arranges their own courier the purchased items are not covered by Ebay’s Money Back Guarantee. So they can’t open an item not as described dispute. Any damage occurred in transit will be between the buyer and the courier.

Yes they are still covered and the buyer can open a SNAD case. It would then go down to whether the item was able to be inspected at collection by the buyer or their representative and which way eBay jumped with any decision.

soolin

A courier is not as dangerous under managed payments as it used to be with PayPal, but personally I am not sure I would want the hassle. 

The first thing to ensure is that the auction is set correctly as collection only, nothing about post showing (it is a common error to mark the description ‘collection only’ and to accidentally leave postage as free). Then courier needs to bring the QR code on collection so that seller can prove it was collected.do not release it until you have the QR code. 

The other added complication is , and this is why I wouldn’t do it, that you need to be in for the courier, pack it to their specifications and to their dimensions. If you are doing all that then you might as well have arranged a courier yourself. 

TripleH

As per Soolin. They have addressed my concerns but so much better than I did.

tightauldgit

soolin said:

serpico100 said:

If the buyer arranges their own courier the purchased items are not covered by Ebay’s Money Back Guarantee. So they can’t open an item not as described dispute. Any damage occurred in transit will be between the buyer and the courier.

Yes they are still covered and the buyer can open a SNAD case. It would then go down to whether the item was able to be inspected at collection by the buyer or their representative and which way eBay jumped with any decision.

Yeah that's the bit that worries me. Obviously a courier is just going to pick up a box and then if it comes out as woodchips at the other end the buyer sends a photo of it to ebay and I'm not sure what their policy is. 

It doesn't seem fair that the buyer assumes all the risk... I could have packed it badly or not at all, I could have filled the box with old newspapers instead of an instrument, it could be a fake item. 

Obviously none of these things would be the case, but eBay can't be sure of that. What rights does a buyer have after collection?

Given it's going to cost me 20 or 30 quid plus hassle to get packing materials for it anyway I'm less inclined to do it. Probably simpler to try to sell it locally even if I have to drop the price

RobM99

This is a well-known scam. Be ultra careful!