Hand Deliver Sold ebay Item?

RhondaD

I can't see there being issues here but I'm sure one of you knowledgeable people will know if I'm missing something here. I've sold an item on eBay and just discovered the buyer lives in my town a 15 minute walk from me. I'm thinking hand delivery, what could possibly go wrong? But I'm sure it can't be that foolproof. Could it go disastrously wrong if I hand deliver an item in a padded envelope?

ElefantEd

I suppose they might claim that they never got it. But if they pay in cash when you deliver, or if you sell it as a collection item and get the appropriate code, it should be fine. Tbh 99% of the time it would be fine anyway, most people are not scammers!

soolin

RhondaD said:

I can't see there being issues here but I'm sure one of you knowledgeable people will know if I'm missing something here. I've sold an item on eBay and just discovered the buyer lives in my town a 15 minute walk from me. I'm thinking hand delivery, what could possibly go wrong? But I'm sure it can't be that foolproof. Could it go disastrously wrong if I hand deliver an item in a padded envelope?

Was this set up as a collection item or was posted charged? If it was a normal listing with postage then it’s too late to change it after it has sold so you can’t use the QR code too protect yourself. All you can do is ask buyer to pay cash on delivery and knock off the postage charge.

Obviously you won’t save anything as buyer will expect their postage charge back and you will already have paid FVFs on the lot.

However if buyer has already paid then I wouldn’t hand deliver now, it’s too late. For seller protection you are going to need online tracking showing delivery to the address that eBay gave you and you can’t get if you deliver. If buyer claims non receipt then unlike untracked post, you have no courier to claim back from. If you refund and cancel the sale and ask for cash instead then your account will be in danger as eBay will see it as avoiding g fees, which it is. 

RhondaD

soolin said:

RhondaD said:

I can't see there being issues here but I'm sure one of you knowledgeable people will know if I'm missing something here. I've sold an item on eBay and just discovered the buyer lives in my town a 15 minute walk from me. I'm thinking hand delivery, what could possibly go wrong? But I'm sure it can't be that foolproof. Could it go disastrously wrong if I hand deliver an item in a padded envelope?

Was this set up as a collection item or was posted charged? If it was a normal listing with postage then it’s too late to change it after it has sold so you can’t use the QR code too protect yourself. All you can do is ask buyer to pay cash on delivery and knock off the postage charge.

Obviously you won’t save anything as buyer will expect their postage charge back and you will already have paid FVFs on the lot.

However if buyer has already paid then I wouldn’t hand deliver now, it’s too late. For seller protection you are going to need online tracking showing delivery to the address that eBay gave you and you can’t get if you deliver. If buyer claims non receipt then unlike untracked post, you have no courier to claim back from. If you refund and cancel the sale and ask for cash instead then your account will be in danger as eBay will see it as avoiding g fees, which it is. 

Thanks so much Soolin. That's exactly what I needed to read. Post office it is, first thing in the morning. Really helpful advice thank you.

tightauldgit

I did it on an item I sold last year - but not sure if it was a good idea. 

I literally just took the parcel to the address, dropped it off and took a photo of the delivery as evidence that I had done it. Never refunded postage charges or anything like that (after all they paid for delivery and it got delivered).

Never had any comeback to it but not sure what would have happened if they had. 

Probably not recommended

hermante

I hand deliver frequently as I'm often travelling up and down the UK. Once in a while a buyer lives very near to a road I'm driving along anyway, so I'll just go there and push it through their postbox or leave on the porch.

I always assess the address using Google Street View, sometimes I won't go if it's a flat where I can't get to the postbox or some rural village where I can't tell where the door is meant to be.

Once I had an item paid on Saturday afternoon just as I was about to drive off, I got to their address at 9pm.... the buyer was very happy to receive their item in 4 hours! Fortunately I hadn't stuck stamps on the box yet.

These are all items under £20 where I don't even bother with POP, so if the buyer wants to scam me it's no different to putting the item in a postbox. For more expensive items I decide on a case by case basis.

NBLondon

I did it once - years back.  The address was walking distance from work and the item a magazine, so I dropped it round.  Turned out to be a block of flats with a concierge so handed it over to them.  No questions asked, no problems.

GadgetGuru

Bear in mind some buyers do not like you to hand deliver, even if they are close - they prefer it to be delivered. I've had this once in the past. Nevertheless, if they pay postage and do not choose a collection option I generally just post. 

jon81uk

Whats the value? I've done it for a low value (£5ish) item anyway, the address was an office close to my work so I hand delivered to their post room.

But if you need proof of deliver then need to use Royal Mail small parcel, or signed for if over £20 value to ensure there is tracking for eBay to prove delivery.

MR1988

I've hand delivered once before, but I messaged the buyer and asked them if they want me to drop it off myself same day or use postal services. They were happy to get the item earlier.

Although this left me open to any INR requests. If said buyer chose to report that the item has no arrived I would have been out of pocket since I couldn't prove delivery.

mgdavid

Like Hermante earlier, I've hand-delivered quite a few items over the years, never had a problem but have had some amazingly good feedback. I mock up a delivery note form and carry a clipboard. Knock on the door, if somebody answers then a signature is all you need although I sometimes take a pic of handover as well. If nobody at home then I put in letterbox or leave in safe place, and drop them an ebay message saying what I've done.