Selling high value item on eBay

sand_hun

Hi all, I am selling a fairly high value item on eBay. It weighs about 3.5kg and has a value of approx £900. I initially listed as 'collection only' but someone messaged to ask if I will post it. I said I would look into the costs etc, but can't see it being cheap.

I have not used the site in years. Are payments typically made by bank transfer or PayPal and does eBay offer equal protection to buyers and sellers? Thanks.

soolin

sand_hun said:

Hi all, I am selling a fairly high value item on eBay. It weighs about 3.5kg and has a value of approx £900. I initially listed as 'collection only' but someone messaged to ask if I will post it. I said I would look into the costs etc, but can't see it being cheap.

I have not used the site in years. Are payments typically made by bank transfer or PayPal and does eBay offer equal protection to buyers and sellers? Thanks.

I would be careful of starting selling with such a high value item , things have changed and if you aren’t fully aware of the new t and Cs you need to be very sure you understand what you are doing. For instance all payments are now via managed payments, have you set up your bank details and been approved by eBay? If not you are going to struggle to get your money quickly as buyers pay eBay and eBay pass the money on to the seller and sellers and send it to the bank account that the seller has verified on eBay. 

If collecting an item buyers will still be encouraged to use managed payments and you’ll need to safeguard yourself by taking the QR code on collection. You can still offer cash on collection but just like in the past you can’t insist on it, and buyers can still choose to use managed payments. 

As for couriers, make sure you choose carefully as if you do offer postage you need to ensure your item is covered against loss and damage . 

Brie

Just be wary of those who say "I'll pay you but will send a courier" those seem to be the most obvious scams.

cymruchris

Personally I'd say no and keep it as 'collection only' - at that price if it's something that someone really wants, they can drive over to you, pay cash and collect it even if it's a fair distance. Be aware that certain things are also not covered by courier damage/insurance policies, you've not mentioned what the item is, but look very carefully into what's covered.

soolin

cymruchris said:

Personally I'd say no and keep it as 'collection only' - at that price if it's something that someone really wants, they can drive over to you, pay cash and collect it even if it's a fair distance. Be aware that certain things are also not covered by courier damage/insurance policies, you've not mentioned what the item is, but look very carefully into what's covered.

Thee only issue being that if this is sold on ebay then buyer will be prompted to pay via managed payments and seller would need to familiarise themselves with the new seller protection requirements for collection items.

Hopefully OP has listed this on a FVF offer day to keep the fees as reasonable as possible. Fees are payable in full regardless of how buyer pays and if buyer does pay using managed payments then OP still needs a bank verified if they intend to return the money and ask for cash- as ebay will need to take the 30p fees from the bank, and if there is no bank set up then refund will fail .

pfpf

Brie said:

Just be wary of those who say "I'll pay you but will send a courier" those seem to be the most obvious scams.

whats the scam element please? is this via ebay? i am sending a courier at my expense to collect something from a seller, not through ebay. is the scam seller or buyer related?

edit. taking away the obvious. if the seller doesn't send.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

pfpf said:

Brie said:

Just be wary of those who say "I'll pay you but will send a courier" those seem to be the most obvious scams.

whats the scam element please? is this via ebay? i am sending a courier at my expense to collect something from a seller, not through ebay. is the scam seller or buyer related?

edit. taking away the obvious. if the seller doesn't send.

I think you either get a fake payment confirmation or an actual payment that is fraudulent and ends up being reversed. 

In general the risk of posting such items is the buyer opening a SNAD and sending back any old rubbish, depends what the item is as to whether I would post it. 

SimonFF

I just would not sell an expensive item on Ebay.

GDB2222

I sold a couple of highish value items last year. In both cases, the buyer paid via ebay and collected in person. In one case,  the buyer was in South Korea and sent a local representative to collect it. Astonishingly, that was not a scam. 

I needed to download the ebay app onto my phone, and the buyer needed to show me a QR code that I scanned with the app in order to prove that the buyer had received the item. 

Olinda99

the main problem with eBay is that they pretty much always side with the buyer

you could sell the item and post it or even have it collected and a few days later the seller says it was chipped or it wasn't what it said it was or a myriad of excuses and eBay will refund them and take the money back from you

soolin

Olinda99 said:

the main problem with eBay is that they pretty much always side with the buyer

you could sell the item and post it or even have it collected and a few days later the seller says it was chipped or it wasn't what it said it was or a myriad of excuses and eBay will refund them and take the money back from you

It doesn’t work like that. If an SNAD case is opened then yes probably the buyer will win , although I’ve won a fair few as a seller, however, buyer doesn’t just get their money back- they have to return the item first. Sellers would need to provide a pre paid return label and its sellers that think if they can just ignore the SNAD and not deal with it, are the ones who lose out.

if a collection item is raised as an SNAD then it is usually won the seller if seller points out item was collected and buyer could have inspected it at collection.