Should I let buyer send a courier?

soolin

subjecttocontract said:

soolin said:

subjecttocontract said:

Years ago I sold a large Chinese vase bought by a guy in Scotland. I spent ages wrapping it with bubble wrap, even made a plywood box for it to go in. Courier arrived, threw it in the back of his van and left. The guy in Scotland contacted me a few days later to tell me it had arrived smashed to pieces. He was going to take it up with the courier because he said he could see the effort I had put in to wrap & protect it. There is no guarantee with couriers.

With a collection item a seller is protected thank goodness as long as they have the QR code to show buyers representative collected. If a seller sends direct then the seller is entirely responsible and in the case of your poor vase  you would have needed to refund, so there is a slight advantage for fragile items if buyer arranges collection. 

It was before QR codes were introduced. The buyer was happy to persue the courier, I didn't need to refund. I have no idea how he got on.

As a seller though I know it is up to me to refund and pursue any couriers for my own losses if I arranged the sale and postage, regardless of what a buyer says. Obviously if buyer sends a courier and chooses not to pursue a seller who hasn't protected themselves, then that is lucky for a seller. Before sellers had protection with a QR code I would never have allowed a buyer to send a courier unless they paid by a non recoverable method first like bank transfer. 

pinkshoes

7sefton said:

I’ve sold a picture for £100, said collection only or I could deliver locally.

Buyer has paid and has 100% positive feedback, but says they want to arrange a courier to come to my house to collect at their expense. 

I think I saw something once saying this is a red flag, but I’m tempted to say yes. What should I do?

It's fine to let them send their own courier BUT... the courier MUST have the buyer's QR code for you to scan, and if they cannot produce the QR code for you to scan, then you cannot hand over the item. (otherwise you risk the buyer saying they didn't collect it, and as you have no courier tracking, the £100 goes back to them).

discat11

Had similar, lady insisted on sending a courier who showed up without cash (as I had made clear several times was critical) and I apologised to them and sent them off empty handed. FB marketplace is rife with these sort of scams, not sure how it works though.