Opinions needed on local pickup on Ebay sale

[Salvador]

Hello.

I just sold something and I noticed that the guy lives about 10 minutes from me. I'm contimplating on whether I should offer a local pick up. For those of you in my situation, how do you feel about local pick ups for sales on Ebay? I pad a little extra in my shipping and "handling" fee, so what would you charge as far as shipping and "handling" for a local pick up?

TIA,

Sal

 

[spanky]

i dont see why that guy should mind... save a few bucks on shipping. unless of course he really doesn't have the time to swing by... then just ship it at his costs (u were expecting to do so anyway right?)...

 

[brunswickite]

just make sure you meet him in a dark alley at midnight or his basement, those are teh safest options

 

[Toasthead]

If it is local pickup Shipping better be ZERO.

 

[Kevin]

If shipping is less than $10, just ship it. I think its a hassle meeting people since things always come up and its hard to designate a time...

 

[FoBoT]

local pick up is good for everyone

don't be a dick and charge a bogus "handling" fee for local pickup, just meet the guy at the nearest McDonalds and give him the item and get your cash, it is all good

 

[codeyf]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
local pick up is good for everyone

don't be a dick and charge a bogus "handling" fee for local pickup, just meet the guy at the nearest McDonalds and give him the item and get your cash, it is all good

 

[oboeguy]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
local pick up is good for everyone

don't be a dick and charge a bogus "handling" fee for local pickup, just meet the guy at the nearest McDonalds and give him the item and get your cash, it is all good

Excellent advice. Meet at a neutral site and get on with it.

Oh, and stop padding your profits with shipping. That's so low!

 

[RossMAN]

I would do the local pickup.

Saves on shipping costs, expense and hassle.

Also gives the buyer an opportunity to examine the product and ask questions before taking possesion.

Make sure to get GUARANTEED FUNDS!!!

 

[Banana]

If the item is big or hard to pack and ship, both parties benefit. You have to consider the cost of your time if you have to wait for him. May be better if you deliver it to his place if it's not in bad 'hood.

I did a pickup once when I bought a large stereo system, and ended up saving a bundle on shipping. Also got to examine the item. I could tell from the auction listing and the exchanged emails that the seller was civilized, so I wasn't too concerned about the meeting.

 

[codeyf]

This one time, I met up with a trader, and he just about forgot to pay! We were doing a cross trade + $$. He started walkin back to his car, and I was like "uhhhh......".

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!

 

[Salvador]

Oh, and stop padding your profits with shipping. That's so low!

Yeah.. And tell PayPal to quite charging so damn much for their service. I just paid $15 in PayPal charges for this auction. What really gripes me about PayPal is that they not only charge on the item amount, but they also charge you on the shipping amount. Add another $17 in Ebay fee's and you can understand why someone would pad their shipping and handling charges.

Also.. If someone pads shipping and handling to lower the price of their item to make it more attractive to buyers, what are you supposed to do? Other sellers set this. Am I supposed to sell my item for the same amount that the others are, but instead of $60 shipping and handling (just an example) to make up for the low item price, I'm supposed to eat it? If you have done enough Ebay, you know what I'm talking about.

The big problem that I have is that this guy paid with PayPal and chose the Money Back Guarantee option with PayPal. Now.. If I do a local pick up and don't charge shipping and handling fee's, I'll want payment in cash or money order instead. I could just refund the amount through PayPal and have him pay this way, but he would lose out on the guarantee. My auction is all sales final and warranty will be handled by the manufacturer, so the guarantee is nice depending on what he paid for it.

As far as checking out the goods before the money is handed over, it's a brand new, sealed LCD monitor. What is there to check out in a parking lot? I will not take this item back once the box is opened.

Now.. If this were a trade on Anandtech and payment was made in cash on a used item, I could see your points. You have to take my circumstances into consideration here.

Thanks for the replies.

Sal

 

[mike2fix]

I met a guy once for a local deal and was so distracted by his wife, that I almost forgot to pay him.

 

[codeyf]

Originally posted by: mike2fix
I met a guy once for a local deal and was so distracted by his wife, that I almost forgot to pay him.

ahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[Thegonagle]

Given the circumstances (new sealed item), and the fact that he already paid, I say just ship it to him today. He'll have it tomorrow. That's what he's expecting you to do, right?

 

[imported_Tomato]

I had a wonderful local pickup experience a little while back... went to the guy's house, picked up the computer. His roommate gave me some rootbeer and he even threw in a free mouse and keyboard... He didn't charge any extra shipping/handling fees, although it would have been $50 to ship otherwise. :Q

 

[Salvador]

Given the circumstances (new sealed item), and the fact that he already paid, I say just ship it to him today. He'll have it tomorrow. That's what he's expecting you to do, right?

Exactly! I still feel bad about shipping something 10 miles though. He did overpay me $5 for insurance when insurace was included in the shipping and handling. I planned on slipping a $5 bill in the side of the monitor box. I was also thinking about slipping him another $5 because he's so close to me.

About padding the shipping.. I don't pad it a lot. Actually, I ended up selling an identicle item to California and it cost every bit of what I was charging for shipping, handling and insurance to cover the actual shipping to him. I just like to charge enough to at least cover my shipping charges if I have to ship to California from Chicago. If I ship closer, I end up getting a few bucks back to recoup some of my fee's. I just feel guilty because the guy is so close.

Another thing.. I wonder what PayPal's rules are for doing a local pick up/delivery? They say in their rules that you must insure the item and if it's over a certain amount of money, to use signature confirmation. Now.. This is only a concern if I keep the payment the same with PayPal and don't cancel it to have him pay cash or money order.

One last thing. I can't contact him via email. His hotmail email address just bounced back my original email. I did request his contact info and got a phone number. I need to check to see if that's valid.

Anyway.. Thanks again.

Sal

 

[Salvador]

He didn't charge any extra shipping/handling fees, although it would have been $50 to ship otherwise.

Was it through Ebay? How did you pay? Cash on delivery?

If I offered local delivery, I'd want a cash payment or guaranteed payment like a cashier's check or money order. Why should I have to pay a PayPal fee when things are changing hands in person.

Sal

 

[Salvador]

Update: He either gave a bogus telephone number or his number is no longer in service. Nice.. I'm just going to ship it. If I would've been able to contact him through email or by phone, I would've offered a possible pick up, but since I can't get a hold of the guy, I'm shipping it. By the time I get done fvcking around here, he'll have the thing.

Thanks again for listening.

Sal

 

[Vincent]

It sounds pretty fishy if neither his phone number nor his e-mail address work. Are you sure you're not being scammed? There's no way Paypal can stop you from getting your money?

 

[shekondar]

Originally posted by: Salvador
Update: He either gave a bogus telephone number or his number is no longer in service. Nice.. I'm just going to ship it. If I would've been able to contact him through email or by phone, I would've offered a possible pick up, but since I can't get a hold of the guy, I'm shipping it. By the time I get done fvcking around here, he'll have the thing.

Thanks again for listening.

Sal

Hmmm...
Sounds like a scam to me...
I'd wait a few days to make sure the payment clears (in case he's using a bogus/stolen CC number). DON'T ship it until you're absolutely sure the payment has cleared!

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: shekondar

Originally posted by: Salvador
Update: He either gave a bogus telephone number or his number is no longer in service. Nice.. I'm just going to ship it. If I would've been able to contact him through email or by phone, I would've offered a possible pick up, but since I can't get a hold of the guy, I'm shipping it. By the time I get done fvcking around here, he'll have the thing.

Thanks again for listening.

Sal

Hmmm...
Sounds like a scam to me...
I'd wait a few days to make sure the payment clears (in case he's using a bogus/stolen CC number). DON'T ship it until you're absolutely sure the payment has cleared!

I agree with this, if he used a CC to pay.. sit on it a while.

If the CC turns out to be fake, PayPal will reverse the charge..

 

[Salvador]

Sounds like a scam to me...

Nah.. He paid with his PayPal funds. Besides, his address is confirmed and he is a verified member. I look at all of these things when someone pays with PayPal. Also, he lives 10 minutes from me, so I can go up and do some whoopin' if I have to. Oh.. He has a perfect Ebay record as well, so I wasn't worried.

I decided to ship it because I couldn't get a hold of him. I guess I could've tried calling information, but I was looking for an excuse to ship it anyway instead of doing a local pick up. What's funny is that it got routed about 100 miles south first to the UPS distribution center and then delivered back up here just north of me.

Just as I figured, I get an email from the guy the next day. I told him that I tried to get a hold of him, but couldn't. He was asking when he could expect delivery. I told him to look out the window for the UPS guy.

I just talked to him again today and everything is fine. He's really happy with the product. Smooth transaction over all. He's not too sore about missing out on the local pick up either, which is good.

Thanks again for the replies.

Sal

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Salvador
Hello.

I just sold something and I noticed that the guy lives about 10 minutes from me. I'm contimplating on whether I should offer a local pick up. For those of you in my situation, how do you feel about local pick ups for sales on Ebay? I pad a little extra in my shipping and "handling" fee, so what would you charge as far as shipping and "handling" for a local pick up?

TIA,

Sal

i pad my shipping and handling to pay for ebay fees. but if they wanted to pick up and let me choose the time, i'd do it. you dont have to pack the item that way.

make sure its guaranteed funds though. my friend almost handeda laptop over to a guy, who apparently he's told by other people who got tricked by the guy, paid with fake counterfeit cashiers checks.

 

[edfcmc]

Sometimes people buy things from ebay (online) to avoid the hassle of having to go pick up the item at a local mall and enjoy the experience of coming home to numerous packages at their door or numerous slips from the post office/ups/fedex etc.