Local Pickup Now Available with All Shipping Options

[seller_news_team]

Great news, sellers! Now you can offer local pickup as an additional service to your buyers, no matter which shipping option (calculated or flat-fee) you choose.

Offering local pickup is an easy way to avoid costly shipping charges (especially on large, bulky items). It also gives your buyers another convenient delivery option.

Simply check the “Offer local pickup” box after selecting your shipping option (you can also choose to offer local pickup only). Local pickup will be clearly shown as an option to shoppers in your listing. Anytime a buyer chooses local pickup, just be sure they complete the order through eBay checkout—then work out the details of pickup through Messages in My eBay.

Once you’ve selected your shipping option, it’s easy to add local pickup, too

[outrightawesome]

If someone pays through paypal then picks the item up in person, how can sellers protect themselves from item not received claims?  Take a picture of the person?  I'm not sure buyers would appreciate that. 

[jessysgoodies]

How do buyers confirm that the item has been picked up? Id love to do local pick up but I dont want to get burned.

[labs118]

How does local pickup affect tracking upload? and delivery metrics?

[*coins]

Yeah...local pickup is the reason I stopped Craigslist. You never know what kind of weird character you are going to meet.

[bestbuyaround55]

Hello all,

I have only, so far, had 1 person that wanted to meet me in order to pick-up their order.  I met them at my local country grocery store.  Upon giving the item to the individual, I presented him with the 1/2 of the shipping label that we (eBay sellers) keep for our records. Upon doing so, I then asked for a signature stating that the item had been picked up. The individual had absolutely no hesitation in signing that piece of paper.  I then stapled this "autographed" shipping label to the other shipping labels that I had for the day.  Should there ever be a question about this person receiving the item, all I would have to do is submit the copy that he signed.  That is what I intend to do with any future "in-person" pick-ups.  Having said that, I would be most interested in ideas that others have found to be successful, as well.

I am against taking a picture of the individual picking up the item only because, to me, that seems pretty intimidating....unlike a signature.  Most people will expect you to verify their receipt of the item in some manner and that is why a signature is kind of a natural to me and not at all intimidating. 

[geepers711]

I used to work at an ISoldItOnEbay store and we had the customer sign a receipt stating what they picked up (item description, auction number and paypal transaction number) and on what day and time.  I think I will do the same for my own personal account.

[robxznyc]

Hi, concern about buyer claiming "item not received" after pick up is unwarranted, as PayPal protection policy doesn't apply to local pick up. 

[whybuynewguy]

Everyone had great input. We have had a couple of local pickups we request the folllowing:

1. To meet at public place always during daylight hours
2. Inform buyer to bring picture ID which we inform them we will be taking a picture of the ID at the time of the transaction
3. Two copies of the packing slip. One for them that we sign and one for us they sign. Both parites keep a copy

[poseidonmarine]

Most invoices, on bottom, have a field

Publication Takeover

One to be signed by the seller and one by the buyer.

Since someone intends to pick up, I guess a signature wont be a problem, as other members already suggested.

Of course that would apply only for business sellers who issue invoices.

[samyscamerainc]

Can eBay please provide their policy information regarding this.

1. Option for pick-up is choosen by the buyer, allows us (sellers) to reply via automated message as to when the customer can pick up a product and the address.

2. Allowing sellers to set hours of operation for pick up time frame in policy. (Site Preferences) - which allows us to turn off the weekends to evenings if closed.

3. Providing a delay as to when it can be picked up. (a customer orders item at 10am, they can not pick up until the seller provides a time/date. i.e. we would reply and tell them; in our case, 2 hours later)

4. eBay's complete policy and rules on this option.

5. Limiting the hold time (meaning we provide customers 24 hours to allow for pick up). After that the order is cancelled and funds refunded.

[tag_team_moms]

MOST EXCELLENT!!!!!

This is so nice thank you. 

Another great addition would be to have a notes section on already listed items for seller to see only. Like if you are going thru your stock and you notice you need to drop a price on a listing before you relist. So that way you can keep a better accountability right on your back office.

[cynthia-5678]

The problem with local pick up is you will not have a tracking number to upload, and if you sell to many items like that, you will lose your Top Rated Status because of tracking numbers not uploaded.

[wagesea]

eBay has said in the past that local pickup should be "Cash Only" which doesnt really jibe with ebays own policy that you cannot specify the type of payment a buyer uses. That being said, I allowed a local pickup and requested cash and completed the deal through eBay. I then got dinged for not uploading tracking information on time. Really?! After a lengthy phonecall I was told the ding would remain as I didnt actually choose local pickup as an option in the original listing (wasnt posible at that time) and since they paid through Paypal (not true) it would stand. This type of thing actually encourages deals "outside" of eBay. I as a seller did the right thing and included eBay in the deal and got penalized for it. I could have taken the cash and let the item expire and eBay loses out. Unfortunately it is the seller who most often loses. I appreciate eBay for what it is and enjoy selling for the most part but some of the policies are downright silly and so many conflict with each other on their own pages here. The Spring Seller update is especially lame. Why now would I work hard to have TRS to get a 10% discount off of less than 1% store discount on FVF.no more returns!  I digress and not the right place to post - Sorry

[lintbrush*]

This is a fantastic option.  Thanks!!

@mr_lincoln

If memory serves me correctly, I believe you were asking about this recently.  Look!  It happened.

[mr_lincoln]

@seller_news_team

AWESOME!  Here's your Badge!!!

[mr_lincoln]

@lintbrush*  YES you are absolutely right I was asking about that!  Thank you so much for remembering!  I have NOT gotten through all the new Spring Update stuff so REALLY appreciate you including me on this thread!  below is YOUR badge!

---

(or Duddette!)

[jandl63]

Can this be added to all our listings in bulk?

[missjen831]

This is going to cause headaches for many sellers because a lot of buyers are going to see the word FREE and think its free shipping. Seriously. This is a long-standing problem with local-pickups as it is. Buyers do not know that "free local pickup" means they have to pick up the item. They think its free shipping. 

[gokrazywireless]

When will this option be for use? I tried to add it to my listings but did not see the option yet. 

Thank you 

[unbeatsale]

common issue with local pickup is when buyers pay for the item but dont pick up right away. if your item was set to ship within 1 day or same business day the sale will not qulify for discount. Additionally the order will work against the metric of shipments in time because there was no tracking number uploaded and delivered in time. This is just our experience with local pick ups. (not to mention they take a lot longer when customers start openning up items and enspecting them in front of you). Local pickup though is better for large bulky items that would otherwise need to ship via freight service ...

[unbeatsale]

Hi!
Here is our experience with local pickups.

Cons:
Common issue with local pickup is when a buyer pays for the item but doesn’t pick it up right away. If your item was set to ship within 1 day or same business day the sale will then not qualify for the top rated discount. (which eBay is lowering from 20% to 10% on May 1st anyway). Additionally the order will work against the metric of shipments in time because there is no proof of delivery (aka tracking number uploaded or delivered in time).
Because there is no immediate payment required buyers sometimes don’t show.
Coordinating pickups is difficult with buyers that expect you to be available 24/7.
Not to mention they take more time when customers start opening up items and inspecting them in front of you.
Meeting strangers is always a safety concern and should be done with caution.

Pros:
Local pickup works well for large bulky items that would otherwise need to ship via freight service. It also is a chance to get a sale you otherwise might not have gotten by someone that either needs the item ASAP or is not willing to pay a shipping fee if there is one.
Also customers establish a personal relationship with you or the store and are more likely to come back.

As far as payment and fear of a claim.
Taking photos as suggested by someone above is amateur and intrusive. Ask customers and they usually don’t mind, leaving a signature on the invoice confirming that it was picked up. I would recommend doing that on more expensive items or as you feel needed, otherwise there is zero proof of the transaction.
In reality whoever really wants to cheat you out will find a way to do so, which we will not discuss here. ha-ha...

This particular change should be better explained or thought through by eBay since current ebay policies favor customers over sellers which allows buyers to bully sellers.
Any improvement that eBay attempts to make towards sellers or to the platform overall is always welcomed and appreciated!

Thanks!

[mr_lincoln]

I have an item around $ 100 that is light weight but large and bulky ... forced to use FedEx Ground ... will definately add both Calculated Shipping & Local Pick Up.  The first time I listed it a person about 25 miles away messaged saying they really wanted it but would they HAVE to pay the 30 bucks to ship or could they pick it up next time they are in the area ... at the time I explained I can not list it both ways and would be willing to work something out but since it was not a clear cut deal I assume they lost interest.  So yes, I am looking forward to dabbling with this feature.

[grapplingmonkey]

I noticed alot of the auction house that sell expensive  stuff on ebay only offer local pick up.

one way to protect yourself from scams If you have super expensive items you can do local pick up only . Then send buyer invoice with bank to bank transfer instructions.

[ebuycdn]

I like this. Will this be available on business policies anytime soon?

Also, I think limiting visibility of the local pick up option to buyers that are within X amount of miles of the seller would probably be a good idea. I'm on the fence about utilizing this until that functionality exists.

[a_c_green]

@seller_news_team, how is this different from the existing Local Pickup option?

We've always been able to offer that in addition to offering shipping methods as well. The problem with doing so was that if a scam buyer paid via PayPal, made a Local Pickup, then filed an Item Not Received dispute, the seller would lose because they would have no tracking number to upload (since, obviously, they never shipped the item) and thus no proof of delivery, and PayPal would refund the buyer.

eBay/PayPal finally modified the process so that if the seller offered only Local Pickup, and no Shipping methods at all, then an Item Not Received dispute would not be allowed. (The listing would also have certain standard phrases added to the payment instructions, such as "SHIPPING: Contact seller for arrangements for pickup" or something like that.)

So the big announcement here doesn't seem to have anything new in it. How will a seller be able to defend against an INR dispute about shipping if the buyer did a Local Pickup instead? What proof of Local Pickup will the seller need to retain?

[beckteam]

I had this selected as an option and when the buyer would pay they would pick this option even if they were not local to avoid paying shipping or sometimes it would over ride the existing shipping cost. I told ebay about it so hopefully they have fixed it because it really was an issue. I am seeing that shipping for some reason is not appearing on some invoices (like 1 per day) and that is a hassle. Going to call on that today.

[ebuycdn]

@a_c_green Previously you could not offer local pick up as a shipping option if you were using calculated shipping. Local pick up was only able to be used on fixed price shipping listings.

[headlightrecycleservice]

 And when do we see this on our listings? It's not showing up just yet. Could really use it before the weekend arrives. We have delivered several times to local businesses and it's hurt our ship time confirmation turn around. Hopefully this will stop that annoying requirement and help us sellers provide better customer service and enhance repeat business.

[nearlynewresalepb]

Over the years I have done local pick up on mostly large items (which I have since stopped doing) I found it to be too much hassel coordinating with buyers. I still cringe when I pay the post office to ship local item! But I'm thinking this new option will be no different for me. Just in case any of you wanted to try it out. Instead of a signature, I requested the buyers to send me a message thru ebay when they picked up the item stating they received it and the condition (which of course provided proof of date/time as well). I never had paperwork to keep track of, I never had to verify the person was who they said by ID and I was able to protect myself from INR cases and buyers remorse due to condition.  Best of Luck fellow ebayers!

[2013joecool1962]

definately  about  time,  it  saves  alot  of  closing  issues  on invoices,  now  if  they  can included  a  buyers  freight  option??

for  now  we'll just  swing  it  as  local  pick  up

thanx

joe cool

[tkinnebrew]

If you dont have an actual store front that the customer can visit, local pickups should mainly be used on large items or non-shippable items.  Stuff that would cost hundreds to ship but doesn't have much value...

[lindyslucky]

We had a smallish furniture item to sell. Listed on Craigslist for weeks.

Finally listed on Ebay, local pickup only. 

Sold pretty quickly to a buyer with zero feedback. ( we are supposed to be blocked from those, but never seems to work) 

Buyer seemed a little? Uncomfortable to deal with. Called wanted to arrange pickup with someone else. Buyer purchased item as a gift wanted gift recipient to pick up. 

They had paid with PayPal. We didn't know there was any other way and probably wouldn't have done cash. Buyers make arrangements, then don't show. 

 So, guy calls to pick up item. Let's say he came across sort of scary over the phone and he was not the buyer.

 We have an old house with a nice front porch. It was warm, so we put item on porch, sat outside and guy shows up. Turned out to be a nice guy and we visited for awhile. He was able to look at the item and was happy with it.

 We described the item, buyer, person who picked up in a basic reciept, had the person who picked up sign. We thought since it was a local transaction there would be other recourse if there were problems.

 All in all, we sold an item we had not been able to, didn't make a lot, but then....don't usually.

it was time consuming, but pleasant enough.

we didn't recieve a defect for no tracking. Think because it was local pickup only.

Then the buyer left no feedback and closed their account.(!)

 Another buyer for inexpensive item requested local pickup. It was nothing but a hassle. They were squirrelly, after much communication, they wanted us to bring item to them, not close. Could not give us a specific time to meet. Finally came to our house, with stipulation that they would not get out of the car .weird. We wouldn't have let them into our house! As if we would list an item on ebay, they request pickup and then we would ?? Do what ?? on a well traveled city street. Thought never again to agree to that without very specific agreements before hand. Definitely not worth the few dollars. And if it had been cash, we never would have completed the sale.

Nice option, if ebay can actually do it. Not always a given, particularly with the emphasis on fast shipping and tracking.

 Maybe ebay will go back to their roots and re institute trust. Let sellers, with buyers knowledge, send things much cheaper, first class. Tracking has shut out a massive market of lower cost items. Except of course, with China. They are special.

[scrap*quilts*n*more*kh]

I used to offer local pickup - but people never showed up when they said they would. It wasted my valuable time.

[miflin2010]

What about those who live alone, or in a rural area, and incapable of self-defense if the customer is questionable?  Some people are just unstable.  A simple disagreement can sometimes escalate to a serious problem.  It's even riskier for a lone woman.  I tried a local pickup once, and the guy was 30 minutes late.  Like I have nothing else to do.  Now, when someone asks for a local pickup my only "cover" is that ebay requires tracking for proof of delivery, which is the truth.  I might loose the sale, but better safe than sorry.  I wish it would stay that way.

[lerchtoys]

This is just another way of ebay screwing with the sellers!

There will be NO tracking number - strike against the seller!

The buyer can claim the item was not delivered - strike against the seller AND the seller loses the $$$$$!

If the buyer pays in cash when the item is picked up - not buyer protection - seller gets another strike, if there is a complaint!

If the item is picked up after the 1 day shipping rule, the seller gets another strike!

This option has absolutely no benefit to the sellers!

THANKS A LOT - GREEDY CORPORATE EBAY!

[simos310]

If and when you do local pickup, accept cash at time of pickup. This will void buyer and seller protections and the deal is done. This is the best way to handle local pickup.

If you allow a buyer doing local pickup to pay via Paypal, then you will not be protected agains an item not received case and the buyer will get refunded. YOu only course of action after that would be to take them to court and you would need to have proof in the way of a buyer signature showing they picked it up to win a court case.

If the buyer selects local pickup at the time of purchase, the tracking upload requirments are null and you won't get dinged for your TRS.

[txnet]

Ebay should help with local pickup deals .

Ebay should supply the buyer with a printable form of the transaction .

The form should have unique identifier .

Buyer will print the form and sign it .

Form will be given to seller as POD .

Seller will be able to verify the identifier via the mobile app .

Hope EBAY will pick up the gauntlet .

[victorjunkman55]

I'll pass on this. Like I got all day waiting for a stranger coming to my home. I Think not. Good Luck to you.

[teddysmom3]

I did a bulk edit to add the new local pick-up to all of my listings. Several days later, after having  had no sales, I noticed that all of my listings were showing "Free" shipping in the Seller Hub. I don't offer free shipping on most of my listings. The bulk edit changed all my listings to free local pick up only and wiped out all of the shipping options I had on all  of my listings. I think this must be a glitch and should be looked into. I'm now in the process of adding back the shipping options  to all listings. 

Another item  that should be addressed regarding local pick up: even if you mark the local pick up as "free" or "0", it will show  any handling charges you've added on the calculated shipping listings as the cost of local pick up.  

I don't get  many local sales, but I think that this will be a great option once these glitches are addressed.

[nwspicegirl]

I have a repeat customer who lives near me who always does local pick-up to avoid shipping costs. Upon receipt of her order, I just ask her to email me, via eBay messaging system, that she has received her order. No need for signatures, pictures, etc. The proof of delivery is in eBay's emails.

[torontosix]

Local pickup is only effective if the transaction is done IN CASH

Buyers will continue to exploit ebay's flawed system otherwise. 

Might as well not even implement this system unless cash is selected. Too many sellers have been screwed on paypal.

[softwaretotalpc]

Ebay friends do not recommend picking up local many problems they want to pick up at any time they send you as much message as they already want and one is in other things. It is better to send so you avoid bad times.

[2011unclbck59]

Hell no with local pickups--It would be my luck that after i give them there cards and they give me jesus phamlet

[soles888]

As ebay make this option for both seller and buyer, they also need to create more details to protect local pickups, such as option buyer will need to confirm on ebay when they do local pick up, if ebay makes this happen, it will be more convinence for both parties. As up right now, I only do local pick up in my store which has full angles security camera and I will have buyer to leave certain postive feedback before I hand the item over. But I still dont like to do local pick up to just save for few bucks.

[westhollywoodboutique]

It probably works great if a seller has a shoppe, boutique, or big box store. Because if they get the customer/buyer into the shoppe it's possible that they might buy more or at least go there to buy more. BUT it seems most of the big box stores are on EBAY at this time. Sure it's okay for people to pick the items up at their location because they have cameras, signatures for pick up, and computer software. The items may even have RFID chips.  However, for the "Mom & Pop* type of people who have full time job and work a lot of overtime. They don't have time to meet anyone. They are doing great to get the orders shipped and dropped off on way to work or after work.  Making some extra money to take vacation, pay off some bills, or just to have because you never know what's going to happen on this earth.  So meeting up with strangers is not an option. But mailing it and allowing the postal service to drop off is ALWAYS an option you can get a signature, tracking number, or use another service.  Technically, it will cause an equal reaction. The Postal Service claims they lost money. So they shut down many stores, changed the hours, and are constantly milking us for more money for s/h. They also take forever to scan pkgs once dropped off. Therefore, if they provide such an option for people to do local pick ups. Many will take those chances causing the US Postal service to charge us MORE for the losses.  Then FEDEX will allow us to print our labels but they always go back and change the rates. I have a scale and I can see how much items weigh. The last time a 1.7 ounce  item was changed to 3 lbs. I don't know what they did. But I had it scanned and I had a reciept. But in the mean time. Did they repackage it? What did they do?  The fact of matter is, I'm not using their service anymore. When I ship a package and I pay for it using the discounted EBAY shipping label. I plan on paying whatever that price was.  I had to go in and get it weighed and scanned.  So what happened in between the time they scanned, checked it in, until it was delivered?  Maybe they put someone else's package on my account. I am not even sure.  But I can say something needs to be done. It's not fair that USPS goes up every few months.  So I can understand those who wish to allow people to pick them up. 

i look forward to hearing how it's working out. But yeah there are some new services I won't mention on here but I 've seen them on tv commercials, where people go pick items up.   Well some people would also rather pay in person. As we learned from the News and Law & Order TV show CL also had a lot of crooked people who met up with people and things took turns for the worst. Therefore, keeping things safe, by allowing professional couriers to drop off packages is my best bet.

Cheers

[mister-bear13]

How about make the customer sign into Ebay and click Item received. Along with getting a signature. 

[mister-bear13]

How about make the customer sign into Ebay and click Item received. Along with getting a signature. Also people stop freaking out, it will just be an option. You don't have to offer the option......GEEZ!!!!

[reichspot]

1. When are you issuing the official policies about local pick up?  This announcement doesn't address the many issues surronding this option with the rules you have in place for transactions.  
2. How are you going to assure a local pick up option doesn't ding us on the tracking info uploading?
3. Your example shows a 2 days handling.  You push for 1 day handling.  Does a pick up option mean we contact them by midnight of the upcoming day and they can reply at their leisure, or are you giving us 2 days to make pick up arrangements and then we're dinged? After our contact, do buyers have a limit for how long they can wait to contact us back? I have had people take days to respond to messsages.  Is there a 24 hour limit on the message both ways?  
4. If they pay through Paypal and don't meet us, do we have to refund the money if we go to the meeting in good faith?
5. If they don't show up for a meeting, can they still leave negative feedback?
6. Do you want us to do cash or Paypal for payments? I would think you still need the Paypal option to calculate your fee, but If it's cash, are you changing the fee on the listed price?  I've done Craigs List and had people haggle at the pick up.  If they're resonable and have communicated well with me, sometimes I've knocked a little more off.  How will this work?

[cmits]

I had a couple rounds with customer service today regarding this issue because my transaction tracking % is sitting at 93% ALL BECAUSE I MET WITH 3 BUYERS AND HAND DELIVERED THEIR ITEMS instead of mailing them. That's right, I'm being penalized for saving the buyer some money, so now, to save my rating, I'm being forced to let the buyer know that per EBAY'S POLICY, I'm being held accountable because they're insisting that we provide tracking numbers for ALL packages being delivered no matter now CLOSE YOU LIVE TO YOUR CUSTOMER.

This is the biggest crock is **bleep** ever. Why have a box available for LOCAL PICKUP if you can't use it?????? Idiots. And they won't remove the rating even though they can see that the packages have had no claims against them !!!!!!!!

[tapking]

I received a notice that another seller said they had replied but I could not find their reply in these comments.

I am going to have to call Ebay directly. We do not know if a buyer wants to pick up an item until they send us a request for pick up before bidding. Once they purchase the item, we request that they wait for us to invoice them without postage. They wanted to pick up on 3/28 which is 2 weeks ago. Instead of waiting to pay until we invoiced them, they paid with postage. I emailed them several times asking it they are still wanting to pick it up or have they changed their mind & want it mailed! The problem with the buyer not picking it up right away is that Ebay takes away our rating for mailing the first business day after paid. There is not an option saying that the buyer is going to pick it up as Ebay only has options for doing the on-line, prepaid shipping label or marking it as "shipped" so there is no way to let Ebay know that the buyer is going to pick it up. If we are allowed to put in the option of local pick-up, how would I be able to note when it is picked up??? Is there a way to change all of our current listings adding the "pick up option" on all open listings. I have over 1,000 so it is too hard to add "pick-up option" to all of our listings even if we use the Turbo Listing to add this option. When buyers request pick-up, we have them meet my husband at the antique mall we are in at an agreed upon day and time. I had been having them sign a copy of their purchase but have forgotten to give my husband a copy to have the buyer sign as received so I need to start doing that again. Thanks for the reminder. I am glad we have a "safe" place to have the buyer meet for pick up. Usually, the buyer lets me invoice them without postage. This is the first time that a buyer has paid postage without an explanation whether they still want to pick it up & when picked up, I can refund them postage via PayPal. Thanks for the comments from other sellers. Dolores