Buyer chose local pickup but is 300 miles away
Summary: bmtoys initiated a discussion about a buyer who chose local pickup for an item, despite being 300 miles away. soh.maryl, onefootflipper, and multiple other participants engaged in the conversation to share thoughts and potential solutions. The thread included back-and-forth interactions, with powell-collectibles and grand-and-glorious-purpose among those contributing additional input. Participants discussed possible actions to take in this situation, focusing on the practicality and challenges involved. The conversation remained unresolved at the last update.
Buyer purchased and paid for an item 5/21. I have messaged the buyer several times asking if he is going to pickup or if he wanted it shipped. Its been 5 days and I have not heard anything from the buyer. Which option do I chose to cancel this order so I don't get a defect?
meme6253
·4 months agoThey did not look at the distance they would have to travel in order to pick up their order or are completely clueless, But I also noticed these were items that could easily have been shipped, Usually when a seller offers local pickup, It is due to the item being to heavy or bulky to ship.
theteamsetguy
·4 months ago@bmtoys ,
I would give it few more days before you cancel. 45 million people went out of town for the holiday weekend. They are probably not back in town yet?
luckythewinner
·4 months agoI have messaged the buyer several times asking if he is going to pickup or if he wanted it shipped. Its been 5 days and I have not heard anything from the buyer
If it was pickup only, why are you opening the door to shipping it? You have no way to collect additional funds for shipping.
That aside ... I am not a big fan of asking open-ended questions without giving a deadline and a consequence:
"Dear buyers, you have chosen local pickup. If you have not contacted me by X with a pickup date and time, then I will cancel the transaction."
Which option do I chose to cancel this order so I don't get a defect?
I would not cancel it until the buyer asks you to, or until the buyer files a dispute.
bmtoys
OP4 months agoOne of the buyers (from Kansas, I'm in Indiana) did message me back saying it was a mistake so I cancelled using "Buyer needs item to be shipped" option. I relisted and gave the buyer the item number and within 10 minutes he purchased it with shipping.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·4 months agoI'm sure you have your reason but why local pickup on such tiny items? I think buyers get confused by the free part....
bmtoys
OP4 months agoI have had many buyers in my city message me to ask if they could come pickup the items instead of having them shipped since they were local. That is the reason. Since this past week I started getting many local pickup sales from buyers in other states I turned it off.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·4 months agoI send 2 messages.
One the day of purchase "I can have your item available in either (town name) or (city name) for pick-up. Which did you prefer?
A week later "Checking in as I have not heard from you"
If they respond cancel problem with buyers address. I get maybe 15-20 a year.
It is absolutely ridiculous.
If I don't hear back, I don't hear back.
bmtoys
OP4 months agoI had another buyer from Kansas (I'm in Indiana) chose local pickup last weekend. I messaged him and he replied that he made a mistake. I cancelled that order using "Buyer needs item to be shipped" option and he repurchased it. It was shipped today. I have turned off local pickup. I believe ebay made a change that is confusing buyers into choosing local instead of shipping.
powell-collectibles
·4 months agowhere are you and I are at, local pick up almost never makes sense – not for items that aren’t un shippable because of expense. I’ve always had that option turned off – no way I want to waste my time. Meeting some one someplace, hoping they show up, getting there early or them getting there late. On occasion, I do get requests for local pick up – painful to explain that they are wasting more in gas money than the expense to ship it. It doesn’t even include their time or my time.
bmtoys
OP4 months agoPickup is at my home. I never meet somewhere else. This applies to ebay, Facebook marketplace, all selling. No difference than having a garage sale. Buyers come to your garage sale to make a purchase.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoMaybe this was the confusing part: "Free local pickup 60 miles from (my zip code).
soh.maryl
·4 months agoWhat change did eBay make that is confusing buyers into choosing local pickup? Was this a recent change?
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·4 months agoIDK but I've gotten more of that and more request to cancel in the last calendar year that I have in the previous 3 or 4 put together.
If anything I bet it is on the mobile.
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoI tested it out – odd stuff. I can’t choose local pick up on some items that I know are definitely for pickup from a seller that is local. That’s through the app. But, if I go to the browser on my iPhone, I can choose local pick up.
bmtoys
OP4 months agoI don't know. I have been selling on ebay for 30 years and never had this happen to me except this past week. So that is why I am guessing that something changed. Why all of a sudden am I getting local pickup sales from buyers in other states?
slippinjimmy
·4 months agoThere is no change that I'm aware of and none of my buyers have been confused, the ones that want Local Pickup choose that at checkout and the ones (the majority) who want it shipped pay the shipping charge.
Although rare I have had buyers who are not at all local that have made that selection because they were visiting my area.
broto_64
·4 months agoIt's been like this for decades, the real issue is that "Local Pickup" items also show under search results with "Free Shipping" selected. So yes, it's really easy for buyers to overlook that detail since someone selecting Free SHIPPING isn't expecting to have to pick it up.
Ebay has never done anything about this.
onefootflipper
·4 months agoSeveral people a year do this to me.
Cancel problem with buyer's address on the last possible day.
Once you cancel send a message saying that the order was cancelled because they did not pick it up on time.
These people tend to be overly clueless and I can't remember if any of them has ever replied to a message at all.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoMy choice for reason to cancel would be: Problem with buyer's address.
And message him the reason why you cancelled.
PS: Of the four items you sold on May 21st, all of the listings include shipping fees, at least to me in NE Ohio.
What item was for local pickup only?
bmtoys
OP4 months agoMaybe local pickup orders don't show? I don't know.
Attached is the screenshot of the sale.