What are the disadvantages with Local Pickup when selling Vintage Lamps at a high dollar amount?
These lamps are Complex with weighted crystals. Heavy.(20Lbs) Difficult to pack. Shades alone are 17x20" and might have to ship separately. Not Brand New-some cosmetic issues to be mentioned in ad discription. Buyer 'could' say I never showed up and request a refund???
17 comments
dbfolks166mt
·3 years agoThe fact that it is a local pickup in and of itself is a disadvantage. There are a number of postings on this forum regarding local pickup items where the buyer missed that detail when they made the purchase only to contact the seller and ask why their item hasn't shipped. I have never used local pickup for anything I list on eBay but I live in a large metropolitan area where I have access to multiple local forums where virtually everything is a local pickup.
If the lamps have "issues" as you stated it affords the buyer the opportunity to inspect the item before they take possession and potentially negotiate a price based on your and their assessment. Shipping something that large and fragile would be non-starter for me but lots of sellers do it with success.
amateurextra
OP3 years agoAwesome set of events! Not clear if you ever received the non-refundable deposit or how you would list it as such. Like you said the mileage is secondary to the Fear Of Missing Out on a deal. Today that phrase is abbreviated as FOMO
fashunu4eeuh
·3 years agoHi @amateurextra eBay Motors runs on a different set of rules. A regular (non-automotive) listing does not have an option for any kind of deposit.
worldcoinauctions
·3 years agoI sold a few things by local pickup only. It was probably over a decade ago though and I required electronic payment in advance at the time. 1 was a car and the person buying it kept putting off picking it up. I had specified an unrefundable deposit and required pickup within 30 days so I blocked him and sold it again. That guy drove 400 miles to get it. The other customer drove from Connecticut to western NY state. It all depends on what you are selling and if it is worth it to go there and get it. My sister went to Poland to get a dog....
ms.rodriguez*
·3 years agoHmm, my brother went to Germany to get a dog too. A $6,000.oo rottweiller. He breeds them. Folks will travel distances for certain items and they will pay cash too if necessary. My brother put a 500 deposit on the dog via Paypal. The rest had to be cash. He had to pay quite a bit to ship the dog back to the USA too.
amateurextra
OP3 years agoI like the idea of a optional listing for comparison. I'm not sure of eBays policy in this regard. Chances are as long as it DOES sell on eBay there shouldn't be an issue. Tnx
amateurextra
OP3 years agoNot sure what option I would have if the buyer 'actually' pays by Paypal or similar. I don't think the electronic payment was a condition in the past. I do know I have to scan a code or record a six digit no from the buyers cell phone for proof of pickup.
ms.rodriguez*
·3 years agoIf you list as local pickup , insist on a cash pickup. Ebay now wants you to give a choice of an electronic payment but the buyer can still do a chargeback or later decide that they don't like them and want to return them. With cash, you will NOT have this problem. You can also list them elsewhere for free. List them a bit higher and if the buyer wants to negotiate, you drop it a bit. Goodluck.
slippinjimmy
·3 years agoYou can't "insist", eBay often enforces IPR on transactions even when sellers do not have that turned on. There are also plenty of buyers who never use cash for anything and then there are those that click the buy button, get sent to checkout and just proceed to pay.
There is nothing more frustrating about buying something online (Craigslist, facebook), showing up only to find the thing you wanted got sold to someone else a couple of hours ago.
I do local pickup, not a lot of them but it's a regular thing, it's been YEARS since anyone did not pay via eBay prior to pickup.
inhawaii
·3 years agoDisadvantages:
*The scenario you already covered, about the buyer trying to negotiate a better price in person.
*If the deal goes south, you've wasted time and gas.
*The buyer does now show up and again, you've wasted time and gas.
amateurextra
OP3 years agoVERY Useful information. I fear the buyer will try to barter if deciding on cash payment then refuse to buy with no agreement. Can I relist the item to get fees refunded??
mr_lincoln
·3 years ago@amateurextra Do Local Pick up only and take cash at pick up. If the Buyer tries to talk you down simply say sorry that was not the deal, thank them for coming and then politely leave. I suspect that will not happen to be honest but I understand your concern. By taking cash when they pay you and leave they own the item(s).
The only disadvantage is that your buying group will most likely be people within driving distance.
amateurextra
OP3 years agoI would like to specify cash only but according to eBay I have to permit one additional electronic payment option. I agree there should be no issue of amounts as long as everything advertised was on target.
mr_lincoln
·3 years ago@amateurextra
I just created a dummy listing with JUST Local Pick up and Cash only at pick up ... no other payment method was required. It was a BIN listing with immediate payment required turned OFF (this may be your issue) ...
You use the first pull-down menu in the shipping area that has Flat rate, Calculated, Freight and Local pickup only, select that.
slippinjimmy
·3 years agoDid you actually submit the dummy listing?
amateurextra
OP3 years agoVERY Interesting. I did not think about the Buy it Now being the issue.
Never hurts to run the experiment! Will try next chance.
itscalledapostingid
·3 years agoHere's the policy you can read especially the part on "Proof of pickup:"
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/local-pickup?id=4181