Buyer wants to pay for my item, but not ship it. Problem?

[livecheapordie]

I sell restored vintage violin bows through Ebay’s “But it Now” format.  A prospective buyer wants to buy and pay for a bow that I have for sale now, but she doesn’t want me to ship it.  Instead, she wants me to wait until sometime in the future, when she hopes that I would have another bow that she would find “irresistible.”  Then, she would buy and pay for that one, I would send both bows in one package, and she would only have to pay for one shipping fee instead of two.  (Shipping a bow by USPS costs about $30 because of the extra charge for items longer than 30 inches.)

I am not opposed to her proposition, but I’m not sure how the mechanics of the deal would work out.  Because, if she paid for the bow and I didn’t send it, Ebay would know that I hadn’t.  Would EBay then, after a certain amount of time, automatically refund her payment and penalize me for not shipping the bow?

If that’s what would happen, is there some way to structure the deal so it wouldn’t happen?  How about if I sent her a small, lightweight parcel that cost very little to send.  Then Ebay would know from the tracking that she had received a shipment from me.

Does anyone out there have any other ideas or advice about this?

I’m sure she is not trying to scam me, and I can’t even see how this could be a scam.

[wastingtime101]

Technically speaking, you could change the listing to local pickup only. Then no shipping is required.

But a better option would be to de-list the bow, put it aside, then when she sees another bow she likes you could list the reserved bow and she could buy them both together.

Personally I wouldn't do it because who knows if you'll ever have another bow she wants, but if you're comfortable holding on to the inventory then my suggestion is to de-list and put it aside for now.

[slippinjimmy]

Make the deal, instead of shipping simply Mark As Shipped. Unless you have a regular series of sales/shipments with no tracking a single one will have zero effect on your Service Metrics (tracking uploaded and verified).

When they buy another bow, ship together as usual.

There are many sellers (certain types of items) that don't use tracking, just mark as shipped. It's standard for them, the only effect is that they may lose Top Rated status (not really that significant for most sellers). You only get a metric ding if the buyers leaves feedback and reports that the order did not arrive within the delivery estimate.

The one downside is that the buyer changes their mind, never buys the second bow and asks to cancel the first one, it doesn't cost you anything in that situation.

In your situation you can probably ship 2 bows for almost the same as 1 so the desire to double up is reasonable for the buyer. Having to wait a bit for you to come up with a desirable bow also makes sense given your listed selection in minimal at this time.

[wastingtime101]

Additional note: If you do end up shipping 2 bows together, keep in mind eBay requires signature confirmation on transactions totaling $750+ (item/tax/ship) to retain seller protections on non-receipt claims.

[kenneth686321]

The buyer pays you ships no exception. If you don't you will cause yourself unnecessary headaches. Tell your buyer if she wants to buy another bow in the future you can work something out like you the seller give her free shipping OR you you go halfsies  you pay $15 and she pays $15

1. How long are you suppose to wait until you have another bow in your inventory that she finds "irresistible:" at the price that she is willing to pay for? A week? A Month? 6 Months? Do you even have another bow in stock?

2. If you don't ship what's stoping the buyer from changing her mind after 2 weeks and filing an INR which you will be forced to refund since you can't prove delivery or even tracking. 

2. Don't send a cheap trinket just to satisfy Ebay tracking. What stoping her from changing her mind and filing a INAD case. You will still end up refunding. 

3. Even if you do hold on to the first bow for a while, whats stoping the buyer from changing her mind entirely and asking you to canceling the transaction. You would have wasted your time and could have sold to another buyer. 

4. If she waits past the Ebay 30 days guarantee and changes her mind and could open a CC charge back citing item not received. 

Too many unknowns and too much risk if you ask me. 

[slippinjimmy]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

Technically speaking, you could change the listing to local pickup only. Then no shipping is required.

But a better option would be to de-list the bow, put it aside, then when she sees another bow she likes you could list the reserved bow and she could buy them both together.

Personally I wouldn't do it because who knows if you'll ever have another bow she wants, but if you're comfortable holding on to the inventory then my suggestion is to de-list and put it aside for now.

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The problem with delisting is that the OP's "power" completely goes away. I would want the money in MY hand if I'm going to hold it for awhile.

Maybe make an agreement with the buyer that if the OP can't come up with an irresistible second bow with X weeks you will just proceed with the single one that has been paid for.

[inhawaii]

I would deny such a ridiculous request even if it meant losing the sale.

"I would like to buy and pay for your widget but don't ship it to me. Just hang on to it  in case I find another one of your widgets irresistible in the future and decide to buy it. Then you can ship both widgets together."

[mordecai8614]

So she wants to save on shipping down the line on a mystery bow that you don't even have yet, but in the meantime has no problem giving you hundreds of dollars, in exchange for nothing, for an amount of time that's indefinite? That makes no sense.

My guess is if you go through with this little scheme (selling her 2 bows, through 2 transactions, with only 1 tracking confirmation) you can expect a payment dispute from her credit card company months down the road

[caldreamer]

EBAY requires that you ship item when sale is made (otherwise you will get a defect against your account). 

I am understand customer wanting to save money by shipping 2 bows in same box and you are very kind to even consider this.  However, the fact this customer has idea of, when or if she will find another bow in the future, makes this an impossible situation.

Only thing you could do is "end listing" for the bow that she wants to purchase and hold it "until she finds another bow to her liking".   Then create "new listing" with 2 bows that she wants.   Of course, I have been burned in the past by "holding items" and find out later on that customer "changed their mind".

[chevymontecarlo88]

For me i would not honor that request. To many variables that you can't control. If i did restorations and someone contacted me directly (not via platform) i may consider helping them (depending on deal/customer) but not would process it through a platform.

[ckimodog]

@livecheapordie 

Just say no.  This will hurt you and your metrics as a seller.  You don't need that on your record.  Their request is a bit bizarre, not to mention rather inconsiderate on your behalf.  Cancel the transaction and wish them well.  

Happy Selling

[thelongball]

Explain the situation about your metrics and eBays demands for quick shipping to the customer. Then ask them for the solution. 

[deltilogical]

"Thank you for your offer, but Ebay does not allow us to hold items once sold. "  EOM

That is just a recipe for annoyance and disaster.

[rosamundmj]

After 20 years of selling on eBay I politely decline complicated requests from buyers.  You don't want the responsibility of caring for the item she bought.  You can say that you checked with eBay and they/we advise against it.

[rosamundmj]

Funny story:  I listed an item more than a year ago, while I lived in another state. When I moved I changed the location on all my listings - I thought.

The item is identified with a national event in a particular region and city; a buyer wants the item. Size makes shipping item more costly than the weight suggests, and in the original listing I offer local pick-up. Buyer notes that the location of the item is my old location, and they live a 20 minute drive away from there, could they save the large shipping fee by picking it up.

I apologize for the listing flaw, correct it.  Buyer asks if I am ever in the original place; I say yes; buyer asks, could they pay for it, and wait for me to return to state for local pick up.

Yeah....no.