Potential buyer of a pick-up only item said he wants to make payment when he comes to pick up...

[gretschwhtfalcon]

I need some advice on this. I wrote back to him and said I would not be comfortable with that at all, mentioning that any purchased item is paid for prior to shipping, so why would a pick-up only item be considered any differently? I suggest the usual format - payment made and deposited in my PayPal account BEFORE any pick-up date is arranged. Am I right?  This suggestion of  his makes me very uncomfortable. This is an eBay buyer with a very good track record, but I'm extremely wary of what he is suggesting. Thoughts???

[Anonymous]

Cash on pickup is preferred to an electronic payment method. Say yes.

[daveroo]

Let's say the buyer pays by PayPal then picks up the item.

The the buyer files an Item Not Received complaint with eBay.

eBay can see that the buyer paid but there is no proof that he received the item.

You have no proof since there is no tracking.

You will lose your item AND eBay will refund the amount paid to the buyer.

[gretschwhtfalcon]

Why? I don't get this. I just revised my listing to say "payment must be made via PayPal prior to arranging a pick-up date". What protection do I have by not having the item paid for before some stranger appears at my door - he might pay, he might not. Scary really. Maybe overly paranoid, but why is this local pick-up any different than a shipped item? Items aren't shipped before payment is received.

[gretschwhtfalcon]

If picking up the item is not proof that the buyer received it, what's the difference whether or not I have a PayPal transaction, a buyer's check, or cash? In either case, the way it seems, he could file a "not received" complaint. His word against mine. 

[ms.rodriguez*]

Your word means NOTHING to ebay. 99% of the time, Ebay sides with the buyer. I would NEVER take PayPal on a local pickup. Meet buyer in a very public place. Or meet on a day when you can have a friend or two with you. Have the item near the door or in garage or car trunk. This way buyer gets item quickly. Have change on you Incase buyer comes with a big bill. You can also tell buyer to come with the exact amount. Goodluck.

[pburn]

A buyer cannot win an INR unless there is documentation that a seller refuses to make arrangements for pickup--or fails to follow through with those arrangements.

From the eBay staff in a thread linked below:

"The buyer would not be covered in an item not received case if there was not an indication of seller fault related to the item not received case. While a seller is protected if an item is not retrieved due to buyer fault, if your buyer made a mistake in purchasing a local pickup item or is otherwise unable to retrieve the item from you, a refund would be the right thing to do. I've never seen a situation where a seller was unwilling to take care of their customer when a mistake was made, but I include this statement for the sake of thoroughness."

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Selling/How-to-prove-buyer-received-item-via-local-pickup/td-p...

[impalajohnny]

PayPal cant refund anything if there was never a PayPal payment. So buyer can claim he never got the item either way but he can only get a refund from PayPal if he paid with PayPal.

[pburn]

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@daveroo wrote:

Let's say the buyer pays by PayPal then picks up the item.

The the buyer files an Item Not Received complaint with eBay.

eBay can see that the buyer paid but there is no proof that he received the item.

You have no proof since there is no tracking.

You will lose your item AND eBay will refund the amount paid to the buyer.

---

Buyers involved in a local pickup can file an INR only if there is evidence (as in correspondence between the two parties) that the seller (for whatever reason) would not let them pickup the item; e.g., refusing to agree to a time and/or place for pickup, failing to show up at the time and/or place agreed upon for pickup, etc.

[pburn]

@gretschwhtfalcon wrote:

I need some advice on this. I wrote back to him and said I would not be comfortable with that at all, mentioning that any purchased item is paid for prior to shipping, so why would a pick-up only item be considered any differently? I suggest the usual format - payment made and deposited in my PayPal account BEFORE any pick-up date is arranged. Am I right?  This suggestion of  his makes me very uncomfortable. This is an eBay buyer with a very good track record, but I'm extremely wary of what he is suggesting. Thoughts???

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My thoughts are there is so much misinformation about local pickup in this thread that it is totally unreliable as a source of information for you or anyone else reading this thread. 

1. You can arrange for whatever payment method you'd like. You're required to offer and accept an electronic payment method if the buyer so chooses. You can require that payment be through PayPal or you can accept cash at the time of the pickup (but you can't require cash).

2. You are protected from an INR unless the buyer can prove--with evidence--that you somehow prohibited him/her from picking up the item.

3. You are protected from a SNAD, unless the item you're selling is something that the buyer has to take home and plug in (or whatever) in order to determine whether it works. An example would be a washing machine.

If you would like me to provide about a bazillion links to posts from eBay staff on the truth about local pickup, please pm me, and I'll be glad to provide them. 

[impalajohnny]

Here's the catch on INR with local pickup. I know ebay says items you pick up are not covered for INR. Once you are out in the real world knocking on someones door or meeting at McDonalds things get tricky. Buyer says the seller was not at the meeting, seller says the he met the buyer who loved the item and took it home. How does anyone prove anything to ebay?

Even if the seller convinces an ebay rep there is always the ole credit card charge back.

Cash on pick up is safest for everyone.

[pburn]

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@impalajohnny wrote:

Here's the catch on INR with local pickup. I know ebay says items you pick up are not covered for INR. Once you are out in the real world knocking on someones door or meeting at McDonalds things get tricky. Buyer says the seller was not at the meeting, seller says the he met the buyer who loved the item and took it home. How does anyone prove anything to ebay?

Even if the seller convinces an ebay rep there is always the ole credit card charge back.

Cash on pick up is safest for everyone.

---

Again, from eBay staff:

Can a buyer claim INR on a pickup item?

A buyer can open an INR (Item Not Received) request for a locally picked up item. We would not look for tracking, as it obviously would not be available, and instead look for very clear signs that the seller did not allow the buyer to pickup the item. [Trinton's emphasis.]

@gretschwhtfalcon 

Please read the posts from eBay's staff in this thread for eBay's position and policies on local pickup:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/My-First-Local-Pick-Up-Insisted-on-Paying-with-PayPal-Ahead-of...

[impalajohnny]

If I listened to ebay staff I'd be scammed and negged and banned from selling years ago. LOL

I don't believe ebay will have the sellers back in a he said she said with a buyer. I know for sure a buyers credit card will back him up. And I can't think of anything bad that can result from stuffing some cash in your pocket.

But it is mostly academic because unless it's a high fraud high value item the chance of shenanigans are very slim. On most items all you are going to lose are the paypal fees.

[gretschwhtfalcon]

Sounds a bit risky no matter how it's done, at least in terms of having any sort of 'tracking' to prove the buyer received the item. There really is none. Why is a handful of cash more 'proof' than a PayPal statement showing the transaction? Seems to me it isn't. As to "very clear signs" that the seller did not allow the buyer to pickup the item, the buyer can say whatever he/she wants once they leave my place. Sounds like eBay needs to tighten things up a bit more with regards to this. Let me ask this...having never sold an item local pick-up - what happens on eBay, once the transaction is completed? My only experience on eBay is getting those "your item is paid for and ready to ship" notices. How does it work once a pick-up only item is sold?

[impalajohnny]

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@gretschwhtfalcon wrote:
Sounds a bit risky no matter how it's done, at least in terms of having any sort of 'tracking' to prove the buyer received the item. There really is none. Why is a handful of cash more 'proof' than a PayPal statement showing the transaction? Seems to me it isn't.

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A hand full of cash is no proof of anything. But you don't need proof of anything. The only way to get back cash from you is to sue you in court. PayPal can't refund a payment that did not go through them and they can't debit your account for a transaction that was not handled by them. Likewise the buyer can't complain to his credit card about something he did not use his card for.

Think of it this way. If you bought something for cash at a local yard sale and decided you did not like it when you got home could you call paypal or your credit card to complain? No your only recourse would be to go back and ask the seller if he would take a return and if he says no all you could do is sue him for the money if you thought it was something actionable like fraud.