Sold an item with a shipping only option, but the buyer lives in my city

[red_daredevil]

Should I go ahead and ship or just take it to his house? Just taking the package to his house would save me on shipping since I included free shipping, but it wouldn't give any evidence of a delivery to eBay. 

[*madison]

Because the op hasn't indicated if they would just pop by or not, I just wanted to make it clear that the op should get permission first..

[popeirasplace]

Yes! This! Mine was multiple items I was doing the lady a favor as she asked and it put me in another category as it was so many transactions...made me mad too every time I looked at it as I was accommodating THEIR customer as well as my own. Lesson learned!

[scottish_kat]

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Your buyer may not appreciate you showing up at their house without their prior agreement to handle things that way.  It could be seen completely differently than you intend.  I know I don't want my buyers showing up on my doorstep unannounced.   I'd be dialing 911.

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LOL

Seriously, though, me too. The whole reason I use ebay is because I don't have to deal with anyone in person. They could be a hoarder or a shut-in or have extreme anxiety. Just mail it.

[mam98031]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

Folks are jumping to conclusions here!

Shipping was “free.” Buyer doesn’t feel like he paid for it.

OP never said it was a stealth operation.

Not to mention, no one dies from a single late shipment demerit and we have no evidence it’s a high scam item.

Sheesh. 🙄🙄🙄

It’s up to you, OP. I wouldn’t do it to save $5 but I might if shipping was high, the address was close/convenient, and I wasn’t crazy busy with other stuff.

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I personally don't think buyers are that uniformed.  I believe most buyers realize that free shipping simply means shipping included.  Most buyers know that no one actually gets a carrier to donate their services, process and deliver a package.

[chapeau-noir]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Tell the buyer you're a recovering serial killer, then offer to drop the item off at their house. 

Chances are they will ask you to ship it.

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I lived in a rough neighborhood for a long time - if someone wanted to pick something up I'd say "sure, just ignore the drunks in front of the place and mind the broken glass."  For some reason they'd be suddenly reluctant.

[glgenterprise]

I would ship it. If your buyer wanted to get it in person, they would have asked you. Your city & state shows up on the listing for the ships from location.

I literally drove by a buyer's house once on the way to the post office once. I still shipped it - the buyer still got it that day as I specifically handed to the clerk and the delivery truck had not left yet.

I got great feedback for the quick shipping

[privacy60]

Ive done it 3 times successfully.  your buyer could claim you didn't deliver as you would have no tracking. so take a picture of the delivered item sitting in his mail box or on the front porch. ebay won't accept that as proof I don't think and I suppose you have to consider the value of the item, just wanted to chime in that I had risked it and was successful 

[mam98031]

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@privacy60 wrote:

Ive done it 3 times successfully.  your buyer could claim you didn't deliver as you would have no tracking. so take a picture of the delivered item sitting in his mail box or on the front porch. ebay won't accept that as proof I don't think and I suppose you have to consider the value of the item, just wanted to chime in that I had risked it and was successful 

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Ebay will NOT accept a pic of the delivery and confirmation of the delivery.

[this*old*attic]

Yes and no. If pressed, they'd be logical.

But it "feels" like free shipping (there's SOME reason so many prefer it) and they sure DON'T take it into consideration when making offers.

I don't think they're dumb, I just think it's off their radar.