Question
I was searching for a book on eBay and came across a seller's ME page that had something I've never seen before: is said: "THERE IS A $2.00 CHARGE FOR ITEMS PICKED UP AT MY STORE."
The ME page starts out: I'M AN HONEST PERSON WHO IS HAVING FUN SELLING STUFF. I HAVE A STORE IN XXXXXX, XX. (ZIP) LOCATED AT (Street Address). and it is obvious it is an Antiques store.
I suppose that it may not be all that often that someone local would bid and win on an item, but I just wonder how the $2.00 pickup charge goes over. And what the $2.00 is for – handling I suppose. Is this intended to discourage people from picking things up?
The seller also states: "ANYONE IS INVITED TO COME INTO MY STORE TO LOOK AT ANY ITEM I HAVE LISTED ON EBAY." and it is a B&M, so a seller would be glad to have traffic in the store I suppose.
I've just never seen this before. I think it would be awkward to say: "Thanks for coming in to pick up the item you won on eBay, Mrs. Smith. That will be $119.00 for your winning bid, $2.00 for picking it up and then there is tax of course."
Does anyone here with a B&M have any experience with this type of issue?
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actully I have seen a bit of this , 2.00 seems cheap I commonly see 5.00 and have seen as high as 20.00
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Those drop-off consignment places almost always have a $5 or higher charge for picking your item up in person. I didn't bid on something once from a local ISoldIt type place located a few miles from me because my options were ~$20 shipping or pay their $10 pickup fee on an item that wasn't fragile and weighed maybe 1/2 lb.
I haven't seen it done with normal B&M antique stores though. Seems a bit cheeky.
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I was interested in some books a local seller had listed. She wanted me to pay a $15 per lot pick up charge.
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When it became clear that AuctionDrop would have to cut costs if it were to stay alive, in-store pickup was the first thing to go.
fLufF
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I suppose some of the labour charge is factored in with the shipping, so when they don't ship an item they have to charge it somehow. I don't know, I'd like to see a reason for it, rather than other examples myself lol.
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It's actually much simpler and less diabolical than that.
Let's say you run an eBay dropoff store manned by 2 clerks. Let's say that one clerk spends 50% of her time processing pickups. From experience, I can tell you this is not a 60-second task. (I have this experience because I bought a number of things from AD before they eliminated in-store pickup.) First, the clerk has to bring up the auction on the screen and put it in payment mode. Then she has to solicit your payment and process it. If you have a coupon -- and AD issued a LOT of coupons -- she has to factor that in as well. Then she has to note the bin number and go back into the warehouse to fetch your bin. Then she has to unseal it and verify in front of you that what you are receiving is actually what you think you bought.
This in-store pickup rarely took less than 15 minutes. The point is, that is time that the clerk *could have spent* processing dropped-off consignments, which would be a way more profitable use of her time, especially for a business that is trying to bootstrap itself into being a volume leader. Volume is the only way to grow an eBay drop-off store.
fLufF
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Alright, that makes a lot of sense. Ofcourse, someone did say that they could pay $10 to pick up an item and $20 to get it shipped from the dealer when the item was light and not fragile. So, it's clear that they factored in at least some of that $10 pick up cost into the handling cost, at least I think so.
I guess it varies from business to business, like anything. Handling fees can include whatever the seller wants them to include, and I don't see any difference when factoring in pick up fees either. It seems like a legitimate charge though.
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Heck, I jump in the car and deliver to local buyers for free (although one regular does always give me a coffee). I enjoy meeting the local buyers and usually having a chat, and, as much as anything else, learning about how they find Ebay and/or learning a little about their collecting interests.
Cheers, Kevin
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I would NEVER do that, we encourage pick ups, any excuse to get a pair of eyes in the store
The buyer spent just over 300.00 on ebay item
came to pick it up, dropped another 75.00
brought hubby back on the weekend and spent another 355.00
guess what, I allow pick ups.