Question
Hi:
I have a small item (not breakable) up for bid at eBay with 2 bids so far. I just received a question that I don't know how to answer. The prospective buyer asked if I could meet him and let him pay for the item rather than ship it. He lives about an hour's drive from my home. I am a senior widow, so I don't have a hubby to go with me. I am a bit nervous about this. I think he is probably just trying to save the cost of shipping, but in these days you never know. How should I handle this? The bidding is now up to 27.50 and still has several days to go. I expect it to sell for about $30.00 to $35.00. It weighs about 1.5 pounds.
Thanks, Kate
Answer
Assuming he's genuine, anyone who would drive 1 hour each way to save postage isn't someone you want to deal with. I would decline without an explanation and requote the shipping cost.
Answer
I just tell them we don't offer pick up service. Online transactions only.
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Johnny has a good point, I can't see the buyer saving any money this way. Perhaps he wants to look at the item first to be sure it is as described.
The only way I would meet a buyer is at a public place at my convinence. Say at a McDonalds at a time I knew I would already be in town. I certainly wouldn't spend my gas and time, driving out of my way to save him minimal postage.
Answer
If he's willing to drive most of the way, you could always meet him in a very public place (maybe take a friend with you) like the parking lot of the police station.
I once asked someone if I could pick up mdse. (about an hour away) and he ended up delivering it for me. (I made sure DH was here.) But this was 4 mannequins and the shipping even for that short distance would have been a deal killer for me.
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Great advice (public place, take a friend, etc) but the bottom line is - if YOU aren't comfortable with meeting a buyer in person, thats that. Don't do it. You can politely decline and if you feel the need to explain, just say something like "I'm sorry but my policy for eBay transactions is they are done online only."
~ gem ~
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I would only ship it.
He would spend more in gas and then lunch then a little more shopping since you were out of town and different storesto look at just to get there than what the postage is.
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Indeed. I ran into the the same situation when I first started selling on ebay.
A buyer won then wanted to drive 2 hours (one way) to save $3 shipping.
Didn't seem quite right to me, and at the time I was working full time, so I told him that due to my schedule, it wasn't possible for me to do one on one meetings. I really thought it was an imposition of him to even ask, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't get into a negative FB issue (me being new), so I sent it to him free of charge. (I sold it for more than I had figured on anyway, so I wasn't out much) I got good FB and he got the item without any shipping.
It worked out.
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No way.
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The buyer might think there's less chance of damage if he does a personal pickup. He might have a lot of time on his hands and just sort of like driving around and exploring. He might be a seriously creepy type. You aren't comfy with a personal meeting, and it IS some extra hassle to pick a neutral location and especially to have a friend with you. Maybe for a $1000 item, but a $30?
The other angle is that the buyer might be outright planning to nit-pick on quality issues as soon as he can see the widget. "Oh, I'd never have bid if I could have seen this damage (flea-bite described clearly in listing), look, all I can offer is $20."
Or, with some sorts of items, he may hope you have other collectibles he could cut a direct deal on. I've met people from online personally here at my house, at neutral locations of their convenience, at collectors' conventions, and also have mailed items just a few miles across town, hell, one of those went out this morning in fact. However, I'm an able-bodied male and have no reason to consider any real chance of trouble. Do what you're comfortable with, and nothing else.