topic Re: why you should consider pick-ups in Selling

why you should consider pick-ups

joethenuts — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 23:17:55 GMT

if you can and are available for pick-ups then you should do it it gives the buyer an extra service and a discounted $15 postage fee off there total price, also its a better guarentee that the buyer gets there goods , it stops buyers complaining they did not get there goods, but one of the main reasons is 99 % of my sales are pick ups and a lot of buyers picking up there orders leave my driveway with more stock than they ordered it is not unusual that a buyer is picking up one product for $25 and leaving after they spent another $100, the best % of a buyer was one day a pick up worth $10 left my driveway spending another $525

you will find what ever you have listed on ebay the buyer would also be interested in your other items..

the other day i ordered some labels from a seller he agreed on pick up it ws not that far from were i live the amount was $20 i left there spending another $50 on tape wrapping and bits and pieces and yes the seller did not have to pay any fees on that $50...

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

pennyforum14 — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 23:44:09 GMT

Pick-ups are fine if you are located in a metropolitan area where there is a large concentration of potential buyers, many of whom are happy to drive across the city to save a few dollars on postage. However, it is not viable to list as Pickup only if you are in a regional or rural area, as there just isn't a large enough base of customers who are within pick-up distance to ensure regular sales. In this instance you are better off listing with postage and make a note in the postage area that pick-ups may be accepted by negotiation. This then does not eliminate all buyers outside your area.

As a buyer, it annoys the hell out of me to see sellers who state Pick-up only from Metro areas, when the item could easily be posted.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

homostuck — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 23:46:44 GMT

Don't forget:

No 21 day hold policy 🙂

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

pennyforum14 — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 23:49:31 GMT

You also have to consider the factor of privacy. It looks as though you probably have a B&M store, where you would of course be happy for customers to pick up and maybe get an impulse buy or two. But many of us sell from home and may not be so inclined to having strangers calling to pick up items all the time.

Then there are the no shows, and you yourself have posted that you have a number of these outstanding at the moment. How long do you hold onto them for the buyer? Had these been postal items, they could have been off your shelves by now and not taking up valuable space where new stock could be stored.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 00:17:07 GMT

I live in a rural area and have had 5 local buyers, from quite a few hundred transactions. Most of my buyers are interstate, so if I only offered pick up, it would be pointless me listing anything. I don't allow local buyers to come to my house, but I do offer to drop it to their house/work, or meet them in a neutral location, like the supermarket carpark, or Bunning's carpark.

Given that everything I have ever sent has arrived, I'm not concerned about posting things.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

joethenuts — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 01:29:01 GMT

not correct 25 % pay pal it pick ups

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

go-tazz — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 05:50:37 GMT

Living in the country and offering pick-up only reduces the selling price if listing via auction.

I have two items listed as pick-up only as they both weigh over 4 kg but don't seem to have a lot of interest shown.

If they don't sell after the 3 re-lists run out I'll have to split them to try and sell,(it was easier to list as pick up but

I don't think it's going to work out that way)

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

davewil1964 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 10:52:26 GMT

As 95% of my sales are not local, I'll pass, thanks all the same.

I sell books, not furniture, and don't see any reason to restrict my buyer base to those who can easily buy (for less than I charge) from the same places I do.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 11:32:33 GMT

Given that Joe seems to often have 5 outstanding pick ups, including one he created a new thread about, I'm not sure I'd be taking his advice to offer pick up only. Most of my stuff costs $1.40 to post, why would a buyer spend more than that in petrol to drive across town to collect?

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

joethenuts — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 11:38:54 GMT

for $1.40 its not worth it even if you loose a few in the post but i do state a $15 delivery and if i got 5 paid parcels there for a year thats still a very small percentage from aprox 1500 parcels a year

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 11:44:01 GMT

I have never lost one in the post ever. I've had things take longer than they should, but everything has arrived.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

joethenuts — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 11:48:26 GMT

you must be a lucky one how many letters do aus post loose a week you only have to read the paper when people get letters 6 months old and its faster to send a letter from england to melbourne than some mail from here to the same suburb

here is another queation if aus post had a feedback system like ebay how would it look like lets say 1000 articles

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

cq_tech — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 11:57:53 GMT

Funny you should mention, sheep. I'm in exactly the same position as you. In all my time on eBay (10 years) I too have never once had a posted item go missing in transit. Not ever, and even though I clearly put my name and address on the backs of everything I send, I've never even had one returned as being undeliverable.

Using AP's own figures, it would seem that they lose or misplace (or have stolen) around 1 item for every 1000 posted (or 0.1%) and if you've ever been to an Australia Post uncollected mail auction, you only have to look at the way most of those items have been misaddressed or packed to understand why they were undeliverable and unreturnable to their senders.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 12:37:12 GMT

I'm only up to 500 and something, so I've still got 400 and something to go before one gets lost then!! I always put a return address and like you, have never had one returned. I use a fair bit of tape on parcels, and as tempting as it is to just write on it with permanent marker, I write on paper, then tape over the whole thing. Even if the parcel gets wet, the address should be safe.

I did have one a few weeks ago that was weighing on my kitchen scales as 495g (they seem to match my PO's scales) and I hadn't put the address paper or associated tape on it. To play it safe, I just wrote on the tape. When I handed it over the counter the lady started scratching it with her nail and pointed out that even permanent marker will rub off. I explained why I did it and she reached into her drawer and pulled out an address label, addressed it and stuck it on. It weighed in at 497g.

She said I should have taped over it but I didn't want to push it over the limit by 1 or 2 g. I hate to think what may have happened if she hadn't pulled me up on it, especially as there were 8 items in there! I think it helps being a regular and always being pleasant to them.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

cq_tech — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 14:44:18 GMT

Yes, the problem with permanent marker is that quite often, it isn't, particularly when used on tape. Taping over it is the least likely method of exceeding your weight limit, especially when you consider that a single A4 sheet of copy paper weighs in at an amazing 5 to 6 grams!

I have a set of calibration weights which I regularly use to check (and adjust if necessary) my postal scales, so if a DVD in a number 1 padded envelope weighs in at 125g, I know that I only need to put 2 stamps on it because the scales at my LPO will read exactly the same.

I had to pull them up once when their scales didn't agree with mine (only by 2g) but I was confident enough to tell them that their scales were incorrect, and when they weighed my item on a different set of scales, it showed that the first set was indeed out by 2g. Turned out that somebody had moved them and failed to readjust the levelling screws, and once done they were once again spot on.

It probably helped that I'm a regular and know them quite well, but they were actually very grateful that I'd pointed it out, as they could have got into a lot of trouble had it not been noticed. These days though, they no longer check my large letters or parcels as they know that the weights and dimensions (for cubing) that I write in pencil on the front is always 100% accurate.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

davewil1964 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 15:28:46 GMT

I have had one lost and three RTS (all due to incorrect delivery address) from a few over 2200, so 0.045%.

Oops, is my experience showing?

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

cq_tech — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 16:30:09 GMT

Well you can't attribute RTS mail to Australia Post, and how can you be 100% certain that the other was lost, as opposed to being a false claim by a dodgy buyer? On that basis, your loss equates to either 0.045% or 0%, which either way is pretty damn good in my book.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

davewil1964 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 16:40:27 GMT

My point exactly.

And the lost one WAS a letter. So 0% for parcels.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

casbit33 — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 21:47:52 GMT

I only mark something as "pick up only" if it is really big and heavy - like furniture.

I did sell an encyclopedia set once that i had marked as "local pickup". In the listing, however, i did write that i would get a courier quote if anyone wanted it delivered. Someone did want it delivered and were happy to pay the $60 delivery.

99% of my stuff is posted and i don't usually have any problems with that.

If i had a B&M shop, pick up would be great.

Re: why you should consider pick-ups

raffta1 — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 02:01:32 GMT

Yes pick up's will work well for me considering I live in Rural Victoria and most of my buyers are Queensland.

The real issue is Astralia Post and the contracteors. They are a bunch of theveies, and until Auspost is held accountable for "missing" items, nothing will change. Anything with a tracking number can be tracked if the procedure is followed (normal letters are harder to track with out a tracking number), and not just ones that you pay "extra" for. I have a few friends who work of Aus post and they will tell you just how much stuff "can and does" go missing and how easy it is.

At the moment Auspost will only refund the postage cost with proof (yes that I agree to), but not the lose of the item unless you pay "extra" insurance and this is not that cheap. This is a scam by Auspost as "ALL" tracked items are tracked the same way (signature delivery is a litlle different). All it takes is for a postal worker or delivery driver not to scan the item and then its "lost"

Now Auspost knows were and who was in possession of the item last. They need to enforce and penalise the worker, office or contractor who was to lazy to follow procedure. Or the delivery dirver who "failed" to deliver the item and cannot show were its gone.

If they were to start making All Auspost workers and contractors more accountable and made to coff up the $$$ to the sender (this includes allcost, postage, the item, fees is aplicable), the ammount of items being lost would decrease quite signifactly.