Pickup not permitted

[colinthius]

Just bought a heavy item on eBay from a local person who now refuses to allow me to pick it up; consequently it's going to cost me a fortune in added freight.  Normally someone will make a specific comment in the listing if they won't allow pickup, but but apparently it isn't necesary; the pickup suburb listed in this instance was for freight calculation only.

eBay advise that the person is within his rights, so not a lot I can do now, however it would seem a good idea to require that any such provision is made obvious in the listing!  The person in question runs a large retail outlet selling similar goods to what I bought; I assume he is trying to dodge warranty and GST obligations by selling "privately" although he is using the business phone number and address (only answers my emails in shop hours). 

All seems very shonky to me; I would urge all eBayers to be wary of this trap, and again request eBay to do something about it.

[belindabargainhunter]

Yes sorry crikey I didn't mean to imply u thought that the seller was saying pick up I was just wanting the person responding to me to see what it was I was talking about.

[lyndal1838]

Belinda, it states the pick up suburb, along with the weight and dimensions for people who want to get a quote for courier to pick up.  There is no mention of the buyer picking up at all.

[springyzone]

I have no idea how you others are getting to see what item the buyer bought or the ad.

But going on the info people have mentioned, I think the ad could be clearer.

Maybe it does say freight a number of times, but surely the seller could put a highlighted line in the ad, such as ' Sorry. No personal pick up of items possible.

That's what most other sellers seem to do if there is no pick up allowed.

[thecatspjs]

Agree Springyzone. 

Regardless of how clear descriptions may be seem to some, a misunderstanding has still occurred due to the inclusion of a statement regarding freight pick up location.

In particular for listings where item is bulky and freight costs a bomb IMO it would just be good seller practice if collection by buyer is not available to put something like that in the listing - buyer pick-up is not available.  

[colinthius]

Thanks for all the responses - certainly a mix of views here!

I've contacted the seller and requested delivery to an address closer to him; his response was to issue a sale cancellation notice.  For someone who runs a retail business selling this type of gear, it seems odd not to allow pickup, and it's a strange attitude to customer relations.  I've had dealings with them previously and generally they've been very helpful; certainly won't go back though!.

I still think eBay should require a seller who won't allow pickups to say so explicitly, not rely on the absence of a pickup option on the postage page.

[*crikey*mate*]

should they list all of the options that they don't offer?

[thecatspjs]

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@crikey*mate wrote:

should they list all of the options that they don't offer?

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Who suggested that ?? Are you suggesting that ??

Pick up availability is often not clear on many sellers listings - the ebay listing process contributes to this, with a number of posters even recently seeking advice on the boards on how to add this option to their listing.  

It continues to be an issue also with a number of buyers posting that often make assumptions about pick up availability - and I know before I stopped spending my $$$ on ebay, I frequently had to seek this advice from sellers, with many confirming that pick up was ok, even though it was not listed as an option.

IMO - having a mandatory tick box choice like local pick up offered - local pick up not offered  would be much more helpful than ... say ... changing the colors of the shop door icons.

[*crikey*mate*]

course I'm not suggesting it.

I don't offer express post - should I also make a special point of stating that?

I have no sympathy for people who make assumptions.

ASK questions and be sure.

[thecatspjs]

So what exactly was the specific purpose of your question ? 

Given that you don't like others to make assumptions ... 

[*crikey*mate*]

I was asking Colin if he thought that a seller should list everything that a seller doesn't do, rather than just the terms of trade they are prepared to operate under.