Anyone else think this order sounds dodgy??

[chabra.aus]

Evening all,

I've just had an order come through which I'm not feeling good about - keen to hear what others think ....

Order total $1200 ish (4 units of the same item)

Requires shipping by freight so most people check shipping costs before purchasing.  This buyer didn't. - Just accepted my frieght cost, and paid straight away.

Note on checkout says to leave the goods at front gate / end of battleaxe driveway if nobody is home! 

I use a courier, and would make sure that the goods aren't left without being signed for, but I'm still nervous.

- Would you ship this order?  Or just refund the buyer and open yourself up to a lost order, and neg feedback??

Thanks 🙂

[suitcase_of_memories]

Get their address & check it on a google map. That way you can tell if it is a farm or suburban property.

If it is a farm that doesn't sound too unusual, their properties are huge in some instances & from the gate to the front door can be miles.

If it is a suburban house......sounds suss.

If it is a large farm ask them if you could have the courier drop the items with someone they trust in the closest town & as them to give that person written authority to sign for the items - get the name so you can print c/- on the paypal/delivery docket.

If it is an honest purchase [they may have just shared in the 100million oz lotto win] then it is a great sale for you.

.

[tradefactorygroup]

the other reply sounds right, i wouldnt leave anything, even if its a farm tho, but thats just me. if anything goes wrong, missing or damage, you will be at lost esp. if they using paypal.

you wont have any case for it on paypal.

[digital*ghost]

As far as PayPal are concerned, you would only need to provide proof of postage in the event of an Item Not Received claim, which I believe you get from most (if not all) couriers, so even if the buyer has these kinds of delivery instructions, you'd be unlikely to lose such a case.

In saying that, though, it doesn't mean things can't go wrong and cause problems for you, your buyer, or both. Perhaps, if you're really concerned about leaving the item at the property unsigned-for, you could contact your buyer and let them know with an order of this value, you'd be very concerned about a method of delivery that leaves the parcel vulnerable for any period of time, and would prefer a more direct delivery method (in other words, don't imply that you don't trust the buyer - I see no prominent reason to at this stage anyway - but that you have standard practices in place for all sales to ensure the utmost safety of every customer's purchase). 

[***super_nova***]

I once lived on country property, which had driveway about 200m long.  At the end of the driveway was a turning circle and gates to paddocks and to the garden surrounding our house, where we had half a dozen our house dogs.  Therefore if anything was to be delivered when we were not at home it had to be left by the gate.

As suggested above, have a look on google maps and you should be able to judge better.  Make sure that the delivery address is the one that PP gives you.  And you did check that the money is in your PP account, didn't you?

[i-once-was-bump]

I can easily understand why anyone would buy four of your items, they are fantastic and I would love to be able to afford and have a place to hang 5 or 6 of your chairs.

As long as the money is in your Paypal account and you open up Paypal rather than click on any links in any emails then you should be OK.

[monstersinthedungeon]

I once lived on country property, which had driveway about 200m long.  At the end of the driveway was a turning circle and gates to paddocks and to the garden surrounding our house, where we had half a dozen our house dogs.  Therefore if anything was to be delivered when we were not at home it had to be left by the gate.

This almost exactly describes our property, except for a longer driveway. Our postie leaves all our packages (whether requiring a signature or not) at our home gate. I've never asked, but I presume he just signs on my behalf - more than happy for him to do so, saves me a trip into town to rescue a returned package.

Because our driveway is so long there is no way anything can be seen from the street and all our dogs would race out to deter anyone anyway.

But it's a lot of money to lose, so you need to do what makes you feel most comfortable. On the other hand, if I was forced to make a trip all the way into town to collect a parcel after I specifically asked for one to be left, I wouldn't be too happy about it.

I know at our old house I was able to leave a signed "Authority to Leave" notice taped to our front door.  I put my name, the details of the parcel (incl. tracking number) and signed it, this was enough for the courier to be able to leave if I was not home.  Google "Authority to Leave" form, type one up, email to the buyer and ask them to sign and leave for the courier.