Buyer has bid and won auction but wants to pick up item. I did not list this as an option...

[crusher.001]

Buyer wants to pick up item even though I didnt have this as an option on the ad.  She has said that I should have specified in the ad that pick up was not offered.  I have been selling for a while and have never had to specify that pick up is NOT an option, I only put it in the ad when it IS an option otherwise I carefully select the options when listing the item and specifically chose Paypal and bank deposit - no pick up. She now wants to cancel the transaction which I am HAPPY for her to do as she won a brand new dress for 0.99c and this is taking more time than its worth. I am only charging exactly what Aus Post is charging - $8.25 for 500g satchel, no profit or handling at all.  As a buyer, if pick up is not listed I will ask before the auction ends and respect the seller if they dont want to offer it, I also work on the assumption that if its not listed as a payment option then its not available. As a seller do we now have to list all the dos and donts in additon to completing all the listing options as well.  I have never experianced this before. Assistance from other sellers would be great, thanks.

Buyer message to me:

Im pretty sure if pick up is not avail is meant to be stated in the add I dont really want to be paying nearly $9 in postage when we would cost me nothing in fuel I will see if I can contact ebay and retract my bid.thanks anyway

[cq_tech · Accepted solution]

So she wins a brand new dress for 99 cents then baulks at paying $8.25 postage? Unbelievable! You should probably be thankful that she wants to cancel as it would have cost you more in FVFs than the 99 cents you made from the sale. Perhaps you should relist at a slightly higher starting price next time - at least enough to cover your costs.

[crusher.001]

Thanks for your response. I decided to start low to attract more buyers but you can never tell in todays market! I sold a few new items of clothing in this lot for 0.99c.  I'm not too bothered - it was my choice afterall.  There just doesn't seem to be the same interest as there used to be.  I just felt that I shouldnt have to justify why pick up isn't an option - I'd understand if its a big item. Thanks for your suggestion - I dont think ill be listing at 99c anymore! Cheers.

[chezzy]

When did $8.25 become nearly $9?

I would have thought questions about pick up would have come under "Please ask questions before item ends"

Ahh well, that is one selfie we won't see on instagram/facebook "Look what I got for 99 cents!!!!"  😉

(am being cynical)

[i-love-my-sheep · Accepted solution]

I have learned recently to never assume anything on eBay. Don't assume that buyers do more than look at the photos. Don't assume they read the ad. Don't assume anything. Sadly, you have to treat buyers like morons. If it's not written down, it didn't happen basically. It's like those people who will sue someone because there is nothing on the box saying you shouldn't put your new circular saw in the bath with you and turn it on. If it's not mentioned, it is OK to do it because if it wasn't OK, there would be a warning on the box. If you don't state pick up not an option, they assume it's OK.

I don't offer local pick up on my listings, but have had 3 local buyers over the last few months. The first one I didn't give it a second thought and just posted. The next I offered to deliver it to her, which I have now done a few times and the last one on Sunday asked if he could pick up to save the postage cost. I said that I didn't like people coming to my house, but if he was happy to meet me somewhere, I was happy to bring the item to him. I live in a smallish town, so I'm not really going out of my way to do that. As it was, we met at one of the supermarket car parks because I said I needed to go there, so he met me there. As it turns out, after a quick chat, we have similar interests in our hobbies, so I have probably made another new friend thanks to eBay!

I would suggest as others have said, start your listings higher than 99c. I lost a LOT of money by 'attracting more buyers' by starting at 99c because everything sold for 99c, which wasn't even enough to cover the fees. By looking at your recent finished auctions, you are out of pocket. I don't sell a lot, but I am selling just as much now with a higher starting price than I did when I listed for 99c. Most are still selling with one bid. I now start by auctions with the minimum amount that I want to get for it. If I get multiple bids, good stuff, but if I don't, then I am not paying someone else to take my items off me.

[crusher.001]

Thanks for your reply.  I am unable to offer a pick up/drop off service unfortunately.  It looks like all the terms and conditions on the ad are bigger than the description nowadays but then I look at items for sale with sometimes one sentence in the description and have to send a few questions to the seller.  I'll just chalk it up to bad experiance and add it to my standard terms of sale from now onwards.  I hadn't sold for a while so decided to take ebays advise with the 99c listing...

[2011.narelle]

It's a shame 'cos your listings are good,as in all the sizing & description are in there.

Also,the .99c autions tend to attract people who just throw a bid on & don't think too much about the item.They can be the most trouble & also it doesn't pay your fees.I found that it's hard to sell most Summer dresses during cold Winter season,as people are looking at jackets & jumpers etc.

The buyer is just being stingy,you don't have to put in a listing that there is no pickup.The serious buyers will ask if they can pick up while the auction is still active.Lucky she wants to cancel,so just save it & list it again in Spring to get better $ for it.

[phorum_junkie*]

I don't really see why you do not want to use pickup, you obviously don't mind it as you say you specify it on some large items. If you re invoice without the postage and they turn up and pay cash you only pay fees on the 99c, if you post then you say you are charging exact postage but you will be out of pocket the 9.9% fee on th postage amount.

[j*oono]

Sometimes pickup is necessary on large items and you would have to accept that.  I however wouldn't want to waste my day waiting for a buyer to pick up a dress.

If your listing didn't state that you allow pickup then the buyer shouldn't expect it and by rights they are a non paying bidder.

It's not worth reporting them for 99 cents though.  You can cancel the transaction if you like, you don't need to wait for ebay to do it.