Ebay purchases/payment policy

[grandad0650]

I have just been informed (after my listings were removed) by ebay that I must accept any form of  payment that the buyer wishes to use and that includes any sale that is a pickup/collect.II am not allowed to stipulate in my listing cash only on pickup although ebay allows cash to be given in this instance, but not posted. I now bring your attention to paypal

When a buyer collects the item,after paying by paypal, there is nothing to stop them from reversing the payment, and according to paypal Seller Protection Policy, there is nothing that can be done about it, the reason being is that I do not have any proof that the item was collected as I do not have a receipt as you do when posting 

The only thing I can think of in this instance is to refuse any pickups, this then limits your buyers, but is this allowed to be put in your listing?  I myself would not bid on any item offered in my state for sale that I could not collectit would save money on postage

Talk about ebay scratch paypals back and in turn scratches the postal services back, inturn the postal service scratch ebays back

Any thoughts sellers  

 written by grandma

[foxette-in-sox]

IF you list an item again that you will allow pickup on,put in large capital bolded font,something like

Cash on pickup is preferred please.

That statement IS allowed.

You cannot say though

You MUST pay with cash.

IF someone pays with Paypal & wants to collect in person,you could tell them there is no buyer or seller protection on pickup ONLY items when Paypal is used which is absolutely correct.You could also advise something like cash on pickup only items as I'd like you to inspect & make sure you're happy before taking item away.

IF they insist on paying with Paypal,about all you can do is take a photocopy of drivers licence,have them sign the invoice etc

Whilst that wouldn't cover you in the event of a chargeback,it would help you if you had to go to police & report them for fraud.

Nothing else to suggest sorry-NEVER had anyone use Paypal for a pickup only item when I was renovating my home a few years ago & have never used it myself for pickup only items.

[*crikey*mate*]

Just extending Foxy's idea/suggestion, could you not have some sort of document for the customer to sign saying something like

"I have inspected the item, paid $xxx cash to "I'm the best seller in the world" as I am happy with it's condition and have now taken possession of it."

dunno - something like that would have to carry some weight...

Of course you would need to verify iot was their signature, hence where Foxy's suggestion comes in - a photocopy of BOTH SIDES of their Driver's Licence.

[Anonymous]

I have posted on this before and as usual some of the regulars here will argue just for the sake of it as they did last time.... Thats what they do on these forums im afraid.

 But I have a negative feedback for just this situation. I refunded a paypal payment on an item which was to be collected. This was because in the past I have had an item collected and then chargedback by a dishonest buyer.

 It is against the law for a business to accept payment by Credit Card in advance on an item to be collected at a later date. The same precedent should apply to paypal. However neither Ebay or Paypal are answerable to Australian law. ( I knoew this as a fact because I used to have merchant facilities in my Sydney store and i spent 7 years as a practicing Solicitor for.)

 They will make you accept paypal on an item to be collected and you will not be protected if the buyer is dishonest. They can even claim you offered free post verbally and so you will need to prove postage. Your options are as you have found to have your listing cancelled or to risk negative feedback by spiteful buyers if you refund their Paypal payment..

[polocross58]

Anyone know what eBay's point is by insisting you cannot stipulate cash-only for pick-ups ?

Is it a moronic remnant of ebay initially forcing sellers to use Paypal ?  Is that all it is -- ebay making demands simply because it can ?

And before anyone starts -- yes, we all know this is eBay's venue

Just as relevant is the fact ebay is merely a middle-man.  It does not have items to sell, nor does it buy.  It just sits in the middle making money from being the middle-man

as such, it's in eBay's interests to take care of sellers, because without them, ebay doesn't exist

The never-ending changes and the difficulties posed for sellers (in addition to increasing fees combined with Aust Post's piggy-back greed) are the reasons ebay doesn't have far greater number of sellers - thus buyers - thus profits

The thought of listing anything on ebay gives me cold shudders.  I don't know how sellers do it or even why they bother much of the time, to be honest

Surely it's not going to crash ebay or its sucker-fish Paypal, if a seller asks for cash on pick-up for that old gate or baby's cot ?  So why don't sellers pool their energies and make the case to ebay for the stupidity to end ?

[grandad0650]

Thank you all for your relevant thoughts, it certainly gets the old brain cells moving, trying to add to them and think of ways to outsmart them,when I say them I mean all of them I mentioned probably a waste of time but it keeps the oldtimers away for a while

I have however weighed up the pros and cons of allowing pickups and have decided the best way for me is not to allow pickups!!! However if someone emails me about it then I may allow pickup if they tell me how they intend to pay, I can then make an informed decision as to wether I will allow it or not based on their answer, and you all know what that will be

So thanks again, if anyone can come up with another way that is ebay/paypal legal a law unto themselves please let me know

Regards   Grandma

[jerryman12a]

If your listing Pick up items , why not use Gumtree or the other place where it's totally free.

I'm just wondering what the benefits are by selling it via a ebay listing ?

[belindabargainhunter]

Could you not do a bank deposit or cash on pick up (not offer paypal) then I would say most would choose cash anyway.

[rkwm888]

Could you not do a bank deposit or cash on pick up (not offer paypal) then I would say most would choose cash anyway.

why would you do bank deposit?  cash on pick up is the way to go

[putney32]

Could you not do a bank deposit or cash on pick up (not offer paypal) then I would say most would choose cash anyway.

why would you do bank deposit?  cash on pick up is the way to go

.... and ebay insist you offer one safe payment option, (even tho there is no paypal protection for PickUp Only items)