home delivery when paying for post?

[lotsamagsnbags]

when questioned if I mind if the seller keeps my post money  I'm happy to pay if the seller delivers... just wondering what others thoughts are on this situ:

bought a fragile item, it was hand delivered which I was not expecting....(i paid $13 post)...which I realise now they're kept.

advantages being no post office queues if not home, comes to me in one piece and earlier than would have got to me via post.

is this the way it works?

I sell too, and where closeby I have delivered but not for that amount of money...i'd be inclined to refund partial... but perhaps thats just me.

the item is nice.  the person was friendly. any comments?

[chameleon54]

Anyone who has been around ebay for awhile would have come across the occasional stalker or nutter. We see posts about this regularly.

SORRY - but the idea that you will throw out the welcome mat for anyone in internet land to come to your house whenever they feel like it is just plain crazy.

[mbselections00]

Your personal circumstances and explanation really demonstrate another perspective to the situation and one I had not really fully considered..

I do allow Pick Up - and have on several occasions offered to hand deliver after purchase when I have noted the buyer lives very close to my route to the PO or work and particularly close to Christmas, Mother's Day etc etc.  Often the buyer has been very appreciative as they have bought locally because they want the item asap, but not necessarily been prepared to pay Express.

Others are happy because they consider there is less risk of loss by AP or theft.  I let the buyer know approximately what time I will be leaving the parcel in their letterbox, so there is no pressure for them to be home or meet face to face.    I also realise in offering to hand deliver the seller is no longer protected, but in the majority of cases I see it (or have seen it) as an added customer service.

To date, I have never had anyone say they would prefer I post - and if they did, then of course I would post since that is what they paid for at the time of ordering.  If I hand deliver, and it's only Large Letter, I offer an extra item to compensate for the postage they have paid - you don't need to be Einstein to work out, the goods cost me less than the postage paid, so there is still a little bit of profit which covers the fees and packaging etc - everyone's happy .    I have had several that had paid for Registered Large Letter & so I offer to refund or include extra items. 

If I am being perfectly honest, several buyers have actually declined either a refund or extra goods in favour of hand delivery - regardless, I still include extra goods, but that indicates to me, my customers appreciate the extra service. 

But, this is just my experience and thoughts and I do appreciate it is not for everyone

[mbselections00]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

Anyone who has been around ebay for awhile would have come across the occasional stalker or nutter. We see posts about this regularly.

SORRY - but the idea that you will throw out the welcome mat for anyone in internet land to come to your house whenever they feel like it is just plain crazy.

---

I only allow Pick Ups at pre-arranged times so I'm never home alone, I also have a dog (although her bark is bigger than her bite, lol),

but I do get what you're saying.  I think sometimes I am too trusting

[*tippy*toes*]

I don't allow pick ups, but if someone asks if they can pick up, I offer to meet them at a mutual location, like the supermarket carpark, Bunnings or Macca's. I have offered to drop off, but most are happier meeting in a public place. And that's fair enough. You don't know who's on the other end of an ID.

A few years back I belonged to the local Freecycle group. I advertised a heap of coat hangers that I no longer wanted. Someone replied within minutes wanting the lot. Apparently their daughter had left home and cleaned the place out of coathangers. They asked when they could collect them. I said that I would prefer to deliver them, as I was going to be out and about anyway. I'm so glad I did!

Turns out the bloke was an absolute feral, who had clearly just shot something into his arm seconds before I knocked on the door. About a year later, I noticed a story in the local paper about an arrest. Several charges had been laid. 3 break and enters, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (unrelated to the B&E's), sexual assault, drug crimes and attempted murder (all unrelated to each other). The bloke I dropped the coat hangers off for is now doing 15 years. If I'd let him come to my house, it's possible it may have been MY house that was one of the B&E's......or worse.

Another time, long before I started selling on eBay, I had a heap of bubble wrap, that thin foam stuff and boxes. A lady across town wanted them and asked if I would mind delivering as she had agoraphobia. No problems. She asked if I could just leave the stuff by the front door, which I did. I noticed as I was pulling away, the door opened a little bit, an arm reached around it and snatched the bag of stuff inside. She said if I'd knocked and she was forced to answer, it would have sent her into a panic attack.

Turns out she was an eBay seller and it was a way she could earn an income without having to leave the house. Her daughter would come around twice a week and take anything needing posting to the post office. She also had a PO box so she didn't have to go outside to the letterbox. Her daughter would collect her mail while she was posting.

People forget that sometimes people buy or sell online for a reason, because they can't leave the house, they are vision impaired, or just don't want people coming to their house. There are many reasons and both buyers and sellers need to respect that.

[lotsamagsnbags]

not in my instance scrambler.  they only needed to go a street over to deliver from their place of work, so they didn't go out of their way - and pocketed and easy $13.

im in agreement with the posters on the board that would have been very grateful IF it had been prearranged... even a, I'll drop it in to you monday or tuesday arvo if you're ok to pay $10 for delivery or something to that effect.  manners go a long way

[mbselections00]

Yes, I totally get what you and others are saying - and agree there is some risk involved that need not be taken and I also understand buyers may not want you rocking up unannounced, which is why I check first.

[audio-spot]

lotsamags - I think you should have been refunded the entire postage amount.

Every circumstance is different, but the seller worked close by, and they avoided using any bubble wrap, mailing boxes, damage, and of course their time they would have spent in the post office queue

Whilst some of the above costs may not be costs at all as they might being recycling materials, I have down pre-arranged deliveries before if they were close to home or work, and have always done a full postage refund.

When I am buying audio gear, I prefer to pickup to avoid any postal damage, but always confirm with the seller before placing a bid or purchasing. After the sale, I always give a variety of dates and times that I can pickup, and once agreed, try not to be anymore than 5 minutes late, usually early. Nothing worse than hanging around waiting for a buyer...

[chameleon54]

I had a tenant in a rental house once who was really over the top security wise. She was in the house when we purchased it and continued on after the change over. She had triple locks on all doors and extra safety chains. Window locks, a yappy little dog inside and basically a very nervous disposition.

At first she was very wary when dealing with me and I always gave plenty of notice when I would be around to do any little repair jobs. It took around 12 months to gain her trust. While she never explicitly told me why she was so wary of people, I heard enough from her and others to believe she had experienced a huge trauma at the hands of a stranger. ( you do the maths ) . Should she buy on ebay it would be very frightening for her to have strangers coming around uninvited, knocking on her door.

[cathyjoyjoy]

And to eliminate anyone delivering items to her address, she would of course have a PO box OR just not order anything to be delivered.

[panoramic7]

I can totally understand what you are saying here, and maybe I'm too trusting, but for those without PO Boxes, do you all freak out anytime a courier, salesperson, postie etc knocks on your door. 

If if I drop off something by hand, I certainly don't expect to come in, I just want to drop off and go. 

Ebay is based in a way on trust. Buyers trust sellers by paying a stranger in advance, giving their address, and expecting an item to be delivered that actually matches the description. I suppose I find it a little sad that everyone here is so paranoid about someone knocking on their door, or just leaving a parcel at their door. Let's face it, you have no idea who the postie or courier delivering to you is. Yes, bad things in life happen, and yes, be careful, but I know for myself I'd hate to live life stressing every time my doorbell rang.