Selling using personal collection

[paufiel_40]

I’m selling an expensive item (a bike) and have flagged it as for personal collection only. An offer has been made by someone who lives some distance away, near enough financially to be acceptable. However, they have only been a member since April 2024 and have no previous purchase/sales information, so no feedback. I’ve read to be wary of relatively new e Bay members with no track record, particularly with personal collection items. However, if the buyer has paid into e Bay before collection and I only release the bike on receipt of the 6 digit code (and have input it successfully onto e Bay) I can’t see how I can be scammed (unless they turn up and try to ride away with the bike!). And we were all new buyers/sellers once.

[plpmr]

Later the buyer can claim that the bike is not as described.  

[dancewithadingo]

Good Afternoon Pau

You have every right to be cautious and anxious as £400.00 is a lot of money to put at risk.  It's a very tricky situation that you find yourself in.  As you say we all have to start somewhere and he could be genuine.

In your position for expensive/valuable items I would have advertised it locally on say Gumtree or FB Market Place etc. In other words somewhere you can insist on receiving cash.  This new system of only being allowed to take a eBay payment is ridiculous and dangerous.

Returning to your problem you could cancel the sale citing a problem with the buyers address. If you do cancel you could leave yourself open to a neg and your buyer could be totally genuine and thus very miffed.

It's your difficult call. For £400.00 I would be tempted to cancel and face any consequences.

Good luck

[cabletie555]

All regular cash based online banking / payment accounts require ID confirmation so the police could trace the person involved if they somehow contrived to steal the bike without paying. I suppose if you were really worried you could photograph or film the person and their vehicle including the registration plates when they arrive, a lot of people have security cameras anyway. There is probably more chance someone amongst the entire remaining population of the world would turn up and randomly steal it than this one person who has apparently already paid you though.

[dancewithadingo]

Good Afternoon Again Pau

In your position I think that I would cancel the current sale of that additional very valuable bike until you have decided what to do about your current situation ie the one that has sold.

If things do go pear shaped then the Police are very unlikely to be interested. You would have to involve Action Fraud and eBay.

At this early stage in your selling career you are risking a lot.  Do you really want sleepless nights and any

aggravation?

Good luck. (you may need it).

In the words of Tony Butler and Norman Tebbit on your bike.

What about spending a few bob on an ad in a pukka bike magazine?

[cobwebcottage]

Hello @paufiel_40 

I have just sold an item for collection only ( and a few more over the years).

The buyer has 1 feedback as they are new to Ebay. Some buyers also sign in as a guest just to buy an item and this can show as 0 feedback.

I would advise you to message the buyer and have a good communication link with them until they collect the bike. Start off with thanking them and asking when is good for them to collect. Then remind them about the QR code they will need to bring. Swap phone numbers ( you can do this once payment has been made)

You can get a good feeling from their responses if they are a genuine buyer. And obviously, insist that they inspect the bike thoroughly before they leave.

This said, it is up to you as there is always a risk when selling online.

[plpmr]

" somehow contrived to steal the bike without paying."

As the buyer will pay through eBay checkout that would not come into it.

[paufiel_40]

Many thanks for the response. If they have taken the bike “as seen”, having personally collected it, and I have the money as they have given me the 6 digit code/QR, would n’t any retrospective attempt to claim bike was n’t as advertised be rejected out of hand by e Bay? 

[paufiel_40]

That’s what I thought - I won’t let the bike go until I have successfully registered the 6 digit code and then e Bay transfers the money to me automatically and they can’t grab it back.

[plpmr]

unfortunately if the buyer opens a not as described case eBay would back them.

eBay stopping cash on collection thereby removed seller protection in matters like this.

[paufiel_40]

Many thanks for your very helpful responses. This sale actually refers to my Canyon bike which is on for £1700, so the situation is a bit more extreme than £400. I have n’t actually sold the bike, but the potential buyer has offered £1500 and is prepared to drive up and collect and is awaiting my response. Interestingly, I sold my Cannondale bike to someone who collected in person over the weekend and the process worked fine, although the individual had a strong track record on e Bay. As I said in my original post, I can’t see that I can be easily scammed if the money is paid into e Bay and I only release the bike when I have the 6 digit code but who knows……

[paufiel_40]

Thank you for this - excuse my ignorance, but what would happen next - e Bay backs buyer and I don’t get the money plus then have to recover bike from buyer? 

[plpmr]

Buyer opens case, seller accepts the return and it's up to the seller to arrange to get the item back within eBay's timeframe.

[dancewithadingo]

Good Afternoon Pau

On the one hand it's sounding a bit more promising but on the other it's a lot more money to lose.

You say that he is prepared to drive up and collect but don't forget that anyone will have to do that.

Google his name and then do the same for his address/house. You will get a feeling for his hopefully honesty by what the search throws up.

Listen to the wise words by Cobweb and act on them.  For what it's worth I don't think that I would sell to him. 

As I said previously it's a very tricky situation. Do as much research on your potential buyer as you can and don't be blinded by bank notes.

Good luck.

[tressygirl]

I thought it was the £1700 bike you were referring to.

You know all of the protection that you can possibly own as a seller in this situation,  that is,  you do not release the bike until the buyer gives you the code,  and payment must be done through eBay checkout. 

Personally I would scan  add the code in their presence,  to make sure it is correct.  If they do buy and pay for the bike , perhaps send them a polite reminder the bike cannot be released unless that code is present.

Currently it seems they have only sent you a message asking if this offer is acceptable?  Then, if it is,  and you wish to go ahead, ask them to make the offer through the Best Offer option on your listing.  Remind them after you accept,  they then need to follow through at eBay checkout to pay.

Accept NO other form of payment,  it has to be made first through your Best Offer option on your listing and then paid at eBay checkout.

There is always a risk selling items online, big and small of course a bigger fall can result on the more expensive.

Although the buyer could at a later date open a case for item not as described,  I cannot see how they would benefit if it was a scam, swopping it for another  bike when returning ??  For the amount involved surely they wouldn't be so daft to pursue that avenue ! 

@paufiel_40 

[missdollydaydream]

how I can be scammed

Buyer pays through eBay, turns up to collect the bike, gives you the collection code which you check, then drives off with your bike. Buyer then opens a "not as described dispute" YOU have to pay for the bike to be returned by special courier because of the size and value. You are already out of pocket by the cost of the return shipping. When you receive your package, you open it to find an old rusty worthless bike, not the valuable item you sold.  You will of course complain to eBay, the police, action fraud etc,. etc. You MAY eventually win but is it worth the agro?

Sell the bike through a reputable selling medium for cash in hand.

[j.p.greenwood]

Surprised no-one has mentioned the, 'my account was hacked and my card was used without authorisation' scam.

About 10-12 years back, I had a buyer wanted to buy, I think it was an Ipad from me.

They wanted to pay and then collect that night, buyer had little feedback so I told them it was cash on collection only, they spent a great deal of time telling me why E-Bays systems were safe and there would be no possible comeback once they paid via Paypal as it was in those days. 

I was just unmoved, purely because no matter what you're 'told' about systems and E-Bays reliability a little googling will quickly show you that E-Bay will protect their own financial position first. (google ebay collect 'item not received' scam)

So, this buyer, then made the payment via Paypal anyway and insisted that they be allowed to come and collect, I told them I wasn't interested and cancelled the order, also calling E-Bay to tell them I was certain it was a scam.  E-Bay and Paypal told me it was all fine and I would be safe to allow collection, I didn't care what they told me as it wasn't their money on the line.

Sure enough, the following Wed or Thu, even though I'd cancelled the order the previous Fri, I got an E-Mail from E-Bay warning me not to ship the item as the 'buyer' was now claiming their account had been hacked and someone had used their card without authorisation, so chargebacks were coming.

I know you'll want to sell this bike, I get that, but the ONLY protection YOU have is either cash or bank transfer at time of collection.  Many here will tell you that E-Bay will back you if there's any problem, spend a bit of time reading the forums here and see if you are instilled with confidence that that's true.

It's a lot better to wait another few months even, to get a buyer you're confident in, then have to spend possibly months trying to get your money back if this is a scam and because of the lack of history of the buyer you're not in a position to make a well informed decision.

Simple rule, if in doubt, don't.

[paufiel_40]

Some great advice - thanks everyone. I’ll have to think very carefully about this one. Taking a view on a small value item is one thing, but this is a big ticket sale. The part that surprised me most is that e Bay almost automatically backs the buyer in the event of a dispute and how that could lead to scamming. Particularly given the buyer is collecting, therefore has seen the bike and given me the 6-digit code to release funds before driving away with it - how could they then claim “not as described”? I suppose they could invent a fault or two only revealed after use etc. Possibly the biggest alert here is that the enquiry comes from someone with no track record of sales/purchases, therefore has no reputation to lose, if indeed, they’re genuine in the first instance (and not , say , a hijacked account). All very illuminating - thanks again everyone who’s responded).

[dancewithadingo]

Good Evening JP

What an excellent summary and brilliant,sound advice.

[moonlight-rhapsody]

For a cautionary tale, have a read of this thread : https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/First-time-having-someone-request-a-refund-dodgy/m-p/...

In a nutshell, the seller advertised a gas oven, from memory it was about £440.  The buyer came to collect, inspected it and took it away.  That evening, the buyer contacted the seller and said they wanted a refund because they'd wanted electric.  They opened a Not As Described case and ebay backed them, even though the listing quite clearly said GAS and the buyer had inspected it.  To cut a long story short, it was only after a huge amount of stress and hassle with ebay Customer Service that the seller got their £440.  The buyer got to keep the oven AND got refunded. 

It's a must-read for the pitfalls in allowing a collection of an expensive item when cash payment is forbidden.