eBay buyer wants to pick up card from me..

pandrews

i sold a cheap card to a guy on ebay.. i think the total with shipping & everything was around $10.00.. instead of paying the guy sends me an email that says:



<< <i>Hi-I won 2 cards from you on ebay and see that you live in Jacksonville.I also live in Jax.Please feel free to call ma and I can meet you with cash and save shipping.Maybe you have some other cards that I might also need?The name is XXXXXXX and the # is XXX-XXXX.I have voice mail so please leave me a message with phone # and I will get back with you asap >>



now first of all, i dont want to call him, i dont want to arrange a meeting, and i dont really want him coming to my house.. with my schedule, his request would actually be MORE work and MORE of a headache to me.. I told him I didnt have my cards set up where somebody can look through them, but that if he would give me a list of what cards he "needs" maybe I could help him out..

anyway, i let him know that with my schedule, it would be better for him to just mail payment, or pay by Paypal..

he wrote me back this morning saying:

<< <i>I find this rather silly as I live about 20 minutes from you in Southside and could come by with cash and take less than 5 minutes of your time.But if that's the way you want it,I'll mail you the payment.But remember-the best business is return business and with this policy,you will not be getting any return biz from me.I will leave you a pos feedback as long as the cards are acceptable to me.They look good in the pics. >>



i found it annoying..

chicago111

I don't blame you. He bought the card(s) with the knowledge that they would be shipped to him. Now if he noticed you live in the same city, and wanted to drop you a note in the off chance he could pick it up nothing wrong with that. But to get an attitude that you said no,well... thats wrong!

Southsider

I've had one or two people ask if they could pick up cards won on eBay. I informed them that because I am just a collector who sells extra cards, I don't have a store and more importantly, I work full-time 40+ hours a week and go to law school another 3-4 nights a week. Time is tough to come by for me.

They were understanding and didn't give me any attitude. It sounds like you might be better off if this person doesn't do business with you in the future.

Onlypsahockey

easy fix going forward...add "no pick ups" to your terms. As for this guy I'd ship him the cards for nada and eat the shipping cost. Bob

JMO

cspeier1

You did the right thing. I've seen way to many unsolved crime stories lately! You never know about people. My feeling is this is something that should be asked before the auction ends. I really get tweaked when people ask questions like this after the auction ends. I'd have no problem telling him that I didn't want to sell him the cards. I have in the past, I also got neg feedback for this. One neg feedback is better than what could happen. That neg is Ebays fault. I've even shipped stuff free, so I could avoid certain things. This world if full of crazy people. His email kind've proved that.. My house is my house, my cards are my cards and my family is my family. The risk is just too high.

CDsNuts

I think you should invite him over and cook dinner for him, then wash his car and give him a massage. If you want his business in the future you're going to have to work for it. I know it's only $10 now, but it could be $15 or $20 the next time. Gotta think outside the box.

Lee

EagleEyeKid

He should of emailed you before he won the item and see if you allow this.
Just assuming you live nearby doesn't mean it's a definite okay.
I personally hate the pickup request as a seller.
I don't want anyone to see how I live; what I have
in my possession, or potentially see what I'm growing in my
garden. I had one buyer come to my work to pick up a card
once and it was fine. I myself as a buyer had 2 pickups and both
went great. Both were at a card shop in my area and were for
cases that saved me $35 on shipping. Something that is petty for
$2 shipping is lame. The cost of gas nowadays isn't even worth the
trouble. If he's 20 minutes away, he should get the card within 2 days.
Hey Perry, just start adding the "no pick-up" in person line in your
description from future hassles.

cspeier1

Part of your ID is correct, Nuts!! just kidding welcome

stormsurge

I agree with EagleEyeKid that he should have emailed before the close of the auction. I personally would rather not have someone pick up as you just never know who you're dealing with.

Allen

I had a guy drop in for a suprise visit to pick up his item. He saw I had a different payment address than my eBay account info address (Because I was home from college) so he thought he was getting ripped on a $6 sell so he comes to my house unanounced. Needless to say if the dog didn't scare him away, the shotgun by the door sure did. LOL

stevek

I've also gotten these e-mail responses about wanting to pickup the cards and I also do not allow this. My response and it has worked well is to not make my response "personal." I just basically state that we do it this way for "everybody" and there are no exceptions - period.

tripoli

Meet him in a coffee shop. I know I would not want a stranger coming to my house and thinking there were untold riches inside. Then again, he may turn out to be a long term collector/buyer and it may work out for the future...

Dan

pandrews

yeah i'm not so worried about him being crazy, because like Allen said, dogs & firearms are a great deterrent to crime in my area.. nobody better come over unannounced, they will be treated as a trespasser.. I might have other things going on at my home, and I dont need the 2 to mix.. its just an inconvenience to me to have him "stop by".. i guarantee it would require more than 5 minutes.. i've let people pick up things from eBay purchases twice before, and both times the person called at the last minute to tell me they would be "15 minutes" late.. then 15 minutes turned in to 45 minutes, etc..

if it were a high dollar transaction, i wouldnt mind at all..

anyway, the guy said he was mailing payment, so no big deal.. i just didnt like his attitude and the fact that he expected me to invite him over or go out of my way to meet him.. as a general rule, i dont like people..

like EagleEye said, i might have a garden growing..

and as the late Notorious BIG once said: "Rule Number five: never sell no crack where you rest at
I don't care if they want a ounce, tell em bounce"

calleocho

get a P.O box.

Brian48

Just tell him NO. Explained it's not worth your time to schedule a meeting and that's just flatout more convenient for you to drop off the package at the PO on your way to work. I get that all the time myself, but sorry, my time is worth a lot to me and there's barely enough time as it is during the day between my busy work schedule and time doing stuff for my family.

NickM

If you don't know the buyer already, in-person pickup should only be done at a card show or if one of you has a store. There's no point in taking a chance.

I had a weird but funny situation arise with a seller once - he used to live near me (he's now on the east coast), and he wanted to know if I knew several people in the area, including an exgirlfriend of his who now is married and lives 3 houses over from me. I actually knew several of the people and told him what's going on with them. I didn't have the heart to tell him I knew one guy had been picked up for a DUI accident.

Nick

fsjeter

I admit, as a buyer I've done this twice. One seller was a couple of miles from where I work (he/she said "no") and one seller was a couple of miles from where I live (he said "yes"). I see nothing wrong with asking and I see nothing wrong with the buyer saying "no." I would rather pick up the card if it saves me $4.00 s/h. Someone once told me, "a closed mouth never gets fed." In other words, if you don't ask, the answer is definately "no" (and you're not eatin') but if you do ask, there's a 50/50 chance (and you might get a bite). It doesn't hurt to ask but there is no cause for him gettin' all bent out of shape because you said "no."

Scott

ctsoxfan

I had one Ebay "pickup" experience, but it was a small piece of furniture I sold a few years back, and the local pickup was actually ideal. Anything smaller - I cannot make time for, and I would tell the buyer in a nice, professional way (I think you did just that).

Treetop

get a P.O box.

If you sell ANYTHING on the internet..............This is a must, especially if you have a family. All kinds of people out there, some I don't want to meet.

CollectorChris

I wouldn't let him. You have a lot to lose.

DirtyHarry

PA - you should have let him come over. I'm sure you would have scared to spit out of him -- then you could have shared the story here for a laugh!!

Anyway, the dufus should just understand that you don't operate a RETAIL establishment..... asking to pick up at a store front is a reasonable request, I think. Regards.

Axtell

If he had simply asked to say meet you somewhere neutral, I would have said that's not entirely unreasonable.

But for him to get attitude over you saying no, well, that's just immaturity on his part.

I'd say in the future saying 'no personal pick ups' would be an easy way to cover this.

pandrews

yeah i never really told him "no", just that with my schedule, it would be better for him to pay with paypal or through the mail.. thats when he said i was silly.. heh..

i reckon i am just a little silly, but that has nothing to do with why i would rather mail his card..

jerster

I've done a few pickups as a buyer, and a few pickups as a seller. Each time we met at the mall, or a grocery store parking lot, etc. and they all went well. I've even hand delivered an item to a customer in the same city and put it in their mailbox. A neutral place has always worked for me - meeting at a local weekend card show is always a possibility too. Don't be to quick to say no...I've met a lot of good people along the way.

Jerster

1967topps

I've only had one request for a pick up - it was for a raw '68 Ryan Rookie, and it
was a bunch of adults buying it for their favorite child - so they just wanted to be sure the card
wasn't ever folded in half, nor did they want to ship off a couple hundred for
an envelope with nothing in it. I thought that was reasonable and
we had a two minute meeting on my doorstep.

Now if I ever sell a complete set of graded cards,I may want a local pickup - seeing
how much a complete set graded weighs not to mention how many boxes it takes up.
Or maybe I should get a table at Fort Washington some year

1967topps

Should add that several times I've asked, after a win if they have a store, if nearby.
Just because I'd rather go to a store of someone I've dealt with, and I might learn
of a few new stores in the process.

Allen

get a P.O box.

If you sell ANYTHING on the internet..............This is a must, especially if you have a family. All kinds of people out there, some I don't want to meet

I prefer a firearm, costs less in the long run and has many more uses.

Snowball

I wouldn't let it either.

Mine's different. I bought from a seller that lives in another town that's 15 mins away from where I live. S/h chg was 4.00 for the 30+ cards that cost me around $20. I didn't ask the seller if I could pick it up since I don't like it either (buyers picking the cards in the house -- privacy reasons). I just went ahead and pay what's due. Emailed me to clarify about the discrepancy in the title and description (1 card less). I said no problem. The following day I saw the cards in my mailbox in hard case and bubble mailer no postage. He drove over and drop it off.

jayhawke

He should have requested a pick up before he won the auction. Maybe meet him at a local store. Sounds like he doesn't want to pay shipping, and he wants the cards right away. What does his bid history look like? Could be a repeat customer. If you don't care about that, just mail him the cards.

jskirwin

<< <i>I prefer a firearm, costs less in the long run and has many more uses. >>

larryallen73

I use my office address for all Ebay transaction (buy or sell). Not that I have a huge collection at home but I would prefer people not know where I live. I have allowed one person to pick up HERE and avoid shipping. No meeting at another place because I don't want to waste time. Just my two cents.

Coolidge

<< <i>But if that's the way you want it,I'll mail you the payment.But remember-the best business is return business and with this policy,you will not be getting any return biz from me. >>



Return business? I would block that guy from bidding on future auctions. Bidders like him are way more trouble than they're worth.

dude

I don't think it's unreasable to meet close by at a neutral public spot and make the transaction.

On a related note, I had a situation last year that bothered me enough to blow off a potential sale. Here's what happened. I was selling a big collection of graded vintage cards on consignment for someone (years that I don't collect - and SMR value over $80,000 in all) and someone e-mailed me and wanted to know where abouts in the Houston area I lived. I gave him the town that my P.O. Box is in (which isn't the same town where I live). He said that he just happened to have a relative in that town and insisted that he wanted to swing by my house and see all the cards I had for sale. From the start I didn't feel real good about it since his e-mail was one of those free hotmail types and when I asked for his phone number or address, he never would give it to me. He kept on e-mailing me about when was a good time to come by and wanted my street address but he never would give me his address or phone number or his relative's address or phone number so I blew him off. It was kind of spooky.

ydsotter

I hear you... I have done the face to face thing a few times... and kind of wish I hadn't becase it took a lot of a lot more time and energy than mailing it. The guy wants to talk forever... or keeps you waiting for and hour...
On the other hand, I have had a few face to face dealing that were excellent... got one good friend out of it...

just wear your underpants on the outside of your pants and gargle with tuna fish... that will put him in a hurry to leave.

DeutscherGeist

I like hearing all these stories. Everyone is worried about some weirdo coming over. I appreciate the cautious nature and safety issues, but come on guys. We are all just people. I have sold a few things via the RECYCLER and always told the people to meet me at the McDonald's parking lot because it was easy to find and give directions to. It is better to be safe than sorry, I understand.

Its just that we try so hard to eliminate all human contact and then pretty soon, we all don't know what being normal is anymore. We will be a planet of weirdos.
That's the other side of the coin.

kingraider75

I picked up from a guy once. I think it was me being stupid because at the time it was the most I had spent on Ebay, $250 for a PSA 55 Thorpe. However, I said I wanted to meet at the local card shop or somewhere neutral. Well, I went the guy's house and he showed me his PSA collection. He was pretty cool, but I think he thought I was closer to his age, I was 20 years younger, so that caught him off guard. I think he was looking for a hobby pal or something. His wife was my age and pretty hot. Anyways never let someone go to your house. Just mail everything off.

That guy seems to want to use feedback as blackmail, take a negative and forget it!

magellan

<< <i>just wear your underpants on the outside of your pants and gargle with tuna fish... that will put him in a hurry to leave. >>



Yep, that should do it.