Local pick-up

[spener90]

Do you ever have requests for local pickup? How do you handle it?

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Do you ever have requests for local pickup? How do you handle it?

 

On Ebay?

[comicblast]

Tell them to ship it...

[Jackson]

Someone once bought something from me on eBay (which I made about $2 profit on) and then asked if I'd drive 30 miles to drop it off.  No, mother effer.  No.

[Darth Lego]

I've never had it happen, but if it did I would meet in a public place with them to be on the safe side.

[rcm9]

I've never had it happen, but if it did I would meet in a public place with them to be on the safe side.

 

What he said!!

[Jackson]

Meeting in a dark alley would make for a better story.

[seapotato]

I meet with people all the time when I sell stuff on Craigslist (and usually I tell them to come to my house!) so I don't see any difference in meeting an eBayer? I guess I've just been lucky not to have met any weirdos haha. I generally try to weed people out by what they say in their emails etc, before I give out my phone number or address.

 

I've never had it happen, but if it did I would meet in a public place with them to be on the safe side.

[Huskers1236]

Of about 2000 transactions on ebay, I would say probably less than 10 have even been in my state, I think 1 in Lincoln, and I still mailed it.  I don't see an issue with it, it's no different than craigslist as long as they tell you beforehand that they are close and would like to pick it up.  Saves me time at the dreaded post office.

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

Of about 2000 transactions on ebay, I would say probably less than 10 have even been in my state, I think 1 in Lincoln, and I still mailed it.  I don't see an issue with it, it's no different than craigslist as long as they tell you beforehand that they are close and would like to pick it up.  Saves me time at the dreaded post office.

 

Yeah exactly. i would meet with him - just somewhere public. Avoid the post office.

[weakside]

I meet my local buyers in the parking lot outside Starbucks 3-5mins away from my house.  Majority of the time it's just regular nice people looking for a deal but you never know right.  Knock on wood, all my buyers have showed up on time and 'normal' etc...usually we exchange a few emails and texts (rarely phone calls) by than. 

 

Also bysides my own safety, I have a little child and wife in the house so family safety comes first.  Not worth it to make a few bucks and exposing your house/family to strangers and potential 'weirdos' at your residence.   

[Guest ph4tb0i]

Meet them at the base of my apartment. tons of people walking by so it's all cool. 

 

Otherwise it's usually subway station or a mall. Still loved the time a woman that drove here in her ducati bike.

[stephen_rockefeller]

I have one if not two concealed handguns on my person if I meet someone from eBay or craigslist. Truth!

[DoNotInsertIntoMouth]

I have one if not two concealed handguns on my person if I meet someone from eBay or craigslist. Truth!

 

I don't need guns. I hurt people with my bare hands.

[spener90]

Yeah, it's for ebay.  Someone wants to meet for a $21 Forbidden Forest.  Just pay the small shipping fee and save us both the effort of setting a meeting time.

[justafrog]

I don't do local pickups or meetups for internet purchases. When we sell on Craiglist, I of course deal with it.

 

I'm not worried about safety (I'm handy with a pistol and have an extremely competent husband for backup) but I am worried about time management.

 

Local pickup people like to talk.

And talk.

And talk.

And inspect the item in your presence and talk some more.

And ask if you might have anything else for sale and paw over all of it and declare it too expensive.

And then tell you about their Aunt Beatrice who has one just like it.

Did I mention they're a little chatty?

 

In the amount of time the average local pickup person (for me) takes to get the heck out of my life, I can be doing a lot of buying, listing, packing, photographing, researching, parting out, and napping.

[Guest brickcrazyhouse]

I would side on the side of caution.  How much inventory have you put up the internet.  Wouldn't be hard to follow someone home in a different car,  if they knew you had valuable inventory.  Not likely but easy enough for anyone.  Why put your self out there to save passing the postage on to the buyer.

[Deez_Brickz]

I would side on the side of caution.  How much inventory have you put up the internet.  Wouldn't be hard to follow someone home in a different car,  if they knew you had valuable inventory.  Not likely but easy enough for anyone.  Why put your self out there to save passing the postage on to the buyer.

 

 

I never do local pick up for eBay.  I have three young sons and a wife at home, plus all my inventory.  As justafrog mentioned its a waste of time.  Nothing is more convenient then placing a package in my mailbox or scheduling a USPS pickup.  People who want local pickup are stupid.  Someone wanted to drive 75 miles to me round trip to save $25 on overnight shipping.  Do the math - waste of time and money.  

 

Craigslist sales are either at my house for large items like furniture - so lots of screening and phone calls in advance, or smaller items, we meet in front of the State Police Barracks in town.

[matt1147]

Think of it from a buyers POV though - if I could save $10 or more picking up from a local, I would. I'm talking someone in your town - no way I drive 1+ hours to pick up because that negates the savings.

+1 for meeting in public place - just to be safe, but that's up to the seller bc it has to be convenient for them - they are the ones "letting" the buyer pickup.

Also, this would have to be agreed on before the eBay transaction is complete I would assume - which makes it tricky.

[Diabolos80]

The good thing about dealing with Craigslist is that most of the weirdos and crazy people give up before I ever meet them. But justafrog is right, the people I do meet face to face... They talk. A lot. I met one kid and his father I was buying a bulk lot from, and the kid had to tell me where, when, and why he bought each set, how many times he built it, which were the coolest minifigures, what he's gonna buy next...... I talked to this kid for 45 minutes while his dad smoked cigarettes in the walmart parking lot. Fun.

[terrymc4677]

craigslist...yes. always in a public place in daylight. ebay...no way. they bid on the item knowing there was a shipping charge. my time is not worth the hassle. cheap bastards.

[ctoddlight]

I have never been asked about local pickup for an item that I am selling, but I have been on the other side and requested it for something that I want to buy on eBay. Not Legos, though. I buy and sell specialty lighting gear and much of it is very heavy and gets into freight shipping. Also, the buyers and sellers of this stuff are generally companies, not individuals. There does not seem to be much reason to deal with local pickup for Legos, but I think I might look into safe locations for an exchange if I was dealing with someone in my immediate area and a heavy or bulky item. Maybe I am too trusting, but I feel that it is kind of a stretch to think that someone would go to the trouble necessary to track me to my house to steal my toys.