Comments on: Determining eBay delivery etiquette

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 11:19:35 +0000

Why not don a hat, carry a clipboard and ask them to sign when they answer the door.. After all you need to have proof of delivery in the event of a buyer dispute. Plus you are doing the job of the post and you are delivering it so where's the issue?
I could understand the buyer wanting a reufund if they actually came and collected the item having spent money for delivery..

By: EllieG

EllieG — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:46:00 +0000

If a buyer has paid by credit card and issues a chargeback - 1) Delivery by hand will not provide documented proof for Paypal, 2) Express Post doesn't require a signature from the buyer, so no proof again for Paypal, 3) Not sure how the seller protection works for eBay, but outside of eBay (unless you're a power seller) Paypal Australia don't offer any seller protection anyway.

I'm planning to use insurance for all items sold by Paypal. If there a fraudulent buyer claims that they have not received the item or that it was in poor condition, then I'll approach Australia Post to claim my insurance.

By: Angus Kidman

Angus Kidman — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:15:07 +0000

True — that’s never going to be a one-price-fits-all scenario. And presumably someone buying a delicate item would be more than happy to have it hand-delivered if that was the most convenient option for both parties.

By: meg

meg — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:24:53 +0000

Yes true, But Express Post satchels or Parcel Post satchels are not suitable for fragile items or sizable items. These items need to be boxed.

By: Angus Kidman

Angus Kidman — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:43:46 +0000

That’s not always the case. I often quote a fixed Express Post price for deliveries within Australia, because it’s simpler, quicker, more transparent for the buyer (they can see that the price matches the existing Express Post fees and that I’m not adding a markup) and easier for me (I can post it without going into a Post Office).

By: meg

meg — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:32:51 +0000

There wouldn't be too many sellers who can quote a true firm or fixed exact postage cost because they don't know the destinatiion until the item is sold, i.e. for any item over 500g packed.
They would have to wait and send an invoice anyway.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:04:08 +0000

I had this recently. The postage was about $14 pre-paid on Paypal. The buyer was a couple of suburbs away so I hand delivered it with a tenner attached to the item. I took a punt and figured my time and petrol was worth $4. The buyer was blown away and left very positive feedback.

By: AussieRodney

AussieRodney — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:46:10 +0000

Hey, the buyer got the item, didn’t he? Probably faster than the Post.