eBay is undoubtedly the most popular place in the world to find and buy second hand items and get a good deal.
While some items can be sent easily through the post or parcel companies,relatively heavy items such as furniture and cars cannot. Therefore, most sellers select the option “local pickup only” for these items. The exception is business sellers who have exclusive delivery partners that help them with shipping their items.
This guide will give your some useful tips on how to get the eBay local pickup only item you want and get it delivered safely.
Get item location information
Let’s say you have found an item that you want to purchase but only available locally. Save it to your watch list and ask the seller the item location including town name, zip code etc. Once that information is obtained, you can then start finding a delivery company to pick up and deliver the eBay item.
Look for the delivery company
local directory websites are the first place to have a look.Only select companies which offer national or cross region delivery service. There is no point calling a delivery company that only delivers within your town.
local directory sites such as Yell or Craiglist also provide reviews about particular delivery companies which gives some insights into their service quality.
Once you have got a nice list of regional/national delivery companies, call them up and ask whether they run trips to the item location area and how much they charge. Note down the important details including the next date they are going there, their quotes as well as insurance details.
After getting at least a 5 to 10 quotes, pick the best ones based on prices and date availability.
If you are busy and do not want to spend time calling around for quotes, transport marketplace websites are the solution.
When using these websites, you list your request and delivery companies on the site will give quotes to you. Many of these websites offer quotes in a reverse auction type in which delivery companies bid against each other to give you the best quote.
With the eBay delivery quotes in hand, you are now ready to bid for the item.
Payment and delivery arrangement
Let’s assume that you are the lucky winner of the item, it’s time to arrange for the payment and delivery. As most sellers who list “local pickup only” items expect cash on collection, you can ask the delivery company to pay for the item for you. If the eBay item is rather valuable, you might want to pay via PayPal or bank transfer..
When dealing with the delivery company, make sure you know where they are (pay a visit to their office), their delivery vehicle capability (whether it can carry the item you want safely) as well as get a copy of their insurance policy. Be a bit more careful if you are dealing with a man with a van remover since they are not always as reliable as delivery companies.
Before the delivery company picks up the item, ask the eBay seller to give you some high resolution pictures of the item so you can compare the item condition upon delivery.