buyer wants to send courier

[wfrances]

im selling a load of magazines- cash on collection only
bidder wants to send a courier, is this a good idea?
i dont work ,so being around for the courier isnt a problem but wheres my proof/insurance its been sent ? if he claims not received or damaged?
tia

no never a good idea - no proof of delivery, nobody to claim from if it gets lost or damaged as you don't have the contract with the courier, what about packaging? Cash on collection is exactly that. No exceptions.

I agree with Sandy.

Only other option would be to ask courier for receipt of some kind and proof of collection and condition.

If you put cash on collection only, then the only contract that exists is for exactly that. If the buyer doesn't want to do that, then the transaction should be cancelled and the item relisted.

Firstly, if you had listed the item as available for posting by courier, you might have had more interest and might have got a higher bid - collection only items always fetch less than the same item which can be posted, so it is not fair for the buyer to pay the collection-only price and not collect.

Secondly, if the buyer arranges the courier, they are the courier customer not you, so you don't have any recourse if the item is not received or damaged in transit, you could end up with the items damaged and you having to give a refund without having your items back.

Thirdly, doing this is a top way for dishonest people to scam ebay sellers out of goods without paying for them.

Do not agree.

no - asking the courier for receipt means nothing - please do not let them arrange courier, is fraught with potential problems.

Nope don't do it.
Aside from the obvious issue of you sitting around all day waiting for them to turn up you can add tracking issues etc.

Say thanks but no thanks and make sure you add them to your blocked bidder list.

Oh this is a bugbear of mine!!! I sold an oil painting for cash on collection only. Someone bought it and told me to send it. I said no as I don't have the packaging material. They said they would send a courier to collect. I said that I was not willing to leave the item outside and it i was to package it, it would be in a large brown paper sack with no other packaging (during this whole thing I kept offering a refund instead!!!) I also said that it would have to be collected after 6 as I work.

The courier turned up at midday (I happened to go home for lunch that day!) the item got sent.

Before I packaged it i took photos of all corners etc and kept sending emails confirming that they were to take full responsibility for any damage caused in transit and explained over and over how it would be packaged etc etc (it got really tedious!!)
They got it...... The bastards left neg feedback for incorrect packaging and demanded a refund!!!!

I got away with it but it was a pain.
I sold some Ikea shelving units and cupboards - quite a large parcel, as you can imagine. Turned out the buyer lived in Scotland (I'm SE England) and was hiring a van (which meant courier) but couldn't get one booked for a couple of weeks! This was at the beginning of December, and I was trying to clear the room and redecorate and then re-furnish in time for Christmas.
I ended up painting round the darn things and may have got a few splashes on before my lovely neighbour offered to store them in her garage once the new furniture arrived.
Fortunately, I had no idea there might be an issue with couriers, otherwise I'd have stressed even more, but it was all fine in the end with no comeback.

Oh, and I arranged collection to be after 6pm, but got a text at 4pm (at work) from the courier saying he was outside the house and where was I!