eBay Local Pick Up Risks?

[aintnobuffalo]

A non pony related situation,  but answers of course can apply to other transactions.

I recently spotted a doll on eBay I have really been wanting. The bid starts very low, but the item is local pick up. This is perhaps understandable, as she would be hard to ship, and I happen to be traveling to the area in about a week. I am worried about risks here, as there would be no proof of me receiving it or not receiving it, and the seller does not have feedback. What protection do I have here? If the seller flakes, will I be able to submit a case to ebay, and if so, will they really side with me?

[Baby Sugarberry]

1. I'd arrange to meet in a public location. It's safer for everyone involved.
2. Print up a bill of sale and have both parties sign copies of it
3. Take pictures of the item at time of exchange with the contract present.

If the seller flakes, well not much you can do except they won't be able to prove you've picked up the item I'd imagine, and you can file an 'item not received' claim?  You could always take pictures of yourself being present at the agreed location/time to back your claim - coffee shop receipt works well here. 

In person or by mail, either way as a seller you need to prove you've done your part to deliver the goods in good faith.

[bluerose9978]

1. I'd arrange to meet in a public location. It's safer for everyone involved.
2. Print up a bill of sale and have both parties sign copies of it
3. Take pictures of the item at time of exchange with the contract present.

If the seller flakes, well not much you can do except they won't be able to prove you've picked up the item I'd imagine, and you can file an 'item not received' claim?  You could always take pictures of yourself being present at the agreed location/time to back your claim - coffee shop receipt works well here. 

In person or by mail, either way as a seller you need to prove you've done your part to deliver the goods in good faith.

These are all very good suggestions. And, keep in mind that 99% of the time, eBay will side with the buyer. My husband and I recently had an eBay buyer want to pick up an order. We met in a Walmart parking lot. We had each other's cell numbers to text back and forth meeting times and let each other know when we've arrived and it went without a hitch. Feedback was exchanged within 5 minutes of the transaction.

[Galactica]

Those are all great suggestions.

I will admit I've done local pick up a few times as both buyer and seller and didn't really take any precautions.  But for every 99 good transactions there is bound to be a bad one I guess.

[Stormness_1]

The biggest risk to pick-up honestly lies with the seller. They have no proof you received it, and often prefer cash on pick-up for that reason - if they can't prove they sent it, they don't want you to be able to prove you paid for it! Other than that, I'd recommend not going alone, or meeting in a public place.

[Noxxbunny]

I sort of did a pickup once. Bought a doll at a small con, but didn't have the cash on me. So the vendor was kind enough to let me pay them with Paypal on the spot. They then wrote up the reciept for me the same way they did for the other items, but added a "recieved" section that I had to sign. We then both had a copy of the reciept. But I also agree on meeting somewhere public, don't go alone, and take photos as well. Agreed too though that more of the risk is on the seller when it comes to ebay. Without all that, it would be hard to prove the seller did their part.