Has anybody posted to Argos for collection when selling on eBay? Is it safe?

[Peacemaker]

Hi guys, I have just sold something on eBay, fairly high value for what it is, I had it up for best offer but the buyer just bought it, has selected the option for me to post to an Argos for collection, is this safe for me to do? Is there anything that can go wrong? cheers.

[sovereignsteve]

Done it a few times, mainly because that option sneaked on to my listing without me knowing.

It went smoothly each time although they have just been 1st class SF items of relatively low value.

I think I would be nervous if it were a high value item, not knowing what the store is like personnel wise, although with special delivery, the RM would ensure it gets there with a signature. Once delivered, I would guess your liability would end and Argos or Ebay would pick up the tab if anything were to go wrong. I wouldn't like to test that though.

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

I've done it with goods I've sold in my ebay shop dozens of times on items ranging from a couple £s to hundreds of £s. Never had an issue and have no hesitation continuing to offer it as an option for customers.

[Tn21]

When I have won items from.ebay and there is an option to get it to my Argos store I always choose that option. It is just easier for me and also keeps any fraudulent postmen away. I personally think it is safer to get it to my Argos store then through my door. 

 

I think if your sending it via special delivery to the Argos store it should be fine. They have collection points in the store and an area whereby all the items are kept (under the counter lol). 

 

The person collecting has to provide them with a FM number which then correlates to the correct parcel with the name and address. 

[goldking]

Agree with all the above.  Never had a problem both sending to and collecting Ebay stuff from Argos.  I will only buy off Ebay now if that is offered as an option as I'm sick to death of playing lottery with the postmen/delivery people sitting in all day and then the item not turning up or delivered to some random bloke a few streets away and then arguing that it's not my signature and I'm still waiting for it. 

[Peacemaker]

Cheers for the help guys, appreciate it, sounds pretty safe 

[Seth]

I am not an eBay seller, I only buy stuff from therre.  I personally depend on eBay's Click & Collect service if the seller is not offering Royal Mail as a delivery option - no courier company seems to be able or willing to make residential deliveries where I'm based, from personal experience of over 700 Click & Collect purchases I have had only 2 ''bad'' experiences, the first was some studio equipment (I own a recording studio) the seller made a misake and sent me the wrong item by mistake, this was by no means a cheap purchase it was a few grand, neither I nor the seller lost out on this purchase - yes the seller lost money on the postage but nothing else.  The second incident was for a few dozen 1 litre glass kiln bottles - I'm a naughy boy I make my own vodka, gin and potash/moonshine, this issue was caused by Yodel losing my order for a few weeks before finding it and delivering it to my local Argos for collection, by which time the seller had already refunded me for my purchase, and I purchased another few dozens 1 litre glass kiln bottles from the same seller and had them delivered to my local Argos for Click & Collect, and had already collected the replacement order, in fact the only reason why I know about Yodel's mess up with my original order is because I use the Click & Collect option so often that all my local Argos staff know me well, so they noticed my name on the packaging and as a favour to me kept it aside and gave me a call when it arrived to let me know it was available for collection, I did notify the seller before I collected the lost order, to offer to pay him again for the first order, but he informed me that he didn't lose a penny on the lost order - eBay had already refunded him for he lost order, so I might as well just pick them up and keep them.  I should point out that I'm a ''loyal purchaser'' as in when I find a good seller I stick to that seller, even if they are a few pounds more than other sellers, and therefore I tend to build up very good relationships with the sellers that I use.

As I mentioned I live in an area where no courier company seems to be able or willing to make residential deliveries, so I avoid sellers who do not offer Click & Collect as a delivery option, even if it means spending a few extra pounds, and I'm by no means alone in avoiding sellers who do not offer Click & Collect, if you visit my local Argos the number of people in the store collecing their Click & Collect purchases from eBay out number people buying stuff from Argos by at least 10 to 1, so much so that the local manager thinks my local Argos wil become little more than an eBay Click & Collect point in a matter of months if not the next year.

[AndrewSL76]

My experiences with my local Argos on Grays Inn Road in London are good. They notify you quickly and they are quick to find the parcel when you collect. I always chose that when the option is there on eBay.

A.

[diesel]

As a buyer I’ve used them multiple times and never had an issue. 

[Melon]

I've used plenty of times as a buyer and a seller. Only had an issue once, although it was quite a bad one. 

I was the buyer. The seller sent me the item, which was a tablet computer. When I turned up at Argos to collect I was handed a box of the right size, but it was immediately obvious it was empty by the weight of it. 

I pointed this out to a manager who agreed. The parcel even said 2kg on the shipping label where they'd weighed it at the point of shipping, so I know the seller sent the item and the package was emptied en-route. I gave the manager my phone and he recorded me opening the package there in store to show it was empty, which was good as evidence although ultimately was never needed. 

Anyway the seller was good about it and refunded me. However he had a world of issues with it as it's impossible to say if someone stole it before or after it arrived at Argos as it's not weighed upon receipt at the store. If I was to place a bet on it, I'd bet it was someone on Argos side. When a parcel gets stolen in the post it never turns up at all, I've never seen one personally turn up that's been emptied. Argos employees don't have that luxury given it's been logged into their store as received. 

So long story short - it's probably fine but not infallible. I'd be more worried as a seller than a buyer. The risk goes up if items are left stored at the Argos location overnight (in my opinion), so it's better to collect same day. 
 

On 21/01/2020 at 22:52, sovereignsteve said:

Once delivered, I would guess your liability would end and Argos or Ebay would pick up the tab if anything were to go wrong. I wouldn't like to test that though.

Unfortunately not in a situation like the above, it landed on the seller. I imagine if the parcel vanished after being recorded as arriving at Argos it may be a different situation though. Although I'm not so sure, given you haven't paid for insurance or anything to Argos. If a package goes missing in the post that you haven't paid insurance on you're usually limited to a very small amount of cover, so perhaps this is similar. 

 

On 21/01/2020 at 23:15, Tn21 said:

When I have won items from.ebay and there is an option to get it to my Argos store I always choose that option. It is just easier for me and also keeps any fraudulent postmen away. I personally think it is safer to get it to my Argos store then through my door. 

Not sure I agree with this. The postman is still delivering it, just to a different door. Now there's two sets of people who can potentially fiddle with your parcel, and worse yet if something get's stolen or damaged it's now much more difficult to prove which company is responsible! 

[sovereignsteve]

2 minutes ago, Melon said:

I imagine if the parcel vanished after being recorded as arriving at Argos it may be a different situation though. Although I'm not so sure, given you haven't paid for insurance or anything to Argos. If a Royal Mail package goes missing that you haven't paid insurance on you're limited to a very small amount of cover, so perhaps this is similar. 

As this service is organised through ebay, it should fall to them or argos to recompense if a parcel goes missing after it's been delivered to argos.

The seller and the RM will have both fulfilled their part of the deal.

I consider it similar to selling via the Ebay Worldwide Shipping Program. The terms clearly state the seller's liability ends once received at the shipping centre.

 

[Melon]

2 minutes ago, sovereignsteve said:

As this service is organised through ebay, it should fall to them or argos to recompense if a parcel goes missing after it's been delivered to argos.

The seller and the RM will have both fulfilled their part of the deal.

I consider it similar to selling via the Ebay Worldwide Shipping Program. The terms clearly state the seller's liability ends once received at the shipping centre.

I agree if it goes missing after being recorded as arriving at Argos then yes you'll be covered. I said the same in my post. But that's not the scenario I was presented with.

The parcel was there, a nice big box all securely taped up. It was just empty. Now how do we prove who emptied it? That's the risk with this method, as there's two companies involved who can both point the finger elsewhere, and as there's no checks done during the hand-off between them barring scanning a label it's very hard to know who's at fault. 

It wouldn't put me off using the service again as I've only had the issue once, but good for people to be informed. I wouldn't risk it with something very high value. 

[sovereignsteve]

aye good point. from a selling point of view, video recording the packing process , making sure all identifying points of the parcel will help in such a case. However, if you're the buyer and the change in weight isn't obvious in store, as yours was, video recording the unpacking at home  may help.

[Tn21]

36 minutes ago, Melon said:

 

Not sure I agree with this. The postman is still delivering it, just to a different door. Now there's two sets of people who can potentially fiddle with your parcel, and worse yet if something get's stolen or damaged it's now much more difficult to prove which company is responsible! 

I get your point, however I sometimes get mail in the post addressed to home whereby the package or letter has been fidelled with. Choosing the eBay option just allows me to switch it up slightly and use another address. 

I agree about the risk factoring two sets of different people royal mail then Argos. Just a great option for me to use Argos collection because it has gone through a different route to my local area. 

On the whole the postmen are good and very polite folk. I  just hate when you notice a package/letter has been tampered with.  

[Goldflinger]

Just to chip in a semi-linked story, the only letter I've received in the recent past that was clearly tampered with and arrived in the plastic with a sorry your letter was damaged in transit was

About 12 luggage stickers I was going to use to dolly up some old cases for the house. They felt exactly like cash in the envelope and it was obvious somebody had ripped it open to see. They even half-inched 3 of my stickers too, the **@!$&*s 😄

[Peacemaker]

Thanks for the input all, I've already sent the coin now, Argos have received it so heres hoping the buyer is honest