One of my bugbears on eBay are those listings for bulky items (and even not so bulky items) that say: “Buyer collect only” or the like. There really is no need to stipulate collection only, just about anything can be transported around the country by a courier for a price that is often less than you might imagine.
That’s why I was pleased to find ANYVAN. It’s a dating agency for couriers and people who need stuff shifting and couriers and others with spare capacity. I used it recently when I bought a chest of drawers and was impressed.
Once the auction had finished, I got in contact with the seller and said that I was going to arrange for a courier to collect the drawers and asked for convenient timing. I signed up there and basically put up an advert saying what needed transporting, from where and to where and all the salient details a courier would need. Then, over the course of a day or so, I invited bids from couriers on ANYVAN.
I considered the bids and also the eBay style feedback that couriers have on ANYVAN. The best thing was that the feedback system really did work. The person quoting the best price inclusive of insurance also had the best feedback score.
The only problem I experienced lay with the communication I got from the courier. There was some confusion as to exactly the drawers would arrive and it took several calls to the courier to remedy that. But my communications with ANYVAN itself were perfect.
I really like ANYVAN and will definitely use the service again. My only qualm would be that it could be considered a lot of faff to expect a buyer to put up an advert and wait for bids from couriers. Sellers who want to sell those bulky items, though, could try putting the legwork in on that front to increase prices and the chance of sale.
2 Responses
A very useful service…thanks for the info.
My problem with that would be paypal and non signed for item collections. Couldnt accept paypal then collect, although i would try it as a buyer though. Thanks for the heads up