Why do people create "Local Pickup Only" listings on eBay (fee involved) vs Craigslist or Facebook (both free)? Is it because of bigger city crime? Here in the hinterlands of BFE it is heartbreaking to see some of things that are beyond my reach.

generally I think it's because they are too lazy to pack and ship.

or don't really want to sell the items. "local pickup" is a deal killer

/markp

There are ways you can get around ebay sellers who only offer local pickup. Use a company like uship.com and get offers from private shippers who bid for the right to pickup and deliver your product however they can.

Why do some ebay sellers do it this way? They don't want the hassle of packing and shipping. Everybody has at least one online auction horror story with shipping and delivery. Some sellers just don't want to go down that route.

I sold my Medici recently as a local pick up listing. I did offer to pack the bike and ship if the buyer arranged the shipping. A local buyer bought it and paid up front prior to picking it up. I had it on CL for over a month and got offers that were too low to consider. I got an offer that was 50% higher than the highest CL offer from an eBay ad. I still made out even after the fees , which are about 13%. I sold it for twice what I paid for it , so basically , broke even!

Both times I bought a “local pick-up” bike off of eBay, the sellers were willing to drop the bikes off at a LBS for packing and shipping. I made sure to confirm that it would be OK before hitting the buy button.

those scandalous Medici.
I think “SoCal” is a big enough region for local pick up to work.
I have purchased two that way, knowing the market will be less competitive.
the risk of pack and ship, buyers who are looking to chisel has increased,
when one picks the item up, they review it right then, accept and are off.


sellers who just do not have any geographic density of bike interest are in trouble.

I just completed a 900 1012 mile round trip earlier this week for an eBay "local pickup only" auction. The way I look at it, at the price I got the item plus gas and a motel room, I'm still coming out ahead compared to what the item usually goes for on eBay at a "Buy It Now" price plus buyer-paid shipping. Admittedly it was on the ragged edge of what I'd consider a reasonable "local pickup" radius, but it was a fun road trip and I finally got something I'd wanted and been watching for for several years.

I've had very good deals on "pickup only" items.
Has the huge advantage that only local people are going to bid, so probably no flippers, resulting in a much better price.

One of my memorable finds was a local-pick up only 1930s Raleigh Sports, pretty much all original. It was just a bit north of me, so not an inconvenient drive. I was the only bidder at $32 final price.

I did this for many of the larger items that were part of my dad’s estate.

Initially I listed everything on CL. After 3 weeks of no-shows, tire-kickers, low-ballers, and weirdos, I shifted everything to ebay.

People paid, showed up on-time and the stuff was gone quickly. Worth every penny.

I suspect the reason is for more eyeballs and casting a wider net. Clearly there are folks willing to drive further for an item, and one can only list in so many local craigslists before it becomes impractical.