eBay user ID M5POO – Terms and Conditions of Sale – last updated 2nd December 2015 (note: section on ‘Books’ added 7th December 2015)
I want you to be happy with items you buy from me, however I do need to make my selling policies clear for you. If you bid in one of my auctions or click ‘buy it now’ on any of them, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Sale.
*** It’s important that you read and understand fully my Terms and Conditions of Sale before bidding on any of my items; that way, many of the problems other people seem to experience can be avoided. If you have any concerns, please get in touch before bidding. ***
Any additional requirements will be detailed in the relevant auction.
GENERAL: I am a private seller, not a business…the items I’m selling are either from my late parents’ estate or from my personal collection. If you have any questions about an item, please contact me via the eBay messaging system or use the contact form on this page.
I reserve the right to cancel bids from buyers with very low feedback or what is, in my opinion, a ‘problematic’ feedback history. There is only one reason to hide your feedback…because it’s rubbish; I will not sell to you if you hide yours.
BOOKS: This is important! The books I sell are all from a centrally heated home at about 18 to 21 degrees centigrade. I wrap each one separately in cling film and bubble-wrap, which effectively seals their environment. When in transit, especially in the winter, the books will become cold right through. If you open them as soon as you receive them from me, their low temperature will cause them to absorb moisture and the pages may deform. Normally they will recover, but I will not be responsible if they don’t, so…
…I recommend that on delivery, you remove them from their packing box, but leave the bubble-wrap and clingfilm in place. Put the book(s) in a room around 18 to 20 degrees centigrade and leave them for at least 24 hours to acclimatise. It may help to put them on a flat surface with one or more similarly sized books on top, to keep them flat.
I’ve had a number of books from Amazon that have arrived and ‘crinkled’ within a few hours. The method above always works for me…and I do care for my books.
RETURNS: I no longer need the items I’m selling, therefore I do not accept returns except those required by eBay’s policies. If I have ‘significantly’ mis-described an item by accident, then of course I will gladly accept its return.
POSTAGE and PACKING: I use the Royal Mail, MyHermes or other relevant couriers to dispatch items to the UK. International carriage is handled by UPS or Parcel Force in most cases. I always look for the lowest cost service that can reliably deliver my packages – note that all are sent fully insured, tracked and in need of a signature on delivery. Note: if you are not in to take delivery of your parcel, you must rearrange re-delivery of the parcel at a time when you will be able to sign for it. I will not refund you if you don’t comply with the courier’s re-delivery policy and your parcel is destroyed.
UK postage and packing charges apply to the UK mainland only as remote areas incur a higher rate.
Whilst I do try to recycle packing materials, I still have to buy much of the actual bubble wrap, tape, boxes etc… My postage and packing charges include: the actual postage and insurance, packing materials and a little to cover the percentage taken by eBay and PayPal. I always try to keep my P&P as non-profit 🙂
I will of course, combine postage where practical to do so.
DISPATCH TIME: my standard dispatch time is 5 WORKING days. This is the time it normally takes me from receipt of your cleared payment, to pack and send the item you’ve won in one of my auctions.
I cannot be responsible for late deliveries due to bad weather or errors by the courier.
PAYMENT: I require payment within 24 hours of the auction end if using PayPal, which I prefer for most items – it’s quick and easy. If you are collecting in person, I require payment in cash on collection; please note that I do not accept £50 notes and reserve the right to reject any suspect currency. Note: if you cannot collect within three days, I will require full payment by bank transfer. Should you wish to pay by cheque, it takes 14 days from the date I bank the cheque before it is guaranteed by the bank as cleared; this will therefore delay dispatch.
If you insist on using PayPal for ‘collect in person’ items, I will require you to sign for the item when you collect it and I will photograph you with the item.
INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS: it is impossible to provide quotes for every country in the world. Therefore I provide an over estimate of the carriage and insurance charge. Do not pay at the end of an auction until I send you an invoice. If you overpay the carriage, such as in a ‘buy it now’ sale, I will refund the over payment.
CUSTOMS CHARGES and DUTY: I will not undervalue parcels as a) it is fraud and b) it will invalidate any insurance. You are responsible for any import duties, taxes and collection charges levied by your customs.
PARTS SWAPPERS: Fortunately, most of the people in the world and on eBay are 100% honest. There are sadly, some people who think it’s OK to buy a working item, then on receipt of it, use parts from the item they’ve just received to repair their own faulty equipment…and then put an ‘item not as described’ claim in with eBay to get a refund (and a free repair). I describe all my items as fully and carefully as I can, warts and all. Please be assured that I photograph and video all equipment vulnerable to parts swappers. I will use whatever means necessary to recover losses from parts swappers.
PROBLEMS: Hopefully you won’t have one but, if you have a real problem with anything you’ve bought from me, do get in touch straight away and I’ll sort it out.