There are a surprising number of things on eBay where the only delivery option is “Buyer collects”. I wonder if this is necessary. How many things, excluding furniture and the like, can’t be sent via a courier?
Royal Mail (as long as there isn’t a strike on) is good for the small stuff. But when you start sending parcels over 2kg or more bulk items a courier, of some kind, is vital.
Getting a courier sorted and priced up is actually a sales tool. When you say “Buyer Collects” you are immediately excluding a huge number of buyers all over the country who can’t get to you. By quoting carriage, at least with the UK, you immediately attract buyers further from afield and greatly increase chances of a sale.
For instance, I recently sent a box of books. It was a very heavy cardboard box full of books that the Royal Mail couldn’t have handled at a reasonable price. Sending that box via MyHermes, however, only cost me £8.21 inc. VAT to send a box weighing close to 15kg. I factored that cost into my listing and offered Free P&P.
The other thing I’ve liked about using MyHermes has been their prompt collection. It isn’t guaranteed as part of the service, but typically the chaps come and collect my dispatches first thing in the morning on the day of collection. I haven’t had to wait in yet. In fact, one day they came early, before 9am!