I swore I wouldn’t use eBay again, due to sellers lying about sending by normal second-class mail (they rarely do except on tiny items, and sending ‘signed for’ or by courier can cause huge complications and hassle). But a nice hardback copy of The Journeys of Frodo map-book for The Lord of the Rings for just £15 was too much temptation. I thought that sending the parcel 2nd Class Royal Mail (as stated) to an eBay locker would solve the problem. Turns out that it was actually sent “Signed For” (grrr, but that didn’t matter in the end) not proper normal 2nd class, and that the local ‘locker’ I could see on Google Street View… wasn’t real!

ADVICE FOR FIRST TIME eBAY ‘LOCKER’ PICK-UP USERS:

eBay lockers seem to be just a sort of metal ‘advertising hoarding’ made to look similar to Amazon lockers. These pseudo-lockers don’t have instructions to first-time users fixed on them (at least, mine didn’t). Lack of instructions will confuse the heck out of 80% of the first-time users.

This is what those instructions should say, if they were fixed to the front of the supposed ‘lockers’:

1. Forget about this ‘locker’. It looks very real but has no screen, is not functional for pick-up and doesn’t work like an Amazon locker. Your parcel is not in here. The InPost screen adjacent has no connection with eBay deliveries.

2. What you actually need to do is go into the shop or petrol station, wait in a queue, and then ask at the checkout.

3. The assistant will have a loose pile of parcels somewhere behind the counter.

4. Let him scan the barcode and/or show him the pickup code.

5. He will then ask you your surname, and (hopefully) fish out and hand you your parcel.

Note also that:

1) The barcode image is only present in the email notification that the order is ready. Not in the website notification page. The notification page only has the pickup code. Simply showing a pickup code alone may not be enough, in some shops, according to forum chatter.

2) Cable transfer of the barcode image to a phone may be impossible from a desktop computer’s email software due to security. You may need to copy it to a tablet instead.

3) Also, to get the barcode in the first place you may need to access your email via Web mail, rather than a desktop email software — if the desktop security software blocks certain types of images (e.g. .PNG or .WebP) from displaying in email.

Finally, bear in mind that it may be impossible to send an International parcel to a pick-up, as eBay may only allow a home address delivery.