This has come up a couple of times for me and is happening again. Ebay prohibits sellers / buyers from exchanging direct contact information (email, phone, etc.) and requires communication through the messages panel. I have understood this policy exists to prevent people from making an "outside" deal that eliminates Ebay transaction fees.

So, I made a purchase, which is paid for. The seller is apparently just a few miles away, and we both would like to meet in person so they can simply hand me the item, without having to package and mail it. It's bulky and oddly shaped and would probably take the seller much of an hour to wrap properly for mailing, plus the in person visit to the Post Office. Then I'd need to wait however many days to get it, and risk having the package damaged in transit, or stolen from the front porch. It's a one-of-a-kind item, so not replaceable.

Free shipping was in the purchase, so there is no financial change to the transaction proposed. The seller still gets all of the money (and Ebay gets all of its fees), I get the item handed to me intact and directly, and everyone is happy.

Right now we have to communicate through Ebay messages, which is proving cumbersome, because neither of us are on Ebay much or at the same time, and so it takes several hours, or even a day, to exchange one message.

Can I send the seller my email address or phone number, and just say please call me direct and we can work out the pick-up / delivery location in one short call? Or will Ebay still swoop in and prevent the exchange of contact information and ding either (or both) of us?

Any advice appreciated.

Edit: I already searched around on Ebay's help site to try to figure out the answer. I couldn't find anything directly relevant in that search, only information on how to cancel transactions, or change shipping addresses after purchase. Neither of which is relevant to this situation. So I came here.