News - Play.com pay-on-delivery service touted

[HEXUS]

Play.com could be first major UK online retailer to allow customers to pay the courier on delivery.

Read more.

[jim]

Seems like a nice idea to me, would certainly be a much better system than the current implementation of DSR - i.e. money leaves account, wait several weeks, see if money is back, chase up firm, etc.

On the flipside, I reckon it could be pretty heavily abused. If you want a videogame on release date, no worries. Order from three different websites, no initial cost, when the first one arrives stick it in the machine and start playing. When items 2 and 3 arrive, return under DSR without payment. Return rates could rocket rather than dropping.

Not to mention the poor couriers. Standing around for ages on the street whilst Mrs Jones finds her credit card, and Mr Smith forgets his pin. And you can imagine how livid someone would be if their brand new PC arrives, sitting in a box on the driveway, and then the courier says "Sorry, your card was declined. No, I can't take cash." and then wanders back to the van, puts it back in and drives off. I wouldn't want to be that courier. They would probably charge a fortune for that kind of service, which means only one thing - increased prices. Whether that will be per-item or across the whole store I don't know, but neither are going to help.

In the first instance, you're going to struggle to convince people to take up the service, and in the second you're going to give up your old customers to your rivals, where they can shop online "old-style".

Nice idea, not convinced.

[elvedhel]

have you seen some of the couriers out there. i wouldnt trust em with a paper plate let alone collecting payments

[BongoJoe]

The new idea is no use to me - I'm always at work when the courier calls. Sometimes when I am at home the courier expects me to answer the door within eight seconds or he's off on his way to his next victim. I reckon the C.O.D. business model is going to be very low volume.

[Biscuit]

I get stuff delivered to work so this is of no use to me

[Spud1]

Return rates could rocket rather than dropping.

It's the opposite really - and this is why I really do love statistics and management

Return rates would actually fall drastically if this is implemented correctly and taken up - simply because the items refused would not be a return, as it would never have been sold in the first place. It's a normal sort of trick in most businesses..reclassify something and suddenly your stats look better or worse depending on who you are talking to. In this case the idea of returns dropping immensely sounds great to the media, even if in reality the rates are going up.

It would still save money though on the returning of stock to the warehouse, checking it's condition, issuing refunds etc etc.

I do wonder about the DSR rules here since technically it's not sold until on the doorstep, and you are given a chance to inspect the purchase first..so we could have some rather interesting issues around that.

Good marketing idea in principle - most of the big couriers are already setup to collect payments for import tax/duty on the doorstep, so this isn't a massive jump. I still don't think it's right for the UK marketplace though.

[jim]

It's the opposite really - and this is why I really do love statistics and management

Return rates would actually fall drastically if this is implemented correctly and taken up - simply because the items refused would not be a return, as it would never have been sold in the first place. It's a normal sort of trick in most businesses..reclassify something and suddenly your stats look better or worse depending on who you are talking to. In this case the idea of returns dropping immensely sounds great to the media, even if in reality the rates are going up.

That is an excellent point, hadn't considered it. I can't believe it would translate particularly well from theory to profitability though.

[crossy]

The new idea is no use to me - I'm always at work when the courier calls. Sometimes when I am at home the courier expects me to answer the door within eight seconds or he's off on his way to his next victim. I reckon the C.O.D. business model is going to be very low volume.

Not much interest to me either - I prefer that couriers just deliver the consignment, I'm quite content with the current payment arrangements. Wouldn't have thought that CityLink etc would be that happy about this because it's more work for them, which implies more costs that they'll pass onto the merchant, who in turn will pass these onto the customers. Kudos to Play to dare to "think different", but I'll pass on this idea.

If you give them a finger, they'll take off your hand
...
I'm paying, paying, I'm paying C.O.D.
Care of the devil, care of the devil in me

lyric excerpt from "C.O.D." by AC/DC

[kingpotnoodle]

Who considers an SSL secured website to be a less "safe" and generally less desirable option than handing over your card to a (usually) shabby courier with a tenuous grasp of English on the doorstep? Might as well pay with the cash you keep under the bed in a shoebox...!

Slight of hand, a quick card swipe down the trouser leg (whatever it is they do on "Real Hustle") later you've been ID cloned and bought a Thai wife... significantly easier to exploit payment on delivery than it is to hack into websites/intercept payments on the web I would think.

Seems to me if anyone prefers payment on delivery what we have is an education problem about how the internet is actually quite safe in comparison to letting someone touch your card...

[Spank]

No longer would a neighbour be able to sign for you gear if you were out & it would not be long until couriers start driving armoured vans cos of all the cash they are carrying, bad idea imo