Picking up yourself instead of shipping: what it saves and how to arrange the transfer
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Letting customers pick up orders themselves saves on shipping costs and hassle, but only if you manage the handover efficiently. Here's how to pack pickup orders and prevent mix-ups.
A customer from the same village orders €14 worth of goods and pays €6.95 in shipping costs. You pack it, send it off, and two days later that same customer cycles past your house. A waste of cardboard, a waste of the trip, and a waste of the margin — for both of you.
Offering local pickup is the simplest way to address this. It saves you a shipping label, packing material, and the risk of damage during transit. But it's not a matter of "just send a message when you come by": without agreements, pickup can actually cost you more time than shipping. These are the choices you make beforehand.
What pickup actually saves you per order
Calculate it for your own situation, as it varies by product type. A package you normally send in a box with filler material can easily cost you €1 to €2 in materials, plus the shipping rate, plus the time to deliver it. For pickup, what remains is: the time to prepare the order and the time to hand it over.
Component
Shipping
Pickup
Outer packaging
Box or letterbox package, sturdy enough for transport
Light box or bag, or none at all
Filling material
Needed for fragile items or loose space
Usually not needed
Label and tape
Shipping label, sealing, securing
Only a name on the package
Risk
Damage, delay, loss
Switched orders
Time
Packing plus dropping off
Preparing plus handing over
Note that last line. Pickup shifts your time from "dropping everything off once a day" to "interrupting your work constantly." This is exactly where things go wrong if you don't agree on fixed times.
Choose one method that suits your situation
Fixed pickup times. For example, Tuesday and Thursday between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Works best if you sell from home: you don't have to be available all day.
By appointment. The customer chooses a time slot at checkout. More work to set up, but you know exactly when someone is coming.
Unattended pickup point. A cabinet or box by the front door where the order is ready with a name. Only do this for inexpensive items and with a package that doesn't look like something valuable.
Via a third party. A friendly shop, sports club, or local store where people already go. Agree on who is liable if something goes missing.
How to pack a pickup order
Less packaging, but not no packaging. The customer must be able to take their order without anything falling out, and you must be able to see at a glance whose box is whose.
Taping doesn't need to be airtight, but secure enough so nothing falls out on the way to the car. A roll of KINZO packing tape of 50 meters x 48 mm (€3.00) lasts a long time; with black tape of 10 meters x 48 mm (€3.00) you can distinguish pickup orders from shipping orders on your workbench.
Place prepared orders together in one container instead of loose on a shelf. A moving box of 480 x 430 x 330 mm (50 liters) (€3.50) is perfect for this: everything inside is waiting for a customer, everything outside is not.
How to avoid the two mistakes that are always made
The switched order. Two packages for two customers with the same first name, and you hand over the wrong one. Always write the order number AND the last name on the package, not just the first name. When handing over, ask for the order number or the confirmation email. For more expensive items, a VOID security seal (60 pieces, €9.95) is a simple way to later see if the package has been opened after your inspection.
The customer who doesn't come. Agree on how long you will keep an order — two weeks is customary — and include that in your confirmation email. After a week, send one reminder. If no one comes, offer to ship it anyway at the normal shipping costs.
Also consider the rules
An order placed online is, in principle, a distance purchase. This includes a cooling-off period of fourteen days. Whether this cooling-off period also applies when the customer picks up the product in your store or at the door depends on how and where the purchase is precisely concluded. The explanation of the cooling-off period by the ACM is the starting point for this; if you have doubts about your situation, present it to the ACM or your industry association before putting anything about return rights on your website. In any case, clearly state your agreements on your pickup page.
Get started
Start with one pickup moment per week and see how many customers use it. If it works, it will grow naturally — and save you a significant number of trips during the busy autumn. The materials you need for this are in Letterbox Packaging, Packaging & Shipping, and Tape. Would you like to think along about which box sizes you can use for both pickup and shipping? Email your item sizes to info@verpakkingdeals.nl.
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