Woolworths has announced a partnership with eBay which will let you pick up purchases from the supermarket giant and from Big W stores, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to grab every one of those Pokémon collectibles you impulse ordered when you pop by Woolies to grab some milk. Here’s what you need to know, as a buyer and a seller.
Initially, the service is being trialled in Sydney and Tasmania in a total group of 90 Big W and Woolworths stores, with the potential to expand further over the next three years if it’s successful. At launch, only a handful of sellers are taking part (including Your Home Depot, No Frills, Surf Stitch, Mytopia, Futu Online and Golfbox), but eBay says this will expand to more than 250 over the next two months. Within three years, it is predicting that 12,000 sellers will be involved. It says 80% of items currently listed on the site would qualify (extremely large items can’t be shipped this way, for instance).
As a buyer, if the item you’re looking at on eBay has the Click and Collect option, you can select that during the buying process. There’s no fee charged for the service. A confirmation message is sent to your smartphone when the item is available for collection, which is scanned at the store when you go to pick it up. You can check the nearest store to your postcode at this site. Items will be held for seven days. Note that if you need to return an item, that can’t be done through Woolworths or Big W; you’ll have to interact with the seller directly.
And want if you want to use this option as a seller? During the testing phase, eBay is only allowing a selected group of retailers to work with the service. The precise criteria for who will be allowed to offer the Click & Collect option won’t be made public until the test phase is over, but the minimum requirements will include offering free postage and running your own eBay store. (eBay has been heavily encouraging free postage for a while, so that isn’t a shock.) During the trial phase, businesses sending goods through the service will post them directly to the relevant store, rather than a centralised Woolworths delivery point.
If you can’t receive deliveries at work and are sick of the postal service leaving cards in the mailbox even when you’re home, then being able to pick something up at the shops is potentially handy. But until this option is more widespread, it’s hard to predict how successful it will be.
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Comments
23 responses to “Picking Up Your eBay Purchases At Woolworths”
This could be very awesome. Would love to see it become available locally to assist with my online purchasing addiction.
Sounds good. Hope it takes off.
As an aside, free postage is a joke. Nothing in life is free.
Yes, it’s ‘postage at no additional cost’ as its been bundled into the product cost.
Ebay buyers don’t pay commission to Ebay on postage and handling. So Ebay would rather get a slice of this action by encouraging sellers to build in the delivery charge into the listing price. That makes Ebay more money.
Ebay does take a percentage of the postage cost – they didn’t, but they do now. Since May or so of last year I believe.
But yes free postage is a pain, as a casual seller, as if someone from the other side of the country buys a heavy item you’re screwed. You want to be nice and fair but it’s much better if someone local buys it.
I agree but sellers are encouraged to do it as eBay will rank your listing higher if you do. Whilst research tends to show that buyers prefer it potentially they could get better discounts if sellers charged for postage as they could then give combined postage discounts on multiple orders etc. They could also offer free pick up as well to save the buyer money as well. It’s a pity because I think it would be a better buyer experience if sellers charged for postage.
I mean, it’s good if you don’t have an auspost 24/7 parcel locker nearby.
Auspost parcel lockers don’t accept deliveries from couriers though? Will this be the same?
What happens if you don’t collect your goods after 7 days?
Good question. Send back to seller at sellers cost. Buyer gets shitty and leaves negative feedback. That’s my guess
They definitely need a solution to postage costs associated with online retail, but I doubt this will be the solution – and even if it is, it’s only a solution for the handful of sellers that are part of the program.
I think perhaps every council needs to turn one car park into a pick up point, or something like that.
It’s a step in the right direction, but we need a much more comprehensive solution.
parcel lockers by Australia post….
http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/parcel-lockers.html
Not just eBay but any postal service.
…only AusPost postal services. No couriers.
Some online retailers still don’t specify what delivery method they’ll use, nor do they check for Parcel Locker addresses (they check for PO Boxes, but Parcel Lockers slip through).
that’s what I said…. Please READ.
it works with Postal services. not just Auspost… but any service that uses Auspost when local… That is every postal service (some “non-post services” also work with Auspost)
What you think Singapore post has stores/trucks/sorting offices/staff in Australia, no they just use the Auspost infrastructure.
So how does this arrangement benefit Woolworths and Big W?
Woolies are trying to break into the courier business.
How is this better than having it delivered straight to your work or home?
It’s for packages that require ID and would otherwise go to your post office for pick-up Woolies opens far later than the post office, typically closing at 9PM or even 24/7 vs 5PM.
Also, it makes it easier to hide purchases from controlling spouses, ‘Stop buying shrunken heads Kendal.’ ‘Stop buying stuffed animals Kendal.’ ‘Where are we going to put a complete set of replica medieval torture implements Kendal?’ ‘Where’s all the money Kendal?’ ‘Where’d you get that suit of armor Kendal?’ ‘Since when have we needed a pair of matching gargoyle statuettes Kendal?’ you know.
Good Point, but I guess I’m fortunate enough to have people at work sign things for me.
Not sure I would trust Woolies with my parcels. Aust Post provides a great service and if I need to pick up a parcel would rather use a post office or LPO. What is Woolworths endgame? They don’t do nothing for free!!!!!
It doesn’t work very well so far, at least not for me. Item purchased Mon 18/5 to travel about 12kms in Sydney metro area, delivery date Thurs 21/5. Travelled from inner city to Granville then to within one suburb of Woolies store, got redirected back into the city and was marked ‘Delivered’ there by AP & signed for (Reg post, obviously not by me lol)
After lots of calls, found out it is in a Woolworths redirection centre and will travel thru thei internal mail system to reach the local Woolies by 28/5 – 10 days to travel 12kms. If I hadn’t used this service but stuck with private shipping address I would have had it by Thurs 21.
Really hope it makes it, no way of tracking it now.
Click and Collect has been horribly slow service. Woollies stuffed up dick smith and masters, now they are trying to give ebay a bad reputation. Don’t use this service. Do a PO box, or free post office “parcel collect” service. Heaps better. Woolworths click and collect just adds a week or more to your delivery time for no purpose other than to show you how slow their systems are… once you have experienced click and collect you will know the truth about “the fresh food people”
Exactly the same for me. Had a delivery date of 4 days ago and now it has been delvered to Alexandria instead of Carlingford Woolies. What does that even mean? Goodness only knows when i will get it. I only ordered it from them as i needed it for the weekend gone. Pointless now and who knows where it is. Should have just bought it in a store.
AusPost has parcel lockers, no fee to have one and no extra on shipping. Get a text, notification via email and the app. Works for all sellers not just eBay as it is auspost. Usually at 7eleven. Use it all the time
Bad experience. Item was expected to be at Woolies on 18/02. Checked tracking, item arrived at the local post office on 17/02. Today, 26/02, still awaiting collection.
I will never use Ebay-Woolies Click and Collect again. It’s just too slow.