Is Click and Collect proving a flop?

[lane-ends]

When this first came out I had quite a few buyers use this. In recent times there has been almost none. Have buyers lost faith in picking up from Woolies?

[digital*ghost]

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@character_parties_aus wrote:

Ive also had several issues with click and collect. They range from Australia Post screwing up delivery to extra handling time not being built into ebays shipping estimates. Whilst I've only sent around 25 items to stores I have had so many questions and messages in regards to those sales in proportion to sales where they go 'normally' its just higher maintenance and I would be sceptcial about whether its increased sales volume. Its probably on the whole not even made things easier for the customer given the delays / amount of messages etc.

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I think a big part of the problem starts with how ebay implement features like this. Teething problems and other third party (i.e. Aus post and Woollies) issues notwithstanding, ebay has a really bad habit of vaguely informing sellers, then just marketing to buyers, which results in a bunch of assumptions, and/or questions, often ones the seller doesn't really know how to address straight away, because they haven't been provided with enough info.

eBay calling it "Click & Collect" was the first mistake, IMHO, because that's what Woolworths was already calling their inhouse buy online - collect instore service. At one stage, I read that it became such an issue, Woolworths changed theirs to "Simply Collect", but last I saw it was still named "Click & Collect" on their website. 

The other problem, when taken in conjunction with above, is that when a buyer looks at the stores where they can collect their purchase, on each one it says "In stock", which understandably lead to some people being under the impression the item they were interested in was stocked at Woolworths or Big W - it might seem strange if the buyer was looking at a pre-owned item from a private seller, but not that strange given the number of brand new items from professional stores, or even some of the hobby sellers. 

These are marketing fails, IMO, and one of the reasons why I was never interested in including it as an option (as in, when it was announced, I had several questions about what would happen if.... which couldn't be (or weren't) answered in the info provided. Some of the scenarios may have been rare or unlikely, but I'm the type who does read T&Cs before clicking "I Agree" .... most of the time ).  

[helenm777]

Although I was thinking of opting out of Click & Collect I ended up just leaving it to see if it made any real difference to my customers.

Since it started I have only had 1 request for CLick and Collect just last week to North Queensland

The Customer advised she wished to pick it up from Woolworths, as it was close to her work and as she was not home during the day, did not want the parcel left on her verandah. Item was Tracking withour signature

There were no problems, although as I said I have only ever had this requested once!

[character_parties_aus]

You are of course correct DG. They do have that nasty habit of vaguley informing sellers and bull marketing to buyers. Take lately for example they have been offering sellers 10% off a lot of my products with a very small minimum. As a result I have had nearly 50 ebay sales this weekend. That's fantastic, but if they had let me know what they were doing it would be even more fantastic as I could have prepared. I only found out by accident as I was putting in a few search terms to see where my listings ranked and eBay offered me 10% off. eBay seem to me increasingly desperate to drive volume, I give them 5-7 years before a competitor of some form comes along and eats them up. Ill thought through roll outs such as 'click and one day you might be able to collect' are a prime example.

[dbbooks]

When I first heard of CnC I thought Woolies were using their transport network as a courier system to beat the iniquitous Auspost.  Seller drops parcel off to a Woolies store and Buyer collects at a store of their choice.  Sounded fantastic. 

But it was all totally misleading while we had that awful FREE POST which of course isn''t Free.

Now we see on listings a choice of CnC OR $xx.xx Postage.  That OR logically implies that there is no postage charge for CnC. --- WRONG!

ebay should stop making it sound like something special and tell it like it really is!

There is too much hype over CnC.  Basically it's just using Woolies as an alternate delivery address, just as you might have a parcel delivered to your girlfriend's address so your wife doesn't find out.

[bubblegh]

Hey mate, I totally get what you're saying, but it's basically one more thing eBay and supermarkets can both market and get people talking about them.

One more option for a buyer, making eBay seem flexible, and that buyer ends up at the store... just happens to have to buy some milk and bread, and whatever else they find on the way to the checkout!

[designers*n*more]

As a buyer, I used it once, LOST PARCEL! That was it for me. Not use it again as a buyer and certainly not as a seller.

[glenbankloel]

We have a policy of NEVER EVER EVER being the first cab off the rank!

We always wait a few months for all the kinks and problems to be ironed out and corrected. Big companies use the comsumer as the guinea pig who jumps in on the first few days or weeks, pays for the service or product, and then "helps" the companies to sort out the issues, by suffering through all the teething problems. How good are we!

And they know that there will be some, so they launch whatever the product or service is, and then sit back and wait...........

Re C & C the less hands that handle our parcels the better, we think just asking for trouble. Staff have no interest or embedded care in delivering/handling the parcel, at least AP or couriers do have some skin in the game, but not at the Fresh Food People, nothing in it for the stressed out staff just another hassle dealing with a harassed customer waiting and looking for her parcel.

2cents

[cracked_pepper]

Completely agree, just had a buyer who brought, paid & then emailed me demanding postage be reimbursed straight away as he selected Click & collect.
It took a while to convince him that it's not the way it works (and this was not a new member). He then decided he will have it sent to his home address instead if he had to pay postage, opening up a yet another headache as obviously now having to send to different address other then paypal specified........

[dbbooks]

Exactly!  Time for ebay to take notice, I reckon.

Thanks for your imput.

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@cracked_pepper wrote:
Completely agree, just had a buyer who brought, paid & then emailed me demanding postage be reimbursed straight away as he selected Click & collect.
It took a while to convince him that it's not the way it works (and this was not a new member). He then decided he will have it sent to his home address instead if he had to pay postage, opening up a yet another headache as obviously now having to send to different address other then paypal specified........

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