Collection is the only kind of order where you see the thing before you accept it. That makes the last step the most valuable one, and it is the one people skip.
1. Agree before you bid
A pickup item carries terms, and you accept them before bidding rather than after winning: how long you have to collect, and what the store keeps if you never come.
You will have seen You’ll need to collect this, with Yes, I can pick it up or Not for me, and for something perishable, This item spoils.
So nothing below should be a surprise. Can I collect instead of having it posted?
2. Wait for ready, not for paid
Paying does not start the clock. The collect-by time starts when the store marks the order ready, and days the store or the pickup point is closed do not count.
The order shows Collect within {time} of it being ready.
3. What you get when it is ready
- The full address, which you did not see before paying — only the area
- The seller's note, if they left one: the "ring the bell twice", "ask at the chemist" sort of thing
Hours: {hours}andOpen {hours}— when you can actually come- Your pickup code:
Pickup code — show it to the seller when you collect your order
4. Go, during their hours
Check the hours rather than assuming. Turning up outside them is the commonest way a collection goes wrong, and it is avoidable.
If you cannot make it, message the store before the collect-by time. They can extend it, or offer you a courier price that turns the order into a delivery. What if I am a little late collecting?
5. Check the item — before you hand over the code
This is the step. You are standing in front of the thing you bought, with the seller, and the payment is still protected. That combination exists nowhere else in buying online.
Open it. Look at it. Compare it with the listing — the flaws that were described, the ones that were not, what is included.
If something is wrong, say so now, in person, politely. Almost every seller sorts it out on the spot, because the alternative for them is a dispute.
6. Then give the code
Only share it once you have the item in hand.
That line is the whole design. The code is how the store confirms the handover, so it is your leverage and it is worth exactly one minute of looking at the item first.
7. Afterwards
The order closes as collected. Where it is offered, I’ve received it confirms it from your side.
If you went and it was closed
Report it from the order, before your collect-by time expires. The clock stops and a dispute opens: if it was the store's fault you get a full refund and no strike. If not, the clock carries on with the time that was left.
Do it the same day. "I turned up on Tuesday and it was shut" is much stronger said on Tuesday.
If you never collect
The store keeps its fee — usually 7%, 20% for items that spoil, never more than 20% — the rest is refunded, and you get a strike. Three inside ninety days and you cannot bid for a while. What happens if I don't collect.
Questions people ask
Can someone else collect for me?
Usually yes — they need the code, and you should tell the seller first. Can someone else collect it for me?
Do I pay anything at handover?
No. The order is already paid. You are collecting goods, not buying them at the gate.
What if it is not as described?
Say so before you hand over the code. That is the advantage of collecting.
Is delivery cheaper or free?
Collection is usually free, which is one of the two reasons to do it. The other is that nothing is in transit.
More: how pickup works, what pickup only means, what if I am a little late collecting.