Recently Amazon has started to offer some customers $10 if they would pick up select orders instead of having them delivered. Customers can pick up their orders at Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, or Kohl’s stores.
This comes as Amazon has been trying to cut costs on delivery by getting more customers to use pickup options that are far cheaper than delivery for Amazon. The $10 offer is an attempt to get customers to try out the service and hopefully get them to use it in the future, even when $10 is not offered.
This all comes from a report over at Reuters that has confirmed these offers. Right now, this $10 offer is only for select customers in select areas. If you are eligible, you will receive an email with the offer after you order.
How exactly Amazon is deciding who and what orders qualify for this deal is unknown at this time.
Sadly, if you are not offered this deal, you cannot request it.
Recently Amazon has been looking for ways to cut costs of shipping. This includes fees on returns. Recently Amazon started charging a $1 fee to return items to a UPS store if there is an Amazon Fresh store, Kohl’s, or Whole Foods closer to you. It seems Amazon wants to drive customers to return products at locations that are cheaper for them rather than paying UPS to return products that could have gone through other options, according to a report from The Information.
A local UPS store here in Michigan told Cord Cutters News that over half of what they do now is handle returns for Amazon. The exact terms of Amazon’s and UPS’s return deal are unknown, but Amazon is likely paying more to UPS than other options.
This is one more step in Amazon’s push to crack down on the costs of returns. Recently Amazon started putting warnings on some products that they are “frequently returned” to warn customers.