Discount Delivery Fees with Order Pooling – Car Pooling for Online Shoppers

If you’re keen to save a bit of money on delivery fees, here’s a helpful tip that will get you paying next to nothing next time you shop online.

For many years, there has been a big movement and even incentives from the governments to Car Pool when going to work. People in the cities were encouraged to join in a car pool with their fellow workers to reduce carbon on the roads and also to help the increasing traffic problem on the roads.

Car pooling is of course when you pack the car full of work colleges or friends in order to divide fuel costs between the people in the car. It’s a great way to save money on a bigger trip to the city, and of course to save carbon emissions and traffic congestion.

Translate the car pooling principal to when you shop online, and you have a fantastic way to cut down the delivery fees. All you need is a few local people to participate. I’ve been order pooling for some time now and it’s great way to save money.

James and I actually order pooled as early as Tuesday for 2 great looking iPad stands at a US web site called thoughtout.biz. Made from solid american steel, these stands weigh in at just over 1.8kg each. Separately the cost of delivery would be $44.99. The cost for getting two delivered is $63.99, so the ordering together saved us $19 on delivery fees. You can checkout the stands here: Stabile iPad Stands by Thought Out.

How do you start with order pooling? It’s easy, get social and ask! Go tell your friends or neighbours that you want to place an order with a certain online store. Simply email them the web site link, and tell them when you want to place the order, over the weekend for example. If they want to order something from the store they’ll let you know and you simply add the products to your cart and checkout.

Sometimes, retailers don’t discount delivery fees so it’s important to check that the delivery fees are reduced as you add other peoples products to your order. Some online shops in Australia offer a flat 3KG and 5KG flat fee for express deliveries. Buying similar weighted products online can have big advantages. I buy soap with a neighbour from Bath & Soul, we both buy several cakes of soap at one time which takes the order weight closer to the 3KG minimum limit. Buying separately is simply a waste of the minimum 3KG weighted delivery fee. We then split the delivery fee down the middle.

Order pooling may be a problem with warranty, but you can always write out a legitimate tax receipt with the details of the transaction to your friends. It should be ok with the manufacturer if you have checked how their system works. I tend to steer clear of products with warranties, or at least products that I would want to be serviced under warranty like an LCD TV for example. Order pooling is perfect for items like DVDs, books, groceries, health & beauty products, e.t.c You know, smaller things that can be bundled together in a single box.

Order pooling isn’t just good for saving money, it’s also a green way to shop online, reduce your carbon emissions with every delivery the courier doesn’t need to make. Now that’s a great excuse to shop online right ;)

Order pooling doesn’t stop with discount shipping fees or saving the planet either. Order Pooling can also be great if the online shop offers discounts for bulk items. Buying 10 of something that you can deal out to your friends is a perfect order pooling technique, but only if you can get discounts for bulk purchases. Other web sites offer free delivery for orders over a certain amount. These offers are also a perfect opportunity to cash in with the order pooling technique. Just ask your friends if they want something from the store as well.

So next time you place an order online, slow down for a minute or two and check to see if you can save a bit of money with an extra product added to the cart for a neighbour.