Collect your ebay purchases at Argos! 6 month trial

kn

Purchases from at least 50 ebay merchants will be able to be collected from Argos stores in Ireland as part of a 6 month trial. The link up between Argos and ebay is an attempt to compete with Amazon.

Benefit to us in Ireland is I suppose the saving on delivery and I'd imagine you can pick the item pretty much straight away if your local Argos have it in stock.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/shoppers-could-soon-collect-ebay-buys-at-argos-29607924.html

PS I see it says 'Northern Ireland' and not Ireland so maybe it will not apply here.

snubbleste

Did you read the article?

yesno1234

At least 50 eBay merchants and around 150 Argos stores in Britain and Northern Ireland will take part in the six-month pilot.

No benefit to us yet!

Doodlebug

Still an interesting idea though - if the trial goes well, it should make its way to ROI as well - Argos Ireland has a fair sized delivery fleet and this may be a way for them to generate additional revenue from that.

Asa pointed out, probably mainly of interest to the sub-thread above (N.I. BAs) right now, but I think it bodes well for a similar service here.

If it takes off it would raise the interesting possibility of finding something cheaper on eBay and just using Argos to get the goods into your hands!

Kenny Logins

Doodlebug wrote: »

If it takes off it would raise the interesting possibility of finding something cheaper on eBay and just using Argos to get the goods into your hands!

Is that how it works though?

Mountjoy Mugger

snubbleste wrote: »

Did you read the article?

In fairness, the first sentence of the article is misleading.

IRISH shoppers could soon be able to pick up their eBay purchases at their local Argos store.

(not my caps)

Shoddy Indo journalism, again.

metroburgers

Interesting development, but not actual bargain alert...

Doodlebug

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Is that how it works though?

The article mentions "At least 50 eBay merchants" have signed up, so only a small sample at the beginning. And "Consumers ...will be able to pick up their order straight away at one of the participating Argos stores."

Sounds like Argos hold the stock for certain eBay sellers? Time will tell I s'pose!

Lad Of Banter

kn wrote: »

PS I see it says 'Northern Ireland' and not Ireland so maybe it will not apply here.

we are on the internet :pac:

peckerhead

T.b.h. I reckon there's better value to be had in shopping on eBay.co.uk and using ParcelMotel if the seller won't ship to Ireland.
£3/€3.50 to have it delivered to your local filling station, for collection whenever suits you (no waiting for Argos to open)...

paddyp

peckerhead wrote: »

T.b.h. I reckon there's better value to be had in shopping on eBay.co.uk and using ParcelMotel if the seller won't ship to Ireland.
£3/€3.50 to have it delivered to your local filling station, for collection whenever suits you (no waiting for Argos to open)...

Spar were doing something similar for while, never really took off. I agree parcel motel is much handier.

SimonQuinlank

Wonder will Amazon locker be given a go over here or have Parcel Motel sewn that market up?

Fresh Pots

SimonQuinlank wrote: »

Wonder will Amazon locker be given a go over here or have Parcel Motel sewn that market up?

Probably no need for two companies imo, competition is never a bad thing but I can't really see there being the business to sustain two companies outside the cities.

bk

TheTechGuy wrote: »

Probably no need for two companies imo, competition is never a bad thing but I can't really see there being the business to sustain two companies outside the cities.

Well Parcel Motel is missing one trick in the Irish market, in Germany, Poland and other countries, Deutsche Post operate a similar service to ParcelMotel, but with the additional feature that you can put a package in the Motel for pick up and delivery by the post company.

Also I could see Amazon offering free delivery to their dropboxes, which would undercut parcel motel.

fl4pj4ck

SimonQuinlank wrote: »

Wonder will Amazon locker be given a go over here or have Parcel Motel sewn that market up?

I think Amazon will buy them out

kc90

bk wrote: »

Well Parcel Motel is missing one trick in the Irish market, in Germany, Poland and other countries, Deutsche Post operate a similar service to ParcelMotel, but with the additional feature that you can put a package in the Motel for pick up and delivery by the post company.

Also I could see Amazon offering free delivery to their dropboxes, which would undercut parcel motel.

They already have plans for this. Should be coming in the next few months.

They've been saying that since last September mate!

bk

kc90 wrote: »

They already have plans for this. Should be coming in the next few months.

I'm shocked that they don't already do it.

Obviously they already have vans going to the Parcel Motels to drop of packages, surely it would be trivial for the vans to also pick up the boxes?

While it wouldn't compete with DHL and the likes pick up services, it could undercut them and An Post for a cheap parcel service. It might be perfect for returning packages to Amazon etc. cheap.

I agree Amazon might some day buy them out. Imagine if Amazon allowed you to do returns for free via such a service, it would make it far more likely that people would shop for clothes and shoes with Amazon knowing that they could return it for free.

sharpish

bk wrote: »

I'm shocked that they don't already do it.

Obviously they already have vans going to the Parcel Motels to drop of packages, surely it would be trivial for the vans to also pick up the boxes?

While it wouldn't compete with DHL and the likes pick up services, it could undercut them and An Post for a cheap parcel service. It might be perfect for returning packages to Amazon etc. cheap.

I agree Amazon might some day buy them out. Imagine if Amazon allowed you to do returns for free via such a service, it would make it far more likely that people would shop for clothes and shoes with Amazon knowing that they could return it for free.

While i don't disagree with you, I'd wonder would Amazon bother buying into such a small market, parcel motel are excellent but they maybe have a reach into 50% of the market at the moment ( within easy distance to a box for most people) I think amazon would simply cut a deal, They must have cut a deal with an post or something to offer €25 free shipping. Why would you buy out parcel motel for such a small market place?

keithclancy

sharpish wrote: »

While i don't disagree with you, I'd wonder would Amazon bother buying into such a small market, parcel motel are excellent but they maybe have a reach into 50% of the market at the moment ( within easy distance to a box for most people) I think amazon would simply cut a deal, They must have cut a deal with an post or something to offer €25 free shipping. Why would you buy out parcel motel for such a small market place?

Would also be a problem for VAT, since currently they charge UK VAT to Parcel motel and now would be responsible for that part of the supply chain as well.

So I would think not.

Morph the Cat

Right, so stuff I could normally get delivered directly to my house, will now be delivered to my local Argos store so I can drive down and collect it? I see...

Del2005

Morph the Cat wrote: »

Right, so stuff I could normally get delivered directly to my house, will now be delivered to my local Argos store so I can drive down and collect it? I see...

No. Stuff you normally had to wait a few days to be delivered can now be collected immediately if you go to your nearest Argos. If you want to sit at home waiting for a delivery you still can.

Morph the Cat

Del2005 wrote: »

No. Stuff you normally had to wait a few days to be delivered can now be collected immediately if you go to your nearest Argos. If you want to sit at home waiting for a delivery you still can.

So it's essentially just Argos selling a bigger range, since they need to now stock these "eBay" items?

kc90

Morph the Cat wrote: »

So it's essentially just Argos selling a bigger range, since they need to now stock these "eBay" items?

Argos aren't selling the items. You're buying from an ebay seller who gives the option to pick the item up from a local argos.