Auto Shipping Glossary: Cash on Pickup
The most common method of paying for your car shipping services is known as cash on delivery, or COD. COD is preferred by most carriers nowadays because it pays them upon completion of the job and puts certified funds in their hands the moment they drop your vehicle off.
Cash on delivery has pretty much signaled the death-knell for prepaid auto transport services, which is where you pay your entire balance up-front to your broker and then they pay the driver later. There’s a lot of problems with prepaid shipping that carriers can avoid with cash on delivery, but in this blog post we’re going to discuss the reasons why cash on pickup is not as popular as its alternative.
Cash on pickup seems like a good idea – why not just give your payment to your carrier up-front, get it out of the way, so when the vehicle is delivered you don’t have to do anything else.
But you may be surprised to hear that car shipping carriers actually prefer their money to come when their job is done. While cash on pickup is preferable to prepaid shipping, where you pay your broker the full price and then they pay the carrier, carriers like to have their money once the vehicle is delivered as it gives them a lot more options in terms of how to spend it.
Think of it this way: would you rather get your paycheck up front for a week’s worth of work or get paid afterward?
Cash on delivery is just easier for everyone. Not only does it give the carrier more options with their money, but it also gives them a bit more power – if you decide to pay cash on pickup, carriers have to take time out of their shipment in order to deal with getting that cash, which makes your shipment take longer (sometimes – it depends on where they bank).
Since payments to carriers must be made via cash, cashier’s check or money order, it also makes it easier for their customers to pay cash on delivery as opposed to cash on pickup; if you have to wait until you get paid to in turn pay your carrier for delivery, you have time after the vehicle is picked up.
It’s also safer for you. While the auto transport industry is leaps and bounds more trustworthy than it was before the advent of the internet, cash on pickup puts you at a disadvantage. What if the carrier is late? What if their truck breaks down and they have to find another carrier to finish the load?
With the cash already in the hands of the carrier company, they can take their sweet-ass time getting your vehicle to you, and should problems arise you could be stuck without your car or your money for weeks. Is it rare? Yes. Has it happened? You bet it has. To protect yourself, brokers almost always setup their shipments via cash on delivery unless circumstances force them to change the payment method.
If you’re interested in shipping your vehicle with a top-rated car shipping company and need a quote to get you started, take a minute to fill out our free online auto transport quote request form. When you do, you’ll get a free quote to ship your vehicle right away. You can then use that quote to compare against other companies and make the right choice for your needs. If you have questions about our services or about paying for your shipment, or simply need some help getting a free quote, give us a call any time at 800-930-7417 to speak to one of our live agents.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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