PUDO Lockers or Door-to-Door? Choosing Delivery for Your Shop

How your parcel reaches a customer shapes what they pay at checkout, whether they finish the order, and how many "where's my parcel?" messages you get afterwards. In South Africa you have two main options: send it to their door, or send it to a PUDO locker near them.

Neither is better for every shop. This guide covers when each one makes sense, and how to offer both so your customer can choose.

How a PUDO locker works

PUDO is The Courier Guy's network of lockers, kiosks and pickup counters, often at petrol stations, shopping centres and convenience stores. Your customer picks a locker at checkout. When the parcel arrives, they get a code and collect it when it suits them.

On your side, you can have a driver collect parcels from you, or drop them at a locker yourself.

When a locker is the better choice

• Small parcels. Locker delivery is often cheaper than door-to-door for things like clothing, cosmetics, jewellery and accessories. Your customers see the real prices side by side at checkout, so they can judge for themselves.
• Customers who are out all day. Nobody has to be home to sign for it, and there's no missed delivery to rebook.
• Addresses that are hard to deliver to. Complexes with strict access, estates, rural addresses and areas where parcels left at the gate don't last.
• You, if you'd rather not wait for a driver. Dropping parcels at a locker on your way somewhere can be easier than being home for a collection window.

When door-to-door is the better choice

• Big or heavy parcels. A locker box has a size and weight limit (the largest takes roughly 60 × 41 × 69 cm and 20kg). Furniture, large homeware or bulk orders need a door.
• Customers far from a locker. If the nearest one is a long drive away, a locker isn't a saving for them.
• Gifts and premium orders, where arriving at the door is part of the experience.
• Business customers, who usually have someone at reception to sign.

Offer both and let the customer choose

You don't have to pick one. With live courier rates switched on, ShopEazy asks your courier what each parcel really costs to the customer's address, and shows the options at checkout, cheapest first. If your connected courier has lockers and the parcel fits, a locker option appears alongside door delivery. There's no separate setting to switch lockers on.

Customers who want the cheapest option take it. Customers who want the convenience of their door pay for it. Either way, the price they see is the courier's real price for that parcel, not a guess.

Set it up

You use your own account with the courier, and the courier bills you directly for each parcel. ShopEazy never charges you for delivery and never takes a cut.

• Open a PUDO or Courier Guy account if you don't have one. It's free to open, and you top up a balance to pay for parcels.
• In ShopEazy, go to Settings, then Delivery, click Connect a courier, and paste the API key from your courier's dashboard.
• Open the courier and choose what to use it for: Door-to-door, Lockers, or both. Turn on I drop parcels at a locker if you'd rather drop off than have a driver collect.
• Under How you charge, choose Live courier rates, and set a fallback fee.

The full steps, including where to find each courier's key, are in Connect The Courier Guy or PUDO.

Four settings that change what customers pay

• Default parcel. The box size and weight used to price your products. This moves delivery prices more than anything else, so measure a real packed parcel and don't overestimate it. Too big, and a parcel that would fit in a locker won't be offered one.
• Fallback fee. What customers pay if the courier can't be reached or can't price the parcel. Keep it set, or a courier outage means free delivery.
• Add to courier price. A percentage on top to cover your packaging and handling. At 0, your customer pays exactly what the courier charges you.
• Hide anything over and Show at most. Keep expensive options off your checkout and limit how many choices appear. Three is usually plenty.

Keep an eye on your courier balance

Because you pay the courier from your own prepaid balance, bookings can fail if it runs out. ShopEazy shows your balance on Settings, then Delivery, and flags it as running low when it drops under R200. Top it up before a busy weekend. For every delivery option, see Set up delivery and collection.

Related

Connect The Courier Guy or PUDO

Set up delivery and collection

Create a discount code (including free delivery)