If you, like the rest of Australia during Covid-19, went online homewares shopping, you will likely have had a few things delivered at home.
But the skyrocketing popularity of online shopping has meant the supply of delivery services by Australia Post and courier companies to deliver your orders has been completely outstripped by demand.
No more residential deliveries by some courier companies
Both Toll, and TNT (now owned by Fedex), no longer deliver to residential addresses and will only deliver to business addresses.
Star Track (owned by Australia Post) has been so overwhelmed with deliveries it now has a package maximums at which point it will not accept orders. If you are ordering, for example, any item which weighs more 20kg, and/or measures longer than 117cm, and/or wider or higher than 60cm, you have to choose another delivery option.
Unfortunately, a lot of furniture weighs more than 20kg or is longer than 117cm!
Increased fees or missed deliveries
This means that the remaining delivery companies which DO deliver to home addresses, are so busy they're likely to greatly increase their fees to cope with the logistics (which forces retailers to increase their delivery fees), and/or in some cases, to just leave you a card whether you're home or not(!), rather than take time to ring your doorbell, and wheel your package down your garden path or driveway, effectively forcing you to collect it from their depot.
Specific delivery times are only provided by large chains
Generally, the homewares retailers that can give you specific delivery times are those which are owned by large chains, such as Harvey Norman, or David Jones and which have branded trucks and a fully funded delivery department OR which are one-person retailers where it may be delivered locally in that city by the business owner in person. Homewares giant Temple & Webster uses a dropshipping model where it accepts your order, but the delivery is organised by the actual supplier who may or may not be a large player.
Niche online homewares retailers like Brighton House Decor, have to use the delivery services available according to the size and weight of your order. For example, we can no longer use Star Track to deliver floor lamps as they weigh more, and the boxes are wider, than their maximum dimension allows. If your order is going to a residential address no matter what the size package, we can no longer use Toll nor TNT (Fedex).
We cannot give you specific delivery times - let alone get the driver to call ahead that they're 30 minutes away etc - for the simple reason that courier companies do not give their drivers work phones as they don't want them using a phone while driving. If any driver uses a phone at all, it will be their personal one.
So while you can request we get the driver to call you on approach, it is highly unlikely it will happen!
Our eight tips to ensure the speediest delivery of your orders:
Free pickup
Order from a locally based online retailer in your city which offers Free curbside pickup so you can collect it yourself.
Same-city delivery
Many smaller online retailers, such as Brighton House Decor, will give you a specific timeslot for mutually convenient business day deliveries in their own city.
Authority to leave
If your home has a long driveway or a deep porch behind a gate, you might choose to give your delivery driver an "Authority to leave" option if no-one is home to sign for it as your package should be well out of sight of prying eyes. This option is also best for apartment building residents IF you have a concierge at ground floor who will sign for deliveries.
Residential addresses
If you don't want to risk stolen packages with an Authority to Leave option, AND if you or your partner work from home, you will need to take turns waiting for your courier.
If you check the tracking progress of your courier service and it says, "Out for delivery", that is as specific as the delivery timings will get, so you will need to stay home until it's delivered. If you tend to be out and about a lot, you may want to get your order delivered to your parents, neighbour or a best friend who is nearly always home.
Postal addresses
If you order online frequently, you may seriously consider getting a postbox at your local post office. You'll get cards to collect from there but your items will be safe. Please note, outsize packages weighing more than 20kg and measuring over 117cm will not be delivered to your post office.
Deliver to work
If your boss is OK with employees having packages delivered to your office, and you have a receptionist to sign for it, get it delivered to your workplace. This works best if you can drive to work to put it in your car at the end of the day if the item is large, or it's valuable and you don't want to risk an Authority to Leave at home.
Deliver to Wilson Storage
If you have a business that requires storage of your inventory, some Wilson Storage franchises will accept delivery of your items (for free or for a small fee) if you have a storage unit account with them.
Delivery to local depot
If you live in a remote regional location, you may be charged an excess(ive) delivery fee. Or if you know you simply don't know if you'll be home or not whenever it's delivered, arrange to collect your order from your local depot.