Cash on Delivery is often the reason a customer buys at all: they see the product before they pay, and they don't need a card. The cost shows up later — parcels refused at the door, delivery fees you pay twice, and cash that takes weeks to reach you. None of that is a reason to drop COD. It's a reason to run it with a few firm habits.
1. Confirm before you dispatch
Most refused parcels were never real orders: a wrong number, an impulse tap, a customer who forgot. A short message or call before the order leaves — product, total, address, delivery day — filters most of them out. If nobody answers after two tries, the order waits.
Keep the message the same every time so it takes seconds: "Hi, confirming your order of 1 linen shirt (M) for $24 + delivery, to Hamra, arriving Thursday. Reply OK to confirm."
2. Show the delivery fee before checkout, not at the door
A surprise fee is the most common reason a customer refuses a parcel. Set your delivery fee by area so the customer sees the real total while ordering. On MartMint you set delivery fees per area and the checkout shows them, so the total at the door matches the total on the screen.
3. Protect the expensive and the far-away orders
You don't need the same rules for every order. For high-value items or distant areas, ask for a small deposit or a confirmed call before dispatch. For a repeat customer who has always paid, skip the extra step. Rules that match the risk keep good customers happy and stop the costly misses.
4. Keep a note on who refuses
One refusal can be bad luck. Two is a pattern. Note it on the customer and ask for a deposit next time. Because every order is a record with the customer attached, you can see their history before you send another parcel.
5. Settle cash with your delivery partner every week
Whether it's your own driver or a delivery company, match delivered orders against the cash you received at least once a week. Small gaps are easy to fix when they're a week old and nearly impossible after three months. Order statuses make this a ten-minute job instead of a notebook hunt.
The bottom line
COD is a promise of trust in both directions. Confirm before you ship, show the full price up front, adjust the rules to the risk, and settle the cash often. Do those four things and COD stays what it should be: the easiest way for a new customer to say yes.
