Is Apple Using Couriers like UberEats etc for normal orders during the holiday season?

[GooseInTheCaboose]

I have discovered that Apple is using UberEats for 2 hour deliveries. To each his own but that is something I want to avoid. I can just see them slipping a used and repackaged Apple Pencil in my bag and keeping the new one I ordered.

My question is, how widespread is the use of non-traditional couriers for Apple orders these days? (esp the current holiday period)?

Is it limited to 2 hour deliveries? Or are they doing it on all orders close to Apple Stores? Or is it totally unpredictable?

I read that if your item is in stock in a local Apple Store they will ship it to you from that store. Does this mean they will likely use a courier in that instance? Or could they even use it on an order shipping from the factory?

Any way to avoid these carriers and shipping from the store? Seems skeezy to me and like there are lots of opportunities for mishaps. (Store employees and drivers could drop items, UberEats people could swap items for counterfeits or used/repackaged ones, etc)

EDIT: So for anyone curious about this I think I figured out part of it. It is possible to check the serial numbers of almost anything you buy from Apple without touching the packaging or item. Look at your order’s invoice to find the serial numbers. If they match those in your items firmware and box you are likely OK.

This assumes the drivers have no access to the invoice and cannot alter it. In the event they could know the numbers on your invoice, in principle sophisticated thieves could have sophisticated counterfeit iPads that allow them to change their internal serial numbers, and they could print a label with the numbers for your box. So conceivably they could do it. I dont know if iPads have serial numbers on the chassis these days but Pencils dont afaik so they just need to change the virtual serial number for those. It is obviously highly difficult to implement counterfeits like this but there have been reports of very soohisticated fakes of airpods etc with working serial numbers. Here in the NY region our organized criminals can be fairly sophisticated. So I wouldnt chance it here. YMMV

 

[GooseInTheCaboose]

So I learned by experience today that Apple is using third party couriers like Uber Eats to deliver 2 hour delivery items. They come in unsealed Apple Store paper bags.

It dawned on me that sophisticated criminals could swap the items on your bag for used and repackaged but otherwise identical ones. Or perhaps counterfeits.

As long as they can sell your brand new item for more than they paid for the used/repackaged ones, they have a profitable business. Perhaps they print custom serial/model number stickers so you don’t suspect them.

What prevents this kind of misconduct from happening? Is it possible with courier delivery? Would you avoid it for this reason?

 

[chabig]

Any way to avoid these carriers and shipping from the store?

You seem very concerned. In store pickup is for you.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Two posts about courier deliveries? There's tons of ethical reasons someone does or doesn't do something. If you're in an area with courier delivery just go to the store as there's nothing someone on a message board can say to change your obvious concerns.

 

[fwmireault]

I’ve used express delivery a few times, all of them with Uber Eats. Never had any issue. The bags are not sealed but most Apple product are, you can definitely see if a box has been opened or not.

You cannot completely prevent someone from doing something wrong, but in this case they have a very short time to find a counterfeit product. They don’t know that you’ve ordered until they pick the order in store, so they would have to find the exact same product and find a way to seal the box all in less than an hour. Not impossible, but very unlikely. You could always look at the serial number of the device to see if it matches with the one on the box, by removing any sticker they may put.

Anyway, Uber Eats drivers are not less trustable than any delivery service in my mind, they do this kind of thing constantly. It will always be safer to pick the product in an Apple Store directly

 

[fatTribble]

There’s nothing to stop my server from spitting in my food but I still go to restaurants.

 

[Clix Pix]

A couple of years ago I used the courier service and it worked really nicely -- no problems whatsoever! The courier arrived on time with the correct item (and it was clear what it was, too, an expensive item). That was when COVID was still pretty much causing a lot of problems and the stores were keeping limited hours, if I recall correctly. The whole process was fine, definitely worth the extra cost.

Since then, when I've looked at ordering something online from Apple I've noticed that they still offer the courier service, so it wasn't as I had thought, just a temporary thing during the holiday season or due to the pandemic. I live close to an Apple Store so I now usually just run over there to get what I need without ordering online first or if I do order online I arrange for in-store pickup.

 

[velocityg4]

There’s nothing to stop my server from spitting in my food but I still go to restaurants.

But what if they swap your steaks for counterfeit steaks on the way to the table?

 

[fatTribble]

But what if they swap your steaks for counterfeit steaks on the way to the table?

I’m a vegetarian. I’d recognize fake broccoli 🤭

 

[bruinsrme]

It is no different than other delivery services from messing with deliveries.
When you click deliver and submit the expectations start dropping in place.
When it comes to human glue to complete a process there are bound to issues.
I propose to talking with some of these people providing the delivery service.
This is there income. sure there are scammers out there. but remember, unless they have a printer and wrapper in hand its pretty tough match serial numbers