A microchip pet door awaits its fate at the FedEx Office on NW 46th Street in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)
For a while now, since the closure of the Amazon Fresh Pickup in Seattle, I’ve been complaining about having to drive across the Ballard Bridge to Whole Foods to do my Amazon returns.
So when news emerged that FedEx Office locations are now part of Amazon’s drop-off network, I jumped at the chance to try it. Turns out there’s a FedEx Office on the way to GeekWire HQ, near the PCC on NW 46th Street (across from the “Up” house in the Ballard Blocks complex).
I walked in with a microchip pet door (long story), showed the QR code on my phone, got it scanned, handed over the unpackaged item, and walked out with a receipt. No box, tape, or label required, just as with other drop-off locations. There was no line.
The refund hit my account the same day.
The one thing that made me scratch my head is that, unlike returning something at a Kohl’s or Whole Foods, there’s no real ancillary benefit for FedEx Office. I dropped off the package and there was nothing else to do in the store. I had no copies to make, nothing to ship, and no need for any of the miscellaneous supplies in their limited displays.
However, I was in need of traditional U.S. Postal Service stamps, so I asked if they sold them, and the guy looked at me like I was a complete idiot. Fair enough.
But for pure convenience, it seems like a win for Amazon customers.
Amazon and FedEx severed their logistics relationship back in 2019 as Amazon built out its own delivery network. Now they’re patching things up, and more than 1,500 FedEx Office locations are accepting returns as part of a network of over 10,000 drop-off points nationwide.
We discussed this (and much more) on this week’s GeekWire Podcast. Listen above, and subscribe to GeekWire in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
