DeliverEnd is an Indiana-based app on a mission to eliminate the dangers of transactional exchanges that occur via online marketplaces.
Whereas Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and other marketplaces do little to safeguard their users against robbery, assault, and fraud, DeliverEnd handles payment transactions as well as the physical exchange of goods being sold. Besides taking the danger out of online exchanges, it acts as an on-demand delivery service for customers who need their groceries, dry cleaning, or other goods brought to their homes or places of business.
DeliverEnd’s Startling Impetus
Nick Turner, founder and CEO of DeliverEnd, is led by his passion for keeping people safe. Then his own friend was robbed at gunpoint in the process of selling an iPhone using an online marketplace. After doing a little research, Nick found that dangerous crimes were occurring around the U.S. under the guise of exchanging goods. The criminals in these cases use online listing sites we’ve all heard of to lure victims.
Nick’s Vision
Surprised that major online marketplaces have never taken matters of safety into their own hands, Nick created a team to innovate an app that could provide safe Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace delivery and payment for both the seller and the buyer. He envisioned a solution that would eliminate the need to meet up with a stranger to exchange cash and a product.
With unemployment rampant during the global pandemic, many people have turned to these online marketplaces as a way to find better deals on items they need or sell products to make some extra cash. It makes the need for safe transactions greater than ever.
How the DeliverEnd App Works With Online Marketplaces
Currently in talks with the most well-known online marketplaces, DeliverEnd’s goal is to integrate into the four major platforms in the space—including Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and Nextdoor. For now, sellers who post their offerings on these popular marketplaces can garner interest from customers and then use DeliverEnd to finalize transactions and handle the safe delivery of goods.
How DeliverEnd Keeps Online Shoppers and Businesses Safe
To ensure verifications through the app are thorough, DeliverEnd has a built-in live video chat feature. It masks the names and locations of both the buyer and seller for their privacy. By getting on a two-way video chat, each party can feel comfortable with the transaction they’re getting into.
Safer Payment Transactions
One of the biggest challenges for sellers who use Craigslist and other marketplaces is that they can get into an unwanted negotiation process once meeting up with the buyers. Using DeliverEnd, any price negotiations can happen over video chat. Once they determine the price, the payment goes directly through the app and it’s held temporarily in escrow until the goods have been delivered, preventing any last-minute attempts at a price change.
Avoid Scams
DeliverEnd also helps prevent people who are buying from online marketplaces from getting scammed. A buyer can ask questions about the product during the video chat and see the item in the seller’s hands via the in-app video chat for proof that it exists.
On listing websites, sellers choose what pictures and information to reveal about products, and they could intentionally leave out important facts that would dissuade buyers. Shoppers are able to better understand and see what they’re buying, which discourages swindlers from using the app to scam people with false promises.
DeliverEnd’s All-Star Network of Delivery Drivers
Removing the need to meet someone you don’t know at a determined location, DeliverEnd sends a driver who picks up the item from the seller and delivers it to the buyer’s location. The seller can’t track the delivery on the app and the buyer can’t see map tracking until the driver is outside the masked zone. The app masks both the seller and the buyer’s locations—only the vetted driver is aware of both addresses—this protects each party.
DeliverEnd drivers are independent contractors who undergo mandatory background checks, both on signup and then every six months in order to continue working for DeliverEnd.
If the delivery driver wants to verify the item they’re picking up, they can initiate a video chat with the buyer while doing so.
Tracking Your Item to Delivery
The buyer can check the status of their purchase from the time they submit payment up until its arrival. They also get notifications for when the item has been picked up and upon its delivery. Once delivery is complete, the funds are released from escrow and sent to the seller’s bank account.
Deliveries of All Sizes
DeliverEnd makes it possible for sellers to exchange pieces of furniture and other large, heavy items completely hassle-free. The buyer covers the delivery fee, and DeliverEnd organizes the vehicle logistics, whether that means sending a car, a van, or a full-size box truck. Small businesses in Indiana have even started using DeliverEnd to replace or supplement expensive fleets and lower their overhead costs.
Drivers can toggle app settings to see only the delivery job types of their choice, such as grocery runs, door-to-door exchanges, and construction site deliveries. They can also track their earnings over time through an analytics feature and cash out whenever they want to.
The Future for DeliverEnd—2021 and Beyond
DeliverEnd is available to download on the Apple Store and is coming soon on Google Play. The app has successfully facilitated over 100,000 deliveries in Indiana to date. There’s a separate app for shoppers and drivers, and the app continues to improve for an enhanced user experience.
DeliverEnd is getting ready to expand into additional U.S. cities in 2021 and hopes to also integrate with Craigslist, OfferUp, and Nextdoor, in due time.
Safeguarding Against Fraud Amid Growing Demands
The first half of 2020 saw a 30% boost in online purchases compared to the first six months of 2019, and we don’t expect this trend to go anywhere. DeliverEnd began as a solution to address the urgent need for safer online exchanges. However, it’s been able to meet many simultaneous needs, from reducing delivery costs for small businesses to helping people who can’t leave their homes to shop.
