Cash on Delivery / COD

Cash on Delivery is one of the safest payment methods that can be recorded in the sales contract.

One of the most important conditions of the sales contract for the seller is when, how and with how much security he can get the consideration for his sold product. 

There are solutions spread around the world that regulate the customs and rules of centuries-old merchant and banking practice within the framework of international conventions. 

Examples include the letter of letter of credit (documentary credit, Commercial Letter of Credit - L/C) or the documentary collection (cash against documents - CAD), the international customs of which have been recorded and published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). as UCP 600 or URC 522). 

These payment techniques, if only due to their regulation (to a different degree, but) make it safe even between business partners who do not know each other, the customer performance of the contract and the payment of the consideration for the goods. 

Even in the absence of international customs, however, the trading habits developed in individual professions, cultures, and markets strongly influence the conclusion of transactions. These offer entrepreneurs a wide range of options according to the extent of the seller's and buyer's risks. Cash on Delivery is one of the safest solutions. 

The most untrustworthy seller usually insists on payment in advance. However, this solution is relatively rarely used in international trade, the more common form being Cash on Delivery. 

Cash on Delivery (COD) is the solution chosen by the least trustworthy sellers. Prepayment can be considered simultaneous, in which the goods and money are present at the same time, in the same place. 

This solution is not typical in B2B relationships, it is a common solution for B2C online orders (postal items, air freight), especially for deals within the country. Courier services or the post office only hand over the ordered product to the customer if the customer settles the consideration for the shipment at the same time as the delivery. For the seller, the delivery of goods is made safe by the fact that in the case of a non-paying customer, the goods cannot be taken out of the possession, and the goods will be returned.