Store Pickups
Can Someone Else Pick Up Your Online Order? Yes, and Here's How to Set It Up
The order is ready at the store and you're stuck at work, home with a sick kid or forty minutes away. Most big retailers let you name someone else, even after you've checked out.
Buy online, pick up in store sounds simple until the day the pickup doesn't fit. The store sends a cheerful "ready for pickup" email, and the clock starts on how long they'll hold it. If you can't get there, you have two choices: let the order lapse and wait for a refund, or have someone else collect it. The second one is usually a two-minute change to the order, as long as you know where to find the setting and get the details right.
What an Alternate Pickup Person Is
An alternate pickup person is a second name the store will release your order to. At the counter, the employee checks that person's photo ID against the name on the order, along with the order number or pickup barcode. If the names match, the order goes out the door with them. If they don't, it stays on the shelf.
That check is the reason a business name never works in this field. A store can't match "Acme Delivery" to a driver's license. The alternate always has to be a real person, written the way their ID shows it.
You Can Usually Add One After You Order
Many people assume the alternate has to be chosen at checkout and that it's too late once the order is placed. At the larger chains, that isn't true. Here is what three of them say on their own help pages:
| Store | Add After Ordering? | Where to Do It | What They Ask For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Yes | Order details in the Target app, or Purchase history | Full name and email; you need an active Target account |
| Walmart | Yes | Account, Purchase History, the order, then Edit next to Pickup person | Name and email |
| Lowe's | Yes, one alternate per order | Purchase History in your Lowes.com account | Full name and email; the alternate shows photo ID and the order number or confirmation email |
A few details from those pages are worth knowing. Target won't let you remove an alternate once added, only swap in someone else, and only saved shopping partners can collect Drive Up orders, so choose in-store Order Pickup if you plan to send someone. At Target, the alternate also gets the pickup notification, which saves you forwarding it.
For any other store, open the order on its website or app and look for a pickup person, alternate, or "someone else picking up" option in the order details. If there isn't one, call the store itself, not the national help line. Store staff can often add a note to the order or tell you exactly what a third party needs to bring.
Get the Name Exactly Right
Most failed pickups come down to a name that almost matches. Type the alternate's legal first and last name the way it appears on their license: "William," not "Bill"; the hyphen or space in a two-part last name; no middle name unless the form asks for one. A store employee looking at an ID has no reason to accept a near miss on an order worth hundreds of dollars, and most won't.
The email field matters too. At stores that send the alternate their own "ready" notice or barcode, that email is where it goes. Use the address the alternate actually checks.
Timing: Wait for "Ready," Then Move Quickly
Don't send anyone until the store says the order is ready. An order that's still being picked can't be handed over, and a wasted trip is the most common way this goes wrong.
Once it's ready, hold windows vary. Target holds most pickup orders for three days and lets you extend non-perishable orders by three more. Lowe's holds items for seven days from the ready notice, with a short extension on request. Walmart's help page says an order not collected by the end of the day can be canceled the next day. If you're not sure of a store's window, assume it's short and arrange the pickup the day the ready email lands.
Counter, Curbside or Locker: Choose the Right Pickup Type
How the order was set up for pickup decides who can collect it. In-store counter pickup is the most flexible, because it runs on a name and an ID. Curbside and drive-up pickup usually depend on the account holder checking in from the store's app when they arrive, which a third party can't do from someone else's phone. Target makes this explicit: only saved shopping partners can pick up Drive Up orders.
Pickup lockers and towers open with a code or barcode sent to the buyer. If the order is headed to one of those, forward that code to whoever is collecting, and confirm the locker is inside the store and not behind a door only staff can open. When you have the choice before checkout, pick standard in-store pickup. It is the option built for someone else walking in with an ID.
A Two-Minute Checklist Before Anyone Goes
- The store has emailed or texted that the order is ready
- The alternate's first and last name match their ID exactly
- The alternate's email is on the order if the store asked for one
- The order is paid in full and has no age-restricted items
- You know the order number and which store, if the chain has several nearby
- You've noted how many days the store will hold it
With those six things settled, the counter visit takes a minute or two. Without them, it's a coin toss, and the person who drove there is the one who finds out.
Things an Alternate Usually Can't Collect
Stores apply extra rules to some products no matter who is picking up. Age-restricted items such as alcohol and tobacco, anything that requires the buyer to sign in person, and some high-value or locked-case items may need the original purchaser at the counter. If your order includes one of these, check with the store before sending anyone. Orders also need to be paid in full online; the store only releases a paid order.
Couriers have limits of their own. We carry alcohol only for a licensed store that books us itself, and prescriptions only when the pharmacy releases them to us. We don't carry tobacco or vape products, firearms or weapons, or anything over 75 pounds or too big for a sedan trunk. A laptop, phone, tablet, camera, small appliance, boxed accessories or a bag of clothing is a typical store pickup. A 55-inch TV is not.
Sending a Courier Instead of a Friend
Asking a friend works when someone is free and heading that way. When no one is, or when the item is valuable enough that you'd rather have it signed for and tracked, a courier can be your alternate. Here is how it works with us:
- Book a package delivery. Enter the store as the pickup address and tick This Is a Store Pickup. Add the store's order number. Nothing else changes.
- Check your confirmation email. It gives you the courier's first and last name to add as the alternate, plus an email address if the store asks for one. We don't publish the name on the website; it only goes to customers with a store pickup booked.
- Add the alternate to your order. Use the store's order details page, as above. It works on an order you placed hours or days ago.
- The courier collects it. At the counter, the courier gives your name and order number and shows their own photo ID. A photo is taken at pickup, and you can follow the trip on the live tracking page.
- Delivered and signed for. Every delivery ends with a photo and a signature. If you declared a value of $500 or more, it's handed only to the recipient you named, after their photo ID is checked and scanned.
One rule protects both of us: the name on the store order has to match the name on the card you use to book the delivery. It's a simple check that keeps a stolen card from turning a courier into an unwitting accomplice. If you're ordering for your company or for someone else, call (410) 648-FAST before booking and we'll sort it out.
Coverage on a Store Pickup
The order total is the easiest declared value you'll ever pick: it's on the receipt. Enter it at checkout. Every delivery includes $100 of coverage, and above that it's $2 per $100 of value with a $5 minimum, so a $650 tablet adds $12. At $1,000 and up, checkout asks for a short signed summary of what we're carrying, and a store pickup has a shortcut there because the order number and receipt do most of the work. Our declared value guide covers the details.
When the Recipient Isn't You
Store pickups often end at someone else's door: a new phone for a parent, a replacement charger for a college student, a birthday present that has to arrive the same day. Name that person as the recipient at checkout, with a phone number the courier can call on arrival. For gifts, tell them a delivery is coming. A surprise is nicer when the person isn't asked for ID by a stranger they weren't expecting.
Offices use this too, for a monitor or a box of toner that has to be there before an afternoon meeting. The office card books the delivery, and the order should be in the company's name or the booking person's name to match.
Questions People Ask
I already picked "I'll pick it up myself." Is it too late?
Usually not. At Target, Walmart and Lowe's the alternate can be added from your order history after checkout. For other stores, look at the order details first, then call the store.
Will the store call me when someone else arrives?
Don't count on it. That's why the name has to match exactly. Keep your phone nearby in case the store has a question.
What if the store refuses to release it?
The courier calls you from the counter. Most refusals are a name mismatch or an order that isn't actually ready, and both can be fixed in a few minutes from your phone.
Can you pick up from more than one store?
Yes. Add each store as a stop when you book, with its own order number noted in the delivery instructions, and add the alternate to each order.
We pick up from stores across Baltimore City and Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties, from White Marsh to Bel Air. See how valuables are handled on our High-Value Delivery page, or book a store pickup and the instructions arrive in your confirmation email.