DoorDash is a lot more than just a food delivery app! It is quickly evolving into a one stop shop for all kinds of delivery services.
Dashers in some cities can now do ‘Peer to Peer‘ deliveries, which are different than the typical restaurant delivery.
Peer to peer deliveries are orders from local businesses and Facebook Marketplace orders.
A peer to peer order in Los Angeles. What’s in the box?
The delivery procedure and pay isn’t very different than other orders, but some Dashers are hesitating to accept peer to peer deliveries.
What exactly are you delivering, and who are you picking up from? Dashers trust normal merchants but can be a bit suspicious about these nondescript packages from nondescript businesses.
Read on to learn how peer to peer orders work, and why you probably don’t have to worry about the packages you’ll be picking up.
What are peer to peer orders on DoorDash?
A peer to peer order is a special delivery type on DoorDash that gets picked up from a local business or residential address instead of a restaurant or large store.
Thanks to a partnership with Facebook, DoorDash is now a delivery option for Facebook Marketplace deliveries. Marketplace users can schedule a date and time for their pickup. The DoorDash app will send the delivery request as a peer to peer order to local drivers.
How does pay work for peer to peer orders?
Dashers are paid for peer to peer orders based on distance and time. The order offer screen shows a guaranteed payout, similar to other deliveries.
The exact distance and time rates for peer to peer orders aren’t known, but the rates don’t appear to be significantly different than other delivery types.
The peer to peer orders that we looked at paid around $1 per mile, which is in line with other orders.
High pay, but high mileage
Currently, declining peer to peer orders has no impact on your ratings. Your acceptance rate won’t drop if you decline a peer to peer order.
Differences in the pickup and delivery process for peer to peer orders
On a peer to peer order, the pickup location will be at a local business or residential address.
You may have to pick up the item from a person, or the package may be waiting for you. The package will have the buyer’s name and order number on it.
You will be asked to take a photo of the package at pickup AND at drop-off. For most other orders, you only have to take a photo at the drop-off location for leave at door deliveries.
Other order types on DoorDash
What kind of stores and merchants can do peer to peer orders?
Peer to peer orders will be from online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, and from local small businesses.
DoorDash has categories for local businesses like retail shops, flowers, and gifts. Some of those orders may be offered to Dashers via the peer to peer order type.
Another thing to note: Peer to peer orders can’t be more than 50 lbs, and they can’t be too bulky. The order should fit in the average vehicle.
Facebook Marketplace users can ship items via DoorDash
Can anyone send a peer to peer order? How it compares vs Uber Connect
Deliveries can only be arranged by DoorDash merchants, and through partnerships with some online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace. That might help reassure you that a DoorDash peer to peer order won’t be unusual or illegal items from an unvetted DoorDash user.
That’s different than Uber Connect, where any Uber customer can request a peer to peer delivery. Uber drivers have reported doing unusual—and possibly illegal—deliveries on Uber Connect because any Uber user can request them.
It’s possible that customers will figure out how to use Facebook Marketplace and Craiglist to initiate sketchy peer to peer deliveries, but so far it looks like DoorDash peer to peer deliveries may be better vetted than Uber Connect.
Should you do peer to peer orders? Upsides and downsides
Peer to peer orders should be evaluated using the same criteria as any other DoorDash order: Is the pay per mile good? Will it keep you in your delivery zone, or take you too far away?
If the pay and distance look good to you, there’s nothing about the pickup and dropoff process that will make it much different than what you’re used to.
One potential downside is that the businesses using peer to peer services aren’t as familiar with DoorDash as the restaurants and stores that do a lot of delivery volume.
When a merchant is inexperienced it can mean slower pickups, a higher chance that you have to unassign the order, and the need for more communication with the customer and DoorDash support.
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