Dictionary of Marketing Terms: collect on delivery (COD)
collect on delivery (COD)
sale that requires payment upon delivery of the merchandise; also called cash on delivery. The payment may include shipping and handling charges. COD selling offers the buyer the advantages of credit orders while offering the seller protection from bad-debt expense. However, it is more expensive to collect payment in this way, and these costs are frequently passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

