Online Sales-Shipping & Packaging

[milligkl]

Hello,

I just wanted to get an idea of how successful small and medium operations are in selling their products online, the shipping costs (do you charge the customer for that), and where to obtain the best prices for packaging (if you have an opinion on plastic vs glass I'd like to hear that too).


Best Regards,
Kevin Milligan

[GeneralStark]

Hello,

I just wanted to get an idea of how successful small and medium operations are in selling their products online, the shipping costs (do you charge the customer for that), and where to obtain the best prices for packaging (if you have an opinion on plastic vs glass I'd like to hear that too).

Best Regards,
Kevin Milligan

My online sales have been steadily growing over the last few years. Most of my online business is from repeat customers, out of town folks that buy something from me at the farmer's market, or folks that are given my products as a gift and then want more. All my labels have my website on them. I don't get very much search traffic to my site as I have not put lots of time and energy into what it takes to be high on the search list. It is very helpful for customers and potential customers though to have a site they can visit and direct order from using a credit card. I now also take credit cards at the market using an iphone and the service I use is the same as the one I use for online transactions.

Customers pay for shipping and it is a separate fee based on the size of the order. There are different ways to do it depending upon the online platform you use. Some services allow you to determine shipping cost based on weight directly through UPS or Fed Ex. You can also just add shipping to the price but it gets tricky when people order multiple things.

I prefer to use USPS flat rate boxes as it is the cheapest option for most maple products as weight is not a consideration. I can ship 2-half gallons for $13 in one box and that is pretty reasonable.

I generally ship mostly plastic though I do have some glass packaging that I will ship as it is pretty robust. I sell a mix of glass and plastic at the market, but only a small quantity online. I buy most of my packaging directly through CDL as I get a nice discount due to the many thousands of dollars of equipment I have purchased through them. I get my sugar shakers and most candy packaging from another supplier however. The trick with packaging is the shipping cost if you are mail or online ordering.

[MISugarDaddy]

This was our first year of shipping products to out of state customers and as GeneralStark stated, USPS flat rate boxes are the best and easiest way to ship because you can quote the shipping costs up front to the customer. We sent out orders as far as New Jersey, Mississippi, and Arizona, all in plastic, and had absolutely no problems. None of the customers complained of paying the shipping costs on top of the cost of the syrup. In fact, we already have received orders from each of the customers for next year, so they must be happy. We told each of our customers that we would not ship in glass because we didn't want to take the risk of a bottle breaking and they all understood.

[maple flats]

My customers always pay the shipping. I ship USPS flat rate for orders up to 2 half gallons, 3 qts or 5 pints, they will fit in a med. flat rate box. USPS supplies the boxes free and if you set up an account online and they arrange the shipment online the shipping for a med. flat rate is $11.30 (you pay $12 something if done at the P.O. That rate is to pick up at your location and deliver in 3 days max anyplace in the lower 48. If I ship large orders, such as 4 gal' it goes FedEx. On larger shipments FedEx is cheaper. I also have a FedEx acct. and arrange P/U at my location online.
In all cases, I invoice for the syrup and the s&h separately, the customer pays the cost. I only include a minimal handling fee to defray the cost of packing materials , labels and my time to pack it.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I don't sell online yet but ship fair amount each year and use USPS flat rate boxes as mentioned. One thing I would add is that now they provide $ 50 insurance free of charge on them.