Peggy T Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 TLDR: I would welcome any shipping tips and tricks from folks who wholesale candles. The longer version: I will try to stick to the basics and not vent about the store owner who is driving me nuts. 🙄 I only have about 5 wholesale accounts and they're nearly all reasonably close to me. If they're within 10 miles, I will deliver for free; if its between 10-20 miles, I charge a nominal fee to deliver. I do have one account that is about 100 miles away but she always orders the same thing (my resin soap dishes) and pays for shipping. But....now I have a new store which would like to carry my products (and by new--I mean this is a new store completely, not just new to me--the owner is also new). OK- I can't help it: one teeny tiny vent--she wanted a discount on my wholesale prices because I happened to be running a retail sale at the time she placed her order. Umm, no. Anyway, the store is 30 miles from me but the owner doesn't want to pay to have the products shipped because they're mostly candles and therefore bulky and heavy. She wants me to either cover the shipping myself or deliver the order. I explained my shipping/delivery policy which is on my line sheet, she just chose to not read it or disregard it. Basically she's a PITA but I am not at a point where I can turn away wholesale accounts. Plus she is ordering my new candle line which I really want to get in more stores. But I don't want to start an arrangement I will regret later. So....with that all in mind: does anyone have any tips for shipping larger orders to stores? This is something I really have to figure out, especially as I plan my wholesale empire. LOL She's ordered about 16 larger candles (all in glass or ceramic containers so heavy and fragile) plus a variety of other soap/gift products. I guess by "tips" I mean ways to package orders efficiently (and safely), places to get deals on shipping boxes (if I don't use carrier packaging), double boxing, insurance...All that sort of stuff. Are UPS or FedEx better than USPS; I've always used USPS' flat rate or regional rate for retail orders. Generally I ship through Shopify or ShippingEasy and they've served me well but I need to figure out all my options as I scale up. I guess to sum it all up in a different way, what do you wish you had known about shipping wholesale when you started? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Check in to FedEx freight. I got a FedEx account through the soap guild and they came up with some nifty offers. As far as dealing with difficult customers, life is too short. You could be spending that time, money and energy delighting easier to deal with customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldieMN Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 If it would be worth it to have this account, I would consider extending my 10-20 mile delivery to 30 miles with the nominal fee charged. I would also have a minimum order to deliver as I wouldn't want to have to keep the customer by delivering every week for small orders. For me, there is a limit as to how much a person has to bend over backwards to please a customer. Either she is just being a good business person or is someone hard to please. If it is the latter, you will know soon enough and then have to decide if her business is worth the hassle. As @TallTayl says, "life's too short" to deal with difficult customers. GoldieMN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy T Posted January 10, 2020 Author Share Posted January 10, 2020 In case y'all are wondering the outcome of this (and I'm sure you are LOL), I convinced the owner to pay for shipping it. I calculated the cost through USPS and it was $25 (less than I expected actually). I told her I'd deliver it for the same price but I couldn't get up to her part of the state until the end of the week. She decided shipping was fine. Whew. The traffic where I live is gawd-awful so I really didn't want to drive. It would take me close to 3 hours IF I timed it perfectly. But I do need a long term solution so I'll check in to FedEx freight. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldieMN Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 @Peggy T Glad it worked out. And, yes, some of us like to hear how things turn out. GoldieMN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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