Re: [SG] Catalog Shipping Charges

I can identify with the feelings expressed about shipping charges and noted
the same about Roslyn...but, I do feel like speaking up a bit here on
shipping charges, in general.

Plant Delights and some others make no bones about the fact that "shipping"
charges also include handling and more nurseries ought to note this.  The
handling part has to be taken into consideration.  It takes a human a
considerable time to either dig a plant or pull a plant, clean it up, wrap
it, pack it and deal with the paperwork...and this does not count the
actual cost of the packing materials, which aren't free.  Nurseries are in
business to make a profit and they have to pay their employees wages, taxes
and what not...so a person's time has to be paid for somehow.  Even if the
nursery is a one man band, it's not fair to expect a person to work for
nothing ;-)

UPS isn't cheap, either.  I don't sell plants, but I ship a lot of them all
over the country to net buddies every spring and fall.  And I can tell you
that UPS is not cheap by a long shot.  Priority mail works for small boxes,
but not for big ones.  I also imagine that most nurseries have a deal with
UPS so UPS comes and picks up at the nursery on a regular schedule during
shipping season...can't imagine them carting all those boxes to the nearest
P.O. or UPS for shipping.

Figuring out what to charge for shipping is a rather delicate balancing
act, I should think.  Unless you deal with each order - pack it and weigh
it and know what the charge for actual shipping for that order is and then
tell the customer so they can decide if they want to pay it, you really
have to do some kind of averaging, I should think.  Otherwise the
bookeeping would be a nightmare.  If you've got more than 10 customers, I
don't see how you could deal with anything but a percentage of the order or
a per plant amount.  As Tony Avent says in his catalog - shipping is not a
money making item...most just hope to break even there and not lose money.

I'm in no way making excuses for outrageous "shipping" costs - and I think
Roslyn is pretty much in that category, based on what other nurseries
around the country charge, but I do think we have to cut some slack in most
cases.

When I order from the other side of country, I know I'm going to pay more
because it costs more to send 2nd day air and that's the only way a plant
is going to have a really good chance...ground just takes too long.  So, I
resign myself to that if I want that particular plant from that particular
source...and, if you think about a $6.00 or even $8.00 plant and figure
another 30%, the plant is still pretty reasonable, IMO, if it's going to be
good sized and healthy and properly named to start out with.

Just my 2cents FWIW

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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