We’re giving away a Pacific Spirit Sweatshirt in your choice of size and color!
HOW TO ENTER: Just leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post. (Preferably pertaining to shipping, but any comment will enter you in the drawing.) Be sure to provide e-mail contact information.
Today I received an e-mail from a very irate customer on our shipping policies. I wish I could keep a business attitude towards these things, but this store is my passion – a lot of time, energy and thought have gone into it and even one unhappy customer is usually enough to bring me to tears. (Yup, I’m one of those weepy people.) I really do want every single customer to be happy, but I have found that this is an impossible goal.
But I digress. The issue at hand is shipping. We keep prices very low as a matter of course. All products from US manufactures are at least 10% off the MSRP. Unless someone is having an unexpected sale, you can generally go right to any of our manufacturers and find that we sell their items cheaper than they do every single day. (Massive fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates prevent us from making the same claim on our Canadian and European manufacturers, but we do our best.)
Of course, this means we make lower profits. No worries on that because hopefully we’re spreading the Green message and selling more with our low prices to make up for it. However, we can’t offer super low prices and free shipping all the time. Sadly, shipping just costs too much. Our current policy is to offer reasonable shipping charges and then offer free shipping on large orders (over $99 where our profit is a little higher). If no one ever returned anything, this would probably work fine. But it gets a little sticky with partial returns where an order started out at $100 and ended up at $35.
In any event, we thought we take the question directly to our customers. On the right you’ll find a poll booth. Would you rather pay a little more (say MSRP) to get free shipping on every item all the time? Do you prefer knowing you’re getting the very best deal and seeing shipping charges broken out separately? Or does the hybrid method we’re currently using work best – good prices and free shipping only on large orders? After you vote, be sure to leave a comment to enter yourself into our drawing for the free sweatshirt. We’ll draw for a winner on December 1, 2009.
Depending on the winning poll answer, we may have a follow up question…
If you’ve ever purchased anything from us, FaeriesDance.com is your store. Even if you’ve just looked, the fact is, it was designed for you, our eco-conscious customers. So please help design it the way you’d like to see it. Your opinion really does count!
Faerie's Dance
We have a winner! Maria D'Angelo was chosen using the random number generator from http://www.random.org.
Congratulations, Maria.
Anonymous
I have always been happy with shipping from Faeries Dance. I don't worry about reaching the 99$ mark because I live in Canada. I'm prepared to pay a reasonable price for shipping costs and FD prices are fair. I think that all non US customers would agree to keep clothing prices down and pay what's necessary, yet fair, for shipping.
jddumka@gmail.com
Anonymous
I'm fine with paying for shipping. What matters to me is that my purchases be sent by ground mail (never air mail!) and packaged in an eco-conscious manner. When I order organic cotton clothing and it arrives in a Tyvek envelope within which each item is packaged in its own individual plastic bag, it makes me think it would be more eco-conscious to shop at Target, where I can get clothes without any packaging. (I'm trying to live a "zero waste" lifestyle, i.e. not send anything to a landfill.) What would encourage me to order from Faeries Dance again is if you indicated which items are available without individual packaging, agreed to ship them by ground mail, and sent them in reused mailers. (Reused mailers are easy to obtain through Freecycle in many cities, and are better for the environment than any new mailer, regardless of its recycled content.)
I realize it must be frustrating when someone like me comes along who wants exactly the opposite of what other customers want. Many customers want fast shipping and new mailers, and here I am wanting slow shipping and ugly reused mailers! I debated whether to say anything because I don't want you to feel like customers are impossible to please, but you did ask for our feedback on shipping, so here it is.
There's no need to enter me into the drawing. I have plenty of sweatshirts from yard sales and don't need another one. The Pacific Spirit sweatshirt does look pretty, though.
windycindy
I am not much of a business person, but I think your clothing line is lovely. In fact, I think it is one of the best looking sustainable clothing line available! Your shipping fees are very in line and appropriate. I also am one that will purchase a specific amount to get lower of free shipping.
Many thanks for a great prize giveaway drawing…..Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
Patrice
Wow! this is a tough one. Basically i shop online in order to find what i want or need without having to go all over town wasting time and gas, usually not finding anything. Its such a convenience to have it delivered to one's door. REALLY Love your website and the variety and uniqueness of your items. Think the shipping is fair too.
valbobr@dejazzd.com
I think your shipping rates are quite fair & even low in some cases compared to other vendors. I love the products you sell!
Deb
I would order more on line if there were no shipping charges, Especially when it is the first order placed with a company. It is difficult to know the quality/sizing, etc.
Andrew
If I'm ordering online I'm usually expecting to pay shipping. It's one of the perks of not going to the mall. Your prices are great and the shipping on my last order was low. Keep up the great work!
Jen
My thoughts echo much of what has been said already. Your policy works. There is always going to be some miserable person unhappy with things – such is life. Charging a restocking fee on returned items seems perfectly fair, as does having the customer pay the charges for shipping the item back to you.
Keep up the great work – you have a beautiful site!
VegBookie
Current policy seems fine to me. Thank you for the products you sell and the quality.
Anonymous
I think the shipping prices are very fair. The shipping to Australia is even affordable. I have been really happy to find your website and I think the clothes are beautiful!
reducereuserecycle
your poilicy is very clearly stated on your website. i have only ordered from you once and i totally understood that if i returned a portion of the items, bringing my total below $99, that i would be responsible for the shipping costs. i think it is an extremely fair shipping policy. your store is one-of-a-kind, and i love it.
Maria D'Angelo
Great clothing! Thanks for keeping those shipping charges low!
Svetlana Sforza
Well, I guess most of us agree to pay the low prices on your items to have the minimum met for the free shipping anyway. Some people cannot be reasoned with, but I have to control myself to not go way over the 99 dollars haha 🙂
Kerrie
I think that the shipping prices are reasonable. I would rather have the lower prices and pay shipping up to $99 (like the current plan).
Aurelia Ward
I think the current lower pricing with free shipping on higher orders is fair enough- none of us appreciates the higher and higher postage prices the US Post Office demands, but I do prefer to see things broken out in pricing- Thanks. I do believe, for $99+ orders, if it is no fault of the customer for the return (damaged product, mis-sized, etc) the customer should not have to pay difference on shipping on a return. (This may already be true, not sure).
organicfairymom@yahoo.com
I think your shipping is great (I haven't had any trouble reaching the $99 for free shipping :). Shipping most places I order seems high, and yours is better than most, I think. Plus, you guys are insanely fast … I've got no complaints. Keep doing what you do.
Anonymous
I love your product, your prices and I have to say your shipping charges are perfectly fair as they are. One person can ruin your day, but don't let that one person ruin your business. Stick to your guns. The current shipping programme is working, and your prices are great. If you offer free shipping for larger orders and there are partial returns, advise up front that this will cause you to charge a fee to recoup your costs. Prorate the fee as to the amount returned. It's only fair.
Organic Janet
I think your current shipping policy is perfectly fair. Sure it would be nice to get free shipping as an incentive here and there but not if that would jeopardize your ability to keep offering reasonable prices, stay profitable and stay in business.
And you do have better prices than other sites which I really appreciate.
Lastly, don't let one upset person get you down! You're doing great work promoting eco-friendly clothing and you have nice customer service as well.
Faerie's Dance
Remember to leave a name and/or e-mail so I can contact you if you win. Thanks.
Anonymous
I would say keep prices low and keep shipping the same.
ace
I think the shipping is fair … but I would love to see more sales offering free or lower shipping, at least on occasion.
Stephen
The current shipping policy is very fair. In order to maintain this policy and still see a profit from free shipping orders that return items, I feel a restocking fee is appropriate. If you made it a flat rate ($5?), that would cover any losses due to your shipping costs and keep it simple for patrons.
Best of luck, and thanks!
Lisa Flynn
Having purchased from FaeriesDance.com I'd like to say that I find your prices and shipping rates VERY reasonable just the way they are. Most retail chains only offer free shipping with larger orders also. You're offering quality products and helping to save the planet at the same time. What more can you ask for?