Shipping...Why Me?
As you might know, Hubby and I decided to pool our woodworking talents and start our own business. Being a new teeny, tiny business we decided to use a lot of "free" advertising like brochures, flyers around town, blogs, and Facebook. I have to admit…I was surprised by the results I've gotten from both "real world" and online. We're closing in of 65 Facebook Fans and I'm being stopped in the grocery store to be asked about my latest door. All good news when your trying to get your business name known, right? I thought so too…only problem was no one was actually buying anything. I was reconsidering my pricing (which I know to be much lower than other similar items) and even lowered my price significantly for a Father's Day Sale. Sadly, still no buyers.
When I woke up this morning I literally had ZERO orders and no prospects. So Hubby and I headed out with more flyers in hand…By noon we had 2 orders and 2 potential orders. No, we are not great salesmen…while we were out we did get two orders (a bed and bench), and then when we got home there was an e-mail with 2 more potential orders. YEAH!!! I couldn't stop smiling until…
SHIPPING? How do I figure shipping on 2 screen doors? The doors weigh approx. 35 pounds each. How the heck do I even pack a screen door for shipping? I tried figuring it out quickly online at UPS and FedEx and had shipping rates from $50-$375. Obviously, no one wants to pay more for shipping than for the product…All this leaves me wishing I had a shipping department. I get lost going to my own bathroom…I practically flunked geography after all, I'd never really need it. Should I really be in charge of shipping to another state? I don't think so. WHY ME?
Have any of you ever faced a similar shipping dilemma? How do you ship your large items (my screen doors measure 36×80 + packaging)? Any and all advice (as always) greatly appreciated!
As you might know, Hubby and I decided to pool our woodworking talents and start our own business. Being a new teeny, tiny business we decided to use a lot of "free" advertising like brochures, flyers around town, blogs, and Facebook. I have to admit…I was surprised by the results I've gotten from both "real world" and online. We're closing in of 65 Facebook Fans and I'm being stopped in the grocery store to be asked about my latest door. All good news when your trying to get your business name known, right? I thought so too…only problem was no one was actually buying anything. I was reconsidering my pricing (which I know to be much lower than other similar items) and even lowered my price significantly for a Father's Day Sale. Sadly, still no buyers.
When I woke up this morning I literally had ZERO orders and no prospects. So Hubby and I headed out with more flyers in hand…By noon we had 2 orders and 2 potential orders. No, we are not great salesmen…while we were out we did get two orders (a bed and bench), and then when we got home there was an e-mail with 2 more potential orders. YEAH!!! I couldn't stop smiling until…
SHIPPING? How do I figure shipping on 2 screen doors? The doors weigh approx. 35 pounds each. How the heck do I even pack a screen door for shipping? I tried figuring it out quickly online at UPS and FedEx and had shipping rates from $50-$375. Obviously, no one wants to pay more for shipping than for the product…All this leaves me wishing I had a shipping department. I get lost going to my own bathroom…I practically flunked geography after all, I'd never really need it. Should I really be in charge of shipping to another state? I don't think so. WHY ME?
Have any of you ever faced a similar shipping dilemma? How do you ship your large items (my screen doors measure 36×80 + packaging)? Any and all advice (as always) greatly appreciated!