naturalnails said:
then why is it that if in most companies cases if you order over a certain amount then you dont pay postage at all.
Technically... as Geeg pointed out... we explored 2 options at one of our annual planning retreats a few years ago:
1- Offer free postage above a certain amount (i.e. £110)
This is big bonus for people who consistently order that amount or higher.
But what about those that don't? There wont be any type of reward for them. Not to mention the fact of... How do you reward those that have really big orders? The same as those that make the £110 mark?
You could do that... it equates to more savings for the company.
The other option is the one we flew with:
2- Offer a points system worth roughly 5%.
That means that no matter what you spend, you automatically accumulate 5% of your net as points that can be redeemed whenever.
That means if you are hitting that 'Free postage mark' of £110... you essentially get your postage... but in points.
This way... if you spend £1000... you get a bigger reward... instead of £6.50 off your order (i.e. no postage)... you get £20 off future purchases.
If you spend £109... you wouldnt of hit the 'free postage' mark... but at least you would still get back 5% of the order.
As I said before... It would save the company much more not doing points... and instead offering free postage... but we feel the path we took works to the benefit of our customer regardless of the size of their order.
I appreciate that flammable items need to go by courier but I feel that those that can afford postage charges should have to pay more of a fair share - If I ordered £300 worth of goods I would only pay £6.50 p+p - my last order came to £31.70 and I was also charged £6.50 p+p.
I see where you are coming from... the only problem with that is that the postage charges are set by the courier. The charge x amount per consignment no matter how large or small it is. Its not fair to expect people with large orders to pay more to subsidise small order postage.
If you had a salon where you consistently ordered £300 every order and your postage suddenly jumped from £6.50 to £10... that will add up quickly and more than likely anger you.
I wish there was an alternative to the postage situation... I guess I look at it as a kind of 'VAT' tax.
Keep the ideas coming though... Maybe there is another way
This is why a lot of "little" people choose to shop in the wholesalers or buy from suppliers who will charge more realistic postage charges.
Who has more 'realistic' postage charges for flammable goods?
If its being sent via first class post... its not 'realistic'... its 'illegal'.
Hope this helps explain the situation.