RE: Furniture delivery - any advice?

[tonik]

Hi All,

I wonder if anyone can help me please.

I want to stock a few pieces of furniture in my shop, from which my customers can then order from. The only trouble is I then need to offer a delivery service (my suppliers don't dropship). I have spent the day researching some delivery companies and prices with unsuccessful results. Most of the furniture will come boxed (flatpacked), but bigger items eg. bookcases, wardrobes, don't. Is my business too small to use a distributor?

I noticed that one particular online retailer offers delivery of furniture items at £5 per item. What sort of company do you think they would use to offer such a competitive delivery price? I am also aware that this retailer probably absorbs some of the cost of delivery.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pen2670]

No real answers, but this is something I've been pondering myself. I don't know how large an area your expected customer base is, but ours is quite small. So far my options seem to be:-

1. Fold the back seat of my car down and deliver it myself where possible. If business is good enough maybe upgrade to a merriva with more space, adjustable seats, front airbag switch so my lo can come too and new enough to add advertising to promote the business.

2. Book deliveries in on the same day and hire a van. Local company does then from about £30 per day and I'm sure they'd improve that for repeat business. Asked about hire by the hr, but they said not possible as their insurance charges per booking.

3. Network with other local businesses who deliver an might have some spare capacity.

Would be interested to hear what you come up with.

 

[tonik]

I have been thinking along the same lines as you. I have made enquiries with DPD and Nightfreight and await their response, although I have been told not to use courier companies like these as the stuff gets damaged. I also thought about hiring a van to do deliveries every 10 days or so locally, but I'd need the volume of orders to make this viable. It would be great to sell the stuff online, but I couldn't do nationwide deliveries. What a pain.

When I get an answer from the companies, I'll let you know what they said.

 

[josor]

If hiring a van is say £30 per day, some even do 1/2 day I think, add that into your markup

 

[elephantfrills]

where are you based? My husband makes furniture to order, and advises customers it will be around 28 days for delivery as standard. That way, he's only hiring the van around once per month. Dont forget though you will need a second or maybe third person and some moving/handling equipment to get it in to the customers house so you might need to factor the cost of that in too

 

[oldoakey]

For bulky items one way to get them delivered is a website called Shiply. You have to pay a bit over the price to Shiply themselves but once you have a contact then you go direct to them.

I recently sold a TV unit and my supplier wanted to charge me £50 because I was under there carriage paid order value to get it to me and then I was being quoted £70 to get it into London. So I placed it on Shiply and got a quote for £50 total - saving me £70 it worked a treat.

You have to be imaginative it all depends on what, where and when. then search out the best route for the job. Carriers, Haulage companies, Furniture delivery companies there are lots out there - but be warned not all can handle fragile goods.

 

[oldoakey]

I have been thinking along the same lines as you. I have made enquiries with DPD and Nightfreight and await their response, although I have been told not to use courier companies like these as the stuff gets damaged. I also thought about hiring a van to do deliveries every 10 days or so locally, but I'd need the volume of orders to make this viable. It would be great to sell the stuff online, but I couldn't do nationwide deliveries. What a pain.

When I get an answer from the companies, I'll let you know what they said.

I would never use parcel companies for anything that could be damaged as some of them literally throw the parcels about. Much better to use a company that is used to carrying furniture.

 

[retailfurnitureuk]

Hi,

Online you can search for number of courier services or movers companies. Contacting them would be a good option. Check out some online.
Retail Furniture

 

[P4D | Parcels4Delivery]

Hi,

You can deliver adhoc parcels with us, as often or as little as you like. These furniture items will need to be packed though of course (we've a very detailed FAQ on our site for packaging as it is *vital* to invest time and money on getting this right).

For the items you can't pack, try finding a local courier or get quotes on Shiply.com. Make sure you wait until the quotes come right down and also check for recommendations etc. to make sure you've found a reputable and reliable courier.

Good luck

Nat

 

[Talay]

My local charily furniture shop delivers for £25 per piece I think. I know it was more than I thought it would be but the alternatives are more costly.

Ikea also delivers (sub contracted) and despite quite high charges, they are rammed. I suspect it is convenience and not price which will win through. Weekend deliveries would suit most people I think.

 

[kathiiford]

If you order any furniture online and they provide you faulty furniture than you have to also do replace your furniture online. I think they provide best service for customer so you have to take any action for replace the furniture.

 

[Simply Bedrooms]

Hi All,

I wonder if anyone can help me please.

I want to stock a few pieces of furniture in my shop, from which my customers can then order from. The only trouble is I then need to offer a delivery service (my suppliers don't dropship). I have spent the day researching some delivery companies and prices with unsuccessful results. Most of the furniture will come boxed (flatpacked), but bigger items eg. bookcases, wardrobes, don't. Is my business too small to use a distributor?

I noticed that one particular online retailer offers delivery of furniture items at £5 per item. What sort of company do you think they would use to offer such a competitive delivery price? I am also aware that this retailer probably absorbs some of the cost of delivery.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

You will have to absorb some of the cost of delivery yourself as bulky furniture needs to be delivered. You will need to have an appropriate mark up so that you can afford the delivery cost. What prices were you quoted for deliveries.The companies that quote £5 charges are very large and have thousands of deliveries per annum.

 

[gr9ce]

We have used Parcelforce for some large heavy(ish) items but pay a monthly fee then price per item depending on size/weight. Problem though if you don't turnover enough to make the fee viable.

 

[paulyg]

I don't think it's too small to use a distributor, especially since their services will be an ongoing requirement. You can try looking into supply chain companies and ask about the logistics services they can provide to suit your needs?

 

[Richardjames]

Search online stores online, where you can find many furniture stores at affordable prices and good home delivery services too

 

[tonik]

Thanks to everyone who has answered and offered advice. After trial and error I now only send items that are flat packed or assembled items within certain dimensions that can be delivered by a courier firm.

 

[Sobie]

Personally I wouldn't want to pay a delivery charge because these are big bulky items that it wouldn't be possible for me to carry/ get home. Therefore I think you should add the cost into your sale price.

We use a local landscape gardener to do our deliveries (for our garden centre), I'd go down the "man with a van" route to begin with, and prehaps look to hire a van a few days a month/ once a week once your sales take off.

 

[tonik]

I have contacted distribution companies, but my business is too small to be able to use their services.

I sell smaller items of furniture online and customers pay a delivery charge on top of the cost of the item. Its just a shame that I can't sell larger furniture items such as armoires, pre-assembled wardrobes or large dressers due to the fact that I am a small business and it costs too much even with the 'man with a van' option (Shiply etc). My customers are not local and could be at the other end of the country.

 

[mankman2012]

£5 is too cheap. I dont know any transport agency which will do 10kg boxes for that much let alone furniture. If it is local drops off, then it is always best to advertise for a man with a van or do it yourself. Some man with a van will work with a few shops so that he/she can get more work. Some man with a van, you will need to hire for the day.
I hope this helps.

 

[P4D | Parcels4Delivery]

I have contacted distribution companies, but my business is too small to be able to use their services.

I sell smaller items of furniture online and customers pay a delivery charge on top of the cost of the item. Its just a shame that I can't sell larger furniture items such as armoires, pre-assembled wardrobes or large dressers due to the fact that I am a small business and it costs too much even with the 'man with a van' option (Shiply etc). My customers are not local and could be at the other end of the country.

Hi tonik,

Since I last posted, I have news of a new two-man service we're about to launch, which means two couriers will arrive to lift bulky items in to the van - non-flatpack furniture is ideal for this service.

The service is for regular senders with good volume, so we may not be able to help you on this occasion, but if you find your stock is restricted because of previous delivery problems and you may be able to ship more, then drop us a line. My colleague Rob will need to know the numbers you're already sending, he's on [email protected].

Cheers,

Nat

 

[oldoakey]

Hi Tonik

Dont give up yet, I send large heavy furniture around the country and generally its hassle free. You need to contact some delivery companies that are close by (If possible). You need companies that are set up just to deliver furniture (not parcel companies) as they are generally more aware of the problems with damages.

You also need to decide what level of service you offer either one or all three could be offered with differing rates for B and C.
A. One man delivery where the customer has to help
B. 2 man delivery basic - just dropping off the boxes etc
C. 2 man delivery - white glove - goods unpacked/built and placed with packaging removal

I offer free one man delivery then if the customer wants the higher level they can choose and pay more, but you can use the headline free delivery as most customers don't like to pay for it if they can avoid it. So at least work some or all of this cost into your margins.

One word of warning though - ,make sure your suppliers packaging is spot on and that they have few returns due to lack of quality of the product. The last thing you want is the goods coming back to you because of lax quality checking procedures and get your terms and conditions tight especially around returns.

Good Luck
Ps If you PM me I can recommend a few delivery companies.

 

[Kat Haylock]

I'm going to close this thread as it's getting on to four years old. Time for it to retire, put its feet up and catch up on Pointless.
Thanks to everyone who commented!