Postage options.

[Reginald_Weston]

Just had a bit of a brainstorming session this morning with a colleague and just looking for some opinions of this (as other e-commerce businesses)

The items we sell are generally low weight, costing us either £0.66 or £1.28 first class. We offer free UK postage on all of our items sold, but do you think there's scope for a secondary postage option?

The idea is that we use a padded A5 envelope (as opposed to a normal one), send it first class recorded and also include a £0.50 coupon off their next order.

We'd probably look to add around £2.50 for this on basic orders.

Opinions please?

Best Regards,

Reggie.

 

[AndyP]

Whats the USP though? Free first class postage or pay £2.50 to get 50p off the next order? You'd have to be really stupid to take up that offer....but then again, try it and see. It might work.... just not entirely sure if your driver is to get some postage revenue or to offer an option to your customer really. Easy enough to implement and even easier to remove if its a waste of time.

 

[Reginald_Weston]

Whats the USP though? Free first class postage or pay £2.50 to get 50p off the next order? You'd have to be really stupid to take up that offer....but then again, try it and see. It might work.... just not entirely sure if your driver is to get some postage revenue or to offer an option to your customer really. Easy enough to implement and even easier to remove if its a waste of time.

You have a point. And yes, the idea was that it would generate a bit of postage revenue.

Maybe if we altered it so it was guaranteed to be delivered next day. But then we're getting into the realms of special delivery.

 

[AndyP]

Being realistic much of the decision will come down to what margin you have on what you are selling and your average order value. But, that aside, why not change your free postage to second class 3-5 day and offer a paid for service either first class or recorded "usually 1-2 days" or something along those lines. Bear in mind that many people don't particularly like recorded especially if its for low value product and the package would fit through a letterbox as it requires a signature and if the customer is at work or whatever its a pain to then get the consignment.... I would avoid using "guaranteed" if possible purely as RM services are variable unless you go to special delivery and you will open yourself up to non-delivery issues if there are delays, which there will be at times.

 

[bottlemaster]

the idea was that it would generate a bit of postage revenue

From my own experience, I hate it when sellers try to make money from postage. I personally believe that postage charges should be open and transparent, and should not be used to turn a profit. That's what your products are for.

 

[AndyP]

From my own experience, I hate it when sellers try to make money from postage. I personally believe that postage charges should be open and transparent, and should not be used to turn a profit. That's what your products are for.

I think you have misunderstood what the OP is trying to achieve. He is currently offering free postage which is undoubtedly draining his margin. I am guessing he sells low value/low margin product. He is simply trying to offset some of that loss by recouping some of the postage costs. I don't think he is trying to make money from his postage but simply create a small revenue stream from it. From what he has said so far he definitely won't be making any profit out of it.

 

[ShortCouture]

Rather than try to make money from postage - perhaps try to increase sales by offering other options. Multiple shipping options have been shown to drive sales. If you use an ordinary envelope normally, what benefit is a padded one? Offering a fast delivery has been shown to drive sales - and usually people will pay extra for this - but they don't want to be ripped off for it. I would concentrate on selling more stuff rather than making money from postage.

 

[bottlemaster]

I think you have misunderstood what the OP is trying to achieve. He is currently offering free postage which is undoubtedly draining his margin. I am guessing he sells low value/low margin product. He is simply trying to offset some of that loss by recouping some of the postage costs. I don't think he is trying to make money from his postage but simply create a small revenue stream from it. From what he has said so far he definitely won't be making any profit out of it.

Oops, sorry about that. Must read more closely next time