The Free Delivery Lie
The Lie:
Many "online florists" have wonderful sounding offers of free delivery, free sending or free relay. At first glance, this seems like a great deal! Pay for the flowers, no added extra charges building up the cost of sending a gift. In truth, this approach can only lead to disappointment for the consumer. Anyone offering free delivery is only building the delivery expense into the price of the flowers.
The Truth:
Delivery is a real cost, in real dollars, that is incurred by real florists as part of providing same-day service. The average delivery cost in the floral industry in North America is $10-13 per item. Online floral retailers who offer "free delivery" most often are not real florists, but marketing companies. These marketers get a commission for taking your order and relaying it to a real florist for fulfillment. The order gatherer knows the florist has to deduct money to cover delivery costs. Let's do the math:
Customer orders online a $50 arrangement.
Order gatherer send the $50 order to a filling florist.
The filling florist has a $10 delivery charge to pay his driver and cover the cost of his vehicles.
Only $40 remain for your arrangement!
The problem comes when a customer rightly expects to receive a $50 arrangement, because they were promised "free delivery." The order gatherer does not charge for delivery, but they know the filling florist will have to. The customer is deceived into thinking he is buying a higher value product than he is.
The Solution:
The solution is to deal honestly with our customers. We show you the real charges involved, so you can determine the amount to spend on your gift. With honest pricing and by showing our charges upfront, we believe you are best able to make a decision you will be happy with.
