Shipping an Item

[Former_Member]

Hi there, so I was hoping to recieve some advice/tips from some of you on shipping one of my trees. If you look at my listings I have wire trees that I sell. And although they look really neat, they are awkward to ship. I tell my buyers that they can tweak the branches any way that they want to their liking.
But here is my question:
How would you ship these items? As they are in a square box? Or bend the branches/roots so that they lay flat?

Any input would be appreciated!!
Thanks!

[Former_Member]

The smaller and flatter the package, the better! As long as it doesn't ruin the quality of the product, I would tell buyers it ships flat and they can bend the branches to their liking! If they don't like that, offer to sell it as is but tell them they have to pay more for shipping.

Best,
Kelly

[Former_Member]

OK, thanks so much! I have shipped them flat and it seems to be ok but I wanted to make sure that buyers are ok with that. They are just kind of awkward so it's kind of different haha.
But thanks again!!

[Former_Member]

Hi Kelsey,

I would ship the beautiful trees "as is" becuase if you ship them flat the customer may or may not be able to recreate the original image and most importantly they may break a branch in the process! Of course they can always tweak some of the branches. Just make sure the trees are covered with shipping peanuts and anchored in the bottom od the box. Increase your shipping cost if needed.

[Former_Member]

Cynthia- thanks for your input. I guess because I create them it just comes natural to me to bend and twist them. But I have gotten things before where I have to put it together and it gets frusterating.
So thank you for your input.
Here is another question:
Would you ask the customer how they would like to recieve it and from there decide about how much to charge for shipping?

[Former_Member]

I'd be shipping the trees so that they looked as close to the image in the photograph as possible.

Personally I really hate things that require me to do anything to them for set up as I just don't have that kind of dexterity sometimes.

Since shipping costs are determined by weight the shipping for a flat tree or a tree that's set up should be just about the same. There aren't any measurements on the descriptions but it looks like they will ship via Priority mail quite nicely.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for your input. I haven't shipped enough items to know if shipping cost more when you use flat or non flat, so that's nice to know. I think I would be the same way and want something to come to be already set up.

Thanks for your input :)