US post office for summer shipping

[dmalouf]

Does anyone have a lot of experience using the U.S. Post Office Priority Mail service to ship perishable products (chocolate) during the summer months? I just can't afford to charge customers the 2-day FedEx prices. I ship from L.A. so I'm especially worried about East Coast deliveries. I pack everything in mylar bags and use ice gel packs. Thanks!

[xxchef]

We do a lot of perishable product shipping (cheese most of the year and chocolates October through December). We ship in insulated containers (1"-1 1/2" thick stryo lined cardboard boxes) with gel ices and styro packing peanuts. We use mostly UPS and some USPS.

I hate that USPS priority does not have guaranteed delivery dates but love that you can get free shipping materials (though not insulated boxes), and seems to get between anywhere in the continental US in 3 days or less. I love that UPS includes base insurance in their rates and will refund shipping charges if it doesn't arrive when they say it will (and also that they will pick up at our very rural business where the PO will not and the nearest PO is a 30+ minute drive).

With any shipper there is a balancing act between getting it there fast and keeping it light. You can go fast with little thermal protection or slower route but have to use a lot more insulation and cool-paks, which weighs more, which costs more. Sometimes one way works better than the other.

In my experience we've had more trouble with packages sitting in the sun on someones porch all day after delivery or sitting in the post office waiting for pick-up for several days than we've had with actual shipping time. No amount of quality packaging can make up for that kind of abuse/neglect so we're really good about notifying our customers exactly when/where/how their package is scheduled to arrive so it's not our problem if they mess up.

In the end you HAVE to pass all your shipping costs on to the customer or you'd do better to sell locally. If you have done everything in your power to keep the costs down (bulk purchasing of shipping materials, commercial rates from shippers, comparison shopping/negotiating of rates between carriers) then set your prices and let the customer decide if it is worth it to them to pay what is necessary to get the product to them in ideal condition. You don't need the headache of the added work/time/expense for shipping only to lose money on the deal too.

Last words: Cultivate customers close to home first; ship perishables as a last resort. Ship only on Mondays or Tuesdays to avoid weekend complications (and watch out for those pesky Monday holidays and other "off days" for your chosen shipper). Remember... most shipping insurance will not cover spoilage or deterioration of perishable products only replacement if the package is completely destroyed or lost.