I usually start my morning out with a walk around our little garden soaking up the sunrise while my husband's coffee brews. I set up my little fellas for breakfast. See my husband out the door. And then sit down with my tea and devotional. Today derailed me slightly. I woke up to a few more orders than I usually get. I rushed through my devotional and jumped on the computer to print out invoices and shipping labels only to find that shipping had skyrocketed overnight!
My first instinct was anger and despair. As a small business just starting out, for shipping to almost double in cost is devastating. I did some digging through news articles online and discovered that that "holiday break" in shipping prices was only for the weeks around Black Friday. And that it was actually a break for the big box stores and large corporations. (Silly me thought this current government was actually helping out us little guys.)
After reading a few news articles, I learned that shipping prices will exponentially increase "during the peak season". That means the small box I shipped for $8 yesterday is now $14 today. One of our medium size boxes would cost me nearly $40 for 2 day express. shipping Which is what I always choose for our shipping method as to compete with those Big Box stores (that already get discounted rates through contracts with the major shipping companies). For larger items, like one of our brooms, would cost me around $75 to ship. More than the actual broom! With all that said, I have made the decision to no longer ship large items. That includes our brooms, french laundry baskets, or any other items over 16 inches.
Truthfully, it has been on my heart to scale back on our online store. As much as I love making our goods available to everyone in the US, it is a struggle for a small business to maintain or even compete with the conveniences of the Amazons and Wal-marts. And now that we have removed paying apps from our website, we understand that we live in a time of distraction and one click payment options are the most profitable. But that's not our goal...
We're not just trying to sell stuff. We're definitely not getting rich. At least not any time soon. That's not what our mission is about. We want to do some good. Actually, we want to do a lot of good. We want to provide something different. Something better. Better than the one-click online sale. We want connection. We want relationships. We want to create a community...
So, yes we're scaling back on what we will be able to ship from our online store for now. But we have loads of new goods coming in after the new year. We have MAJOR plans for our in-person shop. Oh and did I mentioned were getting stationed in North Carolina soon? We've got a lot going on, to say the least!
We've been in a waiting season this whole past year. But God has spoken his plans to us. And promised blessings for our patience. Now we see His plan unfolding. We put our trust in him as we enter into the next season of our lives with our family and for The Rooted Market. And we are so grateful you've chosen to be apart of our little community here. We can't wait for ya'll to come on this next part of the journey with us...
-Casey
Owner & Shopkeeper
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11
"Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it". - Genesis 28:11-16
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