Harney & Sons shipping no longer always free
I was looking at the website and toying with ordering and I added an item to cart. A pop up advised that I could get free shipping at $59. This was a shock because several years ago they made shipping free on all items at any price level, which made it tempting to order more often but also worried me because I didn’t see how they could keep that up. A tin of loose leaf for $10 with nice packaging and free shipping? How were they making enough money? I suppose big orders made up for it.
Shipping is very reasonable for the US with Priority Mail costing 5.99 and I don’t mind that if I am ordering multiple things, though honestly if I wanted just one inexpensive tea I wouldn’t be keen on it.
I will probably order less often and just make sure to hit the $59 threshold, or pay up if I have several teas to order but still don’t make it to $59.Wow, that’s interesting that they went from always free to a threshold over $50. I don’t order from them often, but still good to know.
Yeah, I figured Harney would do that eventually! I think I did a couple VERY small orders with free shipping over the years and I really appreciated being able to that… but I knew it wouldn’t last long…
I heard about this on Facebook and they confirmed it. I am curious whether they will now end free samples with every order. I’ll keep ordering from them but I’m disappointed.
I don’t know if it’s appropriate for me to drop a comment here, as I am a vendor myself – but the cost of shipping has skyrocketed, so I’m not at all surprised that they would have eliminated a free shipping benefit for all orders. I’m surprised that they kept it going as long as they did. When I first took over 52Teas, I was alarmed about how much shipping cost as opposed to when I shipped as LiberTEAS just a few years prior, and I remember lamenting about that then. Now, I would LOVE for the prices to go back to what they were when I took over 52Teas. The price now is nearly double what it used to cost 9 years ago when I took over. And they still increase it not just annually, but twice a year, because as soon as the holiday shipping starts, they increase the prices “for the season rush” but those prices don’t drop after the holidays, either.
I hate having to charge so much for shipping, but I do my best to keep it down to as close to cost as possible & put the free shipping threshold at a point where it won’t attack the bottom line. It’s frustrating, I would love to be able to offer free shipping on any order, but if I did that, I’d have to increase the prices on product to offset the losses. I figure that by charging shipping, it’s the most transparent option. :(
52teas: I think it is absolutely appropriate for you drop a comment! I think it is good to hear the seller’s perspective and the get the scoop on shipping.
As I said, I was worried about how they could make a profit offering free shipping on ALL sales.
Also, around lockdown I noticed that if I looked at an item I would get a coupon the next day and sometimes it was an outrageously good one, like $10 off ANY purchase and then free shipping on top of that. So if you looked at a $12 tin of black breakfast tea you would get it – delivered – for $2. My guess was that they were surviving the pandemic, turning over stock, keeping people employed, etc. if I recall correctly, they actually had to shut down for a few days once or twice because of Covid. Those coupons don’t come anymore. I do get emails about nice sales now and then!
So I fully support their decision to go back to charging shipping and it is a very reasonable charge. I want them to stay in business! I was just informing the rest of the tea heads here so it won’t catch them by surprise when they go to order.
Yeah, I totally get that! It’s good to let others know of such things! As someone who has a lot of tea myself, I don’t really buy a lot of retail tea these days – so I don’t keep up with such things. I’m amazed that they had that offer, to be perfectly honest! But I do understand why they’d want to do whatever they could to keep the business operating with such a large company & so many employees (and probably a jaw-dropping inventory). So, I’m glad they were able to come out this side of the pandemic still in operation because even though I don’t buy a lot of retail teas these days, I do still love Paris and have purchased some of it on occasion when I go to Myrtle’s.
I want to say it’s been a year or two since I last ordered from Harney (maybe more, honestly). One of the biggest deterrants for me as a Canadian has been that, for as long as I can remember, the shipping isn’t free at any threshold. From memory, shipping to Canada STARTS at about $30-40US. So it’s not even like waiting until you have a large order can save you on shipping costs, and you might still get slapped with duties.
…and with all that said, I’d wager they’re still taking a loss with how expensive it is to ship across the border.
The $30 shipping I pay for Fortnum hampers is understandable. I am stunned that shipping to Canada – not even crossing an ocean – is that high!!
Shipping to Canada is outrageously high and it continues to rise! It bums me out so much because Canadians are among my best customers, I know that I would probably get twice as many sales as I do if it didn’t cost so much to ship to Canada. And I’m in Washington State – Canada is just a couple of hours away! So frustrating!
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