Hacking Iron Bean - Shipping

Subscription orders are the first to get processed.

• Subscription orders come with an automatic 10 - 15% Discount on the cost of the product, and come with no shipping costs on your end.
  For single item subscriptions (one bag), I use the CHEAPEST method I can.  
  And its definitely the slowest. We cannot afford to use a priority or UPS option for single item subscriptions.

Next up are all the rest of the orders under $50 that aren’t subscriptions.

• These orders include a level of shipping that YOU paid 7.99 for (unless there was a coupon or promo)
• These get a little bit of scrutiny… I immediately mark them all for UPS Ground in bulk.
• Then I go through each one line by line.
  • UPS ground is very consistent and is extremely fast up to three states away. But it can be really slow as orders get south of the Carolina’s and west past Iowa. They also do not pickup on Saturdays.
  • UPS is also the more expensive option for most addresses.
  • So, I whittle through the orders and judge time against cost.

Now I begin flipping orders to USPS

• If an order is estimated to take over three days shipping, I’ll switch to USPS Priority. It’s cheaper and “normally” faster. (This has NOT been the case since Covid and COVID/CHRISTMAS) but I do flip and hope.
• If an order is destined for Hawaii or Alaska I switch it to USPS. It’s almost triple to ship with UPS.
• If a customer has a PO Box or an APO/FPO address then it HAS to ship via USPS

Now I double Check the service that you Selected

 I then look at orders where the orders where the Customer has selected specifically UPS or USPS and paid for it, then I make sure they get the service that they requested. Regardless of estimated shipping time.

Now I look for all the orders over $50 that do not have a selected Service

• These I will use the cheapest option available. Almost exclusively.
• Occasionally I will go with the more expensive option if our cost is within .50 and the higher price is faster.
• I go cheapest here because the packages at this price point are getting heavier which drives our cost up, and were paying the whole thing.
• This usually leads to a lot of packages shipping with USPS. The majority in fact.

NOW I press the “Buy Postage” Button

• I buy all the postage and the packing slip and Postage label print together.
• I set the shipping notification to be sent to you 6 hours after I buy the postage. This is in the hopes that when you get your notification, that there is actually a pick-up, or some bit of tracking history for you to see.
• During mug Drops or Special releases it may take up to three days before we actually get your order out the door.

At this point we have a small stack of orders , a guide for the day on what were going to roast, and we get to work!!

The first orders to get packed? Merchandise! It’s quicker, doesn’t require roasting, and is usually ready to be boxed right up.

As coffee batches get finished, we then pack up the orders for the coffee and get as many done as possible before the carriers how up for pickup.

We consciously do the ground coffee first (cause it’s a bit slower) then finish up with the whole bean orders.

What we couldn’t finish spills over to that evening or the next day! Whole Bean is faster then Ground.

In Summary!!

FASTEST SHIPPING HACKS

• Subscribe to at least two items.
• Order Whole Bean
• Pay for any Shipping Level

BALANCE OF VALUE AND SPEED HACKS

• Subscribe to at least two items.
• Spend over $50

HIGHEST VALUE & OCCASIONAL SPEED

• Subscribe to a single item
• Spend over $50
  
  

When you buy one item it helps, when you buy two items your paying a hair more than us , when you buy three or more, its damn near punishment to you for supporting us.

I do not want to profit from shipping!! Breaking even would be sweet!

I hope this helps you all understand the process a little bit, and helps you get a picture of how it all happens.