When "Free" really isn't "Free"
What does getting something for free mean to you?...to me, it means I do not pay for it, I am not charged for it, the real price for it is not raised to accomodate giving it to me for "free" and it is not a "free" such and such" with an added "whatchamacallit added at the end of my order to cover the cost of giving me something for "free". Free means it is mine for no charge...simple isn't it? Well at least that was what I understood until I ran across the 1-800 Flowers ad that reads "Free Shipping" . So the assumption is that it is "free", right?. Here I am thinking, "wow...how do I offer my customer this great "free" thing..after all,I have labor costs, gas costs ...oh yeah..gas that is currently over $ 3.15 per gallon and soon to increase, anyway lots of costs to be able to give a "free delivery" to my customers to compete with 1-800 flowers. My customers will be thrilled to save money, won't they? So I figure I'd better investigate this a little further because no matter how I crunch my numbers, I can't seem to make this "free" thing happen without a serious loss. So I talk to other florists, look at Floristdetective.com and it seems like the "free" thing really isn't "free" after all. In fact, so many Real Professional Florists...the ones that do design, have flowers in their shops and actually know what time of year you can get Amaryllis in Texas or sunflowers in Michigan......well they have formed a pettition to urge that the FTC to investigate this "free" offering because when you read the fine print....it isn't really "free" anything after all. Flowers From The Rainflorist has joined this petition and we are urging the FTC to Investigate 1800Flowers.com "Free Shipping"offer.
What 1-800-Flowers.com is billing as "shipping" for florist delivered items is actually a service charge they keep. According to their contract with florists, the price a consumer pays for a florist-delivered arrangement includes a $7.99 delivery fee. That means, for a $39.99 arrangement, $7.99 goes toward delivery, and $32 is for the flowers.
As a wise Real Florist said "Let's review that--the prices shown on 1-800-Flowers.com's website include a delivery fee, in addition to the $12 "Shipping" fee they are discounting. Hiding a delivery fee does not make it free, and many, many florists take issue with this practice of adding and discounting a false "Shipping" charge as providing free delivery." Amen to that. So when you are ordering online and you get offered a "free" delivery take the time to look closely at the fine print....better yet, call your Real Local Florist and get the best deal in town!
A request, signed by over 100 local florists (signed by most bloggers here at FloristBlogs.com) has been sent to the FTC. You can read the full complaint, and see the signatories, at Florists Urge FTC to Investigate 1800Flowers.com "Free Shipping". 1-800-Flowers.com is not the only online order broker to try the free delivery deception. Visit Florist Detective for more background on the Free Delivery Ruse.