For me shipping is a very sticky wicket. As a buyer, I want to pay as little as possible. As a seller I don't want to charge any more than necessary but it can be a roll of the dice in coming out even. Earlier in the fall I shipped 2 plants from KY to WA and it cost me $10. I'd only charged $5. I shipped 10 plants to IN, just across the river a little ways, and it cost me $8; I'd charged $10. I wish there were a way that I could charge the exact cost of shipping instead of a standard amount. Some people ask if you'd rather have free shipping instead of a bonus. You'll see different ways of handling shipping. I doubt that there's a "fair" way of doing it.

I usually try to buy from one or two vendors so that shipping is a little less. On the auction I'll watch several auctions, bid and if I win the bid then watch the rest of the seller's auctions to see if they have anything else I might want. Non-auction orders usually will be for 10-15 plants at a time. It's interesting though, when I think about how much I spent on a plant I usually don't think about the extra shipping so I guess that tells me that the shipping costs don't worry me a lot, but yet they do.

How's that for talking out of both sides of my mouth?

The cost of shipping went up last July. A new and very confusing formula is used. I used to charge $6 for up to three plants. Now I can really get burned on that if the buyer is more than two postal zones away. I am in Tennessee. If buyers are in Minnesota, Florida or Maine, it can cost me $11 or more to send those three plants Priority Mail. If they are in contiguous states, it runs $6-8. On most of my recent Lily Auction buys, the sellers are charging $8 for the first plant and $2 for additional buys. On new daylilies, customers don't mind paying that shipping. But I think it's going to be harder to sell the older ones with shipping so high.

Debra

That's what I'm afraid of, Deb. Most of my DLs are older, fairly well-known varieties. I wonder if it will be worth it for buyers to even bid on older varieties when the shipping will effectively double or even triple the price! Especially with big vendors, like Wild, who can still ship multiple plants for $6.95! Not that I'm knocking them, though I do believe they are the single biggest vector for daylily-buying fever . . . ;)

What are us small-fry to do?? This year I sold plants at home, garage sale style. I did OK, but it really wasn't worth it. I did meet some great people, though. Has anybody tried approaching local nurseries to see if they're interested in divisions?

I don't know how others feel,but the shipping ,to me,is the neccessary evil of buying the plants that I want as opposed to those locally available.On the LA I look at the shipping cost,as well as the start price of dls.I place my top bid with the total including shipping in mind.If I win,I pay.If I were to take a road trip to a grower's farm,what is the cost of the gas?It is a choice you have to make if you want the plants.I have won a $1.99 plant and paid $7 for shipping,but it is less than $12.99 + gas for a likely TC at the garden center!People will gripe about it,it is our nature,but if they want the plants,they will pay a reasonable shipping fee.

Hi KCC,
I don't ship daylilies so I can't advise you on a formula to calculate price. I have, however, been buying them from different vendors and have at times been very discouraged when I saw what the actual shipping cost was in comparison to what I was charged. Then I started thinking about all the work that goes into the whole digging to shipping process, as well as the other work involved and I really haven't minded the shipping cost, though I do try to be as frugal as possible and combine when I can.
As far as you listing older varieties, I say list away. A lot of people, myself included, have an appreciation for those older models that have withstood the test of time. Also, there are a lot of older varieties that people collect because of who hybridized them. That's my opinion anyway.

You can go to USPS.com to get shipping rates. Most daylilies are shipped Priority. It goes by weight and how far it has to go. Most people send a plant plus an extra or extra fans for a bonus. This usually makes it go over a pound. Some zip codes way across the country cost over 7.00 to ship a pound and a little under for some zip codes, depending on how far it is away from you. So 7.00 or 8.00 is not too much to charge to ship a plant/plants. You can also order FREE Priority boxes from USPS.com. This saves a lot on your shipping costs. If you sign up with them you can print out your postage and also get free carrier pickup. So you can ship to your hearts content and never leave the house.
Good luck,
Dot

My feelings are just like kydaylilylady. I know I will have to adjust my shipping rates next year. The problem for me is that many of the cultivars I grow, produce huge fans. Sometimes I take a real bath on shipping. One trick a friend of my told me is to tape two boxes together when you have to ship multiple boxes to the same location. The resulting shipping charge is quite a bit less for a bigger package than 2 smaller boxes.

Charlie

Thanks, everybody, for all the input. I guess I'll just go with the flow on the LA for shipping costs and cross my fingers. Right now, getting rid of the excess means more to me than making a profit. If I make a little extra to spend on more DLs, I'll be happy!

Dot, thanks for the info re:USPS. I'll definitely check their site. I always forget that's one agency that actually keeps up with the times!