Why is shipping so expensive?

This question pops up from time to time but more frequently in the past few months and especially since the price of goods has increased. Calculating shipping costs has always been the most difficult part of running a mail-order business. It’s great when large corporations like Amazon offer free shipping. We, as a privately owned mom & pop small family business, can not. We grow and sell a variety of plants, from the inch-long tiny tillandsia (air plants) to the 4 foot tall bromeliad with many sizes in between. A one-size-fits-all approach to shipping is difficult but the system we have come up with (based on the weight and height) seems to work well. For the times that the system does not work and overcharges the customer we provide refunds back to the payment type used.

Our competitors in the tillandsia business have their own system that works for them but won't always work for us, for instance, flat rate shipping through the post office or free shipping with a minimum purchase. Some of our small plants would work using the pre-sized flat rate boxes but none of our larger ones. We have some air plants that are over 2 feet across and 3 feet tall so we have to custom-make boxes for these giants. Some competitors sell only bromeliad offsets - never a mature plant in a pot. We sell and ship bromeliads in all stages of growth, including full size plants in 3-gallon pots. And don't forget about our oddball succulents and foliage plants like the heavy spiny agave, aloe, sansevieria, rhipsalis and ant plants. We offer anything from small cuttings that fit into an envelope to 15-pound mature plants that require a reinforced box. Our shipping costs include the actual postage plus the handling of each order (boxes, wrapping paper/peanuts, a dedicated employee to wrap, pack & tape, weigh and deliver each box to the post office).

Throughout the 47 years we’ve been in business we have tried a variety of shipping options. Some work better than others. We are always searching for a better method to determine accurate shipping. We realize the one we have is imperfect but overall it works.

If you still are uncomfortable with the stated shipping costs when ordering on the website we can work around this. You can select PICKUP/HOLD instead of SHIPPING. This allows you to pay for your plants with no shipping charge added. We would pack your order for shipment and contact you with the exact cost, then you can pay for shipping at that time. If you would like to try this work-around for your next order please make a note on the order or contact us by phone/email when you place the order.