Question for people who sell flies.

[kimjensen 0]

Hi.

 

How do you ship your flies out to costumers? Letter or box?

[cheech 0]

Hi.

 

How do you ship your flies out to costumers? Letter or box?

Padded envelope with a smaller crush proof container inside.

[Crackaig 0]

This has been a problem for me for years, made worse when our post office decided to put size restrictions and a new price band on postage.

 

The method I have settled on are folded cardboard packages that are within the limits for the new "large" category for postage. These come flat packed in large quantities, and are cheaper than padded envelopes. It means there is no need for a rigid container. A good thing as film canisters are now not as available as they once were.

 

Inside the box I separate the various patterns and sizes using self seal bags. At one time I made cardboard trays to go in the bags to protect dry fly hackles. Then I hit on an idea. Now I open the bag and push the bottom up in the middle. Drop the flies in, and seal it. Then fold the top over and tape it. Creating a balloon to protect the flies. As this only has to protect the flies from rattling around the inside of the box, it is sufficient to the job.

 

Then comes the painful part. Gifting them to the Post Office, and paying them well over the odds for the privilege. In the history of our Post office no one has ever had the Royal Mail loose their letter! You see when you put something in the post here it becomes the legal property of the Royal Mail. They have never lost anyone else's letter, but have lost tons of their own!

 

Cheers,

C.

[salmobytes 0]

...........seems like there should be a cooperative web site where independent tiers could sell their flies. Users could vote on a 0 -- 10 scale how pleased they were with the last order. EBay does that. Sort of. But it's not dedicated to independent fly tiers.

 

Same site could handle independent outfitters too. I might have to think about that one.

[Crackaig 0]

Salmo', That brings a whole new meaning to the colloquial name used here for ebay - "Fleabay".

Cheers,

C.

[kimjensen 0]

I use the method were i glue foam on the inside of a package designed for sending a CD or DVD and stick the flies on the foam pads. But i'm looking for a cheaper alternative. But i don't know what people expect? A nice lineup or a pile of flies in a little container in a padded letter?

Does any of you have Pictures of theese containers you use?

[Kimo 0]

...........seems like there should be a cooperative web site where independent tiers could sell their flies. Users could vote on a 0 -- 10 scale how pleased they were with the last order. EBay does that. Sort of. But it's not dedicated to independent fly tiers.

 

Same site could handle independent outfitters too. I might have to think about that one.

 

Take a look at this site.

 

Kimo

 

[tidewaterfly 0]

Kim, when I was selling flies, I tried to keep costs down by saving such things as Altoid tins. Also used plastic souffle cups & lids for smaller flies. Larger flies, especially streamers were often placed inside plastic sleeves & then inside a zip type bag. Large flies that could possibly get crushed, such as deer hair bugs I placed inside an appropriate sized box.

 

However, these were placed inside of either padded envelopes or larger boxes, whichever I felt was appropriate. Depending on the fly types & quantities that were ordered the packaging could vary a lot in size. Unless a customer ordered an assortment that included a fly box or tackle box of some sort, I didn't worry so much about the packaging or their opinion of it. Those customers that were purchasing flies only, the packaging was at my discretion. My only concern was that the flies arrived safely & undamaged & I didn't worry about what they thought of the package. I recycled some envelopes & boxes too after removing old shipping labels.

 

In most cases it was more than adequate to protect the flies & sometimes I did spend a little more on postage to ship the flies than I charged rather than worry about them getting damaged.

 

IMO, if you take the necessary precautions to protect the flies during shipping, that should be all the customers can expect. If you find it costs you more to ship than what you're charging, the only answer is to increase the amount charged or take the risk of the flies being damaged if you skimp.

 

Postage & shipping charges are quite a bit more now than they were back then.

[salmobytes 0]

Kimo--thanks for that link myflies.com ....... didn't know that site was there. I wish those guys well.

[kimjensen 0]

tidewaterfly. I might be worrying too much about it :-)

But I think I found a cheap source for postage packages. Buying the stuff on the post-office is quite expensive.

[Ed Gallop 0]

Depends on the flies and how many. Some flies crush and some will lay flat. I had a bunch of small paper boxes for large orders and put them in a box to mail. I also had hard plastic boxes to mail smaller amounts on padded envelopes. For nymphs and flies that lay flat I used small plastic bags and padded envelopes. Selling only a few dries isn't worth the trouble and expense of packaging. Google small boxes and find many sources.

[kimjensen 0]

Thanks Ed.

It means allot to me that everything looks as good as it can be. But I may be too worry about it. :-)

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Since I'm a saltwater tyer my flies get sleeved individually (2 mil plastic bags), then are package two to three dozen at a time in quart sized ziplock bags with a bit of air sealed inside to provide a cushion. The ziplock bags go into sturdy cardboard shipping boxes (hoping to avert any damage in shipping...). These days I'm no longer tying for shops so any orders that go out are pretty modest. I've never had a shipment damaged or go astray.... Here's a pic of some poppers ready for the box.... These are some of the few that don't get sleeved before packaging.

[Al Beatty 0]

Hi group,

 

We put the flies in small, cardboard boxes (we buy them by the 100 pack) then place the flies/boxes in a Priority Flat Rate box (small, medium or large) for shipment to the customer. Take care & ...

[Crackaig 0]

Some years ago I sent an order off only to be contacted by the customer complaining that he had received an empty envelope, with the end torn open. I re tied them and sent them again. This time I put my address on the box with the flies in. The customer again received an empty, torn envelope, but this time I received the flies back.

 

After this I contacted the post office about this. They explained that I should use a heavier envelope, one which cost significantly more and a higher rate of postage. I explained that the envelope I had used must have been correct. "No it must be the larger padded envelope." said their advisor. "That isn't the case," I said, "because it is exactly the same kind of envelope you used to send the flies back to me! Surely you would not use the wrong kind of envelope?"

 

Combine that with the postman's inability to tell the difference between "39 Firbank Road... 6TU" and "39 Fir Lane... 6TV", costing me a job, when the offer of employment was delivered to the wrong address, while the people there were away on holiday. You can begin to understand why I really don't like trusting my labours to the tender care of the Royal Mail.

 

Cheers,

C.