Selling pots from the mailbox

[Mark C.]

Well I ship plenty of pottery and have stuffed my mailbox with USPS boxes full of pots before. But today I have customer who is buying two mugs from the mailbox (covid  safe drive thru)

This is a first for me.-My mailbox is one of those huge old ones you see  antwhere in farmland USA. Lots of room.

 

[GEP]

I did something similar a few times this past year. It only works with customers who have a narrowed-down idea of what they want to buy. I set out all the options on the front porch. Customer comes by and takes what they want. Then I send them an invoice by email. Covid-safe! 

[Mark C.]

Strange times-these are special two finger mugs (not my usual 3 finger)

[Callie Beller Diesel]

When I first started doing small craft shows, there was a group of us that would hang out with each other and share ideas. A friend of mine has a clothing line that started small at these shows, and on Etsy. Because both she and her husband were working from home, she did make pickup from her home an option, but she’d put the orders in a lidded box on her porch so she didn’t wind up wasting a bunch of her day being interrupted. A few other people in our group adopted the practice, with much success. Take payment before pickup, have a time slot during which the order will be available in the box because porch pirates, and the customer doesn’t have to pay shipping. 

[Mark C.]

I wonder if Liams Pirate shippers are one in the same as your porch pirates-doing double duty. It explains the low shipping costs as they load up on other goods to sell.

Around  here in the hills porch pirates are know as puppy chow with all the growers and thier Pit Bulls. Recently one lost a foot when the dogs got him. 

Pirates are pretty thin around here-especially on this steep hill.

 

Mailbox sale went smooth-The next e mail customer is sending a friend up on an 18 hour drive north(one way as Ca. is along state ) from San Diego to pick up 5 mugs . I think she is coming this way anyway.  These are small sales and almost do not seem worth it. Of course sitting around with a hand in a cast at least its something to do.

I dropped wares off past two days at 8 outlets-now that seems more worthwhile.

[GEP]

2 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

so she didn’t wind up wasting a bunch of her day being interrupted.

THIS. SO MUCH THIS. 

In the Before Times, after a few bad experiences, I stopped allowing customers to pick things up from my house. (with some exceptions for people who I know well enough and I want to see them.) Because it meant they would be coming inside my studio, interrupting my work inertia, and expecting me to socialize with them. This can be made worse when the customer does not arrive at the agreed-upon time. The contact-free porch pickups are so much easier. It doesn’t require an exact time, and it doesn’t interrupt me. I hope customers will still be agreeable to this in the After Times. 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

A number of people had to set that same boundaries, and because it became common practice at the time (4 years ago?) it wasn’t a big deal. 

[Min]

I have a small table by my front door that I leave pickups out on. Also have a large dog with a loud bark that thinks he owns the street and all the traffic, people, dogs, cats, birds, spiders etc that go down it so not too worried about porch pirates. I warn customers that he will bark so they don't freak out, hasn't been an issue at all. I just ask for morning or afternoon notice on when they'll be by then put the bags out for then.