Hi everyone!
Today I want to talk about fulfilment, which I seldom talk about… and nor do many of the industry contacts I speak with.
Whenever I do speak with someone in my position, they tend to recommend handing it off to one company or another – “More hassle than it’s worth”.
I tried that once! I used a UK-based fulfilment service which will remain nameless.
This company sent everything Royal Mail second class with no insurance (no proof of postage) and about 30% of packages went missing, which I had to replace from my own stock.
When I fulfil orders myself, less than 5% go missing, including any that show up damaged (which unfortunately does happen in the postal service).
Deeply disappointed, I instead perfected my own method for fulfilment, something I am following now for both Era: Survival 8th Anniversary Edition and Era: Crueltide’s Kickstarters, along with the odd orders I get from the website.
I thought I’d share with you what I do, because I wish someone had told me this from the start:
Buy proper packaging from suppliers – sometimes Amazon, more often not: there are quite a few companies out there that send out packaging for small organisations. Get a decent book box for a large hardback. Trust me.
Pick and package each item individually – I didn’t even mention the picking issues with the other company. At least I know which books are which and actually care about getting the right ones to my backers / customers!
Take everything to the post office – where I get a receipt and insurance for the postage based on a proof of postage (just ask for that at any Royal Mail Post Office when you send your items.
This gives me the ability to let the customer decide whether they want tracked or untracked (given costs), as well as avoiding a 50% increase on the price just for sending packages as 2nd Class mail.
It’s a simple process, but it’s consistently reliable. Even during years of postal disruption, this approach has worked far better than outsourcing.
If you’re fulfilling up to around 200 packages, seriously consider doing it yourself, especially if you’re in the UK. What keeps people coming back is giving them what they wanted.
– Ed
