To think that a delivery company shouldnt be charging extra for delivering things?!

[Gildedbrooks]

Ordered some flowers from interflora for a friend who has lost her husband. Chose a mid range bouquet (£50) only to find they add a delivery charge on top of this?! Your whole actual business model is delivering flowers but you want to charge extra for delivering them ?! AIBU to think this is a liberty?

No necessarily

You could order a cheap bunch of flowers or an expensive bunch of flowers, the postage cost would be the same

So might be easier for them to charge the postage separately rather than trying to build it into the cost of the flowers

Assume if you ordered lots of flowers it would be cheaper for you to pay a separate charge rather than an inbuilt charge

Also postage can be expensive

It's not postage, its interflora, it's their delivery service. That's literally what they do, hand deliver flowers.

I always use M & S for flowers and free delivery.

Interflora use local florists so it actually costs the florist to get in a van and deliver. Their prinary business may not be delivery. So yes it shoud be expected. I thought everyone would expdct to pay delivery on top?

It’s not abnormal at all, there are other companies out there that will deliver flowers for free, totally up to you which one you use. But flowers cost money, and so does paying for delivery driver, van, fuel etc, so they arnt exactly unreasonable to charge for it.

I used to work for a florist. Inter flora is sort of like eBay for flowers. They don’t actually have any flowers or do any delivering. It’s just a platform that takes orders and finds a local florist to supply and deliver them. They have to charge for the service otherwise they wouldn’t make any money, because they aren’t actually selling flowers. It’s kind of like how eBay charges fees for buying and selling through them.

There is no such thing as free delivery.

You either pay 50 for the flowers plus delivery or you pay, say, 60 for the flowers with 'free' delivery.

I run an Etsy shop

When I charged postage my sales are lower than when I raise my prices and don't charge postage.

What the customer pays is the same. but they feel like they're getting free postage.

Nobody ever gets free postage.

@Antsinmypantsneedtodance

Interflora use local florists so it actually costs the florist to get in a van and deliver. Their prinary business may not be delivery. So yes it shoud be expected. I thought everyone would expdct to pay delivery on top?

I know they use local florists so they're giving business to local florists who wouldn't have had my business as I'm not local. No I definitely didn't expect to, hence the post ... 🤔😆 They never used to, the whole point was that you used them for the convenience of them delivering for you. They didn't charge you extra for the service you had already selected them for. Good tip from PP re M&S , live and learn, I'll use them next time

Thanks for the tip ☺️

Surely this is all online shops? The only way to get stuff from Amazon is for it to be delivered, you still have to pay.

@user1493494961

I always use M & S for flowers and free delivery.

Me too. The flowers are always lovely and last well, too. That's not always the case with Interflora.

I need to be more selective next time, so I know interflora uses local florists and always have, but they haven't always charged £7 or £11 extra for delivery on top. What's changed do you think?

As someone else said is it because all online shops do, so they can so they will sort of thing?

It makes sense to split the item cost from the delivery cost.

If you buy a £10 bunch of flowers and delivery is £5, your cost is £15. But if you buy a bottle of wine for £10, plus the flowers, that would be £20 plus £5 delivery, which is cheaper than if they've just jacked their prices up to £15 per item with free delivery. It makes it fairer for customers buying more items in one delivery.

Places like the post office/Yodel charge for delivery and they're also a delivery service.

Seems odd to me you think they shouldn't charge.

I think it's so you know you're paying for £50 with of flowers. If they charged £55 all in you wouldn't know how much was flowers and how much was delivery.

@Gildedbrooks

I need to be more selective next time, so I know interflora uses local florists and always have, but they haven't always charged £7 or £11 extra for delivery on top. What's changed do you think?

They have for at least the past 8 years (I don't know before then as I didn't pay attention until I worked in a florist)

@Theresamagicalplace that's fair, it's definitely longer ago than that since I ordered through them. I've always used my local florist who's not as expensive as this and does amazing beautiful arrangements , but I live 80 miles away from the friend so not an option on this occasion.

@Gildedbrooks next time I'd recommend phoning a florist in the area if you get a chance. You get more for your money and generally delivery (although added on top) is about half the interflora charge.

You're right I should have done that, I just panicked with it being sympathy flowers to get them sent out quickly tonight.