Nurseries typically negotiate the most favorable rates with their preferred shipper, but ground shipping via USPS and UPS are the most common options. You’ll want to plan for shipping options that allow your plants to be timely and safely delivered to customers, usually avoiding weekend or holiday stopovers that could damage plants en route.

It’s important for each nursery to design an optimal profitable pricing structure that works with their individual margins, since nurseries are unique. We see commonly see and accommodate several different pricing approaches:

1. Build the cost of shipping into the charge of the plant, so the plant costs more and shipping is free. Customers are generally happier with lower shipping charges even when the plant cost is higher. 
2. Calculate a ballpark estimate such as x% of the order’s dollar value, so your averages cover your costs. 
3. Set up a shipping rate table, for instance, orders under $50 ship for $20, orders up to $300 ship for $65, orders over $300 ship free. You can opt to vary these rates based on customer location, so you could for instance say Texas shipments are $20, while New York shipments are $100.
4. Estimate the actual USPS/UPS rates with shipment size and weight. For this option, we need to know what size boxes you ship, and how many plants fit per box.

We assist with customer communications whenever possible. We answer basic customer questions when we’re able. For instance, if your shipping window is May – October, we will tell customers this info. We’ll forward any customer questions only you can answer. We can also ask customers questions on your behalf as needed.