How to save money
If you dont have a lot of time to read all this, then the best thing we can suggest to save money is order more food to offset cost of shipping. One person, depending on your zone, can order $60 of food, and have a shipping charge of $20 (or 33%), and another person in the same town can order $120 of food and have only a shipping charge of $30 (or only 25%) . Thats 13% right there. (please keep in mind, each order is differnt, Zones are differnt, product weights are different. Ultimately, you will not know what projected shipping costs are unitl you are on the check out page. You may always cancel your order and not choose submit if the numbers to not seem right) Read on for more savings suggestions.
If you have more time, the please read the rest:
If you want more bang for your buck, get out your calculator. You want to add up the total weights of whatever it is you are ordering. Do a trial run, putting in your order and proceeding to check out but not finalizing anything. Your shipping options are located on the Shipping Policies page. If you are in a zone that allows for UPS Ground, then is least expensive, othewise 2 Day Air will be nor next best option, followed by Next Day (which can be very expensive)
Take the total amount of your completed order with shipping and any handling charges, and divide that number by the total weights. This will give you a dollar per pound figure.
Why?
You have no idea of the value of this food you are buying until you understand a few things. Like, what is vegan or vegetarian food selling for in supermarkets?
my’s frozen pizza is about $10-12/lb, and sells very well, and my son loves it.
However, unique one of a kind vegan food creations, with high quality ingredients, are worth a significant amount more than $12/lb. Point in fact, we sell our products, in food service, to accounts we have, like café/restuarnts/deli, that in turn sell these products around $20/lb. And people can not get enough of them. And don’t forget to add your time and gas money for the car to get to places.
In Manhatten, if you go out to eat out at a vegan restaurant, you will find values ranging from 21.99-29.99/lb. If you go to an upscale deli in Mahatten, like Balducci’s, you will find they sell specialty foods (not vegetarian) for as high as $29.99/lb as well on certain prepared food items.
The cost of food, especially quality food, has just gone way up. It’s unbelievably high. We have been told we are under pricing our product line. We try as hard as possible to make this affordable for everyone, because we hear from our testimonials the difference we are making in the lives of our customers all over the country.
Recently a friend told me that he went into a halfway decent restaurant in New Brunswick New Jersey and was shocked to see Vegetable Lasagna on the menu priced at $21.99. And that is not per pound, but ala carte and probably around 8-10oz of food. Do the math.
We know this to be true because several restaurants, some Vegetarian, some not, buy product from us and sell them to thier customer, for 2-4 times what we sell them to you for.
Typical cases and scenarios:
If you live in the Zone 1 region
Your dollar per pound should be under 14, which is acceptable
and could go as low as 10
If you live in the Zone 2 region
Your dollar per pound should be under 22, which is acceptable
And could go as low as 18
If you live in Canada, we are still waiting for more details, but think $25/lb is acceptable considering dutie fees and other provincial taxes.
Bottom line
If you are not getting the numbers you want, you will need to order more food. That is the best and only way to offset shipping and handling charges and get the per pound cost lowered, sometimes, dramatically. The majority of our customers, who are mostly repeat customers, have figured this out. Our average order is between $100-$200, depending on month and season.
However, we advise for your first time, you place a smaller order, taste test the food for yourself before you commit to larger orders, and make up a better price per pound ratio over time with subsequent orders. Plus first time customers are usually getting either a special discount or free items, so its better than you may initially calculate, unless you already have the discount code when experimenting.
Tip
-Adding one, two, or more family sized items can go a long way, as they are already priced at a discount
-Buy “on sale” products if they interest you. Check them out on our “specials” page.
-Read the newsletter for special events and promotions (sent every month)
-Get others to order with you in your area. Mabye even form a collective co-op.
-Parner up with one or two other people to split the order and offset shipping
-Some northern regions will have less handling charges due to less dry ice needed in dead of winter. Other regions also may have less charges in winter overall.
-Try the featured Sampler Packages when we offer them.
-Become a VIP Member and save regularly!
VIP CLUB:
Save every month!
How? Simply order at least $300 withing a giving 6 month period. Once you do, you automactically join, and you will recieve specail email notices with discount coupons that allow you to take off 5%, and that includes sale items. In addition, you will recieve specail notification of any specail promotions and from time to time recieve discounts even higher than 5%. Since you will only recieve a first time customer discount once or twice when you first start out, this 5% discount is a great way to continue to save.
Our system captures a moving 6 month total. For example, whether you order $100 in Nov, Dec, and Jan, or if you just order $300 once in January (doesnt matter what day of month it is), you will recieve a VIP Club membership starting in February when we tally the month ending data. You will continue to recieve the VIP Notices and Discounts for a full 6 months even if you do not order again.
A SAVINGS TIP from our VIP Members:
Our VIP Members are very smart. Although some order monthly and even more frequently, many order less often and in bigger bulk, so they tremendously offset the cost of shipping. If you have a big enough freezer, this is the way to go. ANd you wont have to worry about going hungry for delicous vegan delicasies for a while. Our VIP members also follow many of the other rules in our Savings Tips as listed above.
Conclusion
After doing the math, reviewing the scenarios you have run for yourself, I hope you see the value in the services we provide. If you work the numbers and your order enough you shipping costs will be greatly absorbed by your total order and you will find everything to be of great value, no matter what Zone you are in. We hope you Try it, Share it, and Enjoy it. Bon Appetite.
Do not forget to read our testimonials on our Testimonials Page to really understand the value in this unique service we offer for our customers.
