If your daylily shipments are less generous this year, it may be because of the skyrocketing cost of shipping. All shipping facilities including UPS, FED EX, and USPS have added temporary "gas surcharges". USPS raised their shipping rates in January. So many sellers may not have charged enough to cover their costs of shipping.

As of April 1, USPS added gas surcharges ON TOP of the January rate increases specifically targeting large boxes. Any box measuring over 22" has an additional $4 charged, and any box over 30" the charge is a hefty $15. There is an additional charge for those big boxes that contain more than 2 cu ft….still another $15. Any box purchased from the USPS store is "safe" from the surcharges since they all measure under 22".

Be very careful to measure any boxes you are using that are plain brown boxes or recycled boxes from Amazon, boxes purchased from Wal-Mart or Home Depot, etc. It may be cheaper to mail in two of "their" boxes rather than sending one large box for big orders.

I appreciate that info! I almost always use those from the USPS store, I mean, free, after all and delivered, etc. Every once in a whole I run out and have to come up with a box.

Thanks for the info! I did not know about the extra gas charges. So far the boxes I've Mailed have been under 22", but I have a larger order going out Monday. I'll use two smaller boxes to ship those.

Debra

I think I will go to the post office to see how much it costs now. I've been considering posting some daylilies for sale on this site and the cost of shipping is one of my biggest concerns. I've looked at some of the other offers in the Classifieds to get ideas, but am still confused on what to charge to make it fair for both the buyer and myself.

Why do some of the people posting in the Classifieds say they cannot ship to some states like CA, WA, or OR?

The lady at the post office said it would cost about $15.75 to ship a five-pound 12x12x5 brown box to FL.

The only reasons I know of are because those states do not allow it and I been told they will confiscate the plants. I'll bet those inspectors have beautiful gardens. Supposedly it is to prevent the spread of pests and diseases among plants.

Is anyone using the USPS Flat rate boxes?

Yes, Calif. is very protective of their agriculture. They used to have inspection stations on the highways to stop unwanted importations. The Mediterranean Fruit Fly aka "Medfly" was a big problem 35 yrs ago.

So far, I have been able to use the std. USPS flat boxes for shipping.

I used the USPS flat rate boxes this past May to ship a few daylilies. Spent $16.10 for a med flat rate box and $21.50 for a large flat rate box.

Flat rate boxes are a high-profit item for USPS and they are very small. So unless you are sending something that is extremely heavy and dense (like a brick) from one coast to the other, you can ship much cheaper using the #7 or Shoebox (free!) and mailing regular Priority Mail. Using the USPS Click and Ship program also gives you discounted postage. I weigh my own packages and can compare rates using the Click and Ship program. Flat rate is more expensive than regular Priority Mail 99% of the time even on packages traveling long distances.

I agree about flat rate costs, sometimes almost double.

Why not ship bare root and save on the shipping cost if you are sending priority mail.
Just wrap the roots in moist paper towels after soaking overnight. I send brugmansia that way and never lost a one.

I used to ship TV equipment all over the nation and it can be tricky!

karmahappytoes,
All of these are shipped bare root. No one I know of would ever ship potted daylilies, except maybe Gilbert H. Wild & Son, and those are so tiny it hardly qualifies.

I planned on shipping bare root. Out of every plant I've ever received, I think I had one DL that was potted (Pink Stripes, first go round- from Gilbert Wild years ago). Just didn't know what the most economical way was anymore, since it's been years since I've shipped any.
Have a DL pal who's planning doing some shipping too. We both needed the info.

I agree with Judy on the flat rate boxes. If you ship bare root, which almost all DL growers do, use the USPS boxes you can order FREE from the USPS store. Not the flat rate, but they have large, shoebox size, shirt size, and small. All of these you can pack and weigh your package / using click and ship , which will most always be most economical. Cut off excess foliage - it dies back anyway. Most shippers cut the fans in the inverted "V" shape. Once or twice, when I shipped a heavy box full of daylilies to a state west of the Mississippi, it was cheaper to use the flat rate box. I priced it both ways before deciding. USPS shipping had improved this spring ( when compared to last spring and fall) . USPS packages were arriving a little more quickly than since pre pandemic levels, thank goodness, as I'd considered changing shippers, as some others did.

Any thing other than appearance for the inverted "V" shaped cut. I have seen people just break of the foliage with their hands, and wondered if a clean cut was better, but I think that within a month the method and type of cut would not matter.
I am surprised to see mention of shoe boxes for shipping, my post office will not allow shoes boxes for shipping.

https://store.usps.com/store/p...

Here is a link to the USPS store that pictures their shoebox sized Priority Mail box

Thanks , Judy. I should have said " Priority Mail shoe boxes." That's what they call that size box, not really shoe boxes.

Seedfork, thanks but some companies and folks do ship in pots with dirt!

I have found Priority Mail shoebox size and the #7 size the most useful for shipping daylily orders.

I've had to readjust what I charge through the years (and after taking a few painful hits with sending things to the west coast for too little postage.) Though it's not stated in the shipping information, I'm usually going to include something extra. Here is what I say about shipping in my catalog.

Shipping is by USPS Priority Mail.

East of the Mississippi: $13 for the first DF or TF plant ordered and $2 for each additional plant in the same shipment.

West of the Mississippi: $15 for the first DF or TF plant and $3 for each additional plant ordered.

Add $1 for each CLUMP.

This seems to work out pretty well for both side as far as I've been able to tell.

I agree that the flat rate boxes are not a good deal unless you are shipping lead weights.

I also use #7 and the shoebox. My shipping fee is $15 for as many as you buy as long as they are all shipped together. Has worked out great for me and the buyers.