Are you considering a floral wire service?
To best answer this we will need to start at the beginning, regardless of personal opinions on participating in floral wire service, we are going to cover what a floral wire service is, and hopefully assist you in deciding if it is right for you.
Whether you are new to the floral business or have been in the floral industry for some time, this can help you better understand floral wire services.
Floral Wire Service How It Began
Without getting too mundane, floral wire services began over 100 years ago.
Fifteen of the United State’s florists thought up a way to send flowers to the family as well as friends that live a distance away. This idea was way ahead of its time and was welcomed as a way to send flowers across the country, and later to all around the world.
Flower shops or florists would have to become similar to a joint owner of the floral wire service so that they could fill and receive these orders. Remember that when this was formed, phones were not a thing, and the favorite way to communicate was through the telegraph. Which was how it got its name “Florists Telegraph Delivery Service,” or the FTD.
Later, British florist professionals created a group that was known as Flowers By Wire, which in 1953 became known as Interflora. In the early 1970s, the majority of Europe had a wire service that opened opportunities to send flowers worldwide.
In the U.S, many independently owned companies created their networks, in order to make a profit, not as a cooperative, these are now known as 1-800-Flowers/BloomNet and Teleflora.
How Floral Wire Service Works
An affiliate of a floral wire service primarily works as a floral broker/agent. You have to join as a member and pay either yearly or monthly fees to be a part of the organization and to receive and send floral orders.
It is no longer a cooperative, and you are not a joint owner of the organization. The sending florist or flower shop is the one that is wiring out the arrangement to another location. The filling florist is the one that fills the arrangement order that is sent to them through the florists that are participating or through the floral wire service eCommerce orders, this is not your floral eCommerce, just so that you are clear, it is through the floral wire service’s eCommerce website.
So that you are aware, the floral wire service advertises mostly for themselves through marketing for flower sales online. This was not how the service started, in the past, orders were placed directly through another flower shop.
The floral wire service broker earns between 15% and 23% of all flower orders that are sent to the filling florist. Some florists earn higher percentages and some make less. It is essential to determine the number of fees for your membership and to include that in the deductions for your filling order. The percentages that are paid can differ between participating florists, and this is merely a guideline.
Can I Make Money With A Floral Wire Service?
The total that you make with a floral wire service varies based on how many orders you fill from your flower shop.
As a floral designer, getting a check from a wire service that is making a profit is a little more complicated. This is because you will need to account for all fees and any out of pocket expenses.
It is also important to note that just because a florist is busy making floral wire orders that they have received, it doesn’t mean they are making a profit.
Breaking even with floral wire services is not your objective, the primary goal is, of course, making money. There is no point in breaking your back with the additional hard work to break even. Below is a simple breakdown on a popular mixed floral arrangement on two different floral wire website providers we opted for standard delivery for the next day.
Example 1
- Lets take Example 2 – Customer orders $59.99 + Service Fee & Tax = $79.94
- Amount issued to the filling florist to fill $59.99
- Total paid to filling florist in about a month $59.99 – 20% = $48.00
- What wire service provider made, $26.98 on this sale.
When filling a floral wire order, this is simple calculation however you should and must take it a step further.
- $48.00 –
- flower –
- supply cost–
- labor–
- delivery –
- = This is projected amount you will make.
We calculated in the flower stems in this all around cylinder glass 12×12 vase.
Flower stem/supply cost varies by location price your stems accordingly – we are calculating the retail value per stem, not wholesale cost.
- Alstroemeria -4
- Carnations -4
- Hot Pink Roses – 3
- Orange Asiatic Lilies -3
- Sunflowers-3
- Lavender Stock -3
- Purple Monte- 4
- Green Poms-4
- Pitto Greens -2
Total cost for flowers, we did not include supply / labor – $65.46 + Delivery $7.00 = $67.76
As you can see the arrangement is upwards of $60.00 already, the filling florist is only collecting $48.00, therefore, losing money and time on filling this arrangement.
There are florists out there that ask for a delivery fee on top of the floral arrangement and more of a percentage for each flower order filled – be sure to negotiate if you plan on joining or are already a member of a floral wire service.
This can help; however, not all florists are allowed to ask for such benefits if you are a member of a floral wire service, ask for a delivery fee also and more money to fill the arrangement as needed – it’s your name on the flower arrangement sent.
Customers do not comprehend why their arrangement is not exactly as pictured online and are also unaware of how little their money goes- I would be upset too.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Florists, please note you DO NOT PAY TAX ON WIRE ORDERS YOU FILL. The floral wire service provider already collects the tax and its paid by them.
Floral Wire Service Member Fees
Go on any social media florist community, and you will see how floral wire service participating members feel about the wire service fees and if you want to save time, the feedback is mostly negative.
There are monthly fees for everything and anything, turning your $48.00 floral wire service fill into something short of ridiculous. Worst of all is when you owe the floral wire service money at the end of the month.
Nothing and we mean nothing is more heartbreaking than filling flower wire orders and then, in turn, having to pay your floral wire service provider.
In order to break even or make some money with wire service, you need to fill lots of orders to compensate for the fees you must pay each month. Also be wary of fees tacked on for duties not fulfilled by you.
The participating floral wire service may be charging delivery confirmation fees; these fees are tacked on if your delivery confirmations are not met within a specific amount of time, and they can be steep- order cancellations that you filled and won’t get paid is also a big deal request payment for your time and product.
Floral Wire Service Hardware Fees
Floral wire service companies offer enticing promotions to their customers to not only become a floral wire service member but to however also purchase their floral POS/Website and hardware merchandise.
This may sound like a compelling solution one-stop shop – “No Money Down” to someone just starting out in the floral business this is a dream come true, right? Well no – when it’s too good to be true it probably isn’t true. Not that this won’t be helpful, but you must be educated before signing on the dotted line.
Purchasing hardware and software from a floral wire service can be a terrible idea – takes years to pay off and there are other options to buy your floral POS / Website software at a fraction of the cost. Purchasing your hardware which can be 10x less of what you would pay a floral wire service for equipment during the course of your payment plan- what a markup.
Regardless of how you feel now, adding your floral software and hardware to your debt is sure to drag you down as these payment plans can last as long as five years, by then a new improved computer will be available, and some of the floral wire services do require upgrades as their hardware can become obsolete.
Independently owned floral POS/Website and Wedding/Event software companies offer a great product with little start-up costs, and computer hardware/printers/ cash drawers/ Ipads are readily available and affordable at local stores and online.
Should I Or Shouldn’t Do Floral Wire?
The only one that can honestly answer this question would be you.
Some florists are successful with floral wire service. If you are a member of a floral wire service and you are not making a profit, then the answer is simple.
If you’re starting out in the floral business and not sure, there are loads of floral communities on social media – besides my own bias opinion that will gladly offer their advice on the subject.
This write up was to give you a starting point in making your decision. Operating a flower shop takes hard work, and floral wire service requires a form of dedication and time in and of itself.
There are less known wire service companies that do the right thing by their customers if you must join a floral wire service check them out.
Florists, are you with a floral wire service? Please share your feedback in the comment section below.
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