After The Sale Ends, Have You Ever Wondered…

Have you ever wondered how I handle all the orders that come in after a sale ends? Well, if you think I fill them in the order I received them, you would be mistaken. Here is how I handle them, and why I do it the way I do.

After a sale, I usually have a pile of orders to fill — like this:

The first thing I do is sit down and separate them into three piles — like this:

The pile on the left contains those orders that can be immediately filled using ready stock that is already in the sorting bins. All I have to do it put the products together and ship them out.

The pile in the center requires some casting. Usually, this means one or maybe two molds or a more involved product like a turret or trailer.

Finally, there is the pile on the right. These are orders that either require a new mold to be made, or a lot of casting. Unless I need to replace a mold, these orders are usually the ones that contain more than 10 items and/or run over $125+ in total value.

I fill the orders from the left pile on day one, sometimes day two. The orders in the center are usually shipped by day two to three. But the pile on the right usually requires a day per order. These are the ones that are slow to ship, and I work them in the order they were received — because it does not matter about these orders. Because of their nature, they were always going to take time, so they ship in the order they came in to the shop.

I do it this way mostly so I can feel a sense of accomplishment, and so I can provide the fastest service to the most customers. If I filled orders in the order they were received, it would usually mean that everyone who ordered during a sale would have to wait a long time for their order to ship. One or two big orders in the beginning can push a dozen easy orders out three or more days. So, yes, I make the decision to make a few people wait for the benefit of the majority. If this bothers anyone, all I have to say is…

Welcome to the suck! 🙂