Would you be interested in 'Rush' molding?

[Talarath]

Would you be interested in an option for 'Rush molding' on orders?  What this would mean is that if 'Rush Molding' (herein rush) was purchased for an order, the order would be processed, poured and be in the hands of USPS in a certain amount of time.  Getting rush would put the order ahead of non-rushed orders, and as said before, would be out in a certain amount of time.  The timeframe would be a guarantee as well, so no "It should be out in a few days".  The fee is currently unknown, but would likely be under $10/item.

We know that this may put some customers at a 'disadvantage' or be angered, so we want to hear your thoughts on it.  However, those that would be at a disadvantage would end up getting it faster than if not...  It would allow for more molds, more material and quite possible more employees to make them!  Please do know however, that even if it turns out to not be welcomed much, it will be implemented in some form in the future when the backlog is much less.

So, choose your decision wisely.  Also, please post your thoughts, clicking a button doesn't explain too much on why you did.


Edit:
Just because I know someone will ask or mention it, if we decide to implement soon then all orders already placed would have the ability to upgrade to rush.

[jsealing]

Sounds like a great idea, Tal! I'm all for it, however, how could this be achieved WITHOUT either turning off the ordering capability for a period of time to allow BB to catch up and fill all the backorders or force him to have to invest in some automated process? I know he wasn't too happy about the idea a few years ago with automated processes, which I can understand. An automated process takes away from the beauty of handcraftmanship that BB is so widely known and highly respected for in his field.

Food for thought.

[Talarath]

Depending on how popular this would be, rush order ability would have to be limited and be on a first-come-first-serve basis.  For example, if there was 5 of X mold and the guarantee was 1 week, I could have the rush setup for that specific product to be 5 * 7 = 35 max rush orders of that toy at any one time.  It would be limited as said, due to limited molds and material.  For those that dont know, a mold costs alot more than the toy it makes, and a single drum of silicone would buy a very recent car.  Material does run out, and we do have to wait on receiving shipments from our silicone supplier.

[jsealing]

I understand now, thank you for clarifying the issue.

[Brownbear]

This would also only apply to Silicone.
Gel takes so long, and it wouldnt be right to have folks fighting to get it out faster over another.

All monies collected from this would go right back into the business, as far as getting more material and shipping orders out, none of it would go to me personally, only back to the business.

Bear

[knotme]

The only real problem I could foresee happening out of this would be what about if a company orders a bunch of them and selects this option too, thus putting them back ahead of the rest of us.  Would business be allowed this option or would they only be allowed the normal non rush option?  And why now, should this have been implimented long before the huge back log?  And why would gels even be considered for this, they are discontinued and as such should stay that way,no more gels.  But as for the idea itself yes it should be put into use along with the surprise color option, both would pick up and speed up orders.  And makes good business sense and heres to hoping that it does allow for more molds, more supplies and eventually more staff to make them.

[Brownbear]

The only real problem I could foresee happening out of this would be what about if a company orders a bunch of them and selects this option too, thus putting them back ahead of the rest of us.  Would business be allowed this option or would they only be allowed the normal non rush option?  And why now, should this have been implimented long before the huge back log?  And why would gels even be considered for this, they are discontinued and as such should stay that way,no more gels.  But as for the idea itself yes it should be put into use along with the surprise color option, both would pick up and speed up orders.  And makes good business sense and heres to hoping that it does allow for more molds, more supplies and eventually more staff to make them.

Orders from seperate companies are treated differently than those placed through the site here, so it would not apply to them at all.
  Even though gel has been discontinued, I am still filling those orders.

And I fully agree, both options would speed order processing.

Bear

[Tapier]

I think it's a good idea but it should wait until some of the backlog is cleared first. An onslaught of rush orders would (initially at least) push back orders that have been waiting a long time.

[Brownbear]

I think it's a good idea but it should wait until some of the backlog is cleared first. An onslaught of rush orders would (initially at least) push back orders that have been waiting a long time.

well im cutting through the backlogg on the silicone, so on most models there isnt too much (compared to Gel) of a delay now.

Bear

[Quail]

I say no UNLESS there's an order with a company or maybe a large volume of toys. Say someone maybe orders 3 or more toys in a single order then it can qualify? And then obviously when companies make an order to resell, that works, too.

[Talarath]

I say no UNLESS there's an order with a company or maybe a large volume of toys. Say someone maybe orders 3 or more toys in a single order then it can qualify? And then obviously when companies make an order to resell, that works, too.

Any specific reasoning why it's a no for standard customer orders?  Just trying to figure out the good and bad for consumers

[knotme]

If someone wants to pay to have one toy rushed they should have that option, there should be no restrictions placed on how many toys you must buy to qualify for this.

[erythro]

I voted No

There are a few reasons for this.

1) The main one i see is that almost everyone will select a "rush" order, (i assume this as the current wait times would certainly put me off ordering again until things settled down). If the vast majority of orders were rushed, then there would be inevitable delays. Let me explain, bear makes 10 toys a week, if he gets 11 rush orders a week due to the demand for "rushing", then production just couldn't keep up with demand!

2) If the rush fee was a flat rate, then its not fair to the purchases of smaller cheaper toys; the rush fee taking a higher percentage of the total cost. As a result i would expect most large toys to be rush jobs and smaller toys to be left to normal production time

3) Implementing a rush system would definitely alienate me. I have ordered toys from Zeta before, I recommend them to friends, I am happy to wait for a quality product in a queue of other loyal customers. I am not happy with the idea that other customers could "push in" to that queue with a rush order. I am certainly not impressed with the idea that those who have been waiting could pay extra now to rush the order (although i may have interpreted previous posts incorrectly on that)

4) If the rush order idea is to raise funds, then simply raise prices by a small percentage. Use the extra income to purchase better machines, more space, occasional help, etc. Then all customers would get the improved service.

[Talarath]

1) In a previous post, that was brought up.  I would be talking with bear and getting the exact # of molds of each toy, as well as the time it each toy will occupy the mold.  If he could only make 1 per day and the rush guarantee was 7 days, it would be limited to 7 rush orders at any given time.  Maybe less as well so the mold may not always be in use by rush orders.

2) Rush cost can be set per-toy, so each can have its own cost.

3) The thing that I believe is not only appealing to the company, but to the customers, is that those that would get rush molding would also be speeding up the process for non-rushes in the form of more material, molds and possibly even employees.

4) That was one of my thoughts, but then the issue would be that we'd be approaching others in their inflated price.  We wish to maintain low required prices and possibly do value-added services so those that don't have the money can still get the standard, and those that have the money/want it can get a little extra.  With others, you have to drop alot to just even get anything.

[shadowquine]

I think it could be worth exploring.

My first concern is dicking over people that have already been waiting and waiting. It's bad enough watching someone put in an order and then whine so loud their order gets bumped to the front of the queue. I would say, if it were to be implemented, to go through a preliminary "pilot" phase before opening it up to any new orders. Basically, instead of putting it as an option on new orders, offer it to anyone with an existing order more than 4 weeks old on a first-come first-get basis. That would do a few things that would benefit overall.

- People that've been waiting a long while can't get beat out by anyone that very very recently put in their order.. or someone that JUST placed a new order. It couldn't possibly cover everyone with an outstanding order, but at least in my opinion I'd feel better having had a fair chance. I wouldn't feel as bad if I missed out.
- Any kinks on the back end of the process can get worked out without more and more new, uninformed buyers complicating it with tickets/issues and painfully ignorant forum rants.

Once a little time has passed and some people with old orders have had their toys fast-tracked, put it on the page as a service for orders.

Other points... Price per toy sounds great to me. However you must consider the possibility of a multi-toy order where the option is chosen for some but not all toys. How to handle it? Two shipping fees? One for the express and one for the standard part of the order? How would that reflect in the order number?

Food for thought... even if it's an option it would be pretty limited from the sound of it. People with outstanding orders would be no better off than people putting in new orders. Since only X number of rush spots available.. not everyone putting in an order would see the option anyway. That said, someone wanting a toy ASAP could possibly wait until they see a rush spot open. You could even put in a feature that lets you opt-in to an e-mail update when a spot becomes available. Sign up, and then when you see your e-mail quick pop over to the site and pay for the rush job. That would give Zeta more business in that instead of walking away completely... they buy when they'll get the toy quickly.

I think that sums up about all I had on my mind about it.