How Do You Handle Taking Shipped Orders?

Ugh, I used to ship, but now I just say NO!  Well, unless they are family and I really, I mean REALLY love them.  Personally I think it's a pain in the badonkadonk!  I know there are cookiers everywhere these days, so why don't people just shop locally?!?  So when I did ship,,,the whole process had to start sooner to allow for bagging, packing the box and shipping, and I always gave shipped cookies extra drying time to be safe.

For any orders I took that needed shipping I followed these guidelines:

All orders had to be paid in full before I turned my oven on.

I had to have at least 2 weeks notice, minimum. If they were closer than that I charged extra for "expediting" their order.

Pay close attention to your shipping supplies/costs etc and make sure you get compensated completely for it...don't "guestimate"...My first few orders costs more to ship than I thought, and my supplies {bubble wrap/boxes/tape} costs more than I "thought" they would. I ship flat rate now so I can quote the price with the order. I also charge extra for the supplies {put that in the price for the cookies, it's not a separate line item}

Don't be afraid to say NO...shipping cookies does take on a different dimension. It takes so much extra time to get them packaged up and packed properly to avoid breakage.

Allow extra time all around for cookies needing shipped.

I agree with Charity. There are cookie bakers all over the globe , as we see from this site, so when I see someone shipping from North America to Europe I can't for the life of me figure out why? This is one reason the Cookie Directory Julia is putting together is so awesome and has great potential.

Beside packing and shipping there are custom delays and they spot check and open packages, test contents and have the possibility of the contents being tossed. 

What a bummer that could be.

Tracie you seem to be very methodical in your shipping, very good guidelines. Thanks

I agree with Charity also. I think though maybe those decorators don't do certain cookies so people spot a cookie they like and they want it.

I also ask for at 2 1/2 weeks notice and I require payment in full before I ship.I look at it htis way, my friends at work will have treats if I don't get paid!

Shipping makes me nervous though. especially if they ask for a delicate cookie. But I agree, it is a pain in the badonkadonk!

Shipping cookies is always painful... We depend on services that we can't control... I have a clear mention on the order, blog, etc, that I am no longer responsible for the cookies after I handle them to someone else, be it the person who cames to pick them up or the post office... I had a husband once that wanted to place the cookies on the trunk with lots of those huge bottles of water... learned my lesson! 

Thank you all for the replies!

I ship about 98% of my orders, as I live in a very small country town. So I guess it is just second nature for me to ship. I have all the supplies on hand with a packing station. So far (knock on wood), I have not had any cookies reported as broken. That said, I do pack them VERY well. Each cookies gets their own individual foam sleeve with plenty of bubble wrap.