If you've been ordering from us for a while, you'll have noticed something change at the checkout. We used to offer free Royal Mail 24 (first class) delivery on every order, no minimum spend, no exceptions - and we'd done that since 2009.
We've had to change it. This article explains what's changed, why we've changed it, and how to keep your delivery free under the new structure.
What's changed?
Free UK delivery is now offered on:
- Any one-off order over £35
- All subsequent subscription orders, regardless of value
Free delivery is sent by Royal Mail 48, which is a standard service with a target delivery time of 2–3 working days. It's a slightly slower service than the old first-class option, but delivery or attempted delivery is tracked (though it does not have full journey tracking).
If you'd rather have a faster delivery, paid options are still there at the checkout - Royal Mail Tracked 24 for next working day, or Special Delivery if you need it guaranteed by 1pm.
The subscription detail that often catches people out
There's one part of the new structure that we know is causing some confusion, so it's worth being clear about it.
Your first subscription order pays for delivery if it's under £35. Every order after that is free, no matter what it's worth.
We do this because the first order has to fund the same packing, postage and handling as a one-off, and we couldn't make the model work otherwise. The savings happen on the repeat orders - which is the whole point of subscribing. If your first subscription order is £35 or more, delivery is free from the start.
If you've placed your first subscription order and seen a delivery charge, that's why. Your next one will arrive without it.
Why we had to change it
Honest answer: the old offer wasn't paying for itself any more, and hadn't been for some time.
Royal Mail rates have gone up significantly over the past few years, and so have the costs of the materials, energy and labour that sit behind every order - that's true for us in the same way it's true for the rest of the country. We absorbed those increases for as long as we sensibly could, but free first-class shipping on every order, regardless of value, had become a loss-maker.
We had two real options. Reduce the quality of what we put inside the bottle, or change the way we charge for getting the bottle to your door. We chose the second. Our products are made in the UK to GMP standard and we weren't willing to compromise on that side of things to prop up the shipping model.
Alongside the shipping change, we've also reviewed our product pricing - for similar reasons. We've kept the increases as small as we could and the most popular products are still well below what you'll pay on the high street.
Keeping delivery free
The simplest ways to make sure you're not paying for delivery:
- Top your basket up to £35 - easy to do if you're stocking up on a couple of products you take regularly, and means a longer gap before you next need to order
- Subscribe and Save - once your first order is in, every repeat order ships free, and you save at least 10% on the products too.
If you'd like to set up or manage a subscription, you can do that from your account page. Our Subscribe and Save page walks through how it works.
Still got questions?
We know change is annoying, particularly when something's been the same for a long time. If you're not sure how the new structure affects you, or you think you've been charged delivery when you shouldn't have been, contact our support team and we'll sort it.