Thinkbutton Blog

Getting the Word Out

We are working hard to spread the word about Thinkbutton's philosophy.  Check out this article on Suite101  about Outdoor Activities for Children.

To Print or Not to Print

 

Since Thinkbutton went live on the World Wide Web in 2001, catalog requests have been a constant.  This is no surprise as we understand the consumer's need to thumb through a product catalog in search of ideas and inspiration.  However, printing and distributing a catalog seems to undermine the most earth-friendly benefits of browsing on-line:  a paper and fuel free shopping experience.  Do we dare compromise our company philosophy for more orders?

Two million tons of waste is generated, each year in the US, by junk mail such as catalogs, advertisements and sweepstake drawings. The Portland, OR metro area alone sends 13,000 tons of magazines and catalogs to the landfill.  That’s a stack 59 miles high, the equivalent of 28 Mt. Hoods. However, like many large cities, Portland city officials recognize the problem and have brought awareness to the situation by generating campaigns that emphasize the recycling of unwanted mail.

As an individual you can make a difference as well.  In 2006, Americans recycled and recovered 53.5 million tons of the paper, averaging 360 pounds per person, according to the American Forest & Products Association (AF & PA). Although this number seems impressive, 35.7 million tons of paper still filled landfills in the same year. So, there is room for improvement.  Please remember to recycle your catalogs and other paper products; and, if your recycling bins are filling up faster than you would like, sign up to receive sales information electronically.  Most companies will gladly accommodate your request as it saves them time and money.  Also, there are ways to prevent junk mail all together.  A quick search on the Internet will provide countless ways and opportunities to put a stop to unwanted mail.

Team Thinkbutton is not criticizing companies that promote their business via the post office.  Many of them are making great strides to print on recycled paper with earth-friendly inks.  We know this process is not the most cost-effective approach and we commend those companies who are striving to make a difference.  However, we do not want a Thinkbutton catalog cluttering recycling bins, or worse, adding to landfill heaps.  As with most companies, we would like to think that our catalog would be one consumers would retain and maybe even display on their coffee table; but, we know better.  

So, for now, we will continue to work hard to make shopping one-line at Thinkbutton as informative, safe, and pleasurable as possible.  We hope our videos are helping and we are open to and appreciate any suggestions. Remember - reduce, reuse, recycle!

 

Shipping Costs: How, Where, What and Why

For millions of people across the globe, purchasing products on-line has become an integral part of life.  One wonders how we ever shopped without our computers. But, no matter how wonderful the process seems there is at least one tiny grumble that looms in the back of many customers' minds: "I don't want to pay shipping costs." One would think that paying a nominal shipping fee, to have products delivered, would be worth the expense.  After all, on-line shopping saves time, energy and money on taxes and gas.  So why are we all grumbling?  Perhaps there are several reasons.

The most obvious reason seems to be that many consumers think that on-line retailers make a profit off of shipping charges.  Second, shipping costs are still a new cost variable to consider and often put some consumers' grand totals over their budgets.  Third, many retailers keep shipping costs a mystery until final checkout - forcing the shopper to invest time selecting items without knowing all the costs.  Whatever the reason, the grumble over shipping costs is certainly understandable and an issue we feel we need to address.

We do not make a profit off of shipping charges. We take a loss. In order for us to gain and retain customers we have to keep shipping charges low and feel it is our obligation, as a retailer, to carry some of the cost. Occasionally we do make a couple of dollars off an order but it is a very rare occurrence; and, on standard shipping orders over $75 we carry the entire expense.

Our shipping charges are very straightforward. When you shop at Thinkbutton our shipping policy is easily accessible on every product oriented page on our website.  There are no surprises and, at any time during the browsing or shopping experience, one may quickly determine how much shipping will cost and how long it will take to receive the product(s). 

We determine shipping costs based on the amount purchased and not the weight of items.  We use the purchase amount to determine shipping charges for very specific reasons. First, the amount-purchased-system allows a customer to budget accordingly.  Second, weight-based systems cannot determine the shipping costs until all items are selected and placed in the customer's virtual cart.  As a result, customers are forced to invest in shopping time without really knowing the final tab.  Finally, weight-based systems generally result in much higher shipping costs for the customer.

We rely on UPS and USPS for all our shipping needs.  Which carrier we select depends on the size of the item(s) ordered, where, and what type of shipping the customer requests.  All international orders are shipped through USPS, as well as, some of our smaller items. The remaining items are typically shipped via UPS. UPS does take a week to deliver a standard ground shipment from coast to coast - as our shipping map indicates. Both services offer a variety of expedited shipping options and, although we offer expedited shipping as a courtesy, we do not encourage using it unless absolutely necessary.  Express shipping is expensive and we have no choice but to pass the expense onto our customers.  It is quite an impressive feat for UPS to pick up a package from our North Carolina warehouse and have it delivered to California by the next afternoon - thus, justifying the expense. The same may be said for second and three day delivery.  We have had great success with both carriers and feel confident in our delivery promises to our customers.

Therefore, to all our past, present and future customers we thank you for accepting the reality of shipping costs and taking time to understand how much the benefits of shopping with Thinkbutton outweigh the minor shipping costs one may have to incur.  Delivery expenses are a necessary part of on-line shopping that we take gladly a loss on so that our customers may enjoy the benefits of having fast, reliable, front door delivery for all our unique educational products.

Is There a Brick and Mortar in Our Future?

Since Thinkbutton launched on the World Wide Web in 2001, customers, family, and friends continue to ask when we will have a "real" store. You know, one up the road or in the next big town that one has to negotiate traffic, time, crowds, and even pay taxes to purchase the same products we have on-line.  Although it makes some sense to assume that a website only serves as a precursor to a larger, more tangible presence, our business plan never included a brick and mortar venture. For us, the idea seemed too limited. 

Brick and mortars only serve a local, or at best, regional customer base.  Even if we open multiple stores across the nation, our message is still restricted to local pockets of consumers. By focusing strictly on our web store, we can concentrate on a global customer base that is never limited by location and time. Not only is Thinkbutton accessible through a computer 24 hours a day and seven days a week, we can add product and enhance our store visually and technically, without ever interrupting the costumer's visit to our site.

Through customer inquiries and shipping addresses, we are constantly reminded of the educational priority environmental, creative, and social issues are to the global consumer.  We have sold products to schools, organizations and individual consumers on six continents. For Team Thinkbutton, knowing that our message and corresponding product offering is celebrated on a global level, confirms a web store is the right decision. A brick and mortar limits the opportunities we have to provide products to a research conservation children's program in Papua New Guinea, schools in Malaysia and children's educational programs across the USA. Also, we run the risk of loosing focus and foregoing service and quality for the thrill of opening the next store. As a compromise, our new headquarters offer regional customers a physical place to visit and a chance for us to further integrate Thinkbutton's philosophy into the community.

One may argue that shopping on a website doesn't compare to physically browsing and handling potential purchases.  For this reason, we are constantly trying to enhance product descriptions and images, as well as, offer product galleries with supporting text and photos of children testing products. By incorporating video into future galleries, we plan to take the gallery to a new level of Internet shopping.  True, one may not be able to hold a potential purchase from Thinkbutton.  However, a physical store doesn't allow one to shop in their pj's at 3:00 a.m. in the safety and comfort of home; and, the purchase is delivered to any location specified.

This leads to another groan of Internet shopping - shipping charges. This topic will be discussed in a future post. However, to sum up briefly, shipping is free for purchases over $75 and for what one saves on taxes and gas, our customers typically come out ahead.

Therefore, we ask all our family, friends, and customers not expect to see a Thinkbutton store on your local street corner.  However, we do encourage everyone to keep their eyes open for Thinkbutton brand products in reputable brick and mortars; as, product development has always been a part of our plan.