BARGAIN SHARE PROGRAM
Is the share price the monthly or biweekly price? The share price is a biweekly price. A half share will be $25.00[*] per delivery, every other week. A full-share will be $50.00[*] per delivery, every other week.
[* Price range can vary from $20.00 - $25.00 for a half share or $40.00 - $50.00 for a full share. Price variance is based on product availability, but will not run more than $25.00 –half share or $50.00 full share.]
Why is there a possibility that the share price may be a little lower on some deliveries than others? There are two things that can cause a Bargain Share to cost a little less on a specific pickup day. One scenario would be if we were more limited on a particular week regarding which low cost “bargain” items were available. If less low cost items are available, which causes us to get a smaller shipment, we will only charge for what we are able to get. The second scenario is if an item [or items] that we order does not come in or an item [or items] comes in, but is not good quality and must be returned. While this doesn’t happen a lot, it does happen. Because our goal is to get you the most food for your money, I will not charge you a set amount and then just fill your box with what I have available. If the box does not meet my expectations [by having less in it for reasons outside of my control] I will only charge an amount that will cover the cost of what is in your box.
We do not anticipate a delivery costing less than $20.00 for a half share or $40.00 for a full share. We do anticipate that MOST deliveries will be the full, expected price [$25.00 half-share/ $50.00 full-share]. We will only vary the price when things happen outside of our control.
About how much would you expect to come in a share or half-share? Since our focus with this program will be getting the true bargains that are available each delivery, I anticipate there being some variation from week to week. Our goal will be to provide between 7 – 10 different fruits & vegetables each delivery. Some weeks we may be able to include even more. This program is unique in that we are trying to offer you the very best deals, and yet those deals and the number of items available at lower prices will vary with each delivery. This makes it more difficult to set certain parameters regarding expectations. When we have a week where there are fewer “bargains” available, then you will receive a larger quantity of each item that is in your bargain share box.
A full share may have a few different items than is included in a half-share, but the biggest difference between the half-share and the full share will be the quantity of each item. A full share will get more of each item than a half share receives. A full share should be considered for a larger family that would need more of each item. Someone that likes to preserve foods [dehydrating, freezing, canning etc.] when food prices are low may want to consider a full share or even a double share [equals two single shares].
Should I consider the full share or will the half share be enough for our family? I would say that generally the full share would be best for a larger family [6 or more]. However, my best advice would be to start out with a half-share and try out the program at that level. If you are happy with the program and yet feel like you could use more of each item, then you can upgrade to the full share. Once the program is in “full swing” it may be possible for us to offer a full share that includes more variety rather than more quantity of each item. We will modify the program as we see what works and what doesn’t, with our goal always being to make the program the best it can be.
Will each bargain share box look identical? We will do all that we can to include the same items in each box but it will be impossible to have each box identical. If a box does not include a specific item it will have another item in its place [or more of something else]. Our goal will obviously be to keep everyone happy with selection so we will do our best when dividing the produce to be fair to everyone participating in the program.
What if I want more of certain items or want other organic produce items when I come to pick up my Bargain share box? We will continue to offer our regular preorder option. Preordering allows you to place orders for specific items each week. Preorders are due in by Thursday at 5:00 p.m. for pick up on the following Tuesday. We will also continue to have extra items for sale in our store on Tuesdays, so you can choose from what is available. Our preorder process and extra organic produce continues to be available EVERY WEEK. It is just our Bargain Share program that will be available bi-weekly.
How long of a commitment am I making? - We do ask you to be committed to the program when you sign up. You will be responsible for payment of each delivery, every other week until you provide us with a 30 day notice [two delivery periods] that you will be leaving the program.
When and where are Bargain Share boxes picked up? Bargain share boxes are picked up on Tuesdays anytime during our regular hours, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Abundant Living Lifestyle Center & Health Foods which is located at 5130 Hwy. 86 Calera, Alabama 35040 [directions provided below]. If you are driving from a distance away, consider enlisting someone [or several people] in your area to join the Bargain Share program and rotate driving. Since pick up is every other week, if you have two people working together you will only have to make the drive once a month. If you have three or more people it would be even less often. If someone else is picking up your Bargain Share box, you can call in an order for extra items and have everything ready when the pickup person arrives. Just please give us as much advance notice as you can so that we will have time to pull the items you are requesting [keep in mind that pulling orders has to be done between waiting on our in-store customers so it may take us a little while to get things together].
What other items do you offer? If you have not visited us at Abundant Living we would love to have you come by. We sell health education materials [books, DVD’s, CD’s etc.]; health appliances; organic produce; specialty health food items, whole grain products [including wheat-free & gluten-free items]; bulk grains, nuts, seeds, beans & dried fruit; a few select, quality supplements and more. We hope to have an updated list that includes all of the items we sell in the store available sometime in the future. We are currently open on Tuesdays from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and one Saturday a month for our scheduled seminar.
What if something comes up one week and I am not able to pick up during those hours? Call us during our regular hours on Tuesday [11:00 – 5:00] and we will do what we can to work with you to make arrangements for pick up on another day.
Why are you starting the Bargain Share program? We truly do all we can to encourage people to eat as healthy as possible. I believe that this program is another way that we can help people to eat healthy on a budget. In an effort to get you the most for your money, we will be offering items to those in the Bargain Share program at the same wholesale price as those that buy full cases from us. Because everyone in the program is “sharing” cases, it is possible to offer you wholesale case price discounts, even to families that cannot use a whole case of each item. This is really a special “co-op” arrangement. The fact that we are concentrating on buying items that are the best deals is what makes this program unique.
Will there be any times when a regular pickup day would be cancelled? On a very rare occasion we may cancel a pickup day because of a holiday. Generally, though a Tuesday pick up does not interfere with holiday schedules. The only other case where a pickup day could be cancelled is in the event that there are so few real “bargains” available from our supplier that we feel that we cannot meet the intent of the program. There have been times in the past where due to weather issues in several parts of the country, produce prices rise above normal. Usually, when produce prices rise due to weather conditions just a few items are affected [like when lettuce prices went up for several months because of weather problems]. However, if enough items are affected and we do not feel that we can give you a true “bargain” box, then we would prefer to cancel that week rather than compromise the program by offering you a small amount of produce for your money. Because produce prices fluctuate there will be times where your box will contain more than other times, but if prices rise considerably [and this affects a large percentage of what our supplier offers] then we will discontinue the program until we feel we can fulfill the program commitment. If there is ever an occasion to cancel a pick up day, you will be notified the week before or earlier.
If you have any further questions, or if you would like to sign up for the Organic Produce BARGAIN SHARE Program, please contact us by phone at 205-669-5483 or by email at abundantliving@aol.com.
Posted on September 15th, 2007 by Christi
Filed under: Buying Clubs/Co-ops | No Comments »