Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Roses Only, a flowers and romantics delivery service based in Singapore. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Roses Only, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.
Introduction
Ever since I got a lady of my own, I did my research into flower delivery shops, studying quality comparisons, pricing, product selection, and reviews. Although,I did have a successful delivery by Farmgirl Flowers, in the-state-that-shall-not-be-named, and recently heard from a Singapore based company called Roses Only. Additionally, I also thought about other gift ideas, perhaps items from other countries that could not be found here, and a way to bypass the outrageous shipping costs involved.
Delivery Backstory
I want to be able to surprise her, no matter where she is, especially if I some day get an amazing job with plenty of travel. Or, we will miss products from places that we have been to, such as the amazing Kirin Milk Tea that you cannot purchase in the United States. You can walk into any convenience store, and buy a 500mL for about a dollar. Milk tea in a bottle is practically unheard of in the United States, and so that was very eye-opening for me. Upon my return, I wanted to purchase some, but to my dismay they don’t sell them in the United States, and shipping would rack up costs to roughly $12 a bottle, a crazy markup.
Possible Solution?
Cross country delivery on a small scale has always been a tricky problem to solve, due to lag/lead times, shipping costs, taxes and customs duties, and many other factors. I flirted with a company called Travel Squad, which I found via a facebook post. Their premise is that customers who want goods from other countries would be willing to pay a small premium for them (not 12x the price, in my case). By aggregating the demand in populous, moderately well off cities, Travel Squad could make a profit delivering goods via airplane luggages, bypassing the shipping/customs costs necessary. Travel Squad would fund the airplane ticket and mid-tier hotel, and in return the Squad member would coordinate purchases and arrange pickups with potential buyers in the target city.
Unfortunately, there were not any cities that appealed to me, and the thought of travelling 10+ hours, albeit for free, to a place that I cared little to nothing about did not interest me. It may work for others who want to explore and experience some of the cities, but based on my location and my options it did not work out. Unfortunate.
Cross-Currency International Delivery
A closer look into a product page at Roses Only shows beautiful photos of clean, crisp roses and other flowers, as well as accompaniments such as champagne and chocolate. For men, your section includes roses and cufflinks, or perhaps a bottle of Dom Perignon. To learn more, click here: flowers Singapore.
Note that at the very top left, there is a globe icon, with a dropdown informing me that Roses Only also has operations in Australia/NZ, US, and UK, in addition to Singapore. I drew parallels with this instance to my passion for the game League of Legends, as well as their economic currency revaluations to ensure that players are equitably treated when purchasing in-game currency. That is, if a currency is devalued, more of it is required to purchase the same amount.
I used a standard of the 12 Red Roses Gift Box, with prices based on locality below. I ignored taxes, fees, and shipping, as well as any accompaniments such as champagne or chocolates, as I wanted a base comparison of just the same 12 Red Roses Gift Box, which I assume is the base set for flowers in Singapore (and elsewhere).
Price Comparison
Singapore, 89.95 SGD
United Kingdom, 69.95 GBP
United States, 99.00 USD
As I am US based, converting currencies to USD made the most sense, based on the day’s exchange rate.
Singapore, 89.95 SGD @ 0.73 SGD/USD = 65.70 USD
United Kingdom, 69.95 GBP @ 1.3 GBP/USD = 91.10 USD
United States, 99.00 USD
As you can see, compared to the United States, the same box of 12 red roses is 10% cheaper in the United Kingdom, and a whopping 30+% cheaper in Singapore. Could this be accounted for in economic terms, such as GDP per capita? Perhaps, but it’s still quite surprising. As this type of service caters to the middle and upper class, I would have expected much closer pricing schedules. Other external factors could be the cost structure of inputs, as well as the competitive landscape of the various countries and locales. An interesting comparison, to be sure.
Gift Conclusion
International delivery will continue to be a question to solve for those not buying in bulk and before the advent of transporters. I never know what the appropriate gift is to get, and flowers, with the high margin, short life span, perishability, and emotional sentiment, are a very interesting choice.
Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Roses Only, a flowers and romantics delivery service based in Singapore. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Roses Only, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.
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