Earlywood vs. Amazon: Where to shop?

April 26, 2023 0 Comments

We wanted to take a minute to point something out that many people aren't aware of... it's about the difference between shopping on Earlywood's website or buying Earlywood through Amazon.

We sell Earlywood there because it is a great way to get a small company like ours in front of a large audience of people that wouldn't know about us otherwise but, as our company and sales grow we hope to be able to sustain only on direct sales and get off Amazon in the future.

Earlywood is a small company, employing six awesome people including me, Brad, founder and original maker. Our shop is in beautiful Red Lodge, Montana, a ski town and tourist hot spot. We value our hardworking crew and offer competitive pay, retirement plans and health insurance options and want to remind everyone how important it can be to shop direct and shop small.

Don't get us wrong, we shop Amazon too when we need to, but shopping directly from makers make so much more sense for us and you.

Listed here are some of the benefits and trade-offs of shopping at Earlywood or at Amazon.

Reason #1 - Shipping: Amazon promises fast shipping, even though it doesn't seem to be as fast as it used to be. Here at our shop, orders are shipped out just as quickly. We often ship the same day and almost always within 24 hours. An added benefit is a personalized hand written gift note option and we hand pick each item!

Reason #2 - Packaging and Sustainability: We wrap and ship in bulk to Amazon warehouses but with added plastic packaging that Amazon requires. Also, the utensil you order from Amazon is getting shipped twice or even three times before it gets to you...

- first, we ship it to one of their fulfillment warehouses

- then Amazon ships the utensils around the country to other warehouses

- finally Amazon ships the utensil directly to you

When an order is placed directly from the Earlywood website, we take steps to be as sustainable as possible. The order comes with less packaging, with recycled or reused padding, our branded Earlywood envelopes... and it only gets shipped once!

Reason #3 - Money: One of the most important reasons and one that many Amazon shoppers do not realize is this, Amazon takes a hefty cut...typically about 30% from all sales. That's straight off the top and honestly... it's kind of painful. It is a huge hit to small companies like us and just continues to feed the huge Amazon beast.

Reason #4 - Ease: We make it easy. Shopping the website is simple and we always offer free shipping on orders over $100. All utensils have a lifetime guarantee and we make warranties, returns, and dealing with any other issues easy. Simply send us an email and we will get you taken care of immediately. Not to mention you even get to interact with a real person!

Reason #5 - Selection: We offer a number of our best selling items on Amazon, but not everything. If you want our wooden bowls, Earlywood Exclusives, new products, custom engraving, corporate gifts etc, then our website is the place to shop.

Thank you for reading and for continuing to support us.

Earlywood vs. Amazon: Where to shop?

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The Kenji Lopez-Alt + Earlywood Story

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