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Posted on 09.19.07 by Nick Lindauer @ 2:01 pm | Comments: |

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RoJo’s Gourmet Foods has built a steady and successful business in the Amazon.com marketplace. While this business continues to flourish, the partners at RoJo’s Gourmet Foods wanted to create a web presence aside from that venue.

RoJo’s Gourmet Foods has separated a segment of their business away from the Amazon.com marketplace to offer lower prices and less expensive shipping. While there are many benefits to doing business with a large company such as Amazon, there are also costs associated and unfortunately those costs get passed on to the consumer.

With the new independent website live RoJo’s can now offer you the same legendary customer service and lower prices and FREE shipping on any order of $99 or more. We wanted to put a few buck back into the pockets of our loyal customers.

To celebrate the launch RoJo’s is also offer FREE Award winning hot sauce to anyone that wants it, no strings attached.
Simply add Baboon Ass Brand Jalapeno Hot Sauce to your cart and enter the Promotion Coupon Code: NL0907BAJ

Log into www.rojosgourmet.com and take advantage of the special offers today!

Chilehead Comments:
Posted by: Nick Lindauer - Categories: Hot Sauce News
Permalink: FREE Hot Sauce!

One year ago: Review: Elephant Pepper - Zambizi Red Hot Sauce
Two years ago: Review: Torchbearer Super Fancy Tingly Sauce

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26 Comments »

Comment #1:

Comment by AJ (2) - 9/19/2007 @ 3:46 pm | [ Quote ]

still have to pay a very high shipping charge

Comment #2:

Comment by Ethan (125) - 9/19/2007 @ 4:13 pm | [ Quote ]

AJ on 9/19/2007 at 3:46 pm said:

still have to pay a very high shipping charge

Looks like over $10 shipped to KY. Not exactly a great deal… Was their shipping even higher when they sold via Amazon?

Comment #3:

Comment by Anthony (297) - 9/19/2007 @ 5:35 pm | [ Quote ]

AJ on 9/19/2007 at 3:46 pm said:

still have to pay a very high shipping charge

Good thing they aren’t shipping to Canada!

Comment #4:

Comment by Fat Kid Sauces (282) - 9/19/2007 @ 7:46 pm | [ Quote ]

Anthony on 9/19/2007 at 5:35 pm said:

Good thing they aren’t shipping to Canada!

The cost of shipping to Canada is just WRONG. There is no reason for the hih costs. It drives me nuts haveing to charge some one $18 to ship anything there.

Comment #5:

Comment by Anthony (297) - 9/19/2007 @ 8:08 pm | [ Quote ]

Fat Kid Sauces on 9/19/2007 at 7:46 pm said:

The cost of shipping to Canada is just WRONG. There is no reason for the hih costs. It drives me nuts haveing to charge some one $18 to ship anything there.

I agree! It is crazy! At least with our dollar at par with yours now (and may even pass it), those seeking the FKS fix will find it a little easier to get!

Comment #6:

Comment by ChileHeadEd (176) - 9/19/2007 @ 8:18 pm | [ Quote ]

7.80 to MA, still too much for 1 bottle of sauce for me….
I suppose if I were to buy some more bottles it would make the shipping worth it! Hey, thats what they want me to do!

Comment #7:

Comment by Fat kid Sauces (282) - 9/19/2007 @ 8:57 pm | [ Quote ]

ChileHeadEd on 9/19/2007 at 8:18 pm said:

7.80 to MA, still too much for 1 bottle of sauce for me….
I suppose if I were to buy some more bottles it would make the shipping worth it! Hey, thats what they want me to do!

Hey Ed…. I’ll be at Fire N Smoke this Saturday…..

Comment #8:

Comment by Fat kid Sauces (282) - 9/19/2007 @ 8:58 pm | [ Quote ]

Anthony on 9/19/2007 at 8:08 pm said:

I agree! It is crazy! At least with our dollar at par with yours now (and may even pass it), those seeking the FKS fix will find it a little easier to get!

LOL - Still Highway robbery

Comment #9:

Comment by Arizona Jack (1267) - 9/20/2007 @ 12:38 am | [ Quote ]

Funny, It only cost $4.60 for me to ship a bottle of hot dauce USPS priority.

” The REAL Aj”

Comment #10:

Comment by Arizona Jack (1267) - 9/20/2007 @ 12:39 am | [ Quote ]

sauce too !!!

Comment #11:

Comment by Ron Levi (67) - 9/20/2007 @ 2:00 am | [ Quote ]

Wow, Guys… You are brutal! We don’t mark up the shipping. Thats what FedEx charges. Our system is tied right in to FedEx and the rates are set there. Blame Shell, Exxon and the other Big Oil companies for the huge fuel surcharges. BTW Ed you are right!

Comment #12:

Comment by Biznard (2) - 9/20/2007 @ 5:55 am | [ Quote ]

Was ready to buy but $7.80 to IL is a bit much.

Comment #13:

Comment by DK (2414) - 9/20/2007 @ 6:30 am | [ Quote ]

Ron Levi on 9/20/2007 at 2:00 am said:

Wow, Guys… You are brutal! We don’t mark up the shipping. Thats what FedEx charges. Our system is tied right in to FedEx and the rates are set there. Blame Shell, Exxon and the other Big Oil companies for the huge fuel surcharges. BTW Ed you are right!

There ya have it. FedEx sux. My .02, nothing more. We have tons of problems with FedEx in our area. USPS or UPS is or preferred options at the shop.

Comment #14:

Comment by BLANE (2005) - 9/20/2007 @ 9:04 am | [ Quote ]

So stop using FedEx, oh sorry that would be to easy and you might get more on-line customer’s. USPS has a easy on-line sytem and it’s free.

Comment #15:

Comment by cavscout (7) - 9/20/2007 @ 10:07 am | [ Quote ]

It’s not always polite to beat a dead horse, but these guys are right about the shipping costs. Put 5 bottles in the cart (including the free one) and went to check out. Cheapest shipping option to Arizona: $22!! Yikes and no thanks.

Surfed over to two other sites - 5 bottles from them shipped for under $10. Yeah, you might want to take another look at your relationship with FedEx.

Comment #16:

Comment by Ron Levi (67) - 9/20/2007 @ 10:12 am | [ Quote ]

BLANE on 9/20/2007 at 9:04 am said:

So stop using FedEx, oh sorry that would be to easy and you might get more on-line customer’s. USPS has a easy on-line sytem and it’s free.

Been there guys and it was a disaster! UPS broke over 50% of the packages I sent out and gave me and my customers grief when we filed a claim for damages. USPS will not commit to picking up packages on time and there is no reliable tracking system there. FedEx rates are competitive with UPS and they have very little breakage and a great tracking system. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to shipping. I want my customers to get their packages on time and in one piece. In my opinion FedEx is the lesser evil.

Comment #17:

Comment by BLANE (2005) - 9/20/2007 @ 11:18 am | [ Quote ]

Thats true, fedex should give you a company rate, which should be half of what your paying.

Comment #18:

Comment by Ron Levi (67) - 9/20/2007 @ 11:49 am | [ Quote ]

cavscout on 9/20/2007 at 10:07 am said:

It’s not always polite to beat a dead horse, but these guys are right about the shipping costs. Put 5 bottles in the cart (including the free one) and went to check out. Cheapest shipping option to Arizona: $22!! Yikes and no thanks.

Surfed over to two other sites - 5 bottles from them shipped for under $10. Yeah, you might want to take another look at your relationship with FedEx.

HHhhmmmmm? I just went to the cart and it seems that there may be something wrong when you have more than 3 items in the cart? I will look into this and see why that is happening. This is a new site. We’ll get all the bugs worked out!

Comment #19:

Comment by Ron Levi (67) - 9/20/2007 @ 12:20 pm | [ Quote ]

OK guys, I went through the system and checked all the flags. Our system gets live rates from FedEx Based on weight and a couple of the weights were set at 5lbs??? But not the freebee! Sorry, you will see that the rates should be fairly competitive now.

Comment #20:

Comment by cavscout (7) - 9/20/2007 @ 12:43 pm | [ Quote ]

Ron Levi on 9/20/2007 at 12:20 pm said:

OK guys, I went through the system and checked all the flags. Our system gets live rates from FedEx Based on weight and a couple of the weights were set at 5lbs??? But not the freebee! Sorry, you will see that the rates should be fairly competitive now.

Went back to ‘my cart’ and recalculated shipping: now $10.64 for my 5 bottles. That’s much more in line with other site’s shipping costs. I can live with a dollar or two more - but couldn’t understand paying more than double!

Glad we could be ‘beta testers’ for you!

Comment #21:

Comment by Nick Lindauer (1014) - 9/20/2007 @ 3:12 pm | [ Quote ]

I’ve actually researched shipping methods and while most of my research was priced based, experience like Ron described above can really play into which shipping method you use.

Just a backgrounder on this information: I took shipping estimates on 5 packages: 1lb, 2lbs, 5lbs, 10lbs and 20lbs. And all estimates were based on the same zip code locations (4 different ship tos and ship froms were used)

USPS is cheaper when you are shipping 1-2lb packages – boxes are free as well, but make sure you get the ones that are NOT flat rate. If you get the flat rate box, you’ll pay $8.95 shipping as opposed to the weighted shipping cost of $4.60. However, for anyone shipping a lot of packages – the shipping system is much slower and you will still have to either cut out the labels (if you print them at home) or buy some USPS label sheets for your printer. USPS also only offers Priority (2-3days) or Express (Overnight). Don’t even bother with the Express shipping costs – FedEx is much cheaper for overnight. USPS will pick up packages for free – but don’t count on a regular pickup being very reliable.

UPS wins the shipping cost fight for the 2+lbs to 10lb package range. On average, UPS shipping costs are $1 to $2 lower then FedEx (Ground versus Home). 3-Day select is almost $3 cheaper per package then FedEx’s Express Saver (which is also a 3 day shipping offering). Other costs involved with using UPS online: $150 to $250 (one time) for a UPS Thermal Printer & Box/packaging costs. However, a UPS thermal printer is not necessary to use UPS online shipping– but UPS will give you free thermal printing labels. A daily pickup account from UPS will cost approx. $15 a week and your driver will pick up directly from your front door at a fairly regular time every day. And if he doesn’t show, you can call the distribution center and they will send out another driver to make sure your packages get picked up.

FedEx was the most expensive on all package weights until we took a look at the 20lb+ packages. Here FedEx Home was $1.50 to $2 cheaper then UPS Ground, but FedEx Express saver was still $3 higher then UPS 3-Day Select. Other costs involved: Same as using UPS online – a thermal printer is recommended but not necessary and FedEx will give you thermal labels for free. Daily pickup accounts are available but cost estimates for those accounts were not.

A lot of expenses in shipping come from packaging costs and while USPS will give you free boxes, the sizes are very limited and if you begin shipping higher weighted items, you won’t have access to the box sizes you’ll need. And for items like single bottles – you end up having to fill the USPS standard boxes up with more packing materials then you would if you bought a smaller box.

Case in point: If you buy boxes in bulk from sites like Uline.com a box for a single bottle of hot sauce will cost you $0.22, plus $.14 for bubble wrap (1ft. sheet to wrap the bottle), $0.10 in packing peanuts and $0.10 in tape. Ship materials will cost you about $0.65 for a single bottle. However, shipping that same bottle in a USPS box would cost you $.14 for bubble wrap (1ft. sheet to wrap the bottle), $0.36 in packing peanuts and $0.10 in tape. Using a USPS box is about $0.05 more expensive per bottle then buying the box yourself – and it all comes down to the “wasted” space within the box. The more you have to fill the space in the box, the more it’s going to cost you, even if the box is free.

Now of course, there are always exceptions to everything and you can save a ton of money by recycling shipping materials on items you receive. Or like in our case, while in New York, we would get recycled packing peanuts from the vitamin store across the street – they’d give it to us for free just to get rid of them. Now that saved a ton of money (plus the environment).

At the end of everything, we used UPS for shipping domestic packages and USPS for shipping international packages. We initially started with USPS, then as we grew it was not a scalable solution for the business and we tested FedEx, DHL and UPS head to head – and while none of them were perfect, UPS was the lesser of the three evils for us. USPS pickup was not reliable enough for us or our customers and FedEx proved to be too costly as did DHL. I’ve never had a problem with a UPS claim getting approved (though they do take a long time!) – however, none of our claims have ever been over $100.

Comment #22:

Comment by jon whaley (20) - 9/21/2007 @ 10:02 am | [ Quote ]

FREE HOT SAUCE OFFER - for all you bloggers who want a FREE bottle, we have one for you. NO SHIPPING COSTS. NADA. NOTHING. ZIP> GRATIS. FREE.

here’s all you do: the first 50 people to email us and say ” i want some free hot sauce” will get a bottle mailed to them. no obligation, no cost.
might be habanero, might be cayenne. might be jalapeno.
all we ask is the answers to a few questions:
name, address, city state zip of course.
age.
favorite brand of hot sauce.
where do you buy most of your hot sauce?
how often do you eat hot sauce?
how do you eat hot sauce? on what food? in recipes or straight from bottle.

we want market research and you want a free bottle. no answers means no free hot sauce though. fair is fair. and we will sign any bottle if you ask. limited to first 50 people only. tell your friends. GO!

Comment #23:

Comment by Ted the Chilehead (2) - 10/1/2007 @ 8:28 pm | [ Quote ]

Is the offer no longer valid? I entered the promotion code but no discount. 10/01/07

Thanks

Ted

Comment #24:

Comment by Ron Levi (67) - 10/1/2007 @ 10:12 pm | [ Quote ]

Hi Ted, The Code is NL0907BAJ , I just tried it and it worked. Try cut and pasting the code in and press apply. A line will appear that deducts the price of the sauce form your cart. Thank you for checking out www.rojosgourmet.com

Comment #25:

Comment by Ted the Chilehead (2) - 10/2/2007 @ 8:43 am | [ Quote ]

Interesting. I keep getting the error: “Coupon code “NL0907BAJ” is not a valid coupon code.”

Ted

Comment #26:

Comment by Ron Levi (67) - 10/2/2007 @ 11:15 am | [ Quote ]

Hi Ted,

Are you putting more than 1 Baboon Ass Brand Jalapeno Hot Sauce in the cart? This might cause an error. I’ll do some testing. If you have the free sauce in a line on it’s own in your cart it should work. You can add anything else you want but is seems if you try to put more than one of the freebees on a line it burps.

Ron Levi
www.rojosgourmet.com

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