Curious about becoming a Loki Partner? Here's some essential information.
CSF stands for Community Supported Fishery. Is essence, it is a business model that lets customers prepay for their fish and receive it on demand over time. Fishing is a seasonal business with a lot of upfront costs (fuel, permit fees, insurance, nets, and shipping & processing costs, just to name a few) and prepaying a lump sum means the customer has effectively bought in to the operation and is directly supporting the fishery. When customers support our operation by prepaying for their fish, it helps us lean less heavily on credit lines and loans to fund our operation and brings us closer to the community we serve. In return for their support, CSF customers receive special discounted pricing, the option to have their fish delivered to their home, plus special perks and exclusive offers.
Since a CSF program is built on a prepayment system, we ask that customers pay at least $200 to open and maintain their CSF account. Our per-delivery minimum is $100, so prepaying this amount will cover roughly two deliveries. Prepaying the minimum of $200 will still earn you a VIP bonus credit toward fish, but the more you prepay, the bigger your discount will be!
We've made the choice to structure our CSF as an on-demand service, meaning you will only receive fish when you initiate a delivery. You will never receive fish you didn't ask for, and you will have the ability to customize your distribution each time you receive product. Feeling snacky this month? Fill your cart with a grab bag of smoked salmon. Have a big BBQ coming up? Go home with a few whole fish. Our minimum delivery amount is structured with the idea that people will opt to receive product roughly every month, but how often you draw on your credit and what you receive is entirely up to you!
Currently, we only maintain pick up sites within the City of Seattle, at our local farmer's markets and our warehouse in South Park. We will deliver as far North as Shoreline and as far South as Federal Way. That said, we do have plans to extend our operation in the future and we are always open to coordinating additional pick up sites for our customers. If you are a Puget Sound region resident outside of Seattle who is interested in facilitating or hosting a CSF pick up site in your neighborhood, please drop us a line! We'd love to talk.
To set up an account, first read over our terms of service, then hop over to our CSF portal to sign up. The process is quick and easy! Simply select a pickup or delivery option, enter your essential info, and decide how much you'd like to prepay. Once your payment is in the system, you'll be able to track your balance, stock your cart in our CSF store and order and a pick up or delivery for the next distribution date on our schedule.
Your first distribution will come to you in a Loki Fish Co refrigerated tote, with ice packs to keep it cold. Our totes are made to be taken camping and are well-insulated, ensuring your fish stays ice cold. Once you have the tote, it's yours and you can use it to pick up all subsequent distributions, or leave it out on your porch on the designated day if you've opted for home delivery. We will send you a reminder each time your delivery day is approaching so you don't forget your bag! If you lose your tote or it's damaged, you can replace it for a small $5 fee. If your delivery doesn't fit in a tote (whole fish can be quite large) we will deliver to you in an appropriately-sized styro. We encourage you to return your styros to use so we can re-use them and keep our operation as sustainable as possible!