Why A Massachusetts Man Is Selling Beautiful Fall Leaves Online

You really can shop for anything from the comfort of your home. Entrepreneur Kyle Waring started ShipFoliage.com, which sells fall-colored leaves from New England, according to Syracuse.com. For the bargain price of $19.99 per bundle, you get three color-balanced leaves: one green, one yellow and one red, or three leaves of mixed colors.

Experts working for the website hike around New England and find the perfect leaves, which are preserved with ammonia and glycerin and sent to the customer with a hand-written, customizable letter, according to Mashable. The leaves are about 3 inches by 6 inches, but the sizing varies because they’re, of course, leaves.

Waring launched the website on Oct. 6 and told Mashable that he had received more than 75 orders in the first 24 hours of business. Waring said he’s still perfecting his preservation process, which helps give the leaves a glossy texture, but that the company will promise “gorgeous fall foliage” no matter what.

“When I was looking at foliage, I didn’t see anywhere that sold foliage, and it seemed like an untapped market,” Waring told the Boston Globe. “There are people who want to share some of the foliage with their friends and family, people who have lived in New England and don’t have access to it anymore, leaf-peepers of all types, really.”

He told the Globe that the leaves are worth almost $7 a piece because he and his experts“filter through tons … to find Grade A leaves.”

In the winter, when Boston received a record-setting amount of snow, Waring started another company when he figured out how to box up snow and send it to people who don’t live in traditionally snowy areas. That venture, called “Ship Snow, Yo,” made Waring a bit of money, but he wouldn’t tell the Globe how much. He did say that it inspired ShipFoliage.com.

“Foliage seemed to be the next best commodity of New England,” Waring told Mashable.

Sure, it seems a little silly at first, but then, when you visit the Ship Foliage website, you begin to understand why someone might pay $19.99 for three leaves. The website features a video that shows Waring and his team hiking through mountains in New England in search of the perfect leaves.

The view is beautiful, and if you’ve ever lived in the Northeast or anywhere with beautiful fall foliage, seeing the leaves makes you a bit nostalgic. So, it’s easy to see what Waring is capitalizing on, and it’s not the leaves themselves. It’s that exciting, crisp, time-for-a-campfire season that is fall. Changing leaves bring back memories for a lot of people that they often don’t have the time or the circumstances to reconnect with.

OK, I obviously need to get out of my city apartment and roll around in some leaves. I hope you get the chance to do the same.

Images: ShipFoliage.com/Vimeo

Main Photo by LadyDragonflyCC – >;<