Is it too much? Barrel shipping...
- Thread starter avidflyer
- Start date
BoydAllen
Gold $$ Contributor
A while back, I shipped a varmint weight Savage drop in style barrel from CA to KS with $200 insurance, VIA UPS for less than $20. I had an old tube and packing materials on hand so other than the value of the tape, I had nothing in the packaging except my time. I used a small flat rate box to ship some brass to the same recipient USPS and the total for both came out to about $26. It has been my recent practice to scan shipping receipts and attach those files to email notifications to buyers that the items that they bought have been shipped. It is easier than transcribing long numbers, and prevents errors. I suppose that I should have thrown in something for the gas that I burned, but I had enough room in my prices to account for that.
I still have heartburn over the shipping and CC cost ($44.86) on my recent purchase myself. My 20” barrel arrived last week in a tube with the damn foil alum plugs in the ends. I am in Oklahoma City.
When the total cost of the barrel and shipping hit my bank account, the bank called me to approve it. I said hell no! thats wrong! but then I called the vendor who explained all the charges. I had no idea there was going to be that much added to the bill. I thought they may have added a bolt to the order or something. So, I raised hell with the vendor on the phone, did no good - then called the bank back and reluctantly approved the charge.
Oh....and the company name is misspelled - when they machine engraved the barrel.
When the total cost of the barrel and shipping hit my bank account, the bank called me to approve it. I said hell no! thats wrong! but then I called the vendor who explained all the charges. I had no idea there was going to be that much added to the bill. I thought they may have added a bolt to the order or something. So, I raised hell with the vendor on the phone, did no good - then called the bank back and reluctantly approved the charge.
Oh....and the company name is misspelled - when they machine engraved the barrel.
Last edited:
bichettereds
Silver $$ Contributor
I just shipped a barrel blank via fed ex in a round tube and the shipping cost was $21.xx.
Add the cost of the tube and packing and I don’t think it came close to $30. $45 is too much.
Add the cost of the tube and packing and I don’t think it came close to $30. $45 is too much.
I recently shipped a barrel from WA to IN, sent it USPS 2 day and paid $24.94 for shipping. Shipped on a Saturday, arrived on the following Monday.
Oddly enough, if I had sent it out 7 day it was going to cost me $0.37 more.
I also bought one of the square tube type boxes from the USPS for $3.99 so total cost was $28.93
Oddly enough, if I had sent it out 7 day it was going to cost me $0.37 more.
I also bought one of the square tube type boxes from the USPS for $3.99 so total cost was $28.93
Write to them and tell them that they need to change their shipping policies. I was getting charged $15 shipping per item when buying stuff from a place I know many of you have used, even if they were putting both items in one small box. The smallest item was not much bigger than a pencil eraser and only cost $7 or $8!, but at the time they were exclusive US distributors for the stuff I was buying. I wrote a review about their shipping policy and they changed it so they now combine shipping. If you write to the barrel maker and they blow you off, that’s their right, but you can let us know what company so we can all pay close attention to the shipping charges before deciding whether to buy from them.
This has me wondering why the big difference? Especially due to the facts of size and weight.
Alexander-M
Gold $$ Contributor
I have ordered three barrels (one at a time) from Krieger in the recent past, and shipping always has been $20. They ship their barrels in a square "tube". I guess this makes them easier to handle since they won't roll.
Alex
Alex
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
I'll be glad when Spring hits. Talk will go back to the important things, like shooting.
Just ask the shipping price first and then it is on you.
Just ask the shipping price first and then it is on you.
Hello Everyone, This was brought to my attention and I made a post on another thread but I will post here as well.
If you paid with a c.c. 3% gets added to the grand total. We're not trying to make any money on the shipping or the c.c. fees. When the order gets entered this line is on the order and shown right away. So it's not hidden per say.
Our c.c. fee per transaction runs anywhere from 3%-6%. Depends on if the c.c. is a business card, debit card, Visa/MC or Discover or AMEX etc...again not trying to make any money on the shipping or c.c. fees but not trying to lose any either. Again on the c.c. fee we are only charging a flat 3%. So when you look at the shipping costs that 3% is figured into that.
Also shipping to a residential address vs. a business address is different. With residential being higher. Both UPS and Fedex charge more for it. A good example I'll throw out there is Gre-Tan Rifles. We noticed every time we shipped to Greg we got dinged for residential charges. I literally had to argue with UPS for about a month that his was a business not a residential. So because his house is/was on the property of his business is how they rationalized it. Argued with them until they dropped the extra charge for him.
Years ago we tried doing a flat fee for shipping and I would say 90% of the time we lost money on everyone on of them. I know because in the beginning I did all the shipping as well. Sometimes it was just a buck or two and sometimes it was easily more. $10 was not unheard of.
We've shipped barrels to customers right here in WI. You would think being in our home State and the customer only being 1-2 hour drive time from us the shipping wouldn't be that much. Then the shipping costs comes up like $16 for Fedex.
Believe it or not UPS is typically more on shipping costs vs. Fedex. That's why we use Fedex the vast majority of the time. If it's saving us money it's saving the customer money.
If Brux or someone is doing a flat fee of $15 a barrel then that is they're choice. I wonder if they are comparing they're shipping bill from the carrier on a regular basis compared to what they are charging the customer. I don't work there so I don't know. We've looked at it here and that's why we had to change how we handled it. More then 90% of the time we we're losing money on the shipping and c.c. fee's. Again not trying to make money on it but at least cover the costs and not lose money on it.
It's also not a fair comparison when someone says, "I took the package to a shipping center or the post office and it only cost me X amount of dollars to ship." Why are you more? Are you figuring in your time? Are you figuring in fuel costs? Packaging material? Let alone paying someone to do it? It all adds up.
Also we will get dinged from UPS or Fedex after the package has been delivered any hidden/extra fees for misc. stuff that we cannot for see happening. When this happens we don't go back to the customer asking them for another X amount of dollars. We end up eating it.
We've been asked by customers in the past to look at the shipping costs for them on a individual basis where we ship to them all the time to help with the shipping costs. To adjusting it the best we can to offer them to ship on they're account and we only add flat handling fee. It's been brought back to us at times they cannot do the shipping costs for any less and they leave it the way it is and or they try and make a deal with they're carrier etc....
Also throw in a lost package/shipment claim. If we ship it and the carrier loses and or damage's it. We have to file the claim etc....It's all loss time. Fedex, UPS doesn't reimburse us for it. We don't charge the customer for it and we don't try and figure in any cost to do it either. When it happens we lose money and time. I could care less about the money it costs us but we cannot get back the time. To me this is a part of doing business on this one.
We also get dinged a fuel surcharge fees from carriers at times as well etc...and it gets adjusted/added on every bill we get from them. Doesn't matter if it's a freight carrier etc...UPS and Fedex will adjust they're rates almost weekly at times to the shipping program. When stuff like this happens we all end up paying for it.
I just purchased some car parts out of N.C. I paid a mandatory $9.95 handling fee on top of the shipping costs and c.c. fees.
Sorry for the long winded post. Again we are not trying to make any on the shipping/c.c. costs fee's etc...but not trying to lose our shirts on it either. You start adding up the difference in c.c. fees, hidden shipping costs that pop up, labor, time etc...and it starts costing a company more then you think.
Later, Frank
If you paid with a c.c. 3% gets added to the grand total. We're not trying to make any money on the shipping or the c.c. fees. When the order gets entered this line is on the order and shown right away. So it's not hidden per say.
Our c.c. fee per transaction runs anywhere from 3%-6%. Depends on if the c.c. is a business card, debit card, Visa/MC or Discover or AMEX etc...again not trying to make any money on the shipping or c.c. fees but not trying to lose any either. Again on the c.c. fee we are only charging a flat 3%. So when you look at the shipping costs that 3% is figured into that.
Also shipping to a residential address vs. a business address is different. With residential being higher. Both UPS and Fedex charge more for it. A good example I'll throw out there is Gre-Tan Rifles. We noticed every time we shipped to Greg we got dinged for residential charges. I literally had to argue with UPS for about a month that his was a business not a residential. So because his house is/was on the property of his business is how they rationalized it. Argued with them until they dropped the extra charge for him.
Years ago we tried doing a flat fee for shipping and I would say 90% of the time we lost money on everyone on of them. I know because in the beginning I did all the shipping as well. Sometimes it was just a buck or two and sometimes it was easily more. $10 was not unheard of.
We've shipped barrels to customers right here in WI. You would think being in our home State and the customer only being 1-2 hour drive time from us the shipping wouldn't be that much. Then the shipping costs comes up like $16 for Fedex.
Believe it or not UPS is typically more on shipping costs vs. Fedex. That's why we use Fedex the vast majority of the time. If it's saving us money it's saving the customer money.
If Brux or someone is doing a flat fee of $15 a barrel then that is they're choice. I wonder if they are comparing they're shipping bill from the carrier on a regular basis compared to what they are charging the customer. I don't work there so I don't know. We've looked at it here and that's why we had to change how we handled it. More then 90% of the time we we're losing money on the shipping and c.c. fee's. Again not trying to make money on it but at least cover the costs and not lose money on it.
It's also not a fair comparison when someone says, "I took the package to a shipping center or the post office and it only cost me X amount of dollars to ship." Why are you more? Are you figuring in your time? Are you figuring in fuel costs? Packaging material? Let alone paying someone to do it? It all adds up.
Also we will get dinged from UPS or Fedex after the package has been delivered any hidden/extra fees for misc. stuff that we cannot for see happening. When this happens we don't go back to the customer asking them for another X amount of dollars. We end up eating it.
We've been asked by customers in the past to look at the shipping costs for them on a individual basis where we ship to them all the time to help with the shipping costs. To adjusting it the best we can to offer them to ship on they're account and we only add flat handling fee. It's been brought back to us at times they cannot do the shipping costs for any less and they leave it the way it is and or they try and make a deal with they're carrier etc....
Also throw in a lost package/shipment claim. If we ship it and the carrier loses and or damage's it. We have to file the claim etc....It's all loss time. Fedex, UPS doesn't reimburse us for it. We don't charge the customer for it and we don't try and figure in any cost to do it either. When it happens we lose money and time. I could care less about the money it costs us but we cannot get back the time. To me this is a part of doing business on this one.
We also get dinged a fuel surcharge fees from carriers at times as well etc...and it gets adjusted/added on every bill we get from them. Doesn't matter if it's a freight carrier etc...UPS and Fedex will adjust they're rates almost weekly at times to the shipping program. When stuff like this happens we all end up paying for it.
I just purchased some car parts out of N.C. I paid a mandatory $9.95 handling fee on top of the shipping costs and c.c. fees.
Sorry for the long winded post. Again we are not trying to make any on the shipping/c.c. costs fee's etc...but not trying to lose our shirts on it either. You start adding up the difference in c.c. fees, hidden shipping costs that pop up, labor, time etc...and it starts costing a company more then you think.
Later, Frank
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
Thanks Frank,
I know shipping has come up before and discussed, but some have not remembered it. If it is a worry, we just need to ask before ordering from anybody.
avidflyer
Gold $$ Contributor
Agree 100 % should of asked...but never thought it’d be that high. didnt think this would be this big of thread but seems like I’m not the only one
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