Shipping charges

[tbugher62]

Can anyone tell me why just about everybody charges their customers 3 times what there actual shipping charges are.I recently ordered 2 very small items from a well known Distributor,the package came with a $1.78 shipping stamp,however I was charged almost $9.00 for the shipment.
Personally I will be no longer buy from those who cheat on the shipping charges anymore.Its bad enough paying for the huge mark-up they charge,without getting screwed on the shipping also.....so guys please leave some of your shipping experinces.

 

[Thorbird]

They charge what the market will bare. I placed a big order with Sinclair, thinking I had everything I needed from them, and wouldn't you know it, I forgot the head that holds the shell plate on the screw driver attachment for neck turning. It's just a little thing weight wise, costs $21 and they want $11.50 to ship it. I need the thing but am also having a hard time pulling the trigger. Can't find it anywhere else so far. Somebody is paying the ship charges or they couldn't get away with it.

 

[spclark]

I suspect the charges we all see go towards the box, the packing filler, the tape to close the box, the hourly pay for the person who puts your order into the box and prepares the shipping label, etc. It may - or may not - include the actual carrier charges paid to UPS/FedEx/USPS to transport & deliver the goods. Wherever possible it's a good idea to order as much as you can at one time so that these costs are spread across as large a purchase as you can afford to make.

Running a profitable business isn't accounted for in the same way some of us would probably go about it, so there's a disconnect in how the products we buy are priced and what the actual orders we pay for cost us in total. Some vendors probably charge disproportionally more for small orders than others because they've set a minimum cost per order to support their way of doing business.

If you think about how things have changed since the Internet changed the retail vs "mail order" way of buying stuff, consider the costs in time and travel to run down to the local (not always just a few miles) shop to buy a couple of small items in person.

 

[Preacher]

There usually is a HANDLING charge tacked onto those shipping charge...

 

[4xforfun]

I ordered a 35 degree carbide cutting tool for neck turning from Sinclair, about the size of a multi-vitamin in a padded envelope. Frieght....$11.95 flat rate!!!

The next time I orderd something small I bitched a bit, and they sent the order a little more reasonable.

But...I spend thousands a year at Sinclair....which may help!!!

 

[Tozguy]

I live 1 hour north of the US border. A $135 order from S cost $28 mailing and $6.50 international handling (export/import paperwork). Once the box arrived here, the post office charged me $13.23 in tax and $5 fee for collecting the tax. All these costs above and beyond the price of goods amounts to 39%. All of this is fine with me, they are up front about what they will charge.
Note that there is no 4% extra charge for using foreign Visa (as LB does) and no surprise $50 fee for releasing the package (as UPS does).

 

[fdshuster]

Have called to order a very small item from Sinclair ( neck bushing), and they offer to send it first class in a mailing envelope. My cost? $1.10. But the previous postings are correct, in many cases shipping charges are out of sight. Buy local and you pay sales tax, so it's a no win situation.

 

[spclark]

...just thought its a little annoying to pay more in shipping, than the actual cost of the item being shipped....

Yes, it is that. I don't think anyone reading this forum would disagree.

Depending on the vendor and the item(s) ordered, if you contact them directly they may be amenable to working with you to reduce the "cost of ownership." It's always worth an e-mail or phone call to put the question to someone who may be able to help.

I've done that with both Midway and Sinclair in the past with good results, but well before the beginning of the continuing economic debacle we're all living with today.

 

[normmatzen]

I used to run a little internet business and I have an idea what small item shipping can cost.

First, a lot of venders just default to UPS. Bad mistake for small orders. A lot of companies will not use USPS even tho a very small part can go into 25C envelope and go for $1.35 shipping. Or if it can be stuffed into a priority envelope it goes for less than $5 regardless of weight.

So, for sure call and complain if they will not use USPS.

 

[Flybuster]

I usually am able to find promotion codes for free shipping, or at least the % off the purchase enough to cover the shipping. Last order I buddied up on a purchase and only paid $5 for shipping from Sinclair.

Sinclair sent an item free shipping when I had forgot it in the order, they do that as a courtesy. Just shoot them an email explaining you forgot something in a larger order the sooner the better your odds at getting this courtesy.

Midway's shipping and handling rates scare me, so unless its a really good deal or I can find a code. It gets to me that they have a minimum order extra charge for orders under $25 bucks. When its an item that they only sell, like their shooting mat when its on sale, your either forced to buy more or pay their dumb fee of 2 or 3 dollars. Midway does offer quite a few promotion codes so why not take advantage of them, return the favor.

 

[tenring]

IMO, Midway's charges are clearly excessive. Midsouth much better. Sinclair's flat rate $11.95 is designed to encourage you to order additional items.

You would think these vendors are not making a profit on the merchandise, but that just is not true. Why can't they charge actual shipping and include their overhead costs in the profit they are making?

 

[Flybuster]

Why can't they charge actual shipping and include their overhead costs in the profit they are making?

Cause' that would cut into their profit

 

[rocketron]

i'm with flybuster...........buddy up when ever anything is needed and split the shipping.

Ron

 

[McKinneyMike]

I recently ordered a full boat load of reloading equipment from Midway. I was very happy with the shipping costs, given how much everything weighed. Maybe I was lucky. I do order from Midsouth, Graf and Sons and Natchez often too, but never really noticed any of them being excessively over priced on shipping either. Sinclair's shipping is expensive, unless you order a lot of stuff from them to me.

 

[Taildrag15X]

Graf & Son's pay th shipping.....sure there prices are .25-$1.00 more for some items, but fora flat rate $4.95 and free HAZMAT (on powder oders over 24 lbs.) who can complain.

 

[Tozguy]

Norm's idea works for me....insist on USPS!
Plus, lets keep a thread open on shipping costs, continue to share information like we are doing here, vendors need to be competing on shipping charges as well as advertised prices, otherwise some of them will just pass ridiculours costs on to the customer thinking its not their concern.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Everytime I go to make an order, I feel like I'm going to be violated. Every chance I get I order with someone to ease the cost.

 

[Flybuster]

Norm's idea works for me....insist on USPS!
Plus, lets keep a thread open on shipping costs, continue to share information like we are doing here, vendors need to be competing on shipping charges as well as advertised prices, otherwise some of them will just pass ridiculours costs on to the customer thinking its not their concern.

It's definitely good that the see this, but they won't do anything about it until it hurts them. Their in it for profit and if its easier and takes less time to use UPS its more efficient for them, that increases profitability when your not paying for extra labor man hours. Maybe its more time consuming to use USPS so it reduces their efficiency, which cuts into their profits. The smaller businesses that I use for vendors like Russ Haydon's shooters supply usually send things in appropriately sized packages USPS. The bigger outfits are usually UPS, UPS will park a trailer in your warehouse dock and you can load it. I don't know if USPS does the same.

 

[NorCalMikie]

We all buy on the "internet" because almost everything is "in stock". Try finding "everything" you want local and at the same price? Shipping is part of the business costs. Someone has to pack and ship your items and they arn't working for free.
Figure what it would cost to jump in your ride and drive to pick it up?
Got a friend that lives about 30 miles from me. I can ship something USPS Priority to him cheaper that I can drive to his house. He gets it the next day.
Pay the shipping charges and be glad you got the stuff you wanted .

 

[tenring]

This is a profit motivated system the mail order outfits have devised. I wonder whether they declare "shipping and handling" in their profit statements and tax returns as income?

Bass Pro Shop, Cabelas and many others charge the same retail price whether your purchase is in the store or via mail order. Whether the sale is in house or via mail, they have overhead. So why don't they charge overhead when you buy at the store? Because it is included in their profit margin, as are mail order fees. No logic to the system except greed.