Shipping charge gouging!!

[Gary Conklin]

Yesterday I ordered a small but critical part from a well known and respected tool manufacturer. The part was $39.95(a bit high in my opinion) + $7.50 for standard shipping (the only option) totalling $47.45. A few minutes after the order was placed I received an email, "Your part will ship today via parcel post." Parcel post from CA, crap, and for $7.50, double crap. I did my research on the standard USPS charges and the total to ship parcel post was $4.90. This part weighs in at what can not be more than 6-8 ounces if that. Now I tell you I am sure this part could have shipped in a small envelope for under $2.00, worse still was the fact that it was only $0.05 more to ship the same piece in a small flat rate priority box(which the P.O. provides free so no packaging expenses.)


So here is my question what do ya'll do in these types of situations, eat it as part of doing businesss, complain? Since this was ordered directly from the manufacturer they set the part pricing, you would think they would include the extra $ they want to glean from a guy in the pricing.

[Mitchell Andrus]

So here is my question what do ya'll do in these types of situations, eat it as part of doing businesss, complain? Since this was ordered directly from the manufacturer they set the part pricing, you would think they would include the extra $ they want to glean from a guy in the pricing.

This comes up once in a while here. I ship 500 to 600 pieces a year, all via Fed Ex Ground unless someone specs UPS. There might be a few times when a small piece can go out a few dollars cheaper if I took the time to do the research. I can't do that for all packages, so I don't do it for any - every region of the country can have it's own delivery problems depending on the shipper selected.

Sometimes I lose a few dollars, sometimes I keep a few dollars. Overall, I'm even. So are my customers as a general rule. My website returns real-time shipping rate estimates, but even then the actual package is billed a bit differently on ship day.

The customer might have saved a buck or two.... but they didn't buy 5 or 10 minutes of my time to do research in an effort to save them 1 or 2 bucks, nor a special trip to the Post Office or the time to wait for another carrier to make another pick up.

If the place you bought from ships a lot, they keep an eye open for the overall best method keeping in mind time for delivery, failed deliveries, missed pick-ups, insurance claims/payments... etc.

On the forums for my cart software, shipping is a heavily discussed topic.
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[Tom Godley]

It may or may not have gone out PP -- I think this may be a standard response that is given because I have received it and then received the package Priority Mail.

Actually -- A standard shipping charge of $7.50 sound very reasonable to me. We have become so used to free shipping from retailers that it kinda hurts to pay anything :)

[Prashun Patel]

We ship products to our customers all the time. We ship a variety of weights and products all around the world. It can be timeconsuming and tricky to find the lowest rate carrier for every single order. Further, we've had customs clearing and damage problems with certain carriers to specific locations.

I love it best when customers arrange for their own transit and just give me a phone number and pick up code. Easy for me, optimal for them.

I say give them the benefit of the doubt.

[Anthony Scira]

I figure it took time for a guy to put it into the box, and it cost money for the box and packing materials.

I always look at it as shipping AND handling. Now if they claim postage is always actual value you may have a valid complaint.

[Matt Meiser]

I had a company recently ship me something that cost $3 and could easily have gone in a padded envelope. Instead, they put it in a 12x12x12 box which they jammed full of a couple pounds of shredded corrugated cardboard. They charged me $13 shipping. When I complained they had the gall to tell me there was nothing else they could have done. I've recommended them before, but never again.

I bought more of the same item from McMaster Carr for the same price and $5 shipping.

[Robert McGowen]

Yesterday I ordered a small but critical part from a well known and respected tool manufacturer. The part was $39.95(a bit high in my opinion) + $7.50 for standard shipping (the only option) totalling $47.45. A few minutes after the order was placed I received an email, "Your part will ship today via parcel post."

I guess the part that I don't understand is that you placed the order knowing what the cost was and what they were charging for shipping. Then you got upset because of the cost of the shipping. It was obviously worth $7.50 shipping when you placed the order or you would not have placed it. It seems like you would have a more valid point if you thought that they were overcharging you for shipping and you did NOT place the order because of it.

[Gary Conklin]

I guess the part that I don't understand is that you placed the order knowing what the cost was and what they were charging for shipping. Then you got upset because of the cost of the shipping. It was obviously worth $7.50 shipping when you placed the order or you would not have placed it. It seems like you would have a more valid point if you thought that they were overcharging you for shipping and you did NOT place the order because of it.

Actually it was the fact that it was shipped Parcel post which I didn't know as the shipping was labeled "table shipping". I also ordered as the part was needed, and I had no other options to get the part from. The frustration in shipping costs in general is the larger issue.

[Robert McGowen]

I understand your overall frustration. I actually own a business that ships fairly heavy items. It is quite common for the shipping costs to be more than the purchase price of the item. It is sometimes hard to sell stuff that way. :(

[Gary Conklin]

Service Service Service. That is what it is all about. There are those that do and there are those that don't. Companies that ship should keep the charges in line with the product being shipped. I am a shipping manager so I understand the chrges and how it all works. Handling charges I get. The lack of shipping options not so much. Everthing can be done online as far as shipping is concerned, UPS labels, fed ex shipments, even USPS, and all offer p/u.

This vendor makes a great product, with the price tag to go with it, so you'd think the service would be outstanding. I just didn't feel that when it came to the shipping. Sometimes companies need to be educated.

[Brian Elfert]

I had a company recently ship me something that cost $3 and could easily have gone in a padded envelope. Instead, they put it in a 12x12x12 box which they jammed full of a couple pounds of shredded corrugated cardboard. They charged me $13 shipping. When I complained they had the gall to tell me there was nothing else they could have done. I've recommended them before, but never again.


Verizon Wireless has the opposite problem with price, but the same issue with box sizing. Pretty much everything they sell includes free overnight shipping, but they put everything in the same size box. The box might be okay for a large smart phone, but the box is way oversized for a battery or holster.

I once bought a $4.97 holster from Verizon Wireless that was shipped overnight at no charge. The shipping had to cost at least the whole $4.97.

Verizon Wireless also refuses to ship more than one item per box. My employer sometimes orders a half dozen phones at a time. They always come in a seperate box for each phone no matter how many times they are asked to pack them in fewer boxes.

[Bill Cunningham]

I ship a 'lot' of glass products. There is not a carrier around that will insure glass against breakage, so I pack very well. So well in fact the Canadian post office has never broken a single piece in 8 years. The USPS during the same period has only managed to break 4 pieces, which I replaced. But, I add $15.00 to the shipping cost of every order and call it shipping and handling, and that's a bargon(orders average $300-$500 and weigh 10-30 kg). The $15 covers packing, time and material (packing can take 45 min.) and the trip to the post office to send, theft insurance, and 'if' anything gets broken, I replace no charge. My customers tell me it takes 15-20 minutes just to get the contents out of the box, but nothing is ever broken, or missing. Sometimes the shipping charge covers far more than the shipping, and it should!

[Dave Lehnert]

$7.50 seems fair to me. The price of the item purchased has little to do with what it cost to ship.

It is just a case of it being easier for a business to give a shipping cost to the customer at point of purchase.
I took a tour of the factory at Shopsmith in Dayton Ohio. When we got to the shipping department he told us how they are not allowed to use some packaging material to some states. One I remember was no packing peanuts was allowed to be used on tools going to Alaska. They had to use shredded cardboard like product. Imagine a business having to post a shipping cost to every state for every item they sold.

I have some older tools and at times would be happy to pay $100 shipping to be able to have the part I need. Be happy the part you needed is available and shipping is only $7.50

Then again it would be helpful if we knew what the part was you ordered and who it was from to give a true opinion.

[Tim Morton]

I will bet $7.50 is still way cheaper than if you drove to pick it up:p

[Ken Werner]

So here is my question what do ya'll do in these types of situations, eat it as part of doing businesss, complain?


If I need the part, I buy it and don't complain. If I don't need the part, I keep looking for a better value. If the vendor has a monopoly, then like Weird Al says, "Just Eat It"

[Horton Brasses]

I really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on shipping. Speaking from the POV of a company that does mail order full time-it is a very tricky issue. Shipping is never free. You may not see the charge, but you are paying for it in some way, shape, or form. And no matter how cheap the postage/transit may be, that is far from the only cost to the vendor.

With regards to the OP, how much did the vendor actually earn from this sale and shipping cost? Not a whole lot. Now, you may own a multi-thousand dollar machine from the same vendor. The machine is where they made the profit, not the replacement parts, I don't know. But nevertheless, it is worth considering.

When I purchase things I would rather pay shipping and a fair price for the item. When I see free shipping I automatically think that there is a huge markup in the product to cover the shipping cost. The exception to this are branded products that are widely available, IE, you can buy a pair of Nike sneakers in your size from umpteen different companies. So you may as well shop the price and shipping to compare the total cost. For products not widely available, or sold direct, I would rather pay a fair shipping cost.

For comparisons sake, we charge a flat $5.00 for ground shipping (within the US) and we choose the carrier unless there is a specific request otherwise. We lose money on shipping (10000 UPS Ground shipments last year, average cost $7.43). Some mail order companies see shipping as a profit center, we don't. I accept the loss as a cost of doing business, because I don't think it's honest to increase my prices and give "free" shipping.

It is true, as others have pointed out, that a shipper cannot possibly research the absolute lowest cost method of shipping each and every package. That may lower the actual shipping cost but the overhead and time expense will far outweigh any reduction in rates. There are very expensive software solutions available that will compare the costs for each and every package, but if your not doing LL Bean volumes they cost more than they are worth.

-Orion

[Dave Anderson NH]

I'm with Orion on this one. For my tool business I ship almost exclusively Priority Mail Insured. I have a flat rate for items anywhere in the US thought there is some difference in cost to me based on what postal zone the customer is in. Some customers are "overcharged" as much as $.50-$.90 on their shipments, but most shipments are either break even or I take a loss. Over the course of a year I lose several hundred dollars on shipping since my shipping charges are for the postal costs only and don't include my time or shipping supplies. To me it is part of the overhead and the general cost of doing business. Figuring out separate and exact costs for each and every shipment to each and every Zip Code before a customer places an order so as to give an exact quote would be administrative nightmare and is not realistically possible for most companies, let alone a 1 man operation. My business is making and selling tools and the shipping is a necessary evil, not a profit center as it is for many mail order businesses.

[Pat Germain]

There's no doubt in my mind the new business model for Sears parts and accessories is to make money by bilking customers on shipping. The size and weight has no apparent relation to what they charge for shipping from their web site.

And, no coincidence, Sears closed all their in-store parts windows as well as their parts distribution centers. So now, if you want parts for a Kenmore or Craftsman product, you must go through the Sears web site and you must pay jacked-up shipping charges. I've also noticed a shrinking trend in what's available in the store.

In the past, parts and accessories availability was one of the few reasons I would buy a Sears product. Alas, no more. The next time my Kenmore grill needs parts, I'm going to drive it to the dump and enjoy pushing it out the back of my truck onto a pile of dog doo, of which there always seems to be plenty.

No doubt many other businesses are following the Sears business model. But I do accept the shipping costs with a reputable merchant are often legitimate.

[Myk Rian]

Often, I've ordered something and got a FedEx shipping number. It gets delivered by the USPS. :confused:

[Horton Brasses]

Often, I've ordered something and got a FedEx shipping number. It gets delivered by the USPS. :confused:
FedEx has a service that allows them to pick up the package and essentially ship to your local post office. They track it all the way until it gets to your town. It is less expensive the UPS Ground or FedEx Ground, but it is slooow.

[Matt Meiser]

UPS has the same thing -- called "Basic"

[Jim Terrill]

UPS has the same thing -- called "Basic"
I was wondering what that service was- I ordered some trees and when I went to check the expected delivery, but there was not one listed and the service listed is basic. First time I had ever heard of it. Just hope the trees are alive by te time they get to me.

[Lee Ludden]

I was looking for some brass dowel pins for a project, and ran into one of the worst shipping rate charges I have ever seen.

The company (Kmac Distribution) had a $50 min order, with a $20 charge for less than that, and charged shipping per item. I was looking for 2 bags each of 3 different sizes of pins, .062"x.25, .062"x.5" and 1 slightly thicker. They were priced at about $12 for box of 25. I added them to my cart and hit checkout, and the total was over $100. They charged roughly $8.50 per item shipping and handling.

I found the same stuff at McMaster-Carr for a more reasonable $41 shipped.

[Brian Elfert]

In regards to "free" shipping I choose the vendor that has the best price once shipping is included. Often times the "free" shipping vendor has the best price especially on heavy or bulk items.

I ordered a bunch of tents for a Scout troop a while back as nobody locally carries them. Amazon's price was about $8 more than others, but Amazon shipped for free. The other guys wanted $12 to $15 per tent for shipping. Amazon saved the troop a little money plus they are a reputable vendor.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I was looking for some brass dowel pins for a project, and ran into one of the worst shipping rate charges I have ever seen.

The company (Kmac Distribution) had a $50 min order, with a $20 charge for less than that, and charged shipping per item. I was looking for 2 bags each of 3 different sizes of pins, .062"x.25, .062"x.5" and 1 slightly thicker. They were priced at about $12 for box of 25. I added them to my cart and hit checkout, and the total was over $100. They charged roughly $8.50 per item shipping and handling.

I found the same stuff at McMaster-Carr for a more reasonable $41 shipped.

If this was an on-line store, there will be an admin control that can be set to "ship separately" or similar, or not. Obviously the software didn't understand that the multiple items weren't all the size of a car and should be 'combined'. This is poor store setup.
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[Van Huskey]

The bottom line with shipping is a company has to be efficient. That usually means flat rates for shipping certain classes of items and with packing materials you make money of some, you lose money on others. The whole "free" shipping has made us more aware of charges for shipping.

In the OPs case if the vendor kept all the materials to pack multiple classes of shipping and use multiple shipping companies and provide real time price quotes for each you can bet the part price would have been higher. Some vendors use psychological pricing and some don't and even though the bottom line is the same we often feel "cheated" by the ones that don't engage in the pricing schemes which include "free" shipping. We can thank Melville Stone for this if the "myth" is true. Some Goggle fodder for anyone interested.