Small Rant About Vendors Shipping Prices

[A383Wing]

I bought a printed circuit board from a vendor a few weeks ago off the web.....price was $$$ plus $18 for shipping of single part. I thought it was kinda high, but figured it must come well packed and insured from damage for that amount....so I paid the price and waited for new circuit board to arrive. A few days later, our "mail-person" gave me a long box with new printed circuit board inside. Opened up box, and there was no extensive packing, just the board wrapped once with bubble wrap....item was loose inside box.

So, anyway, back to my $18 shipping fee that I was charged...note picture below, only cost $6.15 to mail this to me via US Mail....no signature, no return receipt.....I called the vendor, his response to why I was overcharged for shipping was "That's just the way it's set up on the web, nothing I can do about it"  So I asked where did the other $11.85 go to and would I get that back", He said, "No, that just the way it is"

Needles to say, I won't be buying from this company again.....vendor name is Charger Specialties

Rant over....draw your own conclusions

Bryan

[ws23rt]

Thanks for the heads up about that vendor.

Unfortunately this kind of thing happens all the time.  A little charge here and there that they hope will go unchallenged.

If something seems too high a few questions and postings like this is all we have to work with.

I had a charge recently that gave me pause.  Booking a flight and a one night stay in a hotel on line with Travelocity.  The flight was $469 and the combo (flight and hotel was $988.)  Wow that must be a cool hotel.

I booked them individually (same hotel) for a total of around $560.

I called with a question about this and was told that their must have been a mistake and they were sorry.

We are on our own to look out for overcharging but sharing this stuff helps us all.

[RECHRGD]

I'm still trying to figure out my phone bill......

[ITSA426]

I quit buying from Year One when their shipping prices got ridiculous.  I liked doing business with them but shipping just added too much to the prices.

[Lewis]

Are year one shipping prices bad? I'm about to import a harness from them to the uk 

[A383Wing]

Year One is the worst of all vendors for shipping

[Lewis]

Ahhh man

[John_Kunkel]

Many vendors use the term "shipping and handling" to get around the discrepancy between charged and actual shipping costs. IOW, they charged you $11.85 to "handle" it.

[ws23rt]

It's interesting to consider that "handling" an item is the beginning of depreciation/deterioration.  

Perhaps a back charge for "handling" the aggravation encountered would be in order?

[Lewis]

Yeah what he said!

[Charger-Bodie]

Megapartsusa.com has the best prices usually,and charge realistic shipping.

[Troy]

Not defending them in any way but...

the handling typically includes a box and packing material too. Try buying cardboard boxes without a bulk discount. Depending on the size you're $1.50-7.00 each. A roll of bubble wrap from Staples is $14-16. Label tape and printer ink cost money (yeah, that stuff is probably covered as "overhead" at most companies but it's directly tied to shipping). Large companies will have their packages picked up. Charger Specialties is NOT a large company.

When I was shipping a lot of t-shirts I was making 2-3 trips per week to the post office. Assuming I drove to the normal place it was 4 miles each way and took 20-30 minutes. The truck gets about 14 mpg and my time isn't free (well, in this case it was apparently!). Each package took me about 5-10 minutes to dig out inventory, stuff envelopes, log in to USPS.com to buy postage, print the label and tape it to the package. I packed the t-shirts in Tyvek envelopes - only about $0.40 each. So basically, 3-4 orders would take an hour of my time and use up about $2 in materials and $2 in gas. Assuming minimum wage, I would need to add $3-4 for "handling" on each order. The cheapest shipping - plus insurance and tracking but not counting foreign orders - was about $5 with the most expensive being over $11 (average of about $8). If I had charged a flat rate for "shipping and handling" it would have needed to be $11-12 - which seems excessive for an $18 shirt.

I have piles of cardboard boxes and packing materials in my garage to reuse for shipping parts. After selling a few large items (a couple that had to ship truck freight), I decided that I really wasn't making enough money to mess with it. You want your part, come get it - or pay me extra for the hassle of shipping it.

I worked mail order for 11 years and our shipping was considered "net zero" - yet people would still complain when they got an envelope with a 2 oz item inside and a postage mark of $0.75 when we charged them $2.30 for shipping and handling. No one complained when they got the 30 pound box for $6.50... Even so, the rates we charged took into the "average" cost between carriers and then the shipping department would determine the actual method once it was packed and labeled. If the packer used a different size box it could easily ship a different way.

And I'm gonna guess that no one else has this particular product...

Troy

[stripedelete]

Not defending them in any way but...

the handling typically includes a box and packing material too. Try buying cardboard boxes without a bulk discount. Depending on the size you're $1.50-7.00 each. A roll of bubble wrap from Staples is $14-16. Label tape and printer ink cost money (yeah, that stuff is probably covered as "overhead" at most companies but it's directly tied to shipping). Large companies will have their packages picked up. Charger Specialties is NOT a large company.

When I was shipping a lot of t-shirts I was making 2-3 trips per week to the post office. Assuming I drove to the normal place it was 4 miles each way and took 20-30 minutes. The truck gets about 14 mpg and my time isn't free (well, in this case it was apparently!). Each package took me about 5-10 minutes to dig out inventory, stuff envelopes, log in to USPS.com to buy postage, print the label and tape it to the package. I packed the t-shirts in Tyvek envelopes - only about $0.40 each. So basically, 3-4 orders would take an hour of my time and use up about $2 in materials and $2 in gas. Assuming minimum wage, I would need to add $3-4 for "handling" on each order. The cheapest shipping - plus insurance and tracking but not counting foreign orders - was about $5 with the most expensive being over $11 (average of about $8). If I had charged a flat rate for "shipping and handling" it would have needed to be $11-12 - which seems excessive for an $18 shirt.

I have piles of cardboard boxes and packing materials in my garage to reuse for shipping parts. After selling a few large items (a couple that had to ship truck freight), I decided that I really wasn't making enough money to mess with it. You want your part, come get it - or pay me extra for the hassle of shipping it.

I worked mail order for 11 years and our shipping was considered "net zero" - yet people would still complain when they got an envelope with a 2 oz item inside and a postage mark of $0.75 when we charged them $2.30 for shipping and handling. No one complained when they got the 30 pound box for $6.50... Even so, the rates we charged took into the "average" cost between carriers and then the shipping department would determine the actual method once it was packed and labeled. If the packer used a different size box it could easily ship a different way.

And I'm gonna guess that no one else has this particular product...

Troy

Spot on with what "handling" is.  Handling costs.  What they charge and what it costs the company is rarely 0 sum.
The vendor never fully covers everything when costs are fully burdened.

Before someone posts, "It's the cost of doing business".   It's not.  It's a service.  If you don't want the service, drive to the location and pick it up.

The vendor could build it into the cost.  Then you will be paying sales tax on the "Built In" shipping and handling.

[1974dodgecharger]

PRIORITY BOXES ARE FREE AT POST OFFICE!!!  I can go in and grab the whole rack and they wont say anything...that's how USPS gets business by those boxes.  

I could be wrong, but it seems they even used a USPS priority box......

Hell USPS has flat rate boxes now fit what you can fit in there and its good to go....

IN this case 383  got ripped off.....Hell if you do postage online you get a discount on shipping also....


Also walmart has boxes for .98cents large ones and the largets one is like 1.50 or so..granted you have to drive so the gas is considered, but hell you gotta go to walmart anyways...so grab a box while your there.  


also USPS can pick up your box if you did an online shipping with them..YES the mailman comes to your place asks for the box....FREE no handling on his part for using HIS LEGS to WALK to your door...... in fact UPS and fedex do this service also if you use their service.

NO EXCUSES in this case for charger specilities.....383 wins in this case.

[ECS]

.....back to my $18 shipping fee that I was charged...note picture below, only cost $6.15 to mail this to me via US Mail....

By no means do I support the ridiculous prices that some charge their Customers with respect to S/H.  I can honestly say that ECS NEVER marks up or charges a shipping amount other than the actual costs of getting the product to the Customer.  One thing should be noted however.  The $6.15 cost to ship your item was the charge from the Postal service to the Vendor.  

One thing that is almost always overlooked is the costs for an Employee to pull the product out of stock and package it into the shipping box. A Vendor also has costs to have an Employee enter the transaction into their system for shipping, the costs for packing slips/invoice receipts, the "box" costs, etc.......  While the shipping amount you referenced does seem high, there are real costs that many people never take into consideration other than what the carrier charges the Vendor to ship it.

[1974dodgecharger]

sorry that's still an EXCUSE!!!  I don't see summit charging me to charge the guy to use the pallet jack to go tell the guy in the warehouse to go tell the guy to use the pallet jack to bring him an item.....That's the cost of business is that you don't charge, 'EXTRA shipping and handling' into the shipping, but you charge extra for the item then if that's the case. 

for example item item costs 20 dollars and 5 dollars to ship....charger specilitiesl well changes his mind and say hey lets make this costs 8 dollars and charge 17 dollars to ship it the item....hell yeah why not right 

NO, and NO USPS did not charge charger specilitiles the 18 dollars on the item they did that on purpose...I have shipped many items through USPS...

.....back to my $18 shipping fee that I was charged...note picture below, only cost $6.15 to mail this to me via US Mail....

By no means do I support the ridiculous prices that some charge their Customers with respect to S/H.  I can honestly say that ECS NEVER marks up or charges a shipping amount other than the actual costs of getting the product to the Customer.  One thing should be noted however.  The $6.15 cost to ship your item was the charge from the Postal service to the Vendor.  

One thing that is almost always overlooked is the costs for an Employee to pull the product out of stock and package it into the shipping box. A Vendor also has costs to have an Employee enter the transaction into their system for shipping, the costs for packing slips/invoice receipts, the "box" costs, etc.......  While the shipping amount you referenced does seem high, there are real costs that many people never take into consideration other than what the carrier charges the Vendor to ship it.

[A383Wing]

it was not a flat rate box...the box it came in was 2"x2"x12" for the circuit board...

I would not have been upset if the shipping he charged me was maybe $2 over what was on the postage label...I do understand about other costs like bubble wrap, tape, & the box itself....but to overcharge me $11+ for this small item? I'm not seeing it...

he can charge $2 over for every item he ships and that will cover his shipping supplies cost for everyone...but the $11.85 was not justified in my opinion

[69CoronetRT]

.....back to my $18 shipping fee that I was charged...note picture below, only cost $6.15 to mail this to me via US Mail....

By no means do I support the ridiculous prices that some charge their Customers with respect to S/H.  I can honestly say that ECS NEVER marks up or charges a shipping amount other than the actual costs of getting the product to the Customer.  One thing should be noted however.  The $6.15 cost to ship your item was the charge from the Postal service to the Vendor.  

One thing that is almost always overlooked is the costs for an Employee to pull the product out of stock and package it into the shipping box. A Vendor also has costs to have an Employee enter the transaction into their system for shipping, the costs for packing slips/invoice receipts, the "box" costs, etc.......  While the shipping amount you referenced does seem high, there are real costs that many people never take into consideration other than what the carrier charges the Vendor to ship it.

Bingo...

By the responses, you can tell the people that have and haven't run a business. Time and labor are a factor above the material cost of s/h as well as volume.

[ECS]

I don't see summit charging me.....

That's the point!  You won't see those charges but I guarantee you are paying for them.  A Business can't stay in business without charging for their products and services.

[Aero426]

All the USPS shipping software I have seen, has the capability to print the label without the ship cost visible.    While I understand and accept flat rate ship policies, there is no need to rub it in the face of the customer on a small parts order.   

[Troy]

sorry that's still an EXCUSE!!!  I don't see summit charging me to charge the guy to use the pallet jack to go tell the guy in the warehouse to go tell the guy to use the pallet jack to bring him an item.....That's the cost of business is that you don't charge, 'EXTRA shipping and handling' into the shipping, but you charge extra for the item then if that's the case. 

for example item item costs 20 dollars and 5 dollars to ship....charger specilitiesl well changes his mind and say hey lets make this costs 8 dollars and charge 17 dollars to ship it the item....hell yeah why not right 

NO, and NO USPS did not charge charger specilitiles the 18 dollars on the item they did that on purpose...I have shipped many items through USPS...

.....back to my $18 shipping fee that I was charged...note picture below, only cost $6.15 to mail this to me via US Mail....

By no means do I support the ridiculous prices that some charge their Customers with respect to S/H.  I can honestly say that ECS NEVER marks up or charges a shipping amount other than the actual costs of getting the product to the Customer.  One thing should be noted however.  The $6.15 cost to ship your item was the charge from the Postal service to the Vendor. 

One thing that is almost always overlooked is the costs for an Employee to pull the product out of stock and package it into the shipping box. A Vendor also has costs to have an Employee enter the transaction into their system for shipping, the costs for packing slips/invoice receipts, the "box" costs, etc.......  While the shipping amount you referenced does seem high, there are real costs that many people never take into consideration other than what the carrier charges the Vendor to ship it.

And no one ever shops by the price of the product, right? Any search engine that shows "lowest price first" will be full of vendors undercharging for items and overcharging for handling - because it works! If it isn't built into the price the money has to be made up elsewhere. Even on sites like Amazon and eBay where you can sort by "price plus shipping" you'll see vendors undercharging by a penny just to be listed first. Now, certain companies are known for ridiculous shipping charges (Year One for example) which seems to drive more customers away. That seems like bad business to me - especially when the products themselves are priced higher than most of their competitors.

Again, not defending the company but also trying to be objective. I cannot have USPS pick up my packages because I actually go to my real job and do stuff during the day. Most of what I ship doesn't fit in their boxes. Many times, even if it does fit in their boxes I can ship it cheaper if I don't use the "flat rate". I'm betting Charger Specialties is very similar. A lot of the smaller parts vendors do it as a side job.

Troy

[6spd68]

Back in 2003-2004 I worked in shipping/receiving, my company would charge a 33% mark up on our shipping cost in order to handle the expenses.  The 11.85$ is a little much, but that's how it goes.  Much like others have stated before with the 5$ e-bay items that cost 25$ in shipping.  

I'm more inclinded to complain about UPS, and thier processing fees when shipping international...  Be ready to COD your soul...

[RallyeMike]

I think anything is fair as long as its stated up front what the cost is, and what kind of shipping and timeframe you are paying for. If "handling" isn't built into the overhead of the item price, then its fair game.

I quit buying from Year One when their shipping prices got ridiculous. I liked doing business with them but shipping just added too much to the prices.

Agree 100%. Remember the days when their black and white catalogs used to say up front that the were not glossy high-cost productions "to save you money".

[ws23rt]

I agree that all is fair as long as it's clear about the total cost before the purchase.

Sellers are forever looking for ways to make the sale while making it look as good as they can. --- Marketing ---

The reason for this thread is how the customer sometimes is greeted with a hard pill to swallow.

How many of us (for example) have clicked on the "agree" button about terms and conditions only --after-- reading and understanding it?  

What we have to work with is vendors that make poor marketing decisions that cause grief and places like this to complain about them.

[ITSA426]

I once ordered two underwood decals from Year One.  They came UPS in an envelope, inside a 4"X4"X8" box filled with paper wadding.  I think if you're running a business you try to do the most efficient work you can and shipping should be reasonable and should reflect the necessary amount of shipping cost unless you're just padding to run up expense to the customer.  When I asked the sales rep at Year One about the cost I was told they have a deal with UPS.  The decals could have been thrown in a padded envelope between two pieces of light cardboard, and mailed or even sent UPS a lot cheaper.  Shipping should not be another profit center within a company.

[A383Wing]

  Shipping should not be another profit center within a company.

[8WHEELER]

I have noticed lots of times, looking for the parts at the lowest price and thinking that sounds good. But then look at the shipping
cost, and find out they have a lower price to start with to hook you in, but make up for it and then some on the back end.

Dan

[71charger_fan]

I needed four rotors for a Jeep Commander. Rockauto wanted $53 to ship them. I ordered the same rotors from Amazon for about $8 more for the parts but got the shipping for free.

[odcics2]

it was not a flat rate box...the box it came in was 2"x2"x12" for the circuit board...

I would not have been upset if the shipping he charged me was maybe $2 over what was on the postage label...I do understand about other costs like bubble wrap, tape, & the box itself....but to overcharge me $11+ for this small item? I'm not seeing it...

he can charge $2 over for every item he ships and that will cover his shipping supplies cost for everyone...but the $11.85 was not justified in my opinion

Perhaps a few others got free shipping, so it all evens out ??        ( )

[el dub]

You should check out oriellys. they have a lot of the same parts.

[A383Wing]

You should check out oriellys. they have a lot of the same parts.

I call BS on that, please show me where they have printed circuit boards for a 67 Dodge at O'Riellys

[el dub]

It might be bs. what part specifically are you looking for? My oreillys guy is a mopar guy too and sometimes even though he doesn't have the part he can find it somewhere else

[ECS]

I would not have been upset if the shipping he charged me was maybe $2.......he can charge $2 over for every item he ships and that will cover his shipping supplies cost for everyone......

Just curious........what factual rationale did you use in determining the $2 amount that you deemed acceptable for them to charge?

[A383Wing]

the box and the small amount of bubble wrap cost him less than $1.50....the $2 was just a random number I grabbed just to make a point....I would not have been upset if he overcharged me $3 on top of the actual $6.15 that it took to get the item here...I am just upset at the fact he overcharged me $11.85 and basically told me to stuff it and that's the way it is for his business

[ECS]

the box and the small amount of bubble wrap cost him less than $1.50....

Keep in mind that those items didn't prepare themselves for shipment.  What wages does the Company pay their employees who process the items shipped?  What are the costs for having someone enter and process the shipments?  What are the overhead/lease/rental costs for the Facility they operate out of?  Do they insure the products they ship against damage?  Besides the actual cost of the boxes, is there a cost for having their boxes shipped to their Facility?  Does their bubble wrap get shipped to their Facility free of charge or do they pay to have it delivered?  What are the amortized square footage cost for the products that are inventoried prior to having them sold and shipped?  How much of the Companies Building utilities are factored into in the costs of their products?  Does the Company pay insurance to protect their building, products and shipping inventory?  There are a few more I could mention but I'm sure you get the picture.

[Mopar Nut]

the box and the small amount of bubble wrap cost him less than $1.50....

Keep in mind that those items didn't prepare themselves for shipment.  What wages does the Company pay their employees who process the items shipped?  What are the costs for having someone enter and process the shipments?  What are the overhead/lease/rental costs for the Facility they operate out of?  Do they insure the products they ship against damage?  Besides the actual cost of the boxes, is there a cost for having their boxes shipped to their Facility?  Does their bubble wrap get shipped to their Facility free of charge or do they pay to have it delivered?  What are the amortized square footage cost for the products that are inventoried prior to having them sold and shipped?  How much of the Companies Building utilities are factored into in the costs of their products?  Does the Company pay insurance to protect their building, products and shipping inventory?  There are a few more I could mention but I'm sure you get the picture.

They don't charge a handling charge if I was picking it up at will call, I even get a free wink from the female clerk. It takes the same amount of time to take it to the counter as is does the shipping dock.

[LaOtto70Charger]

ECS why would a reputable business not figure everything you just mentioned into their profit margin and sale price?  Too add it to the shipping and handling fee is deceptive marketing.  Which yea many companies do today and we accept it to a point.  I think the original rant was more about percentage that was marked up.  Especially since it does not sound like he even got a tracking number.

[stripedelete]

the box and the small amount of bubble wrap cost him less than $1.50....

Keep in mind that those items didn't prepare themselves for shipment.  What wages does the Company pay their employees who process the items shipped?  What are the costs for having someone enter and process the shipments?  What are the overhead/lease/rental costs for the Facility they operate out of?  Do they insure the products they ship against damage?  Besides the actual cost of the boxes, is there a cost for having their boxes shipped to their Facility?  Does their bubble wrap get shipped to their Facility free of charge or do they pay to have it delivered?  What are the amortized square footage cost for the products that are inventoried prior to having them sold and shipped?  How much of the Companies Building utilities are factored into in the costs of their products?  Does the Company pay insurance to protect their building, products and shipping inventory?  There are a few more I could mention but I'm sure you get the picture.

They don't charge a handling charge if I was picking it up at will call, I even get a free wink from the female clerk. It takes the same amount of time to take it to the counter as is does the shipping dock.

So drive over and pick it up at will call.   Maybe people could get thier arms around this if they used the term "delivery".

[ECS]

ECS why would a reputable business not figure everything you just mentioned into their profit margin and sale price?  Too add it to the shipping and handling fee is deceptive marketing. 

Everyone of those variables could technically be associated with the S/H costs if that's how a business decides to cover their overhead.  My point was that it can be very easy to have an flawed perspective on "the cost of doing business" when you truly have no idea what a Company pays to process their orders. 

[ECS]

They don't charge a handling charge if I was picking it up at will call.....

Okay!  I believe however that the topic was about the inflated costs of an item that was shipped.

[70 sublime]

It is all a big game

When I look for a price for something on line I want to know how much the part is and how much shipping is

Shipping is the price of the box and packing and postage stamp and that is it
All the other over head cost and wages to pack it should be part of the initial price of it listed as

Every mail order company should be able to have this figured out in their prices

If you want to give a percent discount if you can come pick it up at the door then fine

Canadians get an extra screwing on shipping just because some one had to take an extra 30 seconds to fill out one more line on the shipping paper work
Same truck comes and picks it up or drops it off at the post office as all the US orders

[Mopar Nut]

So drive over and pick it up at will call.  

But the company will go out business since the overhead is paid only by the "delivery charge".  

They don't charge a handling charge if I was picking it up at will call.....

Okay!  I believe however that the topic was about the inflated costs of an item that was shipped.

So the company only makes a profit (which pays for their overhead) on shipping items!

[ECS]

So the company only makes a profit (which pays for their overhead) on shipping items!

That's a question/comment that only they can answer.

[ECS]

Every mail order company should be able to have this figured out in their prices...

Let's look at this from a personal perspective.  If you were parting out a car and I was going to buy one of the parts from you, how much would it cost to have that part shipped to my residence?

[Mopar Nut]

So the company only makes a profit (which pays for their overhead) on shipping items!

That's a question/comment that only they can answer.

I know, but your comment where overhead is paid only by the "handling charge" through me off. Overhead is factored in through the price of the product, not S/H.

[ECS]

I know, but your comment where overhead is paid only by the "handling charge" through me off. Overhead is factored in through the price of the product, not S/H.

I was only throwing out possible shipping related scenarios.  My Company does not use shipping as a source of revenue.  (Some do however.)  They sell their products at crazy low prices but make up for it in "shipping" charges.

[ws23rt]

I get the shipping cost as being an add on price for online or mail order purchases. It makes sense that that cost would vary for different size items and distances to ship.

What doesn't make sense to me is the "handling" charge.  In nearly every other retail business all of the overhead costs for merchandise (that has been well handled already) is covered in the out the door price.

Pulling a part from the shelf in Home Depot (for example) and bringing it to checkout could be considered extra handling that the store doesn't have to do I suppose. But the putting it in a box and having UPS pick it up is the shipping part.

[ECS]

What doesn't make sense to me is the "handling" charge.

If a Customer orders an item and the Company pays their Employee to handle & prepare the item ready for shipment, who is responsible for those costs?  The Company has real expenses in paying the Employee for the time they worked to package it.  I guess it's up to them to charge for that service or consider it "the cost of doing business" if they choose.  

Consider the Home Depot example you referenced.  Should you receive a discount for using the "self checkout" lane?  The cost of your purchase is the same even if an Employee has to take the time to check you out.  Where is the linear consistency in that scenario?

[ws23rt]

This discussion about the differing ideas about the meaning the words "shipping" and "handling" has no place to go but around the circle again.

When one get's a big surprise such as in the OP it opens up a lot of questions. It's a rant after all about the surprise.

An extra cost can be called whatever one want's to help make a sale but IMO why lie about it.  The cost of a Hellcat (for example) frequently has an ADM added. This is clearly an extra charge that everyone knows is just plain extra. Their is no attempted deception here.

BTW their will be an added --subtraction-- from the time spent of your day for reading this --addition-- to my post.

[70 sublime]

Every mail order company should be able to have this figured out in their prices...

Let's look at this from a personal perspective.  If you were parting out a car and I was going to buy one of the parts from you, how much would it cost to have that part shipped to my residence?

Well I know I was going to have to ship said part if I had advertised it as such so the price I would have given you for the part would have included an extra $5 to cover my time to go to post office then I would charge you what it cost at the post office to ship it to you

[6spd68]

Every mail order company should be able to have this figured out in their prices...

Let's look at this from a personal perspective.  If you were parting out a car and I was going to buy one of the parts from you, how much would it cost to have that part shipped to my residence?

Well I know I was going to have to ship said part if I had advertised it as such so the price I would have given you for the part would have included an extra $5 to cover my time to go to post office then I would charge you what it cost at the post office to ship it to you

Honest business practices for the win

[ECS]

Well I know I was going to have to ship said part if I had advertised it as such so the price I would have given you for the part would have included an extra $5 to cover my time to go to post office then I would charge you what it cost at the post office to ship it to you

How would you know what to charge for the "part" if you didn't know what "part" was being ordering?  Would you charge the same shipping amount for a Voltage Regulator as you would a Wheel?  Would you charge the same shipping for a Headlight Bucket that you would an entire Front End Clip?  Would the effort & supplies to ship those different parts be the same costs?  How would you know what to charge if you didn't know where it was going to be shipped?  I can assure you that you'd become intelligent very quickly about shipping once you realized the "hidden costs" that many overlook in the equation.

[70 sublime]

Well I know I was going to have to ship said part if I had advertised it as such so the price I would have given you for the part would have included an extra $5 to cover my time to go to post office then I would charge you what it cost at the post office to ship it to you

How would you know what to charge for the "part" if you didn't know what "part" was being ordering?  Would you charge the same shipping amount for a Voltage Regulator as you would a Wheel?  Would you charge the same shipping for a Headlight Bucket that you would an entire Front End Clip?  Would the effort & supplies to ship those different parts be the same costs?  How would you know what to charge if you didn't know where it was going to be shipped?  I can assure you that you'd become intelligent very quickly about shipping once you realized the "hidden costs" that many overlook in the equation.

Guess you can not read

I said I would add $5 to my price (before you even knew what I was asking for said part) to cover my trouble to go find out the cost to ship from the post office THEN I would charge you what the post office said it would cost to mail it to you

[ws23rt]

Well I know I was going to have to ship said part if I had advertised it as such so the price I would have given you for the part would have included an extra $5 to cover my time to go to post office then I would charge you what it cost at the post office to ship it to you

How would you know what to charge for the "part" if you didn't know what "part" was being ordering?  Would you charge the same shipping amount for a Voltage Regulator as you would a Wheel?  Would you charge the same shipping for a Headlight Bucket that you would an entire Front End Clip?  Would the effort & supplies to ship those different parts be the same costs?  How would you know what to charge if you didn't know where it was going to be shipped?  I can assure you that you'd become intelligent very quickly about shipping once you realized the "hidden costs" that many overlook in the equation.

Guess you can not read

I said I would add $5 to my price (before you even knew what I was asking for said part) to cover my trouble to go find out the cost to ship from the post office THEN I would charge you what the post office said it would cost to mail it to you

What we should not lose from this discussion it is what we are talking about. - Listening to both sides of the marketing world.

We/I am a consumer. My preference is to deal with those that don't push me around for the last dollar.
The last dollar on a sale is only a deal on that sale. --I may learn a lesson and tell many about it.  That is part of sales and the marketing decisions that make it a risk for the those that chose to play us for all they can.

I find it a hard pill to swallow when I'm dealing with a company that dismisses the potential customer as a "mark" to be exploited.

[ECS]

Guess you can not read....

I guess you didn't understand the point.  Regardless of what the end shipper charges you, is your $5 blanket charge going to cover the time it takes to get an Engine prepared for shipping versus preparing to ship an Alternator?  Is your $5 going to cover the skid it will take to hold the Engine, the straps to secure it and the time it will take for you to perform those requirements?  The shipper will not provide those steps for you.  Are you simply going to eat those costs or are you happy with spending more than $50 in supplies while asking $5 in return for your time/expenses?

[polywideblock]

 living in Australia can I just add  that you guys have NOTHING to complain about        try being charged $500 to ship the $375 set of torsion bars or
$12  for a $ 5 laminated wiring schematic   


                and that's  without doing the math on a dollar that at the moment is worth 70cents US 

[ws23rt]

Guess you can not read....

I guess you didn't understand the point.  Regardless of what the end shipper charges you, is your $5 blanket charge going to cover the time it takes to get an Engine prepared for shipping versus preparing to ship an Alternator?  Is your $5 going to cover the skid it will take to hold the Engine, the straps to secure it and the time it will take for you to perform those requirements?  The shipper will not provide those steps for you.  Are you simply going to eat those costs or are you happy with spending more than $50 in supplies while asking $5 in return for your time?
[/quote



How can we move forward with this discussion when it comes down to specific examples?

What is up with not talking about the issue at hand??

Is not the original question about leading a buyer??

[70 sublime]

Guess you can not read....

I guess you didn't understand the point.  Regardless of what the end shipper charges you, is your $5 blanket charge going to cover the time it takes to get an Engine prepared for shipping versus preparing to ship an Alternator?  Is your $5 going to cover the skid it will take to hold the Engine, the straps to secure it and the time it will take for you to perform those requirements?  The shipper will not provide those steps for you.  Are you simply going to eat those costs or are you happy with spending more than $50 in supplies while asking $5 in return for your time?

My point is I will tell you how much I will sell the said part to you for with taking into account what I have to do to make it ready to ship which I said was $5 for say a gas cap plus what the post office wanted to charge to mail it out

If you want my 426 hemi block I will add $500 to the price before I tell you how much I want because I know I will have to get it in a crate first before I add what the trucking company would want to haul it the rest of the way

The whole point of this is any person or company that is in the business of selling stuff on line for a profit for the world to see should have an idea of how much it is worth to them in time and supplies to ready their item to be handed over to the third party for delivery and only add the cost of the third party to the price of what they are selling period

[ECS]

.....was $5 for say a gas cap.......If you want my 426 hemi block I will add $500 to the price before I tell you how much I want......

Nowhere in your original statement did you convey a difference in shipping costs between various components.  Also keep in mind that someone will complain about the additional $500 you "masked" for shipping by saying that your asking amount is too high as compared to the average market prices.  It's nice to see however that as you think through the various scenarios, you are able to understand that a Vendor cannot always just blindly give a Customer a static cost for everything they sell.  You also cannot just assume a Vendors shipping costs based on the limited knowledge you have about their operations.

[ws23rt]

.....was $5 for say a gas cap.......If you want my 426 hemi block I will add $500 to the price before I tell you how much I want......

No where in your original statement did you convey a difference in shipping costs between various components.  Also keep in mind that someone will complain about the additional $500 you "masked" for shipping by saying that your asking amount is too high as compared to the average market prices.  It's nice to see however that as you think through the various scenarios, you are able to understand that a Vendor cannot always just blindly give a Customer a static cost for everything they sell.  You also cannot just assume a Vendors shipping costs based on the limited knowledge you have about their operations.

This is an example of how some venders view the public they vend to. They are the providers and we are the accepters of their offerings.

We chose who we deal with for various reasons.

[ECS]

This is an example of how some venders view the public they vend to.

Did we just change topics?  The last time I checked, I had nothing to do with the type of "over charging" that some Vendors have been allegedly accused of doing.  However, if you want to insult me with condescending comments like saying that I "can not read", then I will gladly put you in your rude & ignorant place. 

[70 sublime]

.....was $5 for say a gas cap.......If you want my 426 hemi block I will add $500 to the price before I tell you how much I want......

Nowhere in your original statement did you convey a difference in shipping costs between various components.  Also keep in mind that someone will complain about the additional $500 you "masked" for shipping by saying that your asking amount is too high as compared to the average market prices.  It's nice to see however that as you think through the various scenarios, you are able to understand that a Vendor cannot always just blindly give a Customer a static cost for everything they sell.  You also cannot just assume a Vendors shipping costs based on the limited knowledge you have about their operations.

I give up
Some idiots are harder to convince than others

If anybody ever wants to buy stuff from me I will give them a price that I am happy with and the only extra charge will cover what the mailman wants  

[ECS]

Some idiots are harder to convince than others

Amen!

[el dub]

 Here is the essence of mr wings comment, "price was $$$ plus $18 for shipping of single part. I thought it was kinda high, but figured it must come well packed and insured from damage for that amount....so I paid the price."  The condensed version, "price was $$$ plus $18 for shipping, so I paid the price."
       Next, he posted here about the company, charger specialities, charging so much extra for shipping. His rant. Which is valid. They did charger to much for shipping.
Next, some people started defending shipping and handling charges. But mr 383 wing already accepted the charges and was just stating they are too high, and he wont do business with them anymore. Which I wouldn't either. Or you shouldn't either if your smart. So why defend the shipping and handling parts of business? Its already built into the business model> You either buy or not. If shipping bothers you, don't buy.
     The point being, don't buy from charger specialties unless your do your research. And if they read here or other mopar forums, they may just lower their prices. But I doubt it as I think they're a small company like a lot of other small companies. Just trying to make a dime, or 18 dollars.
     

[ws23rt]

I just recently sold an item on ebay for $800.  I answered the buyers contact with me about local pickup and payment and then I went to the invoice page and filled it out just for the record.

I got a copy of that invoice in my email that showed a "shipping and handling" fee of $800 for a total of $1600.

I sent a message to the buyer about the mistake and am sure all will be fine but I was reminded of this thread and wondered how I would feel if I got an invoice like that had I been in his place.  

So I'm "that guy" in this case (and responsible for the surprise hit) at the end of this deal (at least from his point of view until communication delays catch up to us).

I would like to add that because of this I'm left to wonder how many odd or seemingly out of place charges are just plane errors made. Either in someone's judgment or sloppy (as in my case) handling of the transaction.  

So a complaint comes in from a seeming out of place charge. Is the human reaction to be ---I didn't do it?? ---And hope they pay and we all move on?

I think it's more then appropriate to complain. It's an obligation we have that is a benefit for everyone. (buyers and sellers). It's a way to clean up misunderstandings from both sides.---As long as sheep pay the wolf will vend to them.--

[1974dodgecharger]

seems we are all passionate about shipping rates here 3 pages...

[el dub]

It was supposed to be a small rant......