SO WHO HATES RIDICULOUS SHIPPING CHARGES?

[DanVoils]

Their defense is it's not the shipping as much as the handling. They have to pay someone to process the order, pull the parts, prepare the label, actually put the parts in the bag and put the label on it then put it in the outbound mail/UPS/FedEx bin. As someone who has multiple online businesses I can agree to a point. There needs to be a cut off on the shipping/handling charge that is 2-3 times the cost of the part. (Most of my items are alwys free shipping as I build the S/H charges into the cost of the item.)
In a way though the S/H charges may entice you to buy something more to balance the charges.

 

[CraigAPS]

I see nobody has tried to ship stuff themselves lately.

Its not the sellers that are to blame for high shipping costs, its the carriers. I cant even walk into a shipper for less than $5 unless I'm mailing a letter. And the USPS is so stupid with their rules, dimensional shipping, etc.

How stupid you say? I actually got a package that was tiny, probably screws like we are discussing being shipped. or maybe even something flat like a business card. Inside the padded envelope was a 1" foam cube and a card explaining what it was; USPS has a minimum thickness to ship using a certain cheaper rate. They literally had to include a thickener or else the package wouldnt have qualified for the cheaper rate. It was cheaper to add a filler than it was to ship it as a letter.

It's only partly the carriers. Most of the problem is inflation and the cost of transportation, in general. Gas has gone up exponentially in the last 20 years. When I started driving, gas was less than 1/3 of what it was a couple years ago when it was over $3.00 a gallon. That plus fees and taxes which all get passed onto the consumer. Like cameramonkey said, try going to any carrier yourself. If you were to try to send a box right back to the shipper, you're going to pay even more than you paid for it to come to you because bulk shippers get discounts and you don't get the same discounts.

 

[mcapo]

If its not a major retailer, I really hesitate to buy online. Amazon, etc.

Lots of small firearms items; I've reverted back to ordering through my LGS. He makes a couple pennies, shipping is combined with his other orders as I am usually patient and if the product is wrong it is his problem.

Shipping is just expensive.

 

[jgressley2003]

Shipping Charges equal "Shop Supplies" at the Car Stealerships. I had to have an Electronic Part replaced, $12.00 Shop Supplies??????? It didn't even require a Shop Towell............

Wow $12 that is outrageous, I always thought it was like $2. You say it was electrical so they could've used dielectric grease and charged you for the whole tube.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Wow $12 that is outrageous, I always thought it was like $2. You say it was electrical so they could've used dielectric grease and charged you for the whole tube.

The last tube of dielectric grease I bough set me back less than $2. It was small but enough for the job with most of it left over for next time.

 

[jgressley2003]

The last tube of dielectric grease I bough set me back less than $2. It was small but enough for the job with most of it left over for next time.

A large tube costs around $7-10. A friend of mine works at a semi truck shop and they bill things out to the customer when they use the last bit. So if they run out of loctite on your truck you get billed for the whole thing.

 

[igotdiesel2]

I think Wilson is bad about shipping and handling charges. I have bought Wilson stuff on Ebay for the same money with free shipping just to avoid the high shipping charges. -Jason

 

[reno]

I have cancelled many orders because of what I deem unfair or high shipping and handling fees. I do not mind a fair amount for shipping. Handling fees are their responsibilty and if that shows as an extra, I do not order.
I can order 25# of lead ingots for $10.00 or less shipping. But I can't order but a few items for $8.95 or much more?

I weigh the difference betwee my local gun shops and what something is really going to end up costing me. I have spent more money at the local shops because of shipping charges.

 

[42769vette]

Their defense is it's not the shipping as much as the handling. They have to pay someone to process the order, pull the parts, prepare the label, actually put the parts in the bag and put the label on it then put it in the outbound mail/UPS/FedEx bin. As someone who has multiple online businesses I can agree to a point. There needs to be a cut off on the shipping/handling charge that is 2-3 times the cost of the part. (Most of my items are always free shipping as I build the S/H charges into the cost of the item.)
In a way though the S/H charges may entice you to buy something more to balance the charges.

This.

Keep in mind, if a company is paying 12 bucks an hour, and there is 20 minutes of total labor (pulling product, boxing, shipping, book keeping) it cost the company 3 dollars to ship before you figure in packing materials. Then USPS takes their 6 bucks (on the cheap side) to ship it across the US.

They are shipping you a 9 dollar item that they make 3 dollars on, they broke even before figuring CC fees, and shipping charges, because the employee makes the same 12 dollars an hour and it takes the same amount of time to ship it as it does something they make 50 bucks on.

In your above example, 9 dollars probably doesn't even cover their shipping cost.

 

[Sniper 79]

It's worth every cent to me to be able to walk out my front door and grab my goods. I don't have time to be driving around searching and most shops are over full retail.

Most of the time I can find a sale coupled with free or discounted shipping. Push send and move on with life. My truck is seven years old looks new and just hit 50k miles. Had to replace tires from dry rot

 

[gglass]

I agree that shipping costs are usually a high cost compared to the cost of many of the items we tend to have shipped to us, which means that we usually try to buy the small stuff locally whenever possible.

I will say that I am absolutely shocked at the super LOW costs for shipping from the new Chinese outfits like TomTop or AliBaba. As an example, I ordered a small back-lit keyboard for my Android TV box for a stunningly low price of $5.00, and that was the total with FREE shipping from China. The item arrived in good condition and worked as advertised, but what really astounded me was that the cost for any of the steps to get it to me had to far exceed $5.00. The item had to cost more than that with all of the electronics and Bluetooth dongles. The shipping from another country had to cost far, far in excess of $5.00. I have no idea how the Chinese are subsidizing these money losing ventures, but it has to be hurting American companies to no end.

 

[HoughMade]

I'm simple. If all the charges added up are reasonable? I buy. Don't care if the part is a screaming deal at $5 with $10 shipping if I can't find the thing for under $15 including driving around or find it somewhere else at all, who cares that the shipping is twice the part? The cost is what it takes to have it in my hands.

I guess it comes down to: I'll buy the same thing cheaper elsewhere if I can find it, but if I can't, I guess that's the market price.

 

[amafrank]

It does seem a bit odd that I can buy 2000 115gr 9mm bullets and have them shipped from Idaho to indiana for free but it costs $12.50 to get an extractor and ejector for an M11/9 shipped from tennessee. Some stuff can't be shipped in a bubble pack envelope through the post office and I can see that. On the other hand a company shipping a couple screws in a 10" by 12" box for a shipping cost of $25 on $4 worth of parts seems a bit excessive. Some places just find it easier to run a basic flat shipping rate on everything and we pay for their convenience on the little stuff.

Frank

 

[42769vette]

It does seem a bit odd that I can buy 2000 115gr 9mm bullets and have them shipped from Idaho to indiana for free but it costs $12.50 to get an extractor and ejector for an M11/9 shipped from tennessee. Some stuff can't be shipped in a bubble pack envelope through the post office and I can see that. On the other hand a company shipping a couple screws in a 10" by 12" box for a shipping cost of $25 on $4 worth of parts seems a bit excessive. Some places just find it easier to run a basic flat shipping rate on everything and we pay for their convenience on the little stuff.

Frank

There is more profit in 2k bullets than 2 screws, so a lot of shippi my and handling can be eaten by the shipper.

 

[russc2542]

Well this thread beats the auto forums where people moan about not having free shipping on a hood

 

[HoughMade]

There is no such thing as free shipping. It's included in the price or separate from it. You pay either way.

I really don't think that I got 4 Goodyear Wranglers in 245/70-17 shipped from Georgia for "free".

As i tell my son whenever he said something about "free books" or "free wifi" at college....it's included, not free. If it was free, I could go there and grab me some textbooks and walk out.

 

[STARCOM]

The price of the screws seems high, but the shipping does not...at $4.50. But shipping at $9.08 is nuts.

 

[bmills08]

I've often wondered how it's possible that shipping charges can cost double or triple the price of the good you're buying

 

[STEEL CORE]

Well if you need it, back in the day I lost a spring to my Walther PPK/s, and had to order it from Interarms co. The spring was $3, and the shipping and handling $5 which was outrageous to me in 1984, I mean $8 freaking dollars. But I needed it so there you go. BOHICA Buddy, that's all it is.

 

[PistolBob]

What's the gas cost to drive to China and just pick it up?