Rip-Off

[flyfisherjoe]

Just curious flymaker2. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you can't find in the LA area without ordering online?

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Joe

[hikepat]

While my company does not deal with fly or sporting gear you might be intrested to see where some handling charges come from and prices we pay for shipping supplies. By the way our companies handling charge is $1.50 and the freight is as published in UPS and USPS rate charts.
Not saying their handling charge is right just showing some of the cost of handling a UPS or USPS package can cost a company vs a walk in customer.
Small padded mailer 50 cents each
large padded mailer 58 cents each
clear tape $1.46 per roll
3 x 5 heavy zip lock 3 cents each
6 x 6 heavy zip lock 4 cents each
thermal shipping labels 5 cents each
12 x 12 x 12 box $1.12 each
12 x 12 x 18 box $1.55 each
This is just some of the types of shipping products our company has to buy for UPS and USPS use. As you can see in can add up quickly for a company like ours that ships over 140 UPS packages and 30 USPS packages a day. While we do not charge much we have to charge something to help cover our cost for those types of items for small orders. We waive all handling charges and shipping charges on orders of over $650 in state and $750 out of state.
By the way not looking for cheaper sources. I get all our companies supplies from one source and put the contract out for bid once every two years.
Also not all companies buy in bulk like we do and their prices may be higher over all for these items though one or two of the items they may get cheaper.
If I sell only $10 worth of product and put it into a padded mailer costing 50 cents and with a thermal label costing 5 cents with tape and paying an employee to package and run through our UPS computer system and billing department including paying visa 2% of the sale etc. I lose money on that order without a handling charge and even with most likely only break even. I make a customer but not a dime. I have to hope that customer will come back for a bigger sale next time.
Lucky for my company most of our sales are not $10 to $50 orders.
Once again not saying large handling charges are right but companies on small orders have to charge something to cover their cost. The question all companies have to ask is to cover the cost in handling charges or by raising the price of the items

Just as a follow-up to my action.

The material I ordered on Saturday was delivered in today's mail excatly as ordered and at the price quoted. To me that's good service and I now consider the company one which I would do business with again.

Allan

I make dubbing twisters and whip finishers and charge exactly what it costs me to ship the package.

I couldn't live with myself if I did that kind of business! Allan is right!

Ol' Bill

[flymaker2]

Quote: Just curious flymaker2. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you can't find in the LA area without ordering online?
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Joe

Joe-I was trying to purchase some specialty Platinum Triple-Tip spark plugs. Ran around to three shops, made a few calls for nada. Went on the web looking to just by 6 plugs. $12-19 S&H seemed sorta high...

Rich

[Rich Farino]

Just keep in mind, that a lot of companies will charge a little more for better shipping.

Our catalog company ships anything under $100 via USPS Priority. It gets there faster, and we can track it. If it's not tracked, we have no other way of finding out what eally happened to the item if it gets lost or never gets received. Also, without tracking, the customer can always say they never received the item and we have no way of knowing if they had lied or not (not that this is the case).

Sometimes the pros outweigh the cons.


-Richie

Can someone explain why shipping costs should be based on the value of an order? For example, a set of titanium guides costs roughly $50, and could fit in a film canister. But you pay shipping not on the size of the package or its weight, but on the fact that it costs $50. I've yet to figure that one out.

JB