A new racket-SHIPPING!!!

[NorCalPiper]

I'm curious. I have sent a couple of kilts across the pond which never cost more than 35$ by USPS. I have noticed that most, if not all firms charge what seems to be 30£ for shipping kilts to the US. Paul just sent my Prince Charlie and Vest for 17£. What's the deal? Any of you on the other-side have any insight?

[ccga3359]

Could be by weight, I'm assuming that kilts weigh more than PC's. Insurance because kilts are generally more expensive or kilt companies are passing on packaging costs (acceptable) and handling charges (unacceptable). Or in my case they charge extra because they just plain don't like me!

[Zardoz]

It seems lot of places tend to use "shipping & handling" as a way of regaining a bit of profit margin. I used to ship out a lot of stuff at my job, and I'm often dismayed to see $10 shipping and $5 handling added to a $15 dollar item that I know would cost $7.50 to put in a small Fed Ex box.

[Larry124]

Has always been a racket IMHO. Nickel & dime BS. Petty deception & dishonesty. Bazaar mentality.
I have often returned items for a lower shipping cost that was charged by the merchant for the original delivery.
Like “Destination Charge” for automobiles, “Handling” is a made-up concept. That is a normal cost of doing business and should be included in the item price.
I don’t patronize merchants with a “Restocking Fee” for returns or who fail to refund return shipping for defective items.
“Free Shipping & Handling” offerings are always the first places that I consider.

[RockyR]

It depends on the "arrangement" between the shipper and their respective carrier. SOME companies have negotiated better terms with a shipper (dhl, parcel force, ups...) based on how much they ship, while others pay standard prices.

[dfmacliam]

I have noticed that myself.. they are making sure their time and effort in packaging and taking the packages to the post office.. my buddy used to sell on ebay and we usually spent half a day packaging and going to the post office to send the packages worldwide, filling out the customs paperwork and such.. (for the overseas customers). Some shippers are reasonable with their fees, considering what they do, while there are some who look to make more than what is reasonable.

[Ozman1944]

Me too; I almost ordered a small item on ebay (an 1800's greetintg card $2.50) It would fit in a normal envelope & 42c stamp; Shiipping was $15.00!!
When I queried it, the seller claimed certain buyers hadn't paid in the past so this was her 'protection'. When I suggested she do like all other sellers-don't send until the check clears,or just do Paypal,she slammed down the phone!
Needless to say, I didn't buy the card.
Also in catalogs one usually needs to tack on at least an extra $10.00 to whatever one orders as "Shipping & Handling"-regardless of weight.

(And, unlike Grant, everyone loves ME!)oop:

[Zardoz]

To be fair, I know it costs something to ship stuff. Companies that offer "free shipping" generally have just built that cost into their pricing. I don't mind paying a reasonable amount to get an item of a given size or weight mailed to me. A vendor that calculates shipping costs case by case is fine, I just don't like it when the shipping is obviously out of line. I'll give a couple of examples;

I recently ordered a $29 bonnet from Sportkilt that weighs in at under a pound, shipping was $7.60 via UPS which is in line with what I am used to, so SK is good in my book!

I also recently 'almost' ordered a simple leather ring belt for my wife from a popular Renfaire vendor. They state this item weighed 1 pound, and I'm sure it could have used the same size UPS box as the SK bonnet. But this vendor adds a $5.95 Handling fee and $10 "standard shipping" to each order, so the $10 belt would have ended up running $25.95 ! I called and griped, but they said that was their minimum fee, "shipping stuff is expensive ya' know"! The sad thing is, if the shipping had only been 7 or 8 bucks, I wouldn't have given a second thought to paying 14 or 15 dollars for the damn belt!

I made one myself for about 12 bucks!

[Chas]

The last company I worked for was in transport and logistics. There is one standard industry phrase - "Always make a profit out of shipping".

Regards

Chas

[English Bloke]

Quite a few ebay outfits will offer to sell you the item for peanuts but charge a small fortune for shipping. This apparently is to minimise their ebay charges and offset the actual cost of the goods. I've never bought from one of these sellers on principle.