Shipping costs! (vent)

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Something for you to consider: IF we ship a product from the USA to Canada and you aren't happy with it, it costs over $10 to ship a replacement. So, just a couple Canadian "complaints" can be pretty persuasive to stop shipping small orders there.

Fortunately, our experiences have all come to reasonable resolution, but I can see why other companies could reconsider, if they experience a high "complaint rate".

Also see why some companies "build in" additional freight to EVERYONE to cover these problems.

Internet business IS a learning curve.

FWIW
 
Unfortunately lots of people over charge for shipping. There have been many times that I have been charged X amount for shipping and then when I receive the package, the price on the package is half the amount. I am not saying that people are dishonest in shipping but...
 
babyblues said:
Touche, touche. What's the name of that Canadian hockey league that everyone plays for? The NHL is it? Oh, my bad, that's an American league. :biggrin:
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Sorry, but the last time I looked, Canada is part of America.

I still get told by some of my friends up there that they are still upset we lost the war of 1812, and that is why they are still a commonwealth country.

Of course, they do forget that their hockey team players play mostly in the U.S. though.

p.s. watch out for that exotic something-or-other place, and their shipping charges.:eek: And the extra slow service!:wink::biggrin:
 
It has nothing to do with shipping to Canada........

Welcome to the world of "Shipping and Handling". Some vendors charge only what it costs them to ship an item. Others (eBay is famous for them) charge for shipping, cardboard boxes, tape, lables, their time to package it up, gas to take it to the P.O., and therapy for thier dog who barks at the mailman when they deliver mail.

A fact of life....oh well, nothing you can do.
 
Shipping charges outrageous? If they are posted you have the option of completing the sale under the amounts posted or moving on. I always check to compare price and shipping totals. Then I have the information to make a decision. I find the best deal, pay the piper and move on, or just dont buy the item(s). I dont worry about how much perceived profit someone is making. Either on their item or their shipping. AND I Have a bone to pick with EB, THEY only charged me $6.00 on an order and then shipped it Medium Priority Mail! That cost them at least $4.00 more than they charged me AND THEY NEVER EVEN CONTACTED ME TO ADJUST THE SHIPPING COSTS. I mean the gall.

Unfortunately there is nothing illegal about charging you one cost and paying another. It unscrupulous to charge, and tell you they will ship one way and then do it another. BUt the shipping charges are just one of the expenses involved in shipping. If a businesses shipping practices bother you contact them, state your case, and then vote with your checkbook. Those that listen will survive those that dont wont. Mike
 
Well Mike,

We ARE still learning. Software has limitations and, in the case of exotics, we try to make "value judgements". While I know this is unusual these days, we don't yet have "hard and fast rules".

However, shipping to USA is VERY RARELY more than $10 and some change. Shipping to Canada, Europe and Australia can get over $25 pretty easily. So, yes it's a "horse of a different color". And, yes, we HAVE chosen to ship a couple "gratis" to "replace" blanks. But, because of the inconvenience, we REMEMBER these, long after we FORGET the ones in the US that we chose to replace.

Making a long story shorter, we TRY to be FAIR. However, sometimes we feel we are running a small business that is destined to help the Postal Service stay afloat, instead of providing the best experiences for our customers.

When we feel that way, we try to go home and get some rest!!!
 
i used to do alot of ebay buying and selling, and never understood how people make up their shipping charges. i shipped something from philadelphia area to boston area for 2.75... the shipping label showed postage of 1.50. bubble mailer envelope cost a dollar. i got a complaint from him for overcharging! after that i stopped selling on ebay.
 
wee willie said:
I just hope EB never stops shipping to Canada as the quality of their product more than outweighs the shipping costs (which are very reasonable)
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Thank-you! We have no intention of stopping, just trying to figure out how to do it better!! (More cost-effective)
 
If you order that item from Wood-N-Whimsies the shipping is exactly what the real shipping cost is. I am pretty sure a flat rate envelope to Canada is around $13.00. It doesn't get any better than that!!! Those folks over at W-N-W have been treating me right for years with no complaints.
 
It use to be on eBay you could charge a Insurance fee, now you have to include it is the shipping price, I myself only charge 2.00 extra to ship to Canada.

PS. I have had nothing but GREAT Service from Exotic.com
 
I ship to Canada all the time. When UPS is used, we're often nailed for all sorts of duties and import fees that the customer will not pay for after receipt. Can't blame them either... we quoted X and they paid X and then we get hit with X + Y a month later by UPS. Kinda makes the sale one where we should have just sent the customer a twenty dollar bill and cancelled their order.

DHL refuses to guarantee the estimate they provide, so we can't trust them either.

When we ship USPS airmail, half the time one of the post offices (US or Canadian) sits on the package and delivers it six weeks late, AFTER we have refunded the customer or replaced the order at our own expense.

It's incredibly frustrating to work with our fine and friendly neighbours (I spelled that right, did I not?) to the north, even though it's not their fault in the least bit!

This is why we tack on a sizable handling fee to every Canadian order and recommend they buy their resources from us in digital format (we sell books for the most part) and I make no excuses for it. I just can't afford to lose money on Canadian orders so the person who instigated the hassle with the shipping company or USPS has to pay extra.

Now I must add that when we overcharge a Canadian and the UPS bill comes in and it's far less money (the customs guy was asleep that day evidently), we issue a credit against future purchases or refund the difference on the customer's credit card.
 
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I agree that shipping costs can be crazy at the post office, (example: I sent one pen blank to Ontario recently and it cost me $9.77 to mail ONE BLANK!! It wouldnt fit through their small packet scale since it was 3/4 wide and had to go as a small package :eek:

BUT we dont have the flat rate boxes in Canada. (wish we did)

I know I had a box sent once from the USA that used a flat rate box but actually had about $6. worth of postage on it. The person went and scaled it at the PO to get actual shipping costs. the PO makes a small fortune off people who dont want the hassle :biggrin:
 
bobleibo said:
It has nothing to do with shipping to Canada........

Welcome to the world of "Shipping and Handling". Some vendors charge only what it costs them to ship an item. Others (eBay is famous for them) charge for shipping, cardboard boxes, tape, lables, their time to package it up, gas to take it to the P.O., and therapy for thier dog who barks at the mailman when they deliver mail.

A fact of life....oh well, nothing you can do.
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Sure there is--don't order from them.
 
Shipping and handling is the cost that small businesses charge for that time. The postage rates in this country are some of the lowest in the world, but the time someone uses to package the product, take it to the post office and deal with any problems is a cost to them. I am sure that most small businesses take a loss in regards to shipping and handling.
 
I was in the UK, now in Thailand, as you all know by now, and have always, (until this year), bought my pen stock from Rhizeng, in China, but have had to stop, since they decided to use only one shipping company, and my last pen order, would have more than doubled, in total outlay, with the then shipping, costed at $78. - Cheaper to buy from the UK.
 
mywoodshopca said:
I agree that shipping costs can be crazy at the post office, (example: I sent one pen blank to Ontario recently and it cost me $9.77 to mail ONE BLANK!! It wouldnt fit through their small packet scale since it was 3/4 wide and had to go as a small package :eek:

BUT we dont have the flat rate boxes in Canada. (wish we did)

I know I had a box sent once from the USA that used a flat rate box but actually had about $6. worth of postage on it. The person went and scaled it at the PO to get actual shipping costs. the PO makes a small fortune off people who dont want the hassle :biggrin:
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Jason as you well know it is usually "cheaper" to ship to the US in comparison to shipping within our country. Canada Post is royally messed up with their "rates". Due to these rates, I admit that I prefer to both ship and buy from the USA. It would be nice to have "flat rate" boxes like our US cousins, but Canada Post (thinks otherwise). The best rate that I can come up with here is the "small parcel" rate that allows shipment ANYWHERE to the USA for a flat fee of $11.54 CAD and is valid for shipments up to 1 kg (2.2 lbs).
 
As an ex-forwarding (read that as shipping) agent, shipping was one of my profit lines... I quoted what I would handle a shipment for and then looked for what I could perform the service quoted for at a lesser rate.... I did give the service I quoted, either airfreight or ocean freight, but if I could ship at a lower price and still give the same service, then I made a profit... if not..... it's unfortunate that some sellers are also using the shipping as a profit line...

I've quoted a level of service and a price on my web-site for that service and that's what I charge. And because my interest is in selling my turnings, not shipping, I only charge what shows on my site... if it costs me more that's my loss..
 
wood-of-1kind said:
Jason as you well know it is usually "cheaper" to ship to the US in comparison to shipping within our country. Canada Post is royally messed up with their "rates". Due to these rates, I admit that I prefer to both ship and buy from the USA. It would be nice to have "flat rate" boxes like our US cousins, but Canada Post (thinks otherwise). The best rate that I can come up with here is the "small parcel" rate that allows shipment ANYWHERE to the USA for a flat fee of $11.54 CAD and is valid for shipments up to 1 kg (2.2 lbs).
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I listed some blanks on ebay and one person emailed me to complain about my high shipping. I was asking $11.99 which would cover the blanks and the bubble envelope. Once I explained the costs to him, never heard back from him.
 
Unfortunately when it comes to postage it sucks being in Canada. I sold a rolling pin before Christmas and lost all my profit plus some when all was said and done with the postage to California. I had no idea it would be as much as it was.
 
jaywood1207 said:
Unfortunately when it comes to postage it sucks being in Canada. I sold a rolling pin before Christmas and lost all my profit plus some when all was said and done with the postage to California. I had no idea it would be as much as it was.
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I know what you mean Jamie.. My postal lady ( I um mean the lady that works at the post office), her rates change every day. One day she will let a package go through for $4. the next day, an exact same item to the same area could be $9 or $12.. its all over the scale :frown:

thats why when I sell my blanks, I perfer to do a flat rate with shipping included, since I cant accurately give a shipping quote since it could change daily.

mackc said:
800.551.0192 & he doesn't charge mailing costs!
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Thanks Mack. I will check into it.
 
Jason; I should add here as well, you've been turning pens long enough it's time you started turning them bushing to bushing, no mandrel required. Once you've tried it, you'll never look back.

Check out johnnycnc's web site http://penturnersproducts.com/. Spend your good money on some of his great bushings, both SS & delrin. And for sure you won't be gouged on the mailing costs.
 
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