profits from shipping charges?

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mykem

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hi,

not a rant here but rather a survey. what do you think of this shipping charge?

just paid for a random leek from the only place i know that sells them, Chesapeake Knife & Tool.

the least expensive way they have available to ship this 3 oz. knife is $15.

they want $15 to arrange shipping a 3oz knife from maryland to florida. it ain't real far.

i was told that it would have to be shipped UPS because cost was over $100 and it had to be insured. i requested USPS insured they said no. i asked if there were a less expensive alternative and was told $15 was the cheapest way to go.

ups site says to ground ship it to my home, in a 6"x6"x6" inch box, insured for $125 the cost is $5.32.

hey, i want the knife. i paid the $15. yes, they have the right to make money. but there is just something that strikes me wrong with this method of making money.

i'd feel better if they added $10 to the cost of the knife and just charged me actual shipping. it just seems more honest somehow.

am i being to grumpy about this?

mike
 
hello,

i just did a search on CKT and didn't find too much.

what i did find was consistently along the lines of "higher priced" and "can find same knife cheaper elsewhere" etc.

a price comparison of knives shows this to be true.

so adding profit onto the shipping charges by them seems even worse to me now.

too bad no one else has the random leek for sale.

and please, CKT, don't be mad and use my knife for a hockey puck on the warehouse floor before you ship.

i am litterally going over it with a magnifying glass the day it arrives.

mike
 
I here ya, shipping costs can be so arbitrary. If you are shipping a single knife from one place in the US to another, I doubt that there is any combination of things that would make the actual shipping (regular UPS or USPS) cost more that about 6 or 7 dollars. And that at the extreme. Like Oregon to Florida or something, most places would be less.

There sure are a lot of places that charge more than that though.
 
It is a ripoff unless you want special overnight to the door delivery.

You can print mailing labels and postage labels at your house and the mailman will pickup the packages. Proof of delivery doesn't cost much either.

I think the $15 stuff comes from guys that often mail UPS from work and they will charge more than USPS.

I have learned when buying over the internet to always ask about shipping cost.

I guess the question is whether you are selling your item or your services to mail the item or both?
 
Yeah that is crap. Cancel your order, Paypal me the money, and I will go to the mall next to my house, buy you one, and mail it for the $4.30 USPS priority charge. Yes I am that bored. That and I hate Chesapeak Knife & Tool. They are the only chain that I know who takes the list price and multiplies it by .25. E-mail me if you want me to help you out.
 
It looks like that knife is only sold at that place, so you dont have any other option, assuming that is the one knife you want. In my case, I refuse to pay premium prices and shipping charges. they obviously have a business plan designed for maximum price gouging. I would take my business elsewhere.

Edit: I just poked around on the site, and I see that everything there is overpriced terribly. You can find better prices at any retail outlet, and without a ridiculous shipping charge added. :barf:
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
It looks like that knife is only sold at that place, so you dont have any other option, assuming that is the one knife you want.
Click to expand...
Not true brother. Look at what I wrote above. I love to defeat the system. LOL
 
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USAFSP said:
Yeah that is crap. Cancel your order, Paypal me the money, and I will go to the mall next to my house, buy you one, and mail it for the $4.30 USPS priority charge. Yes I am that bored. That and I hate Chesapeak Knife & Tool. They are the only chain that I know who takes the list price and multiplies it by .25. E-mail me if you want me to help you out.
Click to expand...

How's THAT for community spirit? :thumbup:

It also drives me nuts when ebay sellers charge you $5.50 shipping which is about right for Priority Mail on one knife and then they ship it First Class mail in an envelope. :(

I once started a list of all shipping charges of all the online dealers, but I never finished it because I haven't been that bored in a long time and I pretty much quit drinking too. ;)

.
 
I've seen the same thing on occasion. I was looking at Ebay the other day and saw a Spyderco that I wanted to Bid on, it was a New knife but it did not have a box so the seller stated they would ship it in a padded envelope.... for $10.50. I passed on that one.

I also special ordered a knife from a Maker (email me for who it was) that took Months to get finished (excuse after excuse). He charged me $50 for 3 day UPS delivery! :eek: Needless to say the knife went back and I got the Shipping charge back also! :barf:

I say cancel your order, tell them why you are cancelling it and then take up the generous offer made by USAFSP to get you one. Besides, I'm sure he would check the knife out for you when he purchased it to insure that it is 100%... that way there would be no possibility that you would have to send it back (and incur more Shipping charges).
 
A lot of companies feel that it is fair to charge a handling fee on top of the shipping charge. This is to cover the cost of shipping materials and the time it takes them to get the box or padded envelope ready to ship.
 
Hi Mykem,

Did you remember to include the cost of shipping materials, labor and materials to produce the labels and invoices and the labor to box up the knife and contact UPS to come and get it?

Shipping costs just don't include shipping. Granted $15 maybe a little high, but $10 is probably a little low.

One other thing neither UPS or FedEx has a "ounce" rate. Everything starts at a pound and goes up.

As well I suspect if they haven't done so already that FedEx and UPS will have one of their "price of gas went up so we are going to charge you more money" rate increases. Oddly enough they never go back down once the fuel costs go back down.

Ok, really this is the last piece of information. Did you know that FedEx now charges the shipper to get a signature on the airbill. Also, if you ship FedEx and use their shipping materials you have to ship at least 2nd Day air. If you use your own materials and opt for 3day shipping you are charged more money.

WWG
 
gee, woodworkghost,

i didn't know any of that. what's more, i still don't "know" it.

frankly, i think it's pure bullcrap, maybe by someone who also ships a product to people and also pads the shipping? does that describe you?

nor do i know what fedex 2nd day air or much of the other questionable info you so generously provided has to do with ups ground shipping a 3oz knife to me.

why are you apologizing for these people?

"...shipping materials, labor and materials to produce the labels and invoices and the labor to box up the knife and contact UPS to come and get it?"

boy that sounds like a major task until you take out a few words and read this drivel again.

"materials, labor, materials (again), labels, invoices, labor (again) box up, contact ups....." get's a bit overblown and repetitious, doesn't it?


good god, man! your rendition of sending out a little knife makes building the pyramids sound like child's play. what bologna!

c'mon! a freaking padded envelope takes care of "shipping materials."

labor? "oof, hey freddy, help me lug this 3 ouncer of the shelf. never mind, i'll get the forklift."

"labels, invoices, contact UPS"... you are joking right?

i'll bet my balls the brown trucks pull in their several times a day as a matter of course. it doesn't have to be called!

what? i should buy breakfast for the guy who takes it off the shelf so he isn't too tired and hungry to do his job?

i don't know whether to laugh at you or feel sorry for you. so i'll just do both.

the only reason i went through with the transaction is they are the only people who have random leek, NIB, to sell.

i will never again buy from them again unless they have another "exclusive" i want.

i hope you were being sarcastic and not being serious about this crap.

if that's the case, the jokes on me.

you're not serious about what you said, are you?????

mike
 
temper,

if i am not mistaken, you are the owner of a business based in japan that ships knives all over the world. is this correct?

if so, we must accept what you say as fact.

thank you for saying in a mere 18 words what it took so long for me to say.

mike
 
When I buy something on the net I look at several dealers and see what they'll charge me including my favored method of shipping. I don't care how much of the total they say is for shipping or if they say shipping is free -- the bottom line is all I look at. (Then of course I run a search if I'm not familiar with the dealer -- if you only look at price you'll cheat yourself every time -- but when I look at price I look at total price.)
 
cougar allen,

very wise in that bottom line is indeed the bottom line.

merchants add in S&H, surcharges, dealer prep and so on.

so it is smart to just find out what the 'out the door" "done deal" price will be.

believe me, i wish i could have comparison shopped for the random leek but as far as i can determine, there is only one source, ckt.

when they first put them on the market not so long ago the price was $64.95 by the way.

supply and demand works to the benefit of the supplier and the detriment of of the consumer when there is only one supplier.

mike
 
mykem said:
temper,

if i am not mistaken, you are the owner of a business based in japan that ships knives all over the world. is this correct?

if so, we must accept what you say as fact.

thank you for saying in a mere 18 words what it took so long for me to say.

mike
Click to expand...


You are correct sir. :)

For example EMS (Just the same as USPS Global Proirity) on anything up to 300g /10.6 oz would cost 1200 Yen or about $10.50

The UPS guy or post office come each day so no 'labor' involved there. You can get boxes or packs that are just within the limit for each price band, so you juts drop it in and stick the label on it.

Internet stores have to be bloody good to survive, I try my best to minimize costs for customers by even a dollar (100 Yen). If I was busier I would hire someone and hold them to the same standards. After all it takes only a tiny fraction more time to do it right. And as the adage goes, 'the long way is the short way'

Padded shipping is either greed or lazyness, either way its unacceptable.
 
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