profits from shipping charges?

temper,

and this is for "global" shipping correct, as in shiiping all over this planet (as compared to a few hundred miles for the shipping being discussed in this thread)?

i may purchase from you in japan in the future. it could save me shipping costs. 100 yen = $1 u.s, correct?

do you have a website?

thank you,

mike
 
and this is for "global" shipping correct, as in shiiping all over this planet (as compared to a few hundred miles for the shipping being discussed in this thread)?
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This is to North America and Canada IIRC there is a sliding scale obviously I can send you a link to the costs/weight if you like, you can then compare it to buying from some place else.


may purchase from you in japan in the future. it could save me shipping costs. 100 yen = $1 u.s, correct?
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Alas, not any more. Todays rate is around 113 so a better deal for those with dollars.

do you have a website?
Click to expand...

Yes, its in my profile.

Just email me if you have any questions, some of the prices are fixed, some are geared to the market here and may have a bit of 'flex' in them ;)
 
fulloflead said:
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. :(
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An evil thing to do is pay for the final auction price with a money order or check and send them a bunch of stamps along with it to cover shipping. :D
 
People complain all the time about shipping charges no matter what. When we ship things priority mail overseas, it typically costs $8 a parcel, plus $.50-1.75 for the box, plus the time spent at the post office waiting for them to stamp forms & do their ****. Not to mention filling out those same forms ahead of time. Overall $10 is probably low for that.

UPS costs are variable depending on the distance. I've never seen a box go out for less than $6 and usually it's right at $8-9 just for UPS costs alone, never mind packaging, tape, labor, etc. Shipping is not a profit generator for a lot of places.

Companies that have a sliding scale based on dollar amounts, on the other hand, make a TON off shipping. If they charge you $5 for $50, $10 for $50-100 and so on, and are using USPS, they are ****ing you in the ass.
 
Spark is dead on with the time (read cost) to get a package ready for shipping.
Orders must be printed, pulled, checked, double checked, (and many times the individual knife must be examined at customer request).
The card must be run thru the credit company.
Every day several customers must be contacted either by phone (costs time and money to place the call) or via email to correct entry errors such as forgetting last name, typos in the card numbers, expiration dates or zip code etc, etc.
Items must be packaged in a box (most true companies will not use padded envelopes for shipping...customers generally do not like to receive crushed merchandise, so a cheap envelope is not a viable option).
Packing materials must fill void in box, box must be sealed and labeled.
I personally can't find anyone that will do that for me for free.
USPS domestic and especially overseas takes us a tremendous amount of time at the Post Office.
Also, realize that credit cards cost the companies accepting them up to 3% (yea, those thangs ain't free).
If a company charges 6.00 to ship, the credit card charge back to them could be has high as 18 cents just on the shipping charge...not much you say...well, if you ship 50 packages a day 5 days a week 52 weeks a year and lose 18 cents per package for simply accepting the credit card, that totals well over $2000.00 per year.
From a company perspective, all this is included in the shipping charge.
Interesting thread....HMMM, maybe need to re-evaluate our shipping charges. :rolleyes:
 
spark,

thanks for flipping on the light.

now i know why my ass hurts.

chesapeake knife & tool said the shipping only seemed high because the random leek costs over $100 so it had to be insured.

a quick check with ups revealed the actual charge is $5.32, INSURED. and that is my cost, not some huge shipper who gets a bulk break!

as for labor, handling, labels, invoices, pick-ups, phone calls and so on...

don't you think those numbers are already factored in to the cost of the item by the bean counters at ckt BEFORE they tack on more profit with this shipping stuff?

i'm not picking on everybody who charges for shipping, just CKT in particular for the way they go about it. they're sneaky with this insurance crap.

you said it yourself:

"Companies that have a sliding scale based on dollar amounts, on the other hand, make a TON off shipping. If they charge you $5 for $50, $10 for $50-100 and so on, and are using USPS, they are ****ing you in the ass."


it's basically greed and subtle dishonesty at work here. they do it for the same reason a dog licks his own balls.

because they can, particularly when selling an "exclusive" that no one else has to sell.



mike
 
michael dye,

you are making a mountain out of a damn mole hill, and it ain't even your molehill. it's CKT's little mountain of crap.

re-read temper's replies.

I KNOW shipping costs, but why do you make it sound like sending a person to the moon? and are you defending CKT's sleight of hand when it comes to pricing?

"Orders must be printed, pulled, checked, double checked, ..."

printed, sure. pulled? you print it, you pick it up, for heaven's sake.

double checked, only if the "puller" isn't smart enough to read. hell, why not triple checked, or quadrupled checked?

and your comapny, newgraham, is just the opposite of a shipping gougers. your prices for shipping are extremely fair!

i got a shipping quote from you guys the other day (from mary beth?) for the 1660bg i intend to purchase when you get them in. it was only $5 or $6. my hat is off to newgraham.

ckt takes advantage.

mike
 
Those scum want $75 for a FRN handled Spyderco Delica. :barf: They want the same Price for a sharpmaker. I can only hope they go out of business, with such horrible prices. :thumbdn:

The question is: is the random leek is available elsewhere? I couldnt find it online, but USAFSP said he could pick one up at a store. Also, why would Kershaw make a knife only available at the worst online retailer that exists? :confused:
 
I don't complain about the excessive shipping charges, I just won't buy from them. I've sent emails in the past letting a business know that they lost a sale because their shipping charges were what I believed to be excessive, but have never received a response. I know shipping supplies/handling cost money, but $15 sounds like too much to me unless it's Next Day delivery, and I never use that anyway, I can wait a week or so for something to be delivered. I believe shipping charges should be for actual costs involved, but some businesses won't do that. They show a lower selling price on items to lure customers in and make up the difference in the shipping and it will always be that way, it's smart on the business side as long as it's within reason. It's up to the customer to know the difference and look at the 'total cost' including the shipping/handling to know if you're getting the best deal. Most websites will let you see shipping cost before you have to fill out a form and checkout so you know what the costs are, I stay away from the sites that don't let you know up front. I always look at how it's being shipped as well. UPS and FedEx costs a bit more, but I think you get better service, delivery time, and insurance than the USPS. Check out One Stop Knife Shop and New Graham Knives, they have a good reputation here and might be able to help you find what you're looking for. I appreciate having a forum like this where we can look out for one another and share our interests.
 
stormdrane,

you may have missed the fact that CKT had this knife made for them exclusively (by kershaw).

it's the random leek, w/s30v. the only leek so far with this steel.

you buy it from them or you don't own one. period. end of story.

i want one. i let them rob me a bit. i resent it.

won't do biz w/them again - unless they have another "exclusive" i want badly enough.

they have the highest prices around AND they gouge on shipping on top of their sky high prices.

hey, everyone likes to make a profit. but at some point the manner in which exhorbitant profits are made becomes obscene.

i live in florida. with every big hurricane come the stories of stores selling batteries for 10 and 20 times the usual price. that's obscene. these people get prosecuted and fined heavily by our state attorney general.

i'm not comparing CKT to these other bastards that strike in times of crisis.
but these guys do consistently overcharge for things that are to be found elsewhere at SUBSTANTIAL savings.

shop around before you buy from them.

finis. done. over. the end.

mike

mike
 
Michael Dye said:
mykem, sorry I bothered to reply. :confused:
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I'm not. . . Some people just lack manners. Thanks for the info. I have always found Newgraham to have fair shipping charges.

I think this guy would have been better off just putting a rant in W&C, since he knew he was getting ripped off, and didnt care, just wanted to complain about it. :confused:
 
Being overcharged sucks, and companies/people that make their profit from, or add to their profit through shipping charges piss me off. I'm not sure how much CKT are overcharging for shipping, but $15.00 does seem at least somewhat excessive.

The people that really piss me off are the ones on eBay that have knives listed with no reserve and opening bids of .99, but have a shipping charge of $20.00 to $30.00. Many of the knives these people have for sale are only worth $5.00 and they are making a killing on the over inflated shipping charges. Still, it is up to people to make sure they are fully aware of what the extra charges will be before they bid.

A person has to weigh how much they want the knife against how much it is going to cost. If you decide that you are going to purchase the knife, then I guess the shipping charge wasn't too much.
 
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.
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Take a hike up the road and see what Country Knives near Lancaster PA charges. BTW, Chesapeake Knife and Tool near me in White Marsh has absolutely no selection whatsoever, can't even go in and handle the knives before I buy them on here or eBay.

I charge about $3-$7 to ship on eBay, $3 for smaller knives, single comics, books and dvds. I charge about $5-$7 for multi comics and larger fixed blade knives. Part of that cost pays for bubble wrap and padded mailers.

I don't like the fact that I have to pay $6 shipping on average with WHATEVER I buy, but thems the breaks. A lot of stuff can be shipped by media mail or first class for much cheaper, but then the big sellers would have to hire a staff just to answer emails on why packages haven't arrived yet, even though you placed the order five minutes ago.
 
Although it wont help for this praticular knife (as it is an exclusive) there are several dealers who include free shipping on items over $50 or $100, etc.

Keep you eye out for those.

n8
 
Amazing how some people just either don't understand or aren't willing to consider all of the costs incurred by a company that go far beyond the actual amount charged by the final shipper, be it UPS, USPS, FedEx, or Bob's.

As Spark stated, and Mike also, all of those costs have to be added in to properly calculate shipping charges which will cover those costs. Maybe some places do overcharge, but perhaps that charge is an average total cost, meaning that some may exceed it, some may fall short.
 
UPS IS more expensive than FedEx (although they may be catching up to UPS but if they are smart they won't). Look at it this way, we charge 10 to 12 dollars on a custom knife that has never cost more to send including the insurance value for any less than that amount of money and we are talking about 180.00 to 350.00 knives individually. I can not slam UPS enough and if something is going to get to a destination it's FedEx unless the customer request it be sent another way.
 
I would like to remind you that i an still upset by the fact that 1SKS (the sponsor of this great forum) charges 150$ for shipping a knife outside the U.S! :eek:

The reason why they do it seems to be a way to counter fraudulent overseas orders. I understand that they don't wan't to be scammed, but please remember that a lot of knife enthousiasts are honest people and they can not even buy from 1SKS due to these extreme shipping charges!

still a bad thing because a lot of times i would buy from 1 SKS but just can't afford the shipping cost.
 
Michael Dye said:
From a company perspective, all this is included in the shipping charge.
Interesting thread....HMMM, maybe need to re-evaluate our shipping charges. :rolleyes:
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As a regular client of yours Mike, and as a businessman myself, by keeping your freight charges basically on par with the actual postal cost + handling, you are being rewarded with repeat business from very happy customers like myself.
As you so correctly stated, all the other costs, credit card fees, packaging, checking of goods prior to dispatch, correspondence with customers, emails and phone calls, all make an impact on your overall bottom line. As a loyal customer, I feel better served by these additional cost being added into the listed cost of the item, not bundled with the freight charge. I know its six of one, half a dozen of another, but as a consumer, I do feel disgruntled when I pay $25.00 for freight, but the package is stamped $6.00 when it arrives.
BTW - thanks for the exceptional service you provide - can I get a discount for returning the dozens of packets of band aids I now have in my possession. :D
 
yep, it's a ripoff.
Crimminy, when you think of all the dealers who have 800 telephone numbers, and will happily get on the line with you to discuss shipping, it is amazing that any company that does this can stay in business.

Now if there is some knife that they distribute exclusively, and you have to have that knife, well, you just might have to bite the bullet. Unless, of course, you hang out at Bladeforums and another forumite meakes a generous offer.....
 
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