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I can only imagine how much time would be added onto the average length of a workshop or class if the demo had to figure out the weight of everyone's order and charge them accordingly. Everyone might as well bring over their sleeping bags. ;)
And I'm not sure that every company pays for shipping based on weight. I know at least one comapny that I used to work at had a flat rate/per package agreement with Fed-Ex. What a company pays really depends on the volume they ship and how well they're able to negotiate with the shipping company.
The bottom line is the costs of shippign are going up for everyone. All you need to do to figure out why is look at the price of gas/disel. If we have to pay more so do the companies doing the shipping, and if they pass on the cost to the shipper, then the shipper has to pass the costs to the consumers. That's what's driving up the prices in the grocery store and in retail stores. So while you may not pay a separate shipping price, you can bet that the prices at your local store either have gone up or soon will go up to compensate for the higher shipping rates paid by the store to their suppliers.
i get your point, but i respectfully disagree *wink. i think companies [and even SU!] could implement various online tools to help calculate shipping - it's their choice to charge how they want. my comment was that i WISHED companies would charge shipping based on weight vs. price. just because an item is higher priced, doesn't mean it costs more to ship. and, i'm not complaining about shipping charges either. they are what they are, and i can agree to pay it [as i do, since i often place orders with my demo] or not.
Oh...I'm okay with the fact that they ship them UPS, BUT, I think that they should wait to ship a few things @ a time, not just 1 little re-inker, then another re-inker. I'd rather wait a few days and have ALL my re-inkers @ the same time. I just think it's a waste! I KNOW I don't have to pay for the backorder shipping, I just think it's ridiculous.
Really, I don't think that would be very easy for them. It is an easy thing but it just seems with the number of orders, etc. And, how does one know how long to hold something until the next items comes in, you know? Now, the small guy, or gal, can easily do that. Don't you agree that they probably wish there was an easier, and cheaper, way too? They gotta hate putting a single reinker on the shipping dock. :-D
For what its worth, I had to return a stamp set. ONE 8 piece unmounted stamp set was $4.60 parcel post, $4.80 priority. Since they don't guarantee packages add on $1.70 for insurance and 65c for delivery confirmation and the total is $7.15. I needed to make certain it arrived (it would have cost $7.05 for parcel post ($4.60/$1.70/75c)
Now I realize how realistic the $6.95 is in comparison.
__________________ Just taking it one day at a time.....
Now I realize how realistic the $6.95 is in comparison.
I agree with you. Those SU stamp sets are really heavy and I think 6.95 is more than reasonable. I want my order quickly. I am willing to pay more for it.
How would the poor SU demo or any other demo for a company figure out how much shipping would cost by weight? I was just at a workshop where the hostess didn't even have internet!!! She goes to the library to check her emails each day. I too hate spending money that goes to waste but in SU's case I think their S&H is reasonable.
__________________ Barbara SU! Demo with a Blog
Procrastinators of the world unite... tomorrow!
I think alot of companies and customers are stuck btwn a rock and a hard place on this issue. I have noticed in previous experiences that if I charged based off total price of order some people complained about the price. Then when I changed it to based off of weight of the order people still complained. In the end I just gave up trying to please everyone. I wish there was an easier way to calculate shipping as well.
i get your point, but i respectfully disagree *wink. i think companies [and even SU!] could implement various online tools to help calculate shipping - it's their choice to charge how they want. my comment was that i WISHED companies would charge shipping based on weight vs. price. just because an item is higher priced, doesn't mean it costs more to ship. and, i'm not complaining about shipping charges either. they are what they are, and i can agree to pay it [as i do, since i often place orders with my demo] or not.
Just curious; how would the demo go online to calculate the shipping while she is at the workshop? I'm not really sure how that would be practical or easy for this type of business??
I agree with others that the shipping is reasonable. Weight is not the only factor to determine the cost of shipping something. You also need to consider how much space a package takes up. You can only fit so many packages on a truck no matter what the weight.
How would the poor SU demo or any other demo for a company figure out how much shipping would cost by weight? I was just at a workshop where the hostess didn't even have internet!!! She goes to the library to check her emails each day. I too hate spending money that goes to waste but in SU's case I think their S&H is reasonable.
It shouldn't be the demo's responsibility. They aren't the ones with the agreement with fedex/ups and they aren't the one shipping it. It should be SU's responsibility. Just think of it like this, if shipping is so costly, why do so many people offer free shipping with the more you order? In that case they should charge you more because you package will weigh more.It sucks but whenever we pay shippping that is not based on weight, we are being cheated. I deal with both UPS and Fedex daily as well as several freight lines. SHipping isn't as costly as they make it out to be.....
No matter what SU is charging for shipping/handling.. it's way less than I would spend in gas to drive around to local stores to buy up supplies.. I don't have to deal with traffic, going in and out of places, gas expenses, listening to screaming kids .. etc.. and they get delivered right to my house! for $6.95 that's a bargain in and of itself.
Pam
__________________ "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
No matter what SU is charging for shipping/handling.. it's way less than I would spend in gas to drive around to local stores to buy up supplies.. I don't have to deal with traffic, going in and out of places, gas expenses, listening to screaming kids .. etc.. and they get delivered right to my house! for $6.95 that's a bargain in and of itself.
Ouch! I just discovered this site and was all excited and ready to find a SU consultant, but at $7 a pop for orders, I may have to stick with regular stores. That seems a bit much. I can certainy understand a few buck for shipping, but 7?! Are all companies this much?
No. My Bella order for 5 stamps and a block was over $10!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DisneyDoll
Oh...I'm okay with the fact that they ship them UPS, BUT, I think that they should wait to ship a few things @ a time, not just 1 little re-inker, then another re-inker. I'd rather wait a few days and have ALL my re-inkers @ the same time. I just think it's a waste! I KNOW I don't have to pay for the backorder shipping, I just think it's ridiculous.
I don't know about you, but I want my merchandise ASAP.. Why wait 3 or 4 days to get them ALL ,when I can get a little present each day. Maybe this is their way of keeping us happy rather than selling merchandise that is on backorder, because we all know what would happen then... we would be complaining about that... A little piece of the pie is better than no pie at all, KWIM?
I'm one of those demos that are expecting an order everyday for the next three days. I've got NOOOOO problem with that...
It's hard to compare the way different companies operate. An online store may offer free shipping with $XX minimum order. Chances are the online store has a very low overhead.
A home party company like Stampin Up, CTMH, etc., operates in a totally different manner with different types of expenses. They're not just selling product. They're including a whole package of demonstrations, make and take "gifts" for participants, commissions and overrides for demos, plus other incentives. It's like comparing apples and oranges.
The same with the backorder issues. A small company can set aside your package to wait for the rest of your merchandise to arrive. Multiply your one backorder times tens of thousands of items floating around in various stages of shipment, and it gets complicated. Not to mention the customers who feel like they want their stuff NOW, lol!
Stampin Up has a completely automated picking and shipping set up. Believe me, they've done exhaustive cost analyses to see what works best AND most cost effectively. It is less expensive for them to let the computers select the box, send it down the line and wait at each stop for someone to toss in the item and then seal it and send it on its way with the occasional mix up or without a delayed item or two. Paying a person to oversee all that and do things like re-pack things to fit in a smaller box, let's say, or pull out a box and set it aside until that reinker is delivered tomorrow is much more expensive in the long run. Even if that means it takes two extra shipments. And basically, cost-effective for them means lower rates, or rates that don't have to get raised as high, anyway, for customers.
I had an online business a long time ago, and shipping hassles were the number one reason I was happy to get out of it. There just isn't a perfect way for dealing with every situation.
I don't know anybody who likes to pay for shipping, lol. I think people just have to make up their own minds what they are willing to pay for something and make adjustments if possible. Order with a friend or two (a good reason for a workshop!). Order less frequently but with larger amounts to minimize shipping cost. Or just shop where free shipping is offered, lol. I'd find that kind of limiting, though...
Everyone makes good points. My only gripe is when I only like one stamp or one item that weighs a few ounces and I am charged $6 for USPS shipping. To me that's excessive and I understand someone has to be paid to pull orders but is there not a mark up on the merchandise already to cushion some of the costs? Also I dont know many order pullers that make little more than what it costs to ship one order per hour. Most here make around 7 per hour. I am sure they pull more than one order per hour. Just my take on the situation.
i REALLY wish companies shipped by weight. that's how they PAY for shipping... however, i understand that flat-rate shipping based on order amount is a simple way to implement shipping charges, and the hope is that it all balances out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by javagirl984
Just curious; how would the demo go online to calculate the shipping while she is at the workshop? I'm not really sure how that would be practical or easy for this type of business??
I agree with others that the shipping is reasonable. Weight is not the only factor to determine the cost of shipping something. You also need to consider how much space a package takes up. You can only fit so many packages on a truck no matter what the weight.
first, i am NOT complaining about SU!s shipping charges, but noted a general complaint; i hate paying a lot of money to ship an item just because it cost a lot to purchase. IMVHO, price is not an indicator of cost to ship. i AGREE that it's a simple way to determine shipping charges.
it's really up to SU or ANY OTHER COMPANY THAT SHIPS to determine the best way to calculate shipping charges, taking into account what their customers are willing to pay. IF SU wanted to charge shipping based on weight, they'd have to figure out how to do it. just because we can't think of a way, doesn't mean it's not possible.
let me reiterate - i am PERFECTLY HAPPY paying my 10% or 6.95 to SU!
...Stampin Up has a completely automated picking and shipping set up. Believe me, they've done exhaustive cost analyses to see what works best AND most cost effectively. It is less expensive for them to let the computers select the box, send it down the line and wait at each stop for someone to toss in the item and then seal it and send it on its way with the occasional mix up or without a delayed item or two. Paying a person to oversee all that and do things like re-pack things to fit in a smaller box, let's say, or pull out a box and set it aside until that reinker is delivered tomorrow is much more expensive in the long run. Even if that means it takes two extra shipments. And basically, cost-effective for them means lower rates, or rates that don't have to get raised as high, anyway, for customers.
betsy, you bring up many good points. ultimately, we pay what the company charges for shipping and you have to look at the TOTAL price of an item to determine it's worth. if a company is offering free shipping, they're making their costs up somewhere else [basic business accounting tells us that a company can't operate on negative earnings forever]. if SU! is losing money on their shipping charges, then they're increasing profits on stamp sales. if they're making money on shipping charges, then [let's hope] they're not increasing prices on their stamps.
so,the point isn't really what a company [or eBay seller] charges for shipping - it's what's the total price.
Although I hate paying it, I do think the s/h charge is reasonable. Of course, I would prefer to have that extra money to spend on stamps but I also know it's just the cost of doing business. I live in a sizeable metro area and the closest craft store (I'm not counting WalMart or Target) is around 13 miles from my house. It takes 20 minutes to get there. So, it already costs me $4 in gas just to get there and they don't have everything I want. Factor in my time - and I really don't mind paying the shipping fees.
It shouldn't be the demo's responsibility. They aren't the ones with the agreement with fedex/ups and they aren't the one shipping it. It should be SU's responsibility. Just think of it like this, if shipping is so costly, why do so many people offer free shipping with the more you order? In that case they should charge you more because you package will weigh more.It sucks but whenever we pay shippping that is not based on weight, we are being cheated. I deal with both UPS and Fedex daily as well as several freight lines. SHipping isn't as costly as they make it out to be.....
Nothing is FREE, if the shipping is "free", you can be sure that the company is adding that amount into the price you paid for the product.
I have met demos who, at workshops, charge EACH customer $6.95 if their personal total is below $69.50 and 10% for shipping if it's over that. I don't buy from these demos, but I have had them tell me that it's their business and they can run it as they wish, and this way it makes them extra money within the rules of the company. But it's not within the rules of the company, all which say workshops are 10% shipping.
If your demo is doing this, you should find a new one.
Same situation here! Costs me $15-20 to go to my nearest large shopping center... one reason why I ordered a Prius- lol - so I can shop more often... kidding!
We just picked up our Civic Hybrid last night, so I asked my hubby if I could spend the extra money we'd save on gas on more stamping stuff. The face he made was not pretty. LOL!
Considering my closest LSS is an hour away, I'm happy to pay the shipping money. Often I get there and they don't have exactly what I am looking for anyway.
Nothing is FREE, if the shipping is "free", you can be sure that the company is adding that amount into the price you paid for the product.
I was speaking of the giant companies, you know Victoria Secret, Spiegel,etc. They offer free shipping for orders of say $100 or more. Just think of it like this. if you go into Fedex you self to ship something, they are going to weigh it and tel you how much it cost to ship. They won't ask you how much you paid for the item and then charge you based on that. I am sticking to my orginal opinion... Shipping is dirt cheap... and these huge companies are charging us to much as a consumer...As I said before...just my opinion
I was speaking of the giant companies, you know Victoria Secret, Spiegel,etc. They offer free shipping for orders of say $100 or more. Just think of it like this. if you go into Fedex you self to ship something, they are going to weigh it and tel you how much it cost to ship. They won't ask you how much you paid for the item and then charge you based on that. I am sticking to my orginal opinion... Shipping is dirt cheap... and these huge companies are charging us to much as a consumer...As I said before...just my opinion
Well, this is just my opinion . . . NOTHING is FREE. I don't care what size the company is, if they offer free shipping you can bet they're making their $$ somewhere.
I was speaking of the giant companies, you know Victoria Secret, Spiegel,etc. They offer free shipping for orders of say $100 or more. Just think of it like this. if you go into Fedex you self to ship something, they are going to weigh it and tel you how much it cost to ship. They won't ask you how much you paid for the item and then charge you based on that. I am sticking to my orginal opinion... Shipping is dirt cheap... and these huge companies are charging us to much as a consumer...As I said before...just my opinion
Um, Spiegel went bankrupt a while ago -- could have had something to do with all the free shipping :twisted: Just kidding.
Seriously, though, I bet if you went to Fed-Ex to ship something, even a single bottle of re-inker or a single marker, it will cost you a heck of a lot more to ship it than it's "weight" would indicate, becasue most shipping companies have a minimum charge, regardless of size and weight.
And I bet if they had to handle it (i.e. to pack it for you) like SU does, the total fee would probably be more than $6.95.
I get the argument that companies get discounts but I'm lost in the dirt cheap part. I work for a huge company (over 40,000 employees) and we have a UPS contract. My admin just shipped a envelope for me, ground, it was around $5. So I'm not sure where the dirt cheap part is coming from.
I just shipped a box of reinkers back to SU, stupid me order craft instead of classic, and the cheapest way was priority and I added delivery confirmation since it is an exchange and it cost me $6.25.
I will admit to be annoyed when I was going to buy a few bathing suits online from JcPenny and they were about $60 a piece, so since my order was in the $150 range it was going to be over $20 to ship them to me as they base it solely on price bracket.
Well, this is just my opinion . . . NOTHING is FREE. I don't care what size the company is, if they offer free shipping you can bet they're making their $$ somewhere.
I totally agree that everything is recouped(sp) somewhere. We all know that we are getting taken on just about everything we purchase. Ppl pay next to nothing to these ppl working in these foreign countries. Then they bring it here and charge us a fortune. That's just how things work though. I don't even know why this thread has continued for as long as it has. The bottom line is that SU has something that we want so pretty much they can attach any fees they want, and if we want it bad enough, we will pay. Once again...shipping is dirt cheap...so I'm still going to be ticked that companies charge us all this money for the product, then turn around and charge us even more for shipping...Just my opinion...
Um, Spiegel went bankrupt a while ago -- could have had something to do with all the free shipping :twisted: Just kidding.
Seriously, though, I bet if you went to Fed-Ex to ship something, even a single bottle of re-inker or a single marker, it will cost you a heck of a lot more to ship it than it's "weight" would indicate, becasue most shipping companies have a minimum charge, regardless of size and weight.
And I bet if they had to handle it (i.e. to pack it for you) like SU does, the total fee would probably be more than $6.95.
I didn't know that about Speigel, I got a new catty a few weeks and i def. took advantage of the free shipping! LOL! I guess I'm just doing my part to help them bounce back from their bankruptcy. LOL!
And then there would always be someone who REALLY needed one of those reinkers and just can't understand why SU is holding it waiting for 2 others to become available. Shipping is high everywhere and it is going to continue to go up as long as we are all using gasoline to deliver products across our country. You are paying shipping at the grocery store, too. You just don't see the breakdown on your receipt.
Roberta
I work part time in a call center for a mail-order company where shipping charges are a fixed amount - a set $ amt for the first item, $1.99 more for each additional items, and then flat amounts for different upgrades to faster delivery. We get calls ALL THE TIME from people who want to order from us but give free shipping "like company x". But if company X is such a great deal, why don't they order from them in the first place? When we have a spare minute to check, the item is usually anywhere from $5 - $10 more expensive from company X. Instead of having a separate shipping charge, they add it to each item.
I guess I always assumed that the reason some companies offered free shipping on larger orders was because the main expense in sending out an order is pretty much the same for one item as it is for several. Larger orders are less expensive to ship per dollar (if that makes sense). At some point, the profit that you are making on the larger orders is enough to cover those expenses - and it encourages people to add to their order to get to the amount they need for the free shipping.
Take heart, it could be worse. I live in Alaska and ordered something from QVC a few days ago and they just doubled the usual shipping for Alaska. Even things in the stores will increase with all this energy fueled inflation...progress huh ?!
Take joy in stamping its the cheapest therapy there is AND the most fun lol
