OT - shipping prices: Why are they so ridiculous?

[shooter]

I messed up the set screw in my Lyman 4500 by being careless. I was changing the nose punch and left the screw protruding a little from the ram. I wasn't paying attention and raised the ram too high, and that was all she wrote for that little set screw. It messed it up where I couldn't get the allen wrench in there. Well, after finally getting the thing out, I went online to Lyman to order a new one. I was pleasantly surprised to find they were only .25 cents. I added one to my cart, and my total came out to $4.75!!! What!?!?!? I essentially ended up paying $5.00 for a .25 cent item.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Next time, check the local hardware store first. Socket set screws are a common item.

[TedH]

Next time, check the local hardware store first. Socket set screws are a common item.

+1

[jdad]

You're paying for the cost of labor, to pick it and pack it.

[madman4570]

I messed up the set screw in my Lyman 4500 by being careless. I was changing the nose punch and left the screw protruding a little from the ram. I wasn't paying attention and raised the ram too high, and that was all she wrote for that little set screw. It messed it up where I couldn't get the allen wrench in there. Well, after finally getting the thing out, I went online to Lyman to order a new one. I was pleasantly surprised to find they were only .25 cents. I added one to my cart, and my total came out to $4.75!!! What!?!?!? I essentially ended up paying $5.00 for a .25 cent item.

That seems really high!
I ordered (2)set screws(wanted an extra one)from Ithaca Gun and they only charged me $1.33 (shipped)
Also somtimes if you just call the Company direct and explain what happened they charge you a totally different deal I did that with Ithaca!
Course, it probably didnt hurt how I ranted on how their guns are the best going and they are my favorite.

[AJMD429]

When appropriate or possible, I order some more 'stuff' from whoever I'm ordering from, to 'justify' the minimum-charge for shipping.

As a business-owner, I can see that there needs to be a 'minimum' or 'base' charge for any transaction; you can't survive on 25-cent purchases that require the same personnel time and rent and other overhead as a $250 purchase. That's the reality.

I'd look at the local ACE hardware first, though.

[Cimarron]

A set screw like that is probably ten cents at your local hardware store. That is if you have a local hardware store. In some places Home Depot and Lowes have pretty much shut the local hardware stores down. Not that Lowes or Home Depot don't have set screws. You just have to walk 5 miles to find one. As far as why it cost $4.75 to ship it. It diidn't. That screw in a small padded bag pobably would have cost anywhere from 61 to 88 cents to mail through the Post Office.

[rimrock]

As if we didn't know, this is one of the screw ups in the tax law. businesses get an unusual deduction for certain shipping costs.

rimrock

[AJMD429]

As if we didn't know, this is one of the screw ups in the tax law. businesses get an unusual deduction for certain shipping costs.

Yep. Reason # 147 to enact the FairTax

It would fix 99% of our 'health care' problems, our 'big corporate lobbying' problems, and allow home-based and small businesses to flourish, by removing ALL the "prove it was a legitimate 'business' expense" nonsense" - no need to do so when you're not taxed on it even if it wasn't a business expense...!

(...a pity the Republocrats we're about to usher in to 'fix' things don't have a CLUE about the FairTax... )

[El Chivo]

They aren't ridiculous, however, you put yourself in a ridiculous position. The company you ordered from is going to have a minimum shipping charge to reflect the cost of a box or padded envelope plus postage or UPS charges. They probably aren't charging you labor for wrapping it up, but they do round up so as not to actually lose.

If you order from a company who's on the ball, someone will take an envelope, a .44 cent stamp, and mail you your screw for $1.00. Otherwise, the order gets placed and goes through the shipping department where they grab a box, padding, tape, labels, (all of which cost money) put your screw inside, and mail it or UPS it.

The store probably lost money on the transaction, by the way. Boxes or padded envelopes are generally about $1 each or close to it. Labels have to be printed too. Check the cost of the postage to see how much they made off of your order, allowing for materials and an employees' time.

Here's the $64,000.00 question: did you order a spare?

[adirondakjack]

All of the above plus the fact that every credit card transaction pays a flat fee plus a percentage. So yer 25 cent item probably cost them 50 cents to get yer money, plus the actual cost to ship..... The LABEL that their sytem prints out, and the picking ticket to go with it probably cost more than a foolish screw....

I bought some small bits from Brownells recently, and they sent em in a BOX via UPS. I KNOW they coulda sent em in a puffy envelope in the mail for less than $1 shipping, but when UPS comes to them, they gonna use a BOX and pay like $4 to ship the little bits.

FWIW one of the reasons GUN MAKERS give away small parts is because it is actually cheaper than doing the bookwork and what not on minimal transactions. Generating an invoice, and adding to the number of invoices the accounting folks have to deal with when it comes to taxation, income, etc is more trouble than it is worth. S&W sent me a handful of shock buffers for a 22A pistol. I asked "How much?" the gal chuckled and said "Not enough to write up", and sent em for free in a simple legal sized envelope that had my name and addy handwritten on it. No paperwork, simply address the envelope and put the bits in it right while we're talking, and shazaam, done and done.

[shooter]

Here's the $64,000.00 question: did you order a spare?

As a matter of fact, I ordered 3 of the screws. I realize everyone needs to make a profit, I just thought it was a little excessive to pay that much for a .25 cent screw. I did look at Lowe's before I ordered the screw. They didn't have any that I could find anywhere, and the staff at the Lowe's by my house may as well not be there. They are no help at all. Oh well, I have extra screws now and I know to be more careful from now on because those little boogers aren't cheap.

[Griff]

[rant mode on]

It's why they call it "shipping & handling".

I could explain why I'm increasing frustrated with my job... but it'd probably be meaningless in the large scheme of things.

I'm updating my resume... Think I'll join the ranks of the "employed" bourgeois rather than the entrepreneurial bourgeois. The current elitist, socialist government drones and their elected gods have apparently decided in the last 20 years that entrepreneurship is a condition that needs punishment. At the very least they seem to feel that you should shoulder the burden of every tax hike and the number of "fees" has quadrupled. Ain't even talking about the amount of those fees...

Regardless of what any talking head sez, those running for election are mere puppets. The real power in our Government lies in the bureaucratic quagmire that is represented by an alphabet soup of agencies. They pass more and more regulations, making new demands of business that are unrealistic and run 180º to an open economy. We need a revolution... not from our elected idiots, but to squash the folks they're supposed to oversee. But, from what I see, our elected officials are too stupid to see a runaway entity our bureaucracies have become.

[rant mode off]

[HEAD0001]

Every time I need just one little thing I normally go to E-Bay or Amazon. You normally get a fair shake on the shipping there.

For a large company to ship one part for $5--I believe they lost money on that sale. You should consider yourself lucky they shipped it for that. I am sure they were more concerned about customer service than they were making money. As I am sure for only $5 they did not clear any profit atall-I figure they lost some. Tom.

[Noah Zark]

I don't mean this to sound snarky, but would you would feel better if Lyman had told you the screw was $5.00, and shipping was free?

There's a certain psychological effect at having to pay more for a service than an item is worth. A friend of mine owns a metal finishing business and he hears it all the time from his customers who make parts, "You want more to plate it than the part costs to make!" Yeah, so? The customer's customer specifies a robust finish, and thinks it should cost next to nothing.

Shipping should be considered a convenience cost. You can drive all over the county to hardware stores, auto parts stores, lumberyards, etc., looking for that screw, and burn fuel and your time. Or you can pay less than $5 to have three screws shipped to your door, for nothing more than a quick phone call or e-mail.

Noah

[shooter]

Shipping should be considered a convenience cost. You can drive all over the county to hardware stores, auto parts stores, lumberyards, etc., looking for that screw, and burn fuel and your time. Or you can pay less than $5 to have three screws shipped to your door, for nothing more than a quick phone call or e-mail.

Noah

I don't necessarily disagree, it just caught me off guard more than anything. Another reason I was a little perturbed is that it took the screws more than two weeks to arrive at my door after I ordered them. If I'm paying for a convenience I would like it to get here in a day or three instead of two weeks. It just seems like shipping didn't used to be that much.

[bdhold]

if you do the math, it's usually cheaper to pay shipping than to drive around and hunt down your item.

if you want to make the shipping look more cost effective, think about odds and ends you could use and add them to your order.