Ok...enough already. I went to order something 'small' off that 'website back east' everyone sings high praise about. What a joke !!! Subtotal: $13.59 Shipping & Handling: $14.02 Tax: $0.00 : $0.00 : $0.00 Total: $27.61 The &^(*&%*&^$* shipping is MORE then the item...SERIOUS ??? 14.02 for shipping ? Not on their best day !!!! Then I go to another 'well known' etailer and want to order a different 'small' item: Item cost 2.98 Shipping 15.00 Are people really crazy enough to do this ? This is a "HOBBY" not a major investment or utter stupidity on my part !!! They can take their outrageous shipping costs and stick it where the sun dont shine !!!! RANT OVER...^%$&^$^%$$^#&^()_()_+(%#$%$@@# :angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:
Unless it was flex track, I'm guessing this is a joke, right? July 10th fools day? I've bought many items from many different internet dealers and never encountered anything like what you've described. Maybe if you could at least tell us what the items were we might be able to help answer your questions.
I've ordered from e-tailers from out east to out west and have never paid that much. Did you click "next day" on the shipping options?
With the Internet, online shopping allows you to compare several sources with a click of a mouse. I realize shipping in general is expensive and just part of the online world we live in. However, with so many options out there, shipping should be the least of your worries when shopping online, since price comparing is so easy. And next time just bump your order up by a couple hundred dollars, and then the shipping won't seem so high... Just joking. Your example does seem out of the ordinary, and worth some investigation.
Anyone want to PM me...I'll give you the urls and you can go thru the purchasing process and see what the shipping costs are for you. Realize...one of said places DOESNT ship to PO Boxes under normal shipping...so that one was 'prority mail'. Another FARCE...sheshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!
Costs have gone up some, with all the possible shipping venues. But those prices noted both seem to be above what I'd feel is reasonable.
I just ordered some trains from Japan and shipping was only $16.80 to the US. Quite reasonable considering it's travelling half the world.
I think the USPS is cashing in on the online buying boom - retailers are going to have to adjust or lose business. I have curbed my online spending of smaller purchases as a result of the increased shipping charges.
there is a online place in maryland that loves to ship small things in large box's. 5 N scale decoders in a box lig enough for a HO train.....
I was going to say the same thing. Many retailers are charging close to full MSRP and gouging on shipping. Interesting that the OP's shipping costs are up there with what I've seen from Japan - nearly 100% of product (which is still cheaper than Walther's!). Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.
On the other hand I just sat down last night and order three locos, decals, and several bottles of paint. Shipping cost $7.50. It used to be $6.50 but then postal rates have gone up since. Plain old USPS ground delivery that will arrive probably Monday. Cheapest option available out of about 5 and I am not in a hurry anyhow. And I also ordered some decals from MS and the cost there is $6.00 USPS again the cheapest option. But it will be in a padded envelope which costs a bit so I don't find either shipping options and costs from either dealer to be out of line. And I have sent small boxes of parts, and even a few locos to folks for less including a couple that went out of country for somewhat less. As a postscript I do question some of the high shipping costs I have seen and wonder how they are being shipped. Now for the little guy the cost of buying boxes and packing can add up some and I recently suffered sticker shock at the cost of a bag of packing peanuts. But even going to Wally World and buying small boxes and bubble wrap plus tape and labels, and dividing that reasonably out over how many packages I end up shipping, I can't come up with the costs that I have seen on some of the Ebay items.
I notice a doubling in one major train retailer’s auction shipping costs, and action shipping costs that were higher than the buy-now shipping costs for the same item. I typically use the sort by “Price + Shipping”. Some of this price gorging is not from the retailers, it is the kind of gorging that makes money “worth less". Bob
Shipping can be a problem. Everything I buy is on the internet because there are no hobby shops for hundreds of miles that has any decent selection, so I have no choice. I just make a list of what I will be needing and when I have enough items on the list to make an order worth while, and then put the order in. Put one in yesterday for a $200 total, including the shipping, and the shipping was only $12.56. Although I do buy on ebay occasionally, you have to think about the shipping all of the time because it can change a bargain into an overpriced purchase. Guess you just have to plan ahead.
I agree at 1000% ! Living on the opposte side of the pond .... order a book from SPH&TS : $59.95 less 20% of discount for members:= $48.00 plus S&H .... reading down on the order form the shipping cost for Overseas is ......... $48.00 !!!! And ... you discuss about domestic shipping cost?
I think a lot of time there is too much focus put on the actual amount charged for shipping versus the "big picture". (true of any online or mail order purchase....eBay or otherwise.) Some online shops and eBay sellers price things on the lower side and charge higher shipping. (On eBay, this was done traditionally to duck eBay fees although I think they've done some things to prevent that...but you still see it.) So, in a lot of cases with these types of threads it is someone paying under cost for an item and then going berserk about shipping versus looking at the totality of the purchase. (or, not paying attention to shipping charges in the first place, especially common on eBay) And, it is always beneficial to do like montanan mentioned and put together a larger order so that the shipping per items is (usually) minimal. At least one e-tailer used to do a "hold for ship" offering that would help in that respect....basically they would hold reservation items until there were 3-4 accumulated to help offset shipping. And finally, I say....vote with your wallet. If you don't agree with the charges being levied, walk away and buy elsewhere.
Enzo: If you need something shipped to you, I'll ship it for actual price. Love your website. Whenever I shop online for ANYTHING anymore, I always look at the shipping costs now. I agree that too many places are making their profit in the shipping and charging less for the actual item (since most of us only look at who is selling it for the cheapest, not the cheapest total cost). I still see things on EBay where the item is $5 and the shipping is $70. I'm insulted that the sellers think that I'm that stupid. Total sillyness.
Shipping ups and downs have seemed weird to me as a very small seller. I hesitate to say "dealer." I am downsizing train stuff and estate items I don't need, can't use, and sell 2 to 10 items a month on that auction site. I am learning slowing that shipping situation is not what I would have guessed. Several years ago, I avoided shipping UPS because UPS in my city was only in a warehouse out in the industrial district, they discouraged the public from coming in, they wanted to send a truck to you to pickup package, you had to be there, wanted you to get shipping label etc. in advance, make it out in advance, weigh and get shipping charge in advance. Now there are "UPS Stores" to accommodate the public. But UPS Stores have a few, shall we say variances, from shipping via UPS "itself." I wanted to ship a relative a Christmas gift package for the family that included a tiny bottle of perfume. Oops, that is a dangerous flammable. Cannot be accepted in UPS stores for shipping. Cannot be shipped by USPS mail either. I have RECEIVED merchandise shipments via UPS from a big store that included perfume. The difference is that shipments that go via what I will term "UPS itself," not "UPS Store," is that the shipper must consult a 300+ page book of hazardous material regulations and certify that all conditions are met. The Big Boys can do it, the system does not want to bother dealing with the little guy who is not certified, insured, bonded, whatever. I think (but I have not tried often) that UPS shipping is often less than UPSP, and that is what many merchandisers often use for "standard shipping." But if UPS delivers a package to a post office where a buyer's PO box is located, the UPS would still have to pay additional full postage to get the clerk to put the package in the PO box. In other words, the PO box is like a FIREWALL to any non-USPS delivery. I bring that up because one person posting here said that a dealer would not ship to PO box unless priority mail used, at a higher rate than "standard shipping." Now "priority mail" is usually more costly than the least expensive UPS rate, or USPS 1st class package for small items. How much faster delivery? I don't think all that much, a day or two usually. Maybe more in some circumstances. But I believe priority mail automatically includes TRACKING. Not as secure, say, as insurance or signature required, but it pretty much shows whether a package made it to the front door. Another factor is that sometimes "flat rate boxes" make a shipment less costly than weight based charges. Not usually. I am selling via that auction site. For small packages, one N scale freight car 3 1/2 inches long, USPS First Class packages is less costly than priority mail. Often under $2. If it's something someone kind of wants and has been waiting for an auction to end, I don't see that getting it a day or two quicker is worth higher shipping cost, $6 or so. Now when I order postage online through the "friendly" payment-partner of the auction site, I get free automatic USPS tracking, even on the $2 shipment. Perhaps real dealers don't have that advantage. Now, BOXES! I am retired, and I guess I am valuing by labor at third-world or fourth-world rates when I try to ship a 99 cent auction win cheaply. I can buy a 6x6 corrugated cardboard box for approx. $1.50 at Office Deepoh or at my local full-serve supermarket which has a few shipping supplies. Then the packing material to keep a one-ounce 3-inch-long freight car from rattling around in the box adds several ounces of shipping weight, plus the box itself. I don't usually do that. I use a 2 x 2 x 4 box that some of my medical supplies come in, reinforce the inside of the box structurally with corrugated cardboard cut to fit, and wrap the car in bubble wrap. (By the way, I get bubble wrap at a lower cost at the supermarket!) Of course, this means to save a little shipping money and price my shipping low for the buyer, I am valuing my labor at about 17 cents an hour. Someone mentioned buying boxes at the big box discount store (the one HQed in Arkansas...) I have been scrounging used boxes, and have not found a source for boxes smaller than 6 x 6 x 6 for my small shipments. 6 x 4 x 2 would be great... just big enough for the mailing label on one side of the box. Would even hold a 6-inch-long passenger car if I pack it diagonally with tricky padding.
There's nothing we can do about this expense. USPS fees, amongst many, are up. And way up for outside of the USA destinations. One likely cause is constant micro-regulating by government entities, everywhere. Another is the overall cost of transporting freight- Wages, fuel, equipment, compliance. It is only going to get worse. So-called "handling" fees are another aspect of grumps. These can vary widely, from nothing, to ??? All you can do is try to shop around. If not possible, it is a choice to buy, or do without.
