Postage charges !!!!

[Vic Perrin]

Just had to order a new Table insert for my Bandsaw. £1.92 + £4.95 postage

:evil: Vic :twisted:

Postage might have been a bit excessive but by god the service was spot on, ordered yesterday delivered today

Vic

 

[Turnr77]

Sadly Royal Mails charges are now pretty steep and based on size as well as weight now, especially for anything larger than a pretty standard letter sized envelope.

I don't know how this was sent Vic but the earlier example of a paperback book would likely cost at least £2.80 2nd class in postage charges alone without packaging costs.

Put an item in a box, and many companies have standard size boxes as it's not economical to hold too many sizes and the price soars.

Nick

 

[Spindle]

Hi

At the end of the day carriage costs are included in all remote purchases - retailers don't waive the costs they just present them in a differing manner. Free postage indicates that the postage charges are incorporated in the quoted purchase price.
Some suppliers seem to better at this than others and I expect the days of the fixed carriage charge to be limited.

In the mean time I'm voting with my credit card.

Regards Mick

 

[bugbear]

Look at used books on Amazon for example they sell at 1p plus £2.80 p&p. You cant tell me a paperback book costs £2.80 to post

I tend to allow for the overall cost and don't class it as a product plus postage. It keeps the blood pressure down a bit

You can't tell me 1p is a reasonable price for a paperback book!

BugBear

 

[Turnr77]

Look at used books on Amazon for example they sell at 1p plus £2.80 p&p. You cant tell me a paperback book costs £2.80 to post

I tend to allow for the overall cost and don't class it as a product plus postage. It keeps the blood pressure down a bit

You can't tell me 1p is a reasonable price for a paperback book!

BugBear

It is if I'm buying But your question was does a paperback book cost £2.80 to post and yes it can do and more.

 

[Bodrighy]

Sounds as if some of you haven't seen the new postal rates. Small packages cost at least £2.00 if not more. It doesn't make much to make them oversize and become large packages either. Stick something in a Jiffy bag or even a large card in an envelope and you are paying more than just a 1st class stamp nowadays.

Pete

 

[RogerP]

Look at used books on Amazon for example they sell at 1p plus £2.80 p&p. You cant tell me a paperback book costs £2.80 to post .................

Oh yes it can and will, in fact you'll be lucky if it's not more.

Check out Royal Mail small parcel rates. http://www.royalmail.com/price-finder


£2.80 is Amazon's automatic basic book shipping rate.

 

[yorkshirepudding]

It's cheaper to get pen kits from Australia than from Doncaster.
Something is wrong.

There would be some logic in your dismay if the kits were made in the UK, but they are not. I take it you refer to David Lims out fit in Sydney called Timberbits. David imports them direct from the manufacturer, some mainland China, some Taiwan and sells them direct.

Dont know who the reseller is in Doncaster, but it is unlikely that they buy direct from the manufacturer. Axminster pass on kits for resale, and Axminster buy them direct. If the outfit in Doncaster resell Axminster kits which they get from China it is hardly surprising that the kits from Australia are cheaper. They have approximately the same miles to cover and they do it with one less profit centre in the middle.

Sorry, I didn't make it clear. The postage from Aus, or possibly Taiwan is less than from Doncaster. The price of the kit is irrelevant in this case.

 

[Neil Farrer]

It's cheaper to get pen kits from Australia than from Doncaster.
Something is wrong.

There would be some logic in your dismay if the kits were made in the UK, but they are not. I take it you refer to David Lims out fit in Sydney called Timberbits. David imports them direct from the manufacturer, some mainland China, some Taiwan and sells them direct.

Dont know who the reseller is in Doncaster, but it is unlikely that they buy direct from the manufacturer. Axminster pass on kits for resale, and Axminster buy them direct. If the outfit in Doncaster resell Axminster kits which they get from China it is hardly surprising that the kits from Australia are cheaper. They have approximately the same miles to cover and they do it with one less profit centre in the middle.

Sorry, I didn't make it clear. The postage from Aus, or possibly Taiwan is less than from Doncaster. The price of the kit is irrelevant in this case.

Got it! Yup, Doncaster not the place to set up a business!!!!!

 

[JimB]

From Australia I've not found UK postage really exorbitant especially when you factor in the non-payment of VAT. The USA postal charges are the ones I'm chary of. you really have to watch what rate they are charging.

 

[KimG]

I think the point is though that the postage should be at cost, Vic was charged £5.00 for something the insert, it should not have been more than £3.00, if you are selling online then your prices should cover your overheads, postage is postage, not an auxilliary means of making even more money from the customer, even Ebay has addressed this issue in preventing people from adding OTT shipping rates to items in order to "Guarantee" a certain price while starting an auction low.

So while it is true that postage is not cheap, and has increased significantly recently, we ought not to have to pay more than the going rate for whatever we are buying.

 

[RogerP]

.......... even Ebay has addressed this issue in preventing people from adding OTT shipping rates to items ...........

Well that is eBay's excuse but what they've actually done is help themselves to a 10% cut on the shipping charges. With already high Royal Mail charges this is greatly harming international sales.

Between them eBay and PayPal (same company) now take from the seller 15% of the total cost to buyers (final price + shipping) +, of course, listing fees.

 

[jonbee56]

Look at used books on Amazon for example they sell at 1p plus £2.80 p&p. You cant tell me a paperback book costs £2.80 to post .................

Oh yes it can and will, in fact you'll be lucky if it's not more.

Check out Royal Mail small parcel rates. http://www.royalmail.com/price-finder


£2.80 is Amazon's automatic basic book shipping rate.

I stand corrected.
Last time I looked on the Post Office site it was well below £2

 

[marcros]

I can see both sides to the equation here- from a buyer and a seller.

I suspect that the issue here is rather more simple than profiteering- there is likely a flat rate for shipping (may be based on order value), that the ordering software applies to each order. It doesn't think about what is in the package, it just applies to all orders that meet simple criteria. The person picking the order probably has no idea how much if anything has been paid for shipping it. Unfortunately the person designing the site or writing the software has to make a decision about how to charge shipping, and something inevitably will fall through the cracks where it doesnt work sensibly- a £2 order is probably likely to do so because it is relatively rare!

 

[wizard]

For large items i charge £15.00 post and packing, it costs me £10.00 to send it ebay and paypal take £1.50 that leaves me £3.50 to make a wood box to send it in, plus bubble wrap labels printing ink, you call this a profit

 

[RogerP]

I can see both sides to the equation here- from a buyer and a seller.

I suspect that the issue here is rather more simple than profiteering- there is likely a flat rate for shipping (may be based on order value), that the ordering software applies to each order.................

When I sold a book through Amazon I got £2.80 whatever the size of the book or actually cost to me to post it. I almost always had to pay more - that's why I no longer sell anything on Amazon.

 

[Neil Farrer]

I think the point is though that the postage should be at cost, Vic was charged £5.00 for something the insert, it should not have been more than £3.00, if you are selling online then your prices should cover your overheads, postage is postage, not an auxilliary means of making even more money from the customer, even Ebay has addressed this issue in preventing people from adding OTT shipping rates to items in order to "Guarantee" a certain price while starting an auction low.

So while it is true that postage is not cheap, and has increased significantly recently, we ought not to have to pay more than the going rate for whatever we are buying.

Why should the postage be at cost? We have a certain number of hours in the day and if self employed, we need to make a certain amount to make it all work out. Sending stuff through the post is very expensive in terms of time. There is the packaging, delivery notes, addressing the package, putting it in your car, taking it to the post office (Whats the mieage rate 34p??). Parking can cost me 60p if the meter maid is around.

I struggle to work out your logic Kim, coming to the conclusion that it should have been only £3.00, what is the logic in that?

The internet is a very expensive place (or indeed via phone or anyother form of media) to sell stuff, and the reality is that if you had to put £1 coins in your car meter you went out to buy something, you would soon realise that it costs a fortune to go shopping.

It seems that now the cost is visible in that we have to pay up front to get the thing to our home we are getting upset about it. I'm going to tell Esso/Shell/Total et al that they shouldn't be charging me so much for my fuel because I'm using it to collect my shopping. Dont think that's going to make a blind bit of difference, they need to make a profit, as I do.

Vic lives 28 miles from his nearest Axminster shop. They are not morally nor legally required to have a shop at the end of each street and as such Vic has actually got a good deal if you work out the fuel alone, but include time, devaluation, road tax and any other fixed or variable overheads on transport and life as a whole he has a good deal.

 

[KimG]

People keep on quoting examples of large items, it is pretty obvious that a large item is going to cost upwards of £5.00 depending on the nature of the packaging and size, this thread is not about those things, it is about small items.
Postage should not cost more than the post office charges (within reason) and it is the practice of charging a fiver for stuff that costs less that £3.00 that I am talking about.

The initial post was about a very small item that would have nowhere near cost the £5.00 charged and it is these instances that are really what the thread is about, not large items that are obviously going to cost.

Wizard and Neil, your examples are way off the point, they are obviously a totally different kettle of fish to a 3 ounce item in a jiffy bag and of course such large and specialized items are going to cost more.

 

[Neil Farrer]

People keep on quoting examples of large items, it is pretty obvious that a large item is going to cost upwards of £5.00 depending on the nature of the packaging and size, this thread is not about those things, it is about small items.
Postage should not cost more than the post office charges (within reason) and it is the practice of charging a fiver for stuff that costs less that £3.00 that I am talking about.

The initial post was about a very small item that would have nowhere near cost the £5.00 charged and it is these instances that are really what the thread is about, not large items that are obviously going to cost.

Wizard and Neil, your examples are way off the point, they are obviously a totally different kettle of fish to a 3 ounce item in a jiffy bag and of course such large and specialized items are going to cost more.

No my points are not "way off the point". You do not seem to appreciate that the cost of "Postage" is not just the cost of the stamp. Postage is the accepted abbreviation for Postage and Packaging, and that means,
1) The "stamp"
2) The envelope/box
3) The address label
also the following needs to be costed into that equation
4) The time taken to effect the P and P
5) Transport to get it to the point of despatch
6) In my case parking to allow me to take it into the post office, and yes
7) PROFIT

and yes Profit, because I dont do anything for free, its business madness, it defeats the point of being in business, people who do things for free go bust. Profit is not a dirty word, it is a way of life

I sell pens for a living, not a hobby, and I cost in the whole shebang and I charge £4.90. This is for a small item, it is 25mm x 55mm x 210mm.

Just because the cost of the item is less than the cost of the P and P doesnt make the charges unreasonable!

 

[KimG]

Clearly not a tiny item in a jiffy bag though is it Neil, from the size you have a proper box for the pen and no doubt invest a certain amount in the packaging, so it is not in the same class, which makes me wonder why you are so apparently offended by the notion that some retailers are clearly overcharging. The fact that you send out your items in, what is no doubt, a smart box and nicely packed for security surely justifies the rate you ask, I have no issue with that which is why I said it was way off, you are not sending a small packet of washers in a 50p jiffy bag with a 2nd class stamp from a company warehouse that has a daily collection for delivery and charging £5.00, yet that is what many businesses are doing and it is that which rankles, I don't mind paying when the packaging etc clearly validates the cost, nor I suspect would most others.

I buy from several outlets who have been in a successful business for several years who charge very reasonable postage rates for items of a similar size, they have not gone out of business though, AGM products who sell fishing tackle will actually refund the difference on postage if it costs less than the amount charged at checkout, the majority of such items are small and do get sent in a jiffy type package, apparently they have factored in the additional overheads in the item prices, yet they remain competitive with the market in general.

I send small bowls through the post bubble wrapped and boxed for under a fiver, I make sufficient profit on the bowl to cover any expenses above the postage. I am well aware of the costs involved, and a good many businesses charge more than those costs for postage, that is what Vic was posting about, and what I am typing about. Excessive charges.