Postage?

[Gerbutt]

It does make me wonder if companies just make up their own postage costs! I've just ordered two metres of rope online and when it came to checkout it had some post options....

 

Super saver £4.99, delivery in three days.

 

Standard £2.50, delivery in two days.

 

That's just stupid isn't it!?

 

Also, it does make me wonder how a company like HB can justify charging so much for postage. When I last ordered something off them and asked why it was so dear they said its because they are a small company! I don't understand how I can send the same thing for half the price they can?

 

Don't take this as moaning, I just can't work it out in my head and wonder if I'm missing something?

[TGB]

"...Super saver £4.99, delivery in three days.

 

Standard £2.50, delivery in two days.

 

That's just stupid isn't it!?"

 

That does seem a bit daft.

 

 

"... I don't understand how I can send the same thing for half the price they can...

When you send it, you don't have to pay yourself. When they send it, you have to pay for the actual delivery, plus the cost of their staff, packaging it, travelling to & fro the PO or interaction time with courier service.

 

What gets me, is after factoring in everything plus taxes. Companies always then add VAT. (I know how VAT works; it's just a right unavoidable pain.)

[landrover 101]

Because you can shop around for postage and or go to the post office without costing your time to do that

 

They probably have a courier that collects with a pricing structure of x amount upto 1 kilo and y amount from then onwards

 

To send a staff member down to the post office with an item that may be cheaper to post would ultimately cost them more in wages etc to do this

 

I try and settle on a happy medium and anything I sell from my website in camping gear and awnings has a set charge of £5 postage regardless of wether its a 20 kilo awning for a vw camper that costs me around £7 to send or some thing small that I can drop at the post office on the way past and save a quid on postage costs

 

Some I win some I lose on postage but its easy and it works for me

 

Dave

 

 

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[Gerbutt]

Ah I see, and I suppose if they don't send as much out as say FR Jones, then that'll be why it costs three times as much. Makes more sense now.

 

The first part of my post is still mad though, I think that's just an extra charge for not reading what's in front of you!

[Beardie]

Two metres of rope is a piffling amount. The postage must have exceeded the value of it.

 

Anyway, isn't there anywhere you could buy it over the counter?

[Gerbutt]

Two metres of rope is a piffling amount. The postage must have exceeded the value of it.

 

Anyway, isn't there anywhere you could buy it over the counter?

 

Alas there isn't or I would gone there instead of spending nearly the same amount on postage as the rope cost...

 

Turned out to be the wrong rope anyway haha!!!

[Barry_Skyland]

Yep looks like they have their postage prices wrong looking at your first post, surely it's a mistake that can rectified by phoning them?

 

I know from what we pay postage charges are always increasing and changing, only this week Royal Mail have again changed their parcel size and price and couriers are increasing theirs every year....We have to subsidise our postage prices to try and stay competitive.

[NFG]

Hi

 

You ought to see the prices for delivery to France, typically £15 or £20 then item turns up sent as RM parcel cost about a fiver to send. Still much cheaper than paying daft prices some stuff is here.

 

N

[gustharts]

Sending stuff abroad now is a killer with royal mail. Over a certain size the price sky rockets!

 

It's hard to find the happy medium where postage costs are concerned. On our website for example the customer unfortunately sometimes pays over the odds due to the way the website works out what goes post and what goes courier. Quite often on larger/heavier or foreign/highlands and islands orders we often get our fingers burnt too!

 

It's something we are looking are looking at rejigging at the minute. It's a bit of a nightmare to be honest! Pricing, tracking, weights, sizes, home, abroad, merging with website etc etc:thumbdown:

[Shane]

I would suggest phoning HB before raising this 'in public'.

I've always found them to be very helpful, as with all the suppliers on this forum.

 

As others have said the packaging (time and materials) and having someone to go to the post office or meet the courier all costs.

 

Not saying it doesn't make sense but give them a chance.