Topic: The absurdity of shipping costs

[Kong]

Puzzle me this ....

I bought two tires on E-Bay from some company on the west coast, I am in the east.  The guy charged me $10 for each tire for UPS shipping.  That may not reflect his cost to ship, but it can't be too far off because he was the least-cost seller of the somewhat popular tires.

A couple of days later I bought a new Akront rim from a guy in New Mexico, private seller.  He took the wheel to the Post Office and got sticker shock there when he asked how much to send it, then it took it to FedEx, who charged him $47 to send the wheel to me (I agreed to pay half).

Two tires weight a lot more than one aluminum wheel and take up probably 3x the space on a truck, but a company can have them shipped for twenty bucks whereas a private individual has to pay nearly fifty for the wheel to go on its way.  So, howcum?

[tango911]

Companys get discounts for shipping , since they do it all the time and at large volumes.

[Elan]

Companys get discounts for shipping , since they do it all the time and at large volumes.

yeah thats why I always ship from work hehe

[Kong]

Companys get discounts for shipping , since they do it all the time and at large volumes.

I can understand a discount to frequent shippers, but we're talking about a 230% difference here.   That's what I'd call a scalping.

[flybox1]

Companys get discounts for shipping , since they do it all the time and at large volumes.

yeah thats why I always ship from work hehe

+1!!!
 

[tango911]

well,  if people keep paying it, then yes.

its the same as the movie theaters?   you pay 3.50 for a small coke!!

[Kong]

well,  if people keep paying it, then yes.

its the same as the movie theaters?   you pay 3.50 for a small coke!!

Not exactly the same.  It would be the same, however, if the move theater charged me $3.50 for a small coke and then charged the guy dressed up in a 3-piece-suite $1 for a large coke - then it would be the same.

[hotpocket]

It may also depend on the method of shipment. I've ordered tires and rims from ebay before. the tires are usually shipped with only a shipping label attached while the rims have to be boxed and padded.

[tango911]

there are several dif services,  1, 2 ,3 , 4 day shipping.  fedex ground ,  fedex express,  ups, usps.  a lot of dif pricing.  Int'l shipping is worse.

at least the guy split the shipping with ya.

[bikerbart]

I send and recieve at work and UPS is the most expensive by far.When I sell stuff om ebay I always find the lowest price for the buyer,some people gouge on shipping and try and make extra money that way.

[weekend_junkie]

well,  if people keep paying it, then yes.

its the same as the movie theaters?   you pay 3.50 for a small coke!!

Not exactly the same.  It would be the same, however, if the move theater charged me $3.50 for a small coke and then charged the guy dressed up in a 3-piece-suite $1 for a large coke - then it would be the same.

Sure, the guy in the suit would pay $1 for a large coke because he buys 1,000 large cokes in a day.

Aside from that, he has to be packaging it wrong.  Or maybe he had them package it.  It all adds up.

[Uncle Ernie]

Shipping companies no longer want private citizen business.  Plus- they're charging for the price of gas.
A big reason I no longer sell on eBay.  I'm sure as shiite not going to absob the cost of ANYthing while ebay nickel and dimes me to death, plus I pay to RECIEVE the money through Paypal ?!

It can take me half a day to properly box up an aluminium tank, and the buyer is going to be grumpy about the cost of shipping even though I don't charge for the time it take to drive all over town to find just the right box (often double-boxed) and pack it prefectly.

Now you got me going.  I buy tires from my local shop and I don't pay any shipping.  Hopefully the shop will be there again when I need them because I spent some money there.

[Stev-o]

Kong - the tires cost you $10 to ship, but the co may have paid more, but gave you a deal to get your business.

I bought my tires from Motorcycle Superstore and paid $0 for shipping!

I see this more lately, ordered 4 appliances for my kitchen remodel last month and only paid $30 fuel surcharge [no shipping or tax].
The same appliances at my local Sears would have cost $500 more including their 20% off Holiday sale!

[q2418130103p]

I just paid around $65 to ship an 80lb box. I think that is reasonable.

[754]

 Was the rim 1 day shipping? should be able to get it shipped to Canada for around that price..

[dave500]

i do a little sending and receiving,its very "flexible"or variable might be the better word.