Hazmat fees when buying supplies

Any way around these stupid fees? I got a $5.00 fee on some TIG welding rod. Cut me a break, it's just copper plated steel.

Do online suppliers pull this crap? Maybe if I threaten to buy all my stuff online I can get these local guys to leave off the fees.

Randy Remove 333 to reply. Randy

Reply to
Randy333
Loading thread data ...

I last bought that at the local Fields Home Center, an Ace Hardware affiliate , and there was no extra fee. Oregon likes fees, too, and I thought California had been overregulated... Where are you located?

Definitely give that a try, but if it's coded into their database, they won't be able to nix it for you.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Some businesspeople love to add "fees" on top of "prices", as it makes them feel that customers will not notice the "fees". Treat the fee as price and shop for lowest price on comparable products. I generally agree with your indignation.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus18005

...

It's that or charge higher prices to cover associated costs of doing business; the number of reg's and compliance issues has skyrocketed so there is a real cost to doing business.

Whether an individual product is/isn't necessarily the hazard, it's a general overhead.

As a personal preference on the consumer side, I'd just as soon have the fee buried in the price quoted, but it's a business decision each has to make as to how they want to price product/services.

My general observation has been the larger the business, the more likely to have the separate fee structure. And yes, many (but certainly not all) online suppliers have similar structures. Then, of course, w/ online purchases you run into the issue that the shipper may also have a HAZMAT fee even if the vendor themselves doesn't so by the time you're done "you can pay me now or pay me later" by swapping lower product cost online with higher shipping cost against the higher local cost including fee so it may end up as nearly a wash, anyway.

Reply to
dpb

Hazmat on shipping, or because it's for scary processes that melt metal, or what?

If it was on shipping, and you're in the US, then it was bunk. If it was retail, then as others have mentioned it probably varies by state. It's been a couple of years since I've bought welding rod, but I haven't been hit by such, and I live in Oregon, where sometimes the motto seems to be "we're not like that right-winged California place".

Reply to
Tim Wescott

Ditto, and I almost immediately start shopping elsewhere (when possible) when those fees start suddenly appearing.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

While they deny their entirely LEFTIST doctrine... Actually, most of Oregon is conservative. Only the two largest (unfortunately) cities are pure Left, Portland & Salem, and that swings us blue. Arrrrrgh! Down here, I think 90% of us are ex-pat Californicators.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

On 09/27/2016 4:12 PM, Tim Wescott wrote: ...

It's totally up to the retailer/shipper; there are no mandated such fees; only as noted earlier that there are so many rules/regs now that apply that many have started to simply charge another separate overhead charge to cover that part of their doing business.

Reply to
dpb

I am in Pennsylvania. Looked online and all the prices I can get are higher even after the hazmat fee is added in.

This is like my garbage company, they put in a $100 plus fee for "fuel surcharge". started when diesel hit $4 back when. They keep the fee in, even now. Called around, and the other garbage guys were more expensive then my guy with the ridiculous fee. (I get billed yearly, it's not part of my city taxes.)

Remove 333 to reply. Randy

Reply to
Randy333

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.