Well I could do, but I expect that minimum cost is there for a reason
- otherwise they'll spend all day packing silly little orders and making no money - so I don't begrudge them the high initial cost. Just trying to find a way around it that benefits everyone! :-)
Well actually he doesn't, because he has failed to mention where he is located. Is that not a basic requirement? If he wanted to on post it to me (in Australia), it would cost more.
I meant that packing lots of small orders is very time consuming and can easily cause a loss on the whole days work! Been there, seen it and got the tee shirt
Believe me, daft as it sounds, minimum order's just lead to "begging" phone calls ("it's only just under" etc) and grumpiness ("your making money on the postage" etc), minimum delivery charges work a treat - that's the rate, take it or leave it. As it happens we just pass on the delivery charge (since we don't use Royal Mail there are only two rates to mainland UK up to 31.5Kg), making nothing on top, but at least everyone knows the score. The eBay mentality of "you cannot make a profit on postage" has led to a new breed of parcel that packs itself, or so some seem to think ;)
Very true, sometimes, including the mail order retailer!
I've seen some really shoddily packed parcels (not confined to model railway stuff) - OK you say, breakages will get replaced - problem there is, sometimes packages don't always get opened on receipt (for various valid reasons) and even if they are it's no help to the recipient if they then have to a). report the breakage and b). wait for the replacement.
I'm sorry but my opinion of mail order is that many retailers see the charge as a quick and easy way of making a quid or two, opposed to the charge covering costs of *picking*, packing and postage...
It depends on what service you use to deliver the item. Most USA suppliers insist on using expensive courier services, especially for deliveries outside the USA. An item I saw advertised recently had a postage charge of under $4 for domestic delivery via the US Postal Service, but for delivery to Canada by courier it was $21. The shipping charge often exceeds the value of the item.
On the other hand, Hattons has a standard UK P&P charge of £4 per order (£2 for small orders), but for overseas they charge at cost, which can be even less on a small order, and they don't charge extra for packing. On top of that, VAT is not charged so I usually receive items in Canada for less than someone would pay over the counter at their shop. I save about 50% by specifying surface postage, and they get here just as fast as paying air mail rates. It's the same with magazine subscriptions. Only larger items travel by sea, which takes six weeks or more.
: : I meant that packing lots of small orders is very time consuming and can : easily cause a loss on the whole days work! Been there, seen it and got : the tee shirt :
Then there is something wrong in the way the business is being run, or more to the point, how the 'pick and pack' operations are being carried out. With mail order trading one can wait to pick an order, just think what it is like in a counter based trade/retail outlet, most of the counter/store-persons day is spent walking back and forth picking small orders containing one or two small items...
Well, I am about to place my order, so, if anyone out there is thinking of ordering a small item, let me know; I will add it to my order and then post it on to you, charging just £2 for the postage instead of £4 - let me know by the weekend if you are interested.
(Please remove the fairly obvious spamtrap from my email address if replying.)
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