I was ready to place an order for three small items that would easily fit in a small bubble bag. The total was $17.00. The shipping charges on the same coast going by USPS (postal) were $26 !!! I cancelled the order. It's tough when the charge to get the items are far more than the items themselves. I can send the same items across the US for a few dollars. I think the companies are certainly held hostage to the carriers. I wonder how others feel about this.
Sanford Hochman

It really doesn't matter how others feel about it - the carriers aren't going to change their rates due to anything that anyone posts here.

The size or cost of the items you plan to ship have little to nothing to do with the cost to ship them. You cannot affect shipping charges by ranting here nor do most have any clue what it actually costs to ship something (postage and freight are the least of the cost). One company that was recently praised here for their "reasonable" shipping policy emailed me privately last week and mentioned that that policy is not working very well for them - it's costing them a lot of money which they can't make up on the slim margins today.

My suggestion is that if you don't like what you're being charged for shipping, buy elsewhere. Or, get in the car and drive to your closest supplier and hope they have what you need.


..................

Doesn't anyone order non-rodbuilding stuff and have it shipped? Maybe it's me, but I've beenhammered worse there then by suppliers of rodbuilding compoennts. I also find those companies are M?UCH LESS understanding if you call and say "hey look I ordered something for $15 and was shipped $25, can you fix that?".

I buy a lot of stuff on-line and have it shipped. Rod building shipping charges always seemed quite reasonable to me. Granted, I've always known that when I order blanks, I'm gonna' pay $15-25 in shipping, but that makes sense, as those tubes are pretty large and cumbersome. And, I'd rather pay $25 for heavy PVC than $15 for cardboard (and get a smashed blank). Further, the rod building suppliers I deal with--all sponsors--go way out of their way on a regular basis to help me with all sorts of minor questions--they're the best business people I've ever dealt with. So, I figure that I'm definitely getting my money's worth.

I know it can be frustrating to pay a $10-15 base charge S & H for all orders. But, I've just decided that I'm not gonna' stop building rods, so I might as well stock up whenever I order something.

i has order through and if shipping is too expensive then i'll able to order more than 10 items but in my opioion if order more than 75 dollar should have a free shipping why dont trying @#$%& ?? nothings hurt to try it
i recently order somethings from flex coat and they give me a good reason on shipping cost i should have get it by friday... what will u want tax charge or shipping charge ? i would say tax charge more than shipping..
just enjoy my rod building than worry about shipping cost cos i'm not the customer rod selling but i'm building for myself to use to fishing
Josh

I have not found any of the rod component suppliers charging anything other than actual shipping costs. I have never been charged any handling fees by them either. But the shipping companies ? I don't know how they justify their charges. I often have to pay three to four times the actual puchase cost getting stuff shipped internationaly to me. Of course it depends on weight, but also the size-its cheaper to ship a pound of lead than a pound of feathers so to speak. I was recently looking at paying $250+landed cost for 8 pieces of Eva ! so it goes without saying that I am looking for another way, again!

Sanford,

Was this an express (namely - overnight) shipping charge? If so, then I can't really empathize. Look at the charges the airlines are dishing out to customers for bags. Unfortunately, it's what they've had to do to stay in business. Look at the prices for fuel.

I think the profit margins for the goods we use in rod building are so small that our suppliers can't really absorb ANY of the shipping charges. I tend to become rather loyal to the suppliers that do ocassionally absorb some of these costs (think about backorders that you get with no S&H charges).

But hey, until we've reverted back to the Pony Express, we should feel fairly fortunate. I try to make my orders larger to justify my dishing out the high cost of shipping. Then again, If I had to drive to get my supplies (since I don't have a good local selection), the costs incurred would have a comma involved.

If you think shipping is expensive where your at Come to Alaska. Lets throw another curve at you.......Imagine if you will that you mutated in life, and have to order all your clothes online.......You think rodbuilding suppliers charge a lot? Try Clothing, shoes, equipment? I just ordered something heavy about 20 pounds, that cost around $65.00. They agreed to ship it parcel post to cut shipping costs. My $65 Piece of equipment, That I am using to see if an Idea will work for me, ended up costing me just under $100.00 after shipping. Now to see if this idea pans out.........Pictures coming soon.

Kirk

All things considered, I think the rodbuilding vendors do a much better job with shipping costs than most mail order shippers, especially considering their slim profit margins!!!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Andrew,
You make the comment " I would rather pay extra for a heavy PVC container, rather than a smashed flat cardboard container. "
I just have to comment that if you use thin wall pvc, the weight of the rod will likely be less than the cardboard container. Also, I have found that even using the schedule 40 pvc, that the shipment is seldom any more expensive than using a lighter cardboard container. The big reason for this is that the shipping charge tends to get masked by the balloon surcharge for the oversized size of the package.

Also, for the original post, who complained about a $26 shipment for a small box.
Rather than shipping UPS< go to your neighborhood post office and ship priority mail. I would guess that the same box would ship for $4 not $26.

Take care
Roger

Kirk_Miller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Imagine if you will that you mutated in life, and have to order all your clothes online>
> Kirk

Now that is hilarious. Since nobody gets what you are saying, Kirk is 7' tall, and big like a Lumberjack, lol.

I think that the shipping costs are fine and a part of doing business. I just shipped a 40" by 1" pvc tube to Florida with an item that was worth about $5. and the costs were$23 using the postal system from Southern Ontario That was the cheapest way to ship it not including my time or the gas to go to the post office and the tube itself.

Rolly Beenen
Rovic Custom Rods

I deal with several of the vendors listed to the left and I have no problem with what they charge for shipping. It's no different than ordering anything else. It's not like we're getting gouged as rod builders with higher shipping costs, everthing is 'expensive' to ship. When a $15 order is placed, someone still has to go pick out the order from the bins, review it to make sure nothing was missed, pack it up, label it, and contact the shipper to have it picked up. They'd be stupid to do that for $2! Even though an order may not be for a large amount of components, the person gathering the order still needs to be paid for their time, not just shipping.

Solution: When possible, plan ahead and make bigger orders. When you do have to make small orders, stop ranting about the cost of shipping- it's not going to help.

Put yourself in the vendor's shoes. Someone comes on the forum here and complains about the cost of shipping and how vendors are gouging them with shipping costs. Meanwhile, the vendors are barely breaking even (or losing money) on shipping items. Do you think that makes them feel appreciated for all of their hard work? Most of them bend over backwards and go way beyond what they should in order to help rod builders. A little more appreciation is in order.

jeremy



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2010 08:59AM by Jeremy Wagner.

All the more reason to go to NC in Feb! Use shipping charges as an excuse. ;)

Instead of ordering online - which has fixed shipping charges built into their website - you can call them directly and ask if there's a shipping alternative for small items. Often you can get a reduced rate but you have to call to get it.

I just reshipped a 6'6" rod to Missouri, address was wrong on first ship and was returned to me. Cost $33.96 including insurance to FedEx it the first time and $33.96 to ship it the second time. And this is with out any vender costs or charges involved.

After this I don't have it in my hart to complain for the little bit of shipping I pay vendors to have stuff sent to me.

Most of the time the Post Office is the way to go. Unfortunately, a lot of "companies" have contracts with Fedex or UPS and get reduced rates. These reduced rates are still more than the USPS. The only negative to the USPS is their tracking system, it stinks.

My pet peeve is shipping charges based upon the dollar amount of your order. $50 dollars worth of guides does not cost the same amount to ship as a $50 blank.

I do like the idea of spend $XX.xx amount or more on your order and it ships for free. Makes sense to me that if you are spending a lot, and there is no oversize item, then in appreciation of your business the shipping charges are waived.

Tom Locke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Most of the time the Post Office is the way to go.
> Unfortunately, a lot of "companies" have contracts
> with Fedex or UPS and get reduced rates. These
> reduced rates are still more than the USPS. The
> only negative to the USPS is their tracking
> system, it stinks.
>
> My pet peeve is shipping charges based upon the
> dollar amount of your order. $50 dollars worth of
> guides does not cost the same amount to ship as a
> $50 blank.
>
> I do like the idea of spend $XX.xx amount or more
> on your order and it ships for free. Makes sense
> to me that if you are spending a lot, and there is
> no oversize item, then in appreciation of your
> business the shipping charges are waived.

I have to agree with this, often you don't need a huge order though and a $24 UPS charge for something that fits in a small envelope just don't cut it. I can't tack that kind of money onto the price on my end.
Forget cost based shipping rates, I won't deal with those places any more. I have far less issue with a company that says free shipping over a fixed amount, but even that's an issue if you need maybe one or two guide sets and that's it. I try to stock as much as I can when I get a deal or make a big order but there's always something that you don't have, usually it's an odd repair that needs some oddball guide set or a single guide that you just wouldn't normally use.
This happens a lot with me since I do a lot of repairs for dealers and get a lot of factory rod repairs. The key there is to fix the rod and make it look original and as good as new. I've often needed only a few guides in somewhat of a hurry and found that the only source of that guide used only UPS, making what should be a $.60 guide now a $12 or more guide. Try telling a customer that putting a new guide on his $50 rod will cost $20+.
To make matters worse, on top of the cost, the service from UPS is poor, I've had dozens of packages just tossed on the step, behind the bushes, or stuffed in the door handle. Not to mention how many were left out in the rain or placed on a dark step after sunset where they get stepped on as you walk out the door. The problem is that unless a shipper sends it via Priority Mail or UPS or FedEx ground, they have no proof of delivery, which opens them up for all sorts of issues these days.

Joe,

Try installing a drop box to solve your delivery issues. We had the same problem until we talked to the driver. One package was placed in a vehicle that wasn't used and the package wasn't found for 2 weeks. Bottom line, it was our fault, not theirs. If they have no place to put the package and you're not there to receive it, what are they supposed to do?

jeremy

I just got a shipping charge refund from Riley Rods and have gotten one from Swampland. To justify some vendor's higher shipping charges, I just buy more items so that the shipping charge is a lower percentage of the purchase. I find that there is always something I need or can use later. It never hurts to have some more guides, decals, thread, winding checks, reel seats, etc.