I just ordered stuff from BetterBee and Mann Lake LTD. Im pretty sure the shiping has gone up quite a bit. I paid the same price in shipping as I did for the items purchased. Has anyone else notice a higher rate for shipping?
A lot of the shippign companies have added fuel surcharges to everything. I raise corals in my spare time and sell them. shipping UPS or FedEx is almost impractical now for overnight.... as far as general shipping, the manufacturers have to pass on the cost to you.
I know what you mean relative to the cost of shipping. If you need a bunch of woodenware, you might want to see if your local beekeeping association can pool several purchases and make a trip to pick up. We have done this locally and it makes it much more affordable.
the best way to reduce shipping costs is to do truck shipments (on a pallet) rather than parcel shipments (in a box). find a local business with a loading dock and offer them some honey in exchange for using the dock, and pool your orders with other beekeepers. you will also find that truck shipments of empty glass jars are insured, while parcel shipments are not.
by going with truck shipments (a flat rate for 1000lb pallet), some of our jars went from 50 cents each to ship to less than 5 cents!
deknow