Shipping ripp offs

slacker361 · August 09, 2011, 10:45:39 AM

I will not mention the company as this is not permitted, but I went to purchase some votive wicks, some warning labels for candles and a small wax remover liquid..... total order before shipping 15.95... the shipping charge was 31.95...... ok I think I have to say this again 31 dollars and 95 cents for for about a pound of material ( if that) and twice the actual order total.....

Ok am I the only one missing something here..... I know some replies will be "well they have to factor in the handling cost also" which may be a ligit statement, but most folks figure that in on the price... and if that is the case , wow I want to be the packager at that company..... one could easily pull down 100K packaging material to ship

yes this has been a RANT......

Larry Bees · August 09, 2011, 10:56:12 AM

I bet that I know the company that you are talking about. They charged me for a 22 pound package and the real weight was 4 pounds.

I don't even look at their site anymore. One screwing is enough for me.

Larry

stella · August 09, 2011, 10:56:57 AM

Did you order on line or call the company?

In a situation like this I would call the company and ask about the charges. Im sure (if you are polite) that they will reduce the shipping costs accordingly.

slacker361 · August 09, 2011, 11:01:29 AM

Quote from: stella on August 09, 2011, 10:56:57 AM
Did you order on line or call the company?

In a situation like this I would call the company and ask about the charges. Im sure (if you are polite) that they will reduce the shipping costs accordingly.

Stella that is what I though, This has to be a online mistake so let me call them... I was polite, and they told me that the shipping was correct.... I asked can you just throw it in a box and USPS it to me..... the response was we only ship UPS... So I went back on line , because the wicks were all I needed, 100 wick 5.95, UPS "ground" shipping 15.95..... What the Heck?????

JP · August 09, 2011, 11:12:16 AM

Go ahead and mention the company. This is a bee forum after all. They should know that customers are disgruntled and if voiced publicly can explain themselves and perhaps if in error, our voices can have an impact on their future proceedings. Heck, they may even give you recourse to make you spread good news instead of bad which we all know travels very fast.

Just be polite as possible and state the facts.

...JP

VolunteerK9 · August 09, 2011, 11:32:53 AM

Yeah Im with JP. I dont think that the Beemaster or Buzz either one would object.

slacker361 · August 09, 2011, 12:09:23 PM

Ok I thought the by laws said that we are not supposed to do that..... I agree that it should be made public..... so I am going with the advice of the senior members here and I will mention the company....I would also like to mention that it was only shipping one state away from NY to PA.....

Removed company Name: Buzzbee

When I went on the site I thought wow I might actually have a one stop place to get my stuff..... but when shipping to the next state it 2 to 3 times higher that the order that you place...... OUCHH.........

VolunteerK9 · August 09, 2011, 12:11:57 PM

Quote from: slacker361 on August 09, 2011, 12:09:23 PM
..... so I am going with the advice of the senior members here and I will mention the companyThe company is removed from this post.

That would be Jp-Im still a freshman :-D

Thanks for the info though.

yockey5 · August 09, 2011, 12:14:58 PM

Is this why I NEVER use them? :lau:

slacker361 · August 09, 2011, 12:15:46 PM

I just went back on their site and looked at the shipping info that they post..... It states......

The customer pays all freight and/or optional insurance charges. We ship small orders (0-500 lbs.) through UP S or US Postal Service . We ship large orders (500+) by common carrier truck. All shipments are FOB Greenwich, NY . Any breakage or damage in transit is the responsibility of the shipping company. Shipping by the US Postal Service will incur an additional handling and insurance fee. Depending on the season, orders ship from the warehouse in two to five days. We encourage all customers to plan ahead as much as possible for their active honeybee season in order to avoid delays during the busy beekeeping season (typically from March to August-but variable due to longitude and local climate).

Please note that it does say that they ship through the US postal service, However when I asked them to do this they said that they only ship through UPS........

BeeMaster2 · August 09, 2011, 12:20:41 PM

Thanks for the heads up.
Jim

LoriMNnice · August 09, 2011, 02:21:12 PM

I really don't like companys that charge crazy shipping prices. I order A LOT of items on-line because I live in a rural small town so sometimes its hard to find certain items and I have learned to be really careful if there is no shipping estimate at checkout or they have a disclaimer in teenie tiny print that says they "may charge additional shipping" I always call or e-mail them to get the actual shipping. I love the places that charge $5 shipping no matter what :)

Katharina · August 09, 2011, 02:33:20 PM

That at times when the post office offers flat rate and regional rate boxes free of charge. They should make their money on the products they sell and not the shipping they charge. I run a small mail order business and I feel guilty when my site over-calculates a shipping charge. It can happen. I always refund the difference to my customers and send them an apology message, even with only being off by a dollar. So far everyone is happy and comments about our honesty in a very nice way. Triple charging the shipping is just insane. I do have their catalog and will appropriately file it in the trash dumpster.

PS You may ask them to use your UPS account number instead. That way you get charged by UPS and not them.

Kathyp · August 09, 2011, 02:34:59 PM

UPS is usually much cheaper than USPS. they take less time too. have you tried some of the ebay stores? i'm pretty sure that's where i got my last batch of wicks and the cost was good. if you know what you want and you check out the online store reviews, it's a good place to get stuff. in addition, you have both ebay protection and paypal protection when you buy stuff.

mushmushi · August 09, 2011, 02:49:53 PM

Ebay is also great because you get to see the shipping cost most of the time and because you can leave negative feedback if they try to pull a fast one on you.

AllenF · August 09, 2011, 05:29:15 PM

You can call them to place the order and talk to them about the shipping, or just wait until December for some free shipping deals.

JP · August 09, 2011, 09:25:39 PM

No offense to the original poster but if you didn't find out what the shipping rate was before you placed your order, its hard to knock them for charging what they did. If they told you one price and you received another, you have a valid complaint.

...JP

edit: Removed company name: Buzzbee

slacker361 · August 09, 2011, 09:30:41 PM

Ohhh I didnt order, not at those shipping costs...

JP · August 09, 2011, 09:32:16 PM

Quote from: slacker361 on August 09, 2011, 09:30:41 PM
Ohhh I didnt order, not at those shipping costs...

My bad, thought you did. Good for you!

...JP

buzzbee · August 09, 2011, 10:10:44 PM

JP,
We do not encourage open forum bashing of companies or individuals here so do not entice them. If you really want to know, take it to PM's and that way Beemaster Forums will hold no liability from a lawsuit if it were ever to happen. And you know it can.
That is exactly why it is written into the bylaws.

Slacker 361:
Check with a mod before ignoring bylaws.

Beemasters words on a topic like this:
caveat emptor