If I know we are going to be in one spot long enough, I will try to get things shipped direct to our campgrounds (or General Delivery). It's always a balancing act...how long will it take to process the order, how long will shipping take, how will they ship it. But most of the time I do pretty well and it saves us paying a second shipping charge.
Sometimes the item is small and I just opt to send it to our mail forwarding service in South Dakota (MyDakotaAddress.com) and let them ship it to us. We got our last package on Tuesday and in it was the soap I had ordered from Hyatt Home. When I was visiting my daughter in Atlanta, she did a Priceline bid and I got to stay in a suite at the Hyatt for $35/night. I fell in love with their ginger soap and when I got home I searched to order it online. It was backordered so it went to SD and just arrived here.
I normally use liquid soap so the need to store a bar of soap in our shower hasn't been an issue. Stu used Ivory exclusively and has a Thumbs Up Soap Saver & DryBar Soap Holder installed. We decided I needed to get one...he got his at Camping World and after searching online, that was the only resource I found.
So I ordered it...a whole whopping $3.99 with our President's Club membership. Well imagine my surprise when I got to the checkout portion...the cheapest shipping was ground...for $11. Huh? This item is 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 1 3/4" and weighs a couple of ounces. Needless to say, I didn't order it. But I did send in a note to Customer Service. I've done this with other companies and they agreed to send the item via USPS for a much lower cost. Not this time...
Here is my note:
I tried to place an order for one item, physically a small item, cost of under $5.00. Imagine my surprise when the shopping cart said $11 for ground shipping!! Even USPS Priority would only be $5 for this.
Your savings: $0.45
Cart Subtotal: $3.99
Shipping Options:
Ground - $11.00 (5-7 days*)
Express - $19.67 (2-3 days*)
Delivery time displayed in business days.
Estimated Total: $14.99
Here is the response I got back:
I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with our shipping charges. Our shipping charges are not based on the price of the item, but on the weight with the minimum shipping charge of $11 for 2 lbs or less. To offset this, we offer 50% off shipping on orders over $99. I have copied our shipping offer below for your review.
http://www.campingworld.com/shippingOffer.cfm?shippingOffer=83
We ship using UPS Ground and you can find that the $11 shipping charge is comparable to the charges if you were to ship the same item via UPS as well. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Thank you,
Camping World Customer Care
Don/t bother clicking the link...it goes to a useless page with no information on it (I assume it explains the free shipping with $99).
Yes I understand overhead...but to charge $11 to ship an item that would cost under $2 for Parcel Post and under $5 for USPS Priority Mail is just criminal to me.
Gee, maybe I should buy this LOT of them on eBay and sell them for $5 each with free shipping...and I'd still make money!!
Okay....rant off....LOL!
Donna
Stu and Donna
Shipping costs are usually why I DON"T buy online very often.
ReplyDeleteThat ginger soup sounds very interesting. I'll have to try it.
ReplyDeleteI like to shop online, but I also look for ones with free shipping. I agree, I would not pay that much for shipping for a low cost/small item.
ReplyDeleteI ran into this exact same thing this week for a $2.49 item and shipping was $12.99! These companies need to offer USPS as an option for the small items. UPS rates have risen and I could understand paying that for something heavy, but not for 2-3 oz. Needless to say, I did not buy my item either.
ReplyDeleteCount me as another shopper who would go without rather than pay $11 to ship a $3 item!
ReplyDeleteHi Froggi Donna,
ReplyDeleteMy hands can't get the soap out of those holders very well, so I opt for the magnetic soap holders:
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=magnetic+soap+holder&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Misty sends kisses to Sadie.
Happy Trails, Penny, TX
Funny I just complained about the S&H in my blog yesterday, except mine was not an on-line store purchase but our high school's senior picture order. This is that article:
ReplyDeletehttp://places-we-go.perreng.com/2010/11/high-school-senior-photo.html
This is why I love to shop from Amazon and take advantage of their Super Free Shipping. I avoid any stores which charge an outragous S&H, I think this is their way to make up for the lower price.
I always cringe when I see what the shipping charges are for my sculptures. Often over $40. I know that the recent security scare will totally end my international business. The cost now is sometimes around $75 - $100 per animal, who know what it will climb to!
ReplyDeleteI try to only buy thing online that come with free shipping. Although that doesn't always work out.
Could you wait until you are near enough to go to a camping world?
Wow...that shipping is a bit ridiculous. I am with you for not ordering it. Have you written the hotel where you found it to find out where they get it from. They may have a better outlet than Camping World. Or am I thinking the shipping is for the soap holder not the soap. As I write this I am not sure what I am thinking...must be having a senior moment. Either way the shipping is so out of line.
ReplyDeleteOn another note...I had to tell you: I just had the word stuism as a word verification to leave a comment on a blog. Funny! I though of you and Stu. Stuism? LOL
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteCamping World is not far from me. If you want, I'll go buy it for you and send it to you through the postal service. Just let me know.
We use a suction cup wire rack in our shower. It holds 2-3 bottles of liquid soap and/or shampoo, a section for bar soap, and a couple of hooks for squeegee, wash cloth, etc. The 3 one-inch suction cups seem to hold up everything while going down the road. I think I got it at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
ReplyDeleteMy experience at the US Post Office in Conroe, TX was the opposite yesterday. I had packaged a lap-sized afghan in a Priority Mail flat rate box to send to the Houston VA Med Ctr for a recovering soldier under the Soldier's Angels program. The clerk told me I could save money by sending it by regular parcel post, since it didn't weigh much. He gave me the appropriate box and a label, and told me not to wait in line again, just come back when I was ready. Instead of $10.70 I paid $5.70!
ReplyDeleteYep, we had the same thing when we ordered a new power supply for my printer. Part was about $5, shipping was $16 -- but the printer was useless without it and ordering was our only option. I agree it's a rip off.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the shipping charges some company's charge. We offer free shipping on our web store that we just started. Please take a look
ReplyDeletehttp://www.etsy.com/shop/SECONDTIMEAROUNDART
P.S. We love your new pet blog.
I understand completely what you are saying here. I have a hard time charging for shipping in my etsy store, I feel bad about it, and try to find alternatives to priority mail so it won't cost so much. the tote bags I make only fit in the $10.95 priority boxes. So, I was reading somewhere that envelopes are cheaper to mail than boxes, so I tried squishing one up and putting it in a large padded envelope. It fit, and cost only about $4 to mail it, so I tell people it will be mailed in a large envelope instead of a box.
ReplyDeleteTrying to make a buck is hard when you do mail order, but taking advantage of people like that is beyond ridiculous in these economic times.