Brothers Trucks shipping costs more than the part!!

[63 & 64 Bowties]

I figured I'd try to do the right thing and buy from a board vendor. But, you gotta be kidding me !!!!
Last weekend I ordered a couple little parts....

47-91 BUMPER BOLT - STAINLESS CAP HEAD 4 $5.00
60-66 GAS FILLER NECK GROMMET 1 $5.99

for a grand total of $ 10.99
what's this weigh....maybe 4 ounces?

SHIPPING: $11.50....ORDER TOTAL: $22.49

And, if that's not bad enough...30 minutes later I happened to think of something else. After I ordered it, I sent an email to customer service and asked if they could at least combine this order with the one I placed 30 minutes ago to save on shipping. I never got a reply from them, but I did get my confirmation of shippment, and yup, you guessed it, another $11.50 shipping. This time for a $9 part that weighs nothing, IT'S A RUBBER SEAL!!!!

60-66 HOOD TO COWL SEAL 1 $8.99
SHIPPING: $11.50 .... ORDER TOTAL: $20.49

So, let me get this straight....I paid $23.00 to ship $19.98 worth of parts that probably weighs a pound?

Ya....I don't think I'll be a return customer. Thanks, but no thanks. Rip me off once, but not twice.

[72freak]

Yep..........I thought about ordering bed wood from them and when they priced the shipping it was over double what it should be.

Oh well.........they lost that sale!

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Kinda like the ebayers who sell DVD's....
Movie: 99 cents
Shipping: $ 14.95

[teeitup]

I've been trying to get them to pay me some money they owe me for some parts I sold them in Dec. Now they are telling me they don't just buy parts they want me to trade them for some new parts. I wasn't told that before, I always just shipped them the parts and they mailed me a check. I'm getting real frustrated with them. I've emailed, pm'd, and talked to Jamie 4 times and still no $180!!!! I used to deal with JC and had no trouble with him. I'm not very happy with them.

[Classic Heartbeat]

I am not sticking up for anyone here, and will probably get flamed, but the shipping cost are what they are. It is not Brother's cost, it is UPS. The cost of shipping a 1oz part up to about 3lbs is about the same. UPS rates along with other shipping companies are reflecting the high cost of fuel. It shows up on our bills as fuel surcharges. A better thing to have done is to call them if you wanted to add to your order, you probably would have saved the $11.50.

Randy, I am with you!! I like working with Jamie, but when JC was there it seemed to go much smoother. JC just seemed to have the abillity to get the job done. He now owns his late father's Ford pickup part business. WES

[1LoC10]

sounds like they did get you twice

[72freak]

Originally Posted by Classic Heartbeat

I am not sticking up for anyone here, and will probably get flamed, but the shipping cost are what they are. It is not Brother's cost, it is UPS. The cost of shipping a 1oz part up to about 3lbs is about the same. UPS rates along with other shipping companies are reflecting the high cost of fuel. It shows up on our bills as fuel surcharges. A better thing to have done is to call them if you wanted to add to your order, you probably would have saved the $11.50.

I know for a fact the shipping cost was less than 1/2 of what they quoted me in my case.......Its actually was closer to 2/3 less. I got the same product shipped the same distance for much less and then for curiostity I took it and had it priced to ship to Brothers.

Oh well.......lesson learned!!

[Classic Heartbeat]

Yes, they did get him twice, but I believe it was because he emailed the order. With larger companies, one hand doesn't always know what the other is doing. If the parts arrive in two seperate boxes then it was done in two shipments. If all the parts come in one box, then I would call to see if they would reimburce the second shipping. The whole point of my responce is that shipping costs are extreemly high now, but it is not the fault of the vender, and only to a certain extent the shipper. Blame the cost of fuiel. WES

[63 & 64 Bowties]

yea but, a hood-to-cowl gasket? It weighs about as much as a pack of cigarettes. $11.50 shipping? I know better. I ship via UPS at work.

[Classic Heartbeat]

The cost of shipping from east to west is not the same as the cost to ship west to east. So revercing the shipping does not actualy work. Also distance is not always the factor either. I will give you an example. I can ship an identical part in an identical box for less money going to Arkansas, than to Idaho. (Idaho is less than 600 miles from me and Arkansas is 2000.) It also depends on the account that has been negotiated by the company with the shipper. Some companies get better rates than others. WES

[Classic Heartbeat]

This is a rate quote strait from UPS's site..

UPS Ground
Billable Weight: 1.0 lbs.
5 By End of Day
Monday
April 14, 2008 12.41 USD*

WES

[Classic Heartbeat]

That was a quote from Corona, CA. to Buchanan, VA.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Wow, I didn't know about that difference. Maybe I've been buying from Eastern parts suppliers. But, that's something to keep in mind whenever ordering.
Thanks

72Freak, we'll have to stick to East Coast parts houses I guess.

[1LoC10]

or just get your stuff local, or as close to local as you can

[Classic Heartbeat]

UPS Ground
Billable Weight: 1.0 lbs.
2 By End of Day
Wednesday
April 9, 2008 8.83 USD*

That is from Brandenton, FLorida to Buchanan, VA. Little cheaper, but not a lot. WES

This is delivering to a residentual address.

[Classic Heartbeat]

UPS Ground
Billable Weight: 1.0 lbs.
5 By End of Day
Monday
April 14, 2008 9.92 USD*

This is from Buchanan, VA. to Corona, CA. The same weight and service as the quote I got going from Corona, CA. to Buchanan, VA. You can see going west to east is more expencive than going east to west.

This is the Brandenton, Florida to Buchanan, VA. to a residence. The first quote was to a commercial business. So the same rates do not apply even from the same city to same city.
UPS Ground
Billable Weight: 1.0 lbs.
2 By End of Day
Wednesday
April 9, 2008 11.74 USD*

WES

[jb4short]

Wes speaks the truth...I've got a small part here and I can't get the online calculator to get below $8.92. I look at the part and I think it should be $2-$3 tops. Fuel surcharges are killing me to....it's like playing russian roulette to turn a pallet over to a trucking company and waiting for the bill to come in the mail....quotes seem to mean nothing

[1LoC10]

put it in an envolope and ship it in the mail...lol

[krue]

Common sense should apply.

[mbgmike]

Truck freight is killing everyone now. We do put small parts and ship USPS because they are cheaper than most companies and its no hastle to get to the Post Office. Everyone just needs to realize it affects everyone. The only thing that makes me mad is some companies do not shop around. They keep using the same shippers cause it easy. We shop to get the lowest prices we can from a wide variety of firms. We even eat some of the shipping at times. With diesel at almost $4.00 per gallon and surcharges on top. Better get used to it. No relief in the near future. If you want a truck freight part you may as well double the cost for shipping sometimes more.

[shifty]

One four-letter acronym for all of you: USPS.

The US Postal service offers ~ $4 flat-rate shipping for small packages, and will include delivery tracking (and/or notification) for an additional dollar.

Bottom line: If you are a vendor, if you want to keep the customers, you need to keep your shipping reasonable. You should have a list of small parts, when ordered alone or in multiples with no other large parts, will be shipped USPS.

Hell, there has to be at least one or more pre-packaged shopping cart systems out there that support "smart" shipping choices where you enter the dimensions and weight of the product and calculate shipping estimates based on the cumulative size of the required package for the item. We were developing stuff like this back in the late 90's.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

That was the thing that really got me steamed in the first place. I asked for the two orders placed 30 minutes apart to be combined, and they didn't, but they could have put the gas filler neck grommet in an envelope and mailed it for 41 cents !!

[j@bt]

I agree with Wes. Shipping cost are out of hand. The thing with shoping around and trying to get better shipping cost is when you shipping 250+ packages a day you cant stop on each part and see witch way would be cheeper. Also by e-mailing the company they may get a ton of e-mails that they have to search through, your best bet would have been to call them.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Originally Posted by j@bt

I agree with Wes. Shipping cost are out of hand. The thing with shoping around and trying to get better shipping cost is when you shipping 250+ packages a day you cant stop on each part and see witch way would be cheeper. Also by e-mailing the company they may get a ton of e-mails that they have to search through, your best bet would have been to call them.

If your not going to check your emails, then eliminate the "contact customer serivce" link.

[1LoC10]

well emailing customer service a question about a product is different than emailing about combining shipping cost... customer service might be in a totally different building than shipping, they get the order they pack it up and ship... something that is time sensative like hey before you ship that is best done over the phone..
you would have had a reply the second you called, instead of waiting to see if they read it in time