SHIPPING INCREASE POLL

[Smitty37]

The increase in shipping costs due to changes in USPS/UPS/FedEx pricing and services available will have to be passed on by many (if not all) vendors. As I see it, there are three possibilities.

1. Simply raise shipping rates to cover the increased cost and loss of shipping options.

2. Across the board increase in pricing and leave shipping pricing as is. Note - a 10% increase in shipping costs would not require anything like a 10% increase in prices.

3. Some combination of one and two.

The question is - which do you think will work out best for customers.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I hate hidden fees...

Charge what you're happy with for the kits. Charge what it costs for the shipping...

That's the recipe for informed, happy customers.

 

[beck3906]

Let's say you opt to raise merchandise prices to cover shipping costs.

I could order one item and the increase in item cost would not cover the additional shipping cost. You would then loose money on the transaction

 

[BSea]

I also hate hidden fees. Just charge the extra shipping and let the customer be unhappy with the PO. I also hate handling charges. But I'll let that wait till another poll.

BTW, for those that don't know, the price for a Small Flat Rate went from $5.95 to $6.80. Just a small 14% increase. I wonder how many postal workers got a 14% increase.

 

[Edgar]

On any mail order transaction, I prefer to see products priced at fair retail value then actual shipping charges added to the final invoice.

That's the way we buy all our materials at my office and is also the way I sell my pecans.

Amazon Prime is about my only exception to the rule & I pay a fee to be part of that program. It's also easy to compare prices for the same product with and without shipping included in the price.

 

[JimB]

I also hate hidden fees. Just charge the extra shipping and let the customer be unhappy with the PO. I also hate handling charges. But I'll let that wait till another poll.

BTW, for those that don't know, the price for a Small Flat Rate went from $5.95 to $6.80. Just a small 14% increase. I wonder how many postal workers got a 14% increase.

The USPS employees get raises every year. I believe they are unionized. The cost of a Flate rate box has been the same for 3 years. Do you think the employees would have been happy not to get raises for 3 years?

 

[Smitty37]

I also hate hidden fees. Just charge the extra shipping and let the customer be unhappy with the PO. I also hate handling charges. But I'll let that wait till another poll.

BTW, for those that don't know, the price for a Small Flat Rate went from $5.95 to $6.80. Just a small 14% increase. I wonder how many postal workers got a 14% increase.

The USPS employees get raises every year. I believe they are unionized. The cost of a Flate rate box has been the same for 3 years. Do you think the employees would have been happy not to get raises for 3 years?

Check what those of us receiving SS have gotten....no increase in 2016 to go along with no increase in 2015 and 1.7% in 2014.

 

[Smitty37]

Keep in mind that most vendors also pay shipping charges on what they buy and those charges are included in their cost of goods sold or their overhead cost of supplies etc, which means that for a lot of things our cost of goods sold will increase, and our overhead will also increase.

 

[Smitty37]

I buy and have shipped to me...pen kits, blanks, bushings, tubes, refills and parts. Incoming shipping for those items is included in my pricing calculations to arrive at my selling price before overhead.

I also buy and have shipped to me, printer paper, postage labels, packing tape, printer ink cartridges, shipping boxes, packing list envelopes, plastic baggies etc. Those items go into my overhead costs and if they go up my overhead goes up which also has to be reflected in my price.

Also, use of my vehicle for trips to the post office etc goes into my overhead cost, so more trips to the PO also go into my overhead. Hence if I need to go to the PO more often it has some affect on selling price.

So a general price increase by USPS really affects more than just my cost to ship items to buyers. It will also affect the costs that determine the selling price of the goods I sell.

In asking the questions I guess I just assumed that people would know that. My mistake.:frown:

 

[nativewooder]

Pen makers who deal with IAP Vendors are usually well aware that they are getting fair deals. The vast majority will expect the Vendors to adjust the prices of kits and other accessories, and charge what USPS overcharges everyone! And I will take a chance on saying that unions that feed on the public should only be allowed in Russia and China!

 

[keithy]

Look into why the USPS has had to increase prices. Nothing to do with wage increases but what congress has mandated.

 

[BSea]

I also hate hidden fees. Just charge the extra shipping and let the customer be unhappy with the PO. I also hate handling charges. But I'll let that wait till another poll.

BTW, for those that don't know, the price for a Small Flat Rate went from $5.95 to $6.80. Just a small 14% increase. I wonder how many postal workers got a 14% increase.

The USPS employees get raises every year. I believe they are unionized. The cost of a Flate rate box has been the same for 3 years. Do you think the employees would have been happy not to get raises for 3 years?

The increase you were talking about in 2013 raised the price of a small flat rate box from $5.35 to $5.80 for almost an 8.5% increase. On 5/31/2015 the price went from $5.80 to $5.95 (about another 2.5%) for a small flat rate box, which was the current rate before this last increase. So basically, rates raised about 25% over a 3 year period. In looking at the postal workers increases, I couldn't find anything that showed more than a 1.7% COLA increase in any of the last 3 years. But I didn't look very hard. And they may get other increases for time of service or other union agreements. I just don't know.

I found the 2015 rate change HERE

And I agree with Smitty's comments. Almost everything we buy will have an increase due to the higher shipping rates.