Shipping and handling fees

[Coondawg]

Where do most companys see the charges for this? What is involved in a handling charge?
I ask because I am sending a package back to a company, cost me 13 bucks. Shipping and handling from them cost me $30?

[jpjeeper]

There are a few ways to look at it...

There is not enough profit in the product so some companies use this for an extra profit center.

Or...

What kind of time did it take to package, make the shipping arrangements.

Most companies need to pay benefits, taxes and bonuses to thier employees... etc.... cost of labor to ship something is high...

ETC...

OR...

They are just screwing you...

Your choice.

[Coondawg]

I'd hate to think it's just there to make extra money. It was a small/medium size package, but it was packed very well. One of the vendors here on the board. I was just curious, not exactly trying to call anyone out.....

[tgreese]

OR ... they add a charge for returns to discourage buyers from buying stuff and returning it. This could be handling, restocking fee, reshelving fee, etc.

[Tad]

I think you should just ask that vendor politely in an email.
You may be surprised at the response, maybe not, but many times it's legit.
Several of our vendors are pretty big outfits now.
Unlike most of us that scrounge our own boxes and shipping materials after work, they are in a position where it has become necessary to actually purchase boxes, packing materials and sometimes even pay staff to get these things done in a timely manner.

Wether it's wrapped into the item price or listed seperatly, we all pay for this reguardless of what we purchase or where.

[bigblack'74]

When I did shipping in the industrial field... the handling charge is almost always legit... we sometimes spend an hour packaging stuff with like four boxes, a roll of tape and tons rolled cardboard.. we HAD to do just to take up some of the labor and mate4rials costs

[LRRH]

at my shop we charge a minimum $5 for a box and tape. depending on what is being shipped and how well it needs to be boxed that can go up to $50.

also, it's not just the cost of the supplies used, it's the time involved to have it packaged correctly. we don't make much money on handling, but we need to cover our costs.

also, all our shipping quotes get marked up 15% on top of what we pay. This covers us for when UPS or FedEx decide that what their software said wasn't the correct price and "adjust" the cost. It also helps cover the cost of damaged goods, because even though every package we ship is insured UPS/FedEx can be a pain in the butt to get paid from when they damage your stuff and you file a claim.

[LRRH]

and like tad said, alot of times the true handling fee is rolled up into the cost of the goods you purchased. ever wonder how companies offer free shipping and haven't gone out of business??

a nice email to the company would probably get you an answer.

[Headhoncho]

It's much the same when you get charged $12 for "shop supplies" at the auto repair shop when all they did was use 30 seconds worth of carb cleaner. There is a legitimate reason for "handling charges" but some seem more appropriate than others when you compare buying a CD or a book to a heavy engine part.


JR

[TPICherokee]

Where do most companys see the charges for this? What is involved in a handling charge?
I ask because I am sending a package back to a company, cost me 13 bucks. Shipping and handling from them cost me $30?

This was from us and I'll explain what I can see. Our website automatically quotes shipping so something that you have to realize is that we have the distributor put in at 7 lbs (if it were shipped by itself) and the body lift at 8 lbs (again, if it were shipped by itself) but when you put then together they may only weigh 13 lbs, this is true with any other web site. I didn't make those numbers accurate as I don't have that program up but you get the idea.,

I checked our cost on the package and with insurance (did you add insurance to your box?) it was $21. This doesn't include the 2 boxes (roughly $1-2 per box) that were used to ship your order. Also, we shipped to a residential address (usually $2-3 more) and you shipped it back to a business address.

I hope this helps as you can see our cost is roughly $24-25, so $29 isn't far off for the shipping of your package.

Thanks!