Ridiculous postage charges.

[cleverusername]

I know it is a good idea to support classic suppliers, use them or lose them, but they don't make things easy with some of their ripoff practices. My biggest gripe is postage.

Needed a new bolt for the alternator, basically with my modded rad the old bolt wouldn't come out in the space. No big deal, cut it in two and put a new one in the other way round.

So I looked at all the usual suppliers, who all wanted £5 postage for a bolt which would cost less than a quid to ship at non business rates. Even with a charge for a jiffy bag and sealing the envelop, that £5 is virtually all profit.

So I go to ebay and find the right size bolt for less than the price all the classic suppliers list it for and that includes postage and the seller paying ebay fees.

This is how the classic suppliers are going to go out of business. They don't have a monopoly on allot of parts anymore and if they try to ripoff me off for stuff like postage and I am taking my business elsewhere.

[dollyman]

I have got to say, i find that a bit of a rip off as well Business users get their post collected as well.
It is a different matter if it comes signed for as that does cost £1 10p. Jiffy bags which i buy in lot's of 50..... cost me 10p each.... So that is still around the £2 mark.
Hermes is even cheaper, but dont buy anything fragile as they seem to get kicked around a lot.
I dont usually buy from a dealer unless i cant get it anywhere else because of this.
Buying from clubs is an entirely different matter as it is all done voluntarily and profits go back into the club
What do others think?

Cheers,
Tony.

[SprintMWU773V]

It's a big source of profit quite simply. I know we make a fair bit at work, too much I think.

[xvivalve]

Currently trying to work out a price list for new club stock, postage is something of a bete noire.

Postage changes you see, not by much, but often without much notice. You need to build a bit in to cater for that, otherwise you have to constantly monitor the rates. Also, a small gasket supplied on its own can go in letter post, 65p, but a gasket ordered with a wheel nut becomes small package at £3.90 (signed for). Both would be below the 100g threshold though. A minimum postage charge of say a fiver therefore acts as a catch all and reduces the admin, and therefore cost, but can seem disproportionate for the smaller item...that may still involve a trip to the post office.

I just needed a water pump repair kit, so I bought two as the postage was the same; I'm happy to have one on the shelf as if I don't need it, someone I know will want one!

[geeksteve]

I think suppliers should also have the option to pay more for people not to use MyHermes.

"Yes, I'd love the parcel delivered a day late. Please place it in my neighbours recycling bin and ensure it smells strongly of cigarette smoke. Please remember to tread on it first though".

Steve

[NickMorgan]

I think suppliers should also have the option to pay more for people not to use MyHermes.

"Yes, I'd love the parcel delivered a day late. Please place it in my neighbours recycling bin and ensure it smells strongly of cigarette smoke. Please remember to tread on it first though".

Steve

Have to agree with this one! I will avoid suppliers if I now they use MyHermes.

[sprint95m]

To be fair........
If you have ever worked in a business processing orders you will know how inefficient (time consuming)
it is to deal with small orders, hence why so many put a minimum order price in place and also give sizeable
discounts for case/box/pallet quantities to encourage large orders.

When buying parts I always make an effort to place a sensible order, you can always buy useful things like filters
or brake pads?




Ian.

[cliftyhanger]

Indeed, the cost always seems high when ordering low value items. But there is the actual faff of processing the order, which has a real cost associated with it.
How some of teh ebay sellers make a living I just do not know. Selling an item, delivered, for £1. I know they get discounted delivery, and work on high turnover, but I guess it is a case of making 10p clear on each item.
Sadly if we (collectively) keep buying from ebay, then the quality sellers WILL go out of business, and ultimately we will suffer.

Saying that, some small stuff I DO buy via fleabay but anything whee I cannot be certain of quality, I will go to a proper seller. Actually bought a fair bit of stuff from Robsport recently, some via fleabay (good deals etc) and some direct. All been a good experience.

[cleverusername]

Indeed, the cost always seems high when ordering low value items. But there is the actual faff of processing the order, which has a real cost associated with it.
How some of teh ebay sellers make a living I just do not know. Selling an item, delivered, for £1. I know they get discounted delivery, and work on high turnover, but I guess it is a case of making 10p clear on each item.
Sadly if we (collectively) keep buying from ebay, then the quality sellers WILL go out of business, and ultimately we will suffer.

Saying that, some small stuff I DO buy via fleabay but anything whee I cannot be certain of quality, I will go to a proper seller. Actually bought a fair bit of stuff from Robsport recently, some via fleabay (good deals etc) and some direct. All been a good experience.

I have handled online sales in jobs before, so I know what is involved. I understand the costs, but a properly organised business should have no problem. Fine item on shelf, print label, seal bag and drop in business post. Simple.

As for the club, they do most excellent work and I like the clubs pricing policy. Everything is straight forward and easy to see up front. Plus we know this is done for love of the cars not profit.

I suppose my big issue is hiding the postage. There is nothing worse than the postage appearing on the third page and it being 2 or 3 times the value of the item.

[TrustNo1]

keep buying from ebay, then the quality sellers WILL go out of business, and ultimately we will suffer.

I would usually agree with that but last night I was looking for a switch, had to be a certain type and size which I found on Ebay at £17.20 inc P&P, I recognised the part number as the format used by one of my regular suppliers and it was indeed their Ebay page so looking on their website the same part was £29 plus postage. So over £15 saved by using ebay.

[cliftyhanger]

keep buying from ebay, then the quality sellers WILL go out of business, and ultimately we will suffer.

I would usually agree with that but last night I was looking for a switch, had to be a certain type and size which I found on Ebay at £17.20 inc P&P, I recognised the part number as the format used by one of my regular suppliers and it was indeed their Ebay page so looking on their website the same part was £29 plus postage. So over £15 saved by using ebay.

Indeed, I too find it irritating that some sellers slash prices when selling on ebay. Maybe they cut their margins to compete? Or are they relying on hefty mark-ups when selling direct? I do wonder. A bit like many restaurants, main courses are good value, but desserts are certainly not, let alone a drink....
I digress.