trancejeremy
Adventurer
Yeah, unfortunately shipping costs have really skyrocketed the last 10 years or so. I was shocked earlier this year when I started selling off some of my RPG books on ebay.
Pathfinder 1E Sticker shock, or Why Paizo and Other Online Vendors have sent me back to Mead
- Thread starter enrious
- Start date
frankthedm
First Post
Agree with the OP, way too many online sellers fail to offer parcel post and media mail when those are options. It is disgraceful.
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PaulofCthulhu
Guest
The Royal Mail price hikes on 30th April were eye watering. There's no more "printed papers" rate in the UK for example and other shipping costs have gone up by c. 30%.
Consider it a case of shoot the messenger, not the source.
Consider it a case of shoot the messenger, not the source.
Asmor
First Post
To everyone complaining of "insane" shipping costs: You find a cheaper shipping option. Hint: Shipping is expensive, and you probably can't.
Amazon uses shipping as a loss leader. They probably also have special deals cut with the various companies thanks to the sheer amount of business they do. Other retailers might offer free shipping at a higher threshold; for example, I like to feed my gaming habit at CoolStuffInc which has free shipping at $100.
I'm not saying "quit yer bitchin' and just order the thing." I'm just saying... quit your bitching. You're absolutely right that it doesn't make sense to order something like that online when shipping is half again as much, but complaining about the shipping prices just makes you look wildly out of touch with the real world.
Sometimes the economics just don't work out. Deal with it.
Amazon uses shipping as a loss leader. They probably also have special deals cut with the various companies thanks to the sheer amount of business they do. Other retailers might offer free shipping at a higher threshold; for example, I like to feed my gaming habit at CoolStuffInc which has free shipping at $100.
I'm not saying "quit yer bitchin' and just order the thing." I'm just saying... quit your bitching. You're absolutely right that it doesn't make sense to order something like that online when shipping is half again as much, but complaining about the shipping prices just makes you look wildly out of touch with the real world.
Sometimes the economics just don't work out. Deal with it.
pauljathome
First Post
While its no longer quite as good a deal (doubtless due to the recent rise in Royal Mail charges) I find that bookdepository.com is often the cheapest way to get things in Canada. I got my Pathfinder books from them for substantially less than they would have cost through amazon or my FLGS.
It has free shipping world wide. Obviously, they make this up by charging higher prices. But I've found that the total is usually cheaper than either amazon.ca or amazon.com for us Canadians. Its slower but items reliably arrive when they say that they'll arrive.
And their customer service has been superb so far. I had one order where I mistakenly ordered the wrong product. While not clear the mistake was arguably mine (their catalogue was somewhat unclear) They shipped me what I had really wanted without any charge to me.
I have absolutely no relationship to them other than as a very satisfied customer.
It has free shipping world wide. Obviously, they make this up by charging higher prices. But I've found that the total is usually cheaper than either amazon.ca or amazon.com for us Canadians. Its slower but items reliably arrive when they say that they'll arrive.
And their customer service has been superb so far. I had one order where I mistakenly ordered the wrong product. While not clear the mistake was arguably mine (their catalogue was somewhat unclear) They shipped me what I had really wanted without any charge to me.
I have absolutely no relationship to them other than as a very satisfied customer.
Wild Gazebo
Explorer
This is, seemingly, and concomitantly, the reason there are less--and the reason there should be more--brick&mortar stores.
I mean really. $20 at 50 points is $10 assuming a 30% overhead of an approx average margin of 50 points puts us at a clear of $7 for a single transaction...undelivered. I don't know the average turns for a company like Paizo...but I don't imagine it is very significant. So, now delivery...after a quick look...seems to be at about the $6-10 mark. I don't know many companies that like to give money away: I mean a good loss leader is a good loss leader...but, come on.
I suggest, in the future, you don't rate the breakdown of an itemized list of transactions; but, ask yourself 'what am I willing to spend on X.' If it matches: success! If it doesn't: it wasn't meant to be. That certainly is the reason why I'm not driving a Ferrari right now.
I mean really. $20 at 50 points is $10 assuming a 30% overhead of an approx average margin of 50 points puts us at a clear of $7 for a single transaction...undelivered. I don't know the average turns for a company like Paizo...but I don't imagine it is very significant. So, now delivery...after a quick look...seems to be at about the $6-10 mark. I don't know many companies that like to give money away: I mean a good loss leader is a good loss leader...but, come on.
I suggest, in the future, you don't rate the breakdown of an itemized list of transactions; but, ask yourself 'what am I willing to spend on X.' If it matches: success! If it doesn't: it wasn't meant to be. That certainly is the reason why I'm not driving a Ferrari right now.
Holy Bovine
First Post
See I know shipping is expensive but what I really dislike is seeing that while shipping cost a company $6 (according to the label on the package) they ended up charging me $11. Five bucks to put it in a box and stuff newspaper around it? No thanks. This is why I do so little online ordering. That and the fact most US companies seem to think Canada in on the other side of the moon (once paid $25 for shipping of RPG books only to see the shipper paid just $8 to actually have it shipped - all because he insisted Canada was under 'international' (i.e. Europe, Africa etc) rates. Wonders of wonders he didn't offer even a partial refund of the $17 overcharge).
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PaulofCthulhu
Guest
By that example, you're assuming the cost of acquiring packaging is free and no processing fees have been paid (though the latter may have been absorbed elsewhere).
Ultimately shipping cheap products is going to look expensive relative to the item cost.
As an online business you're much better off dealing in things such as women's lingerie (like my brother) - which is expensive to buy and cheap to post. Not RPG books (like me) - which is the other way round.
Guess which of us now owns several porsches?
