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Shipping expenses examined


Jobo

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Shipping is often an inflated charge from manufacturers and the usual suspects. I know companies that ship a lot get HUGE discounts with FedEx and probably UPS too.

SD has custom packaging, which is nice, so I can see some cost there. But the usual lack of willingness of most of "our" companies to pop something in a padded envelope and send it via the USPS is inexcusable. The U.S. Mail even offers pickup and on-line postage discounts, etc. It really isn't that much more difficult to offer choices. Clearly everyone knows if it's going 3000 miles, USPS will be cheaper, and they offer tracking far cheaper than UPS or FedEx.

Overseas is really a no-brainer. UPS is criminal in their charges. FedEx not much better. Again, USPS offers good service to the UK. Pretty fast too.

I know there are materials and labor to consider, but perhaps a flat mark-up percentage of actual costs would be fair.

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There have been some good thoughts on this thread and I don't disagree strongly with any of them. We have 40 years + of shipping experience and have tried various outfits. Number one on our list is our customer satisfaction followed by our satisfaction. A distant third is cost.

Here's a manufacturer's feelings on the different methods of shipping:

1. USPS is cheap and you get what you pay for. They lose more packages than UPS or FedEx, their expedited delivery has a poor record of meeting the delivery promises and they don't deliver to the front door. Getting the premium charges back for missed delivery times is difficult. All that being said, if you don't care about delivery times and the occasional package that goes into a black hole, they are OK and low cost. We use USPS when requested by the customer and also to ship low cost, low priority packages. For instance, replacement thumbscrews, silver paste, small screws, etc. These are typically things we provide as free fixes or have such a low cost that neither we nor the customer can afford the paperwork hassle and bad customer vibes of an expensive invoice. If the customer says they didn't receive the parts, we will just send it again. It isn't worth the tracking costs. I would say the USPS delivers these items 99% of the time. Most losses are in overseas mailings and probably not the fault of USPS. 

 

2. When it has to absolutely  be there, either for the customer or us, we use UPS as a first choice and FedEx a close second. The customer can always ask for their preference. The tracking is usually solid and so is the delivery. Most screw ups are when packages are delivered to a hotel, a job site or a show venue. Most of the time the person receiving the package has no idea of who should get it and it gets shuffled off into a dark corner where months later and after several generations of spiders, it is discovered.

 

3. UPS has a customer representative assigned to Lectrosonics and can help resolve bureaucratic paperwork problems and missing shipments. With FedEx we don't have a rep. With USPS, we can call our congressman.

 

In sum, it's not that USPS is terrible. It is that UPS and FedEx are an order of magnitude better.

Best Regards,
Larry Fisher
Lectrosonics

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This thread did have a different title, the administrator must have changed it because I did not. Zaxcom could have offered to pick up the shipping this one time, when I called to complain about not knowing the shipping total beforehand. Apparently their sales dept has to ask the Owner before they can permit these kind of refunds to their customers. Haven't heard anything more from them. How's that for customer service?

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Wait, didn't this thread have a different title yesterday?

Yes, it did. I changed the title for obvious reasons as the topic has evolved into a general discussion of shipping. I will add that the topic has provided some useful insight into the methods of shipping, personal experiences with the various carriers, and a better understanding of the choices made by our usual suspects regarding shipping.

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This thread did have a different title, the administrator must have changed it because I did not. Zaxcom could have offered to pick up the shipping this one time, when I called to complain about not knowing the shipping total beforehand. Apparently their sales dept has to ask the Owner before they can permit these kind of refunds to their customers. Haven't heard anything more from them. How's that for customer service?

Hey, Jobo, if it is such a hardship, I'll pay your shipping as a thank you for starting this topic so that we can all learn a little bit more about shipping (even though your original intent, obviously, by using the word BEWARE, was to limit the topic to just your personal difficulty).

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It's good when a vendor recognizes the proportionality of an item's value and the cost to ship and makes sensible adjustments.

 

But, let's also view this with some sense of the proportionality between the issue itself and the cost to render service. A staff engineer at Zaxcom (or Lectro or Sound Devices, etc.) will typically earn $75/hour, perhaps more. When taking care of clients, there is usually a high priority on addressing the client need and responding quickly. If that person also must stop and consider shipping costs and the like, you are consuming valuable engineer time that may cost considerably more than the related shipping costs.

 

Of course, someone in the shipping department might speak up but they typically don't have a sufficiently good understanding of the costs of the service to spontaneously intervene.

 

In this context, being hyper-critical of a vendor for allowing a $17 shipping cost to slip by seems a bit out of proportion. Bring it to their attention, sure, but I wouldn't press the point.

 

David

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As has been expressed this isn't isolated to one vendor.

 

And would it not not be super retarded to have a "Staff Engineer" doing your shipping an receiving? These are large companies as are the "usual suspects" who charge absurd amounts for shipping..Who also have shipping receiving departments...So your sense of proportionality doesn't really line up with the reality of running a business. Are there costs involved with Shipping/Receiving? YES but passing absurd charges along to the customer is not acceptable.

 

Providing great customer service doesn't stop once the phone is hung up. Great customer service is follow thru and taking the time to make sure the client is taken care of in all ways. So YES the person filling the order needs to consider shipping cost...especially if they are disproportionate to the item being delivered. Why not go that extra mile to save the client a few bucks?? That extra few minutes goes a LONG way when that client sees the bill.. He will remember that and make sure to do business with that vendor again.

 

There is a blatent disregard for the customer in a lot of industries these days... The vendor thinks "The client has to have my product so it doesn't matter how I treat them". This way of thinking will cause you to lose customers in the end.

 

And to the point of changing the topic.. What if that was the only difficulty he's experienced? Maybe all of the other vendors he deals with are good about this kind of thing. Making people aware of things going on in our niche industry is a good thing.

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I'm moving on. Paid 67.53 total for 2 new antennas and it's the cost of doing business. I've been a Zaxcom customer since 2005, I'm using a Nomad today on set, so I wouldn't label myself a Zaxcom hater. I just started the thread to make others aware of the obscene shipping cost and the lackluster customer service I feel I received this particular instance. I'm happy it sparked some true conversation about shipping costs in a more general discussion. Best of luck to all of you in your future deliveries.

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A staff engineer at Zaxcom (or Lectro or Sound Devices, etc.) will typically earn $75/hour, perhaps more. When taking care of clients, there is usually a high priority on addressing the client need and responding quickly. If that person also must stop and consider shipping costs and the like, you are consuming valuable engineer time that may cost considerably more than the related shipping costs.

 

Of course, someone in the shipping department might speak up but they typically don't have a sufficiently good understanding of the costs of the service to spontaneously intervene.

 

In this context, being hyper-critical of a vendor for allowing a $17 shipping cost to slip by seems a bit out of proportion. Bring it to their attention, sure, but I wouldn't press the point.

 

David

These companies may charge customers $75+/hour for services but the engineers aren't getting paid that amount. Just as when you see the service rates hanging on the wall of your local machanic's garage saying they charge $60 +/hour for service. The machanics wish they got paid that amount.

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I have a client about 12 miles away who will not use USPS to send checks..too many lost.

My only ebay scam was accomplished through a vulnerability unique to USPS. Only low volume and an attentive small town office enabled help with that.

Fed X driver gives almost no time to even get to the door and always appears pissed off when I do.

UPS gives me reliable, courteous service..at a cost.

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I have shipped so many things USPS Priority shipping in the various sized boxes...  (all you can fit)   I can't even say how many.... I have never lost one thing... ever...

   I have confidence in that method for NON critical, not real expensive items....  I'm probably not going to send a 633 that way, but maybe...  ::)

Then we both have had very different experiences. That's fine. I think what I'm trying to point out, and what Larry has pointed out, is that for manufacturers who ship tens of thousands of boxes per year, that reliability is key, and for important stuff, we need to go with whatever shipping company has given us the best service and best track record. If that costs a little bit more, then it is worth it. The only problem with with shipping small items internationally. I will only ship something small (like replacement screws for a shock mount or rubber suspenders for a mount) via UPS or FedEx if the customer requests it and is willing to pay for it because even an envelope via UPS internationally overseas is going to at least be $100. Makes no sense for a freebie replacement part. Like Larry said, I'll send that USPS and if it gets lost I'll just send another. I don't think UPS charges extra for a signature required, but I could be wrong. I'd have to double check. Like

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I doubt that the service engineer is actually setting the shipping type/carrier. That's what the shipping dept is for. The engineer just kicks of the process, I suspect.

Maybe Zaxcom has a daily round of pick-ups from UPS and FedEx, but none from USPS and so that would have required a lot of extra work (someone actually going to the Post office), or that pick up round had already been there, but they wanted to get the package out asap and they decided to use the next carrier to come to pick something up.

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Part of being a consumer in this day and age is being aware of shipping charges. I have purchased many items via the usual suspects and online vendors like Amazon. When ordering online, it is easy to see the shipping charges in that they are spelled out for you in a checkout page. If ordering from a vendor over the telephone, I always ask. A vendor has always shipped an item in the manner that I have requested. In a situation where I don't need an item tomorrow, I can breathe easy and not wince at the cost. If I do need an item tomorrow, even if is a single antenna, I have to pay for the privilege of a seat on one of Fred Smith's private cargo jets. It has to be handled and scanned by drivers and flown to Memphis and then flown out to Nashville then they scan it and hand-deliver it to me. The logistics are mind-boggling. And all those that touch it get paid. So, in my opinion, being aware of shipping costs is part of making a wise purchase and falls more on the consumer than the vendor.

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Shipping expense like this is a valid concern, but it's not a rip-off, as "rip-off" implies overpricing for the unfair advantage of, in this case, the vendor. The problem is that the shipping services like US Post Office, DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc, have a minimum charge for secured and insured shipments that are trackable and signed for by recipient, and with a guaranteed delivery date. However, not all items being shipping require that level of security or timeliness.

 

Keeping shipping prices no higher than necessary requires diligence, either by the customer, or the vendor, or (preferably) both. Vendors like manufacturers and dealers usually ship very expensive and mission-critical items that would only be shipped insured and trackable, and, since all such customers use the products professionally, realible delivery is much more important than a few dollars, even though it may cost more than the item being shipped. So the instinct is to ship all orders insured and trackable.

 

For small, relatively inexpensive, non-mission critical needs, the customer and the vendor should discuss less expensive options such as common US Mail, noninsured, non trackable, with no guaranteed delivery date. In other words, put the items in an envelope, put a stamp on it, and hope of the best. Of courts, since the vendor then has no control over the outcome of the delivery, the customer must agree to take the very low risk of the item being lost in the mail. But, while it does happen, the risk is very low.

Many online stores have the option of non-trackable uninsured shipping at reduced cost, though it is usually not the default option. If there doesn't seem to be that option, and it is a purchase you're willing to risk in the US Mail (like the US government does millions of times each day), then call the vendor directly to make that request. Most will be willing to accommodate the request. If not, look for another one who will.

 

GT

 

Glen Your Sales department did tell me that it was company policy to only use one of the courier services (Fed-Ex) and that USPS was not an available option no matter what was being sent.

Malcolm Davies.

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I worked in the shipping department for a small food company when I was a kid. When I calculated the shipping cost (software provided by the shipping co) I had to add on 10% (or was it 15%) to the actual shipping cost to cover the "handling". This would typically be $10-$15 added to the final price. This is normal practice as far as I ever knew.

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"Shipping and Handling" is a very common line item you see on invoices all the time from any company that is shipping you anything. In this case, however, I don't think any of our usual suspects do any of this sort of 10 or 15 percent markup you mention. I could be wrong but I don't think it is general practice with the companies that we deal with (the usual suspects). I don't know what mass market companies like Markertek do in this regard.

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just ask for a refund of the difference,   $17 charged,   actual cost,  .....  $12,    have them pay pal you $5

 

that might be  a fare deal. 

 

i've been stung by shipping many times by different companies, but I know that the staff at zaxcom are not rip offs, they are all very professional and i'm sure they'd be happy to refund some shipping costs.

 

What I do when shipping times aren't important, I always request before the end of the call, that I want the cheapest method.

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I bought a ZaxPaq on consignment from Trew Audio. Shipping was over $70. Why? FedEx from Canada. It was a lesson learned. There is absolutely no way I was overcharged by Trew Audio. That is what they paid FedEx. Next time, I will make sure to specify shipping terms.

I also got stung once buying used gear from Canada. Learned my lesson!

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just ask for a refund of the difference, $17 charged, actual cost, ..... $12, have them pay pal you $5

that might be a fare deal.

i've been stung by shipping many times by different companies, but I know that the staff at zaxcom are not rip offs, they are all very professional and i'm sure they'd be happy to refund some shipping costs.

What I do when shipping times aren't important, I always request before the end of the call, that I want the cheapest method.

I did ask for a refund, the next business day. If you had read my previous posts you would have discovered that. Zaxcom, it's owner, and it's sales department have ignored my request for "help" in this matter. Which brings us full circle! BEWARE ZAXCOM SHIPPING COSTS. (Unedited Title)
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I did ask for a refund, the next business day. If you had read my previous posts you would have discovered that. Zaxcom, it's owner, and it's sales department have ignored my request for "help" in this matter. Which brings us full circle! BEWARE ZAXCOM SHIPPING COSTS. (Unedited Title)

You and I have vastly different approaches. I typically inquire as to shipping charges before I place an order. The way I see it, before the fact makes me a careful shopper, whereas after the fact makes me a whiner. I'd rather save my whining capital for much more important things such as gear issues.

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You and I have vastly different approaches. I typically inquire as to shipping charges before I place an order. The way I see it, before the fact makes me a careful shopper, whereas after the fact makes me a whiner. I'd rather save my whining capital for much more important things such as gear issues.

further to what john said,  since zaxcom does not make antennas,  there is no reason to get them from there:

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/UHF-SSMA-WHIP-ANTENNA-450-900-MHz-/321112568588?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac3ccf30c

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