Date:         Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:10:32 -0500
Reply-To:     JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Oil Filter
Comments: To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <075701cd08fb$2015de50$60419af0$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Ron, great explanation on how this shipping stuff works. Got no
complaints with Bus Depot or our other list vendors on this point. Nice
to know why those variations in charges occur. Thanks.

John Rodgers

On 3/23/2012 8:44 AM, The Bus Depot wrote:
>> It's the 'handling' charge in 'shipping and handling' however what mostly
> happens
>> is when I go to a shipping website like Canada Post for a quote -
> inevitably their
>> quote will be off... Sometimes as much as $5 on a $20 shipment...!!!
>> This is quite frustrating and I've spoke with the counter people who then
> give me
>> the deer in headlights look...
>> Honestly, for us anyways, we don't try to markup our shipping at all, it
> just
>> sometimes accidentally happens, but to be honest it's more than 50%!of the
> time
>> we are eating a portion of those shipping costs!
>
>
>
> The same applies to us - averaged out we don't profit on shipping, but in
> individual cases the actual shipping may be more or less than we charge.
> The situation that Cheri describes is not limited to Canada Post. All of the
> carriers have a laundry list of surcharges - fuel surcharge, home delivery
> surcharge, outlying area surcharge, special handling surcharge, dimensional
> surcharge, shipment adjustment surcharge,
> I-just-feel-like-charging-you-extra-because-it's-a-Tuesday surcharge, the
> list goes on and on. Not to mention the insurance, which is extra on all
> mail packages and also on all Fedex/UPS orders over $100.  What's more, UPS
> and FedEx can levy these charges after-the-fact if anyone along the way sees
> the box and decides for any reason it needs special handling, or is one inch
> over the claimed size, or six ounces too heavy, or whatever ... in which
> case you not only get hit for the extra charge, but also a billing
> adjustment fee for the privilege of having been charged it!  So we do our
> best to estimate the cost, factor in the surcharges, and in the end we make
> a little profit on shipping some orders and lose a little on others  (Unless
> shopping cart is way off, as can periodically happen with certain
> large/heavy items, in which case we may have to requote before processing.)
>
> One exception is small orders, where we have a $4 minimum S&H charge. That
> is to prevent us from getting thousands of $2.00 orders every time someone
> thinks of a little item they need. We make about 35 cents on the typical two
> dollar order, yet pay about two bucks to process it (not including the
> actual shipping cost), between the credit card processing fees, packing
> materials, insurance, manpower to pick and ship the order, etc.  The minimum
> S&H charge covers that gap, allowing us to accept small orders from
> customers who are in a pinch without bankrupting ourselves in the process.
>
> - Ron Salmon
>    The Bus Depot, Inc.
>    www.busdepot.com
>    (215)  234-VWVW
>
> _____________________________________________
> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT
> .
>