Shipping to NYC.. WTF

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macegr
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by macegr »

It's possible to add a tracking number for First-Class Parcel. I think it's only 19 cents more. In fact, if you use the USPS Shipping Assistant program to print a scannable label, or postage from a Pitney-Bowes machine, the tracking number option is mandatory.

But then, the package is only going to your local post office and back. It would arrive before they even updated the tracking information, if they bothered.

If a cheaper shipping option is available and you choose a more expensive option, I'm having difficulty seeing your side of the issue.

rom
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by rom »

As far as i could tell it's not possible to add a tracking number to a first class parcel on adafruit...

I also don't really trust the post office.

I never ship without a tracking number. i was pointing out that this is overpriced for fedex ground service on a package that weighs almost nothing..

And yes we've beat this to death. theoretically i will now get my package tomorrow ... 6 days later.

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macegr
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by macegr »

I've never lost a package through the post office. I don't think I've even lost a piece of mail, in either direction. Plus, the post office is 1/2 a mile away if I need to pick up a package, whereas the FedEx warehouse is 8 miles up 101 and take an hour to find your stuff.

FedEx is a private company that focuses on high-speed delivery (FedEx Ground is another story). You pay for what you get. I often choose a $20 shipping option on a $200 item, but I'm going to choose the $2 shipping option for a $20 item. If you add up the value of all the things you've lost in the mail, then add up all the extra money you've spent and will spend to slightly reduce the feeling that you might lose a package, it doesn't really make financial sense.

If you consistently overspend $5 in shipping on $40 items, the USPS would have to lose one in eight packages for this to make sense. I can tell you it's nowhere near that.

It's also going to be faster through your local post office than, as you mentioned, trekking all the way out to the FedEx distribution center and back.

If you're just indulging a harmless little compulsion, that's fine. Not nearly as bad as smoking.

magician13134
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by magician13134 »

Spending an extra $4 to make sure you get a package doesn't seem like a great idea, especially if it isn't super expensive. I've been on eBay for several years now (just got feedback 100 today!!! Still 100% :D) and never had a package lost. It pays to be cheap pretty quickly, even if a $400 package was lost now, I would still be able to pay for it again as if I had bought insurance all those times. Just my two cents, though...

rom
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by rom »

It's taking this long out of laziness and this is the last thing I buy from Ladyada. I purchased my product on Thursday morning. The label wasn't printed till Monday (which is a joke as it should have been printed packed and shipped on Thursday or at the very least Friday) and the package didn't go out until after 5 on monday so now it's Tuesday and I will be waiting till Wednesday.....

Usually small businesses make it a point to provide extra good service, especially for first time customers...

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macegr
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by macegr »

Small businesses don't have the manpower to guarantee things like same-day shipping. Digikey does it, but they have a huge automated warehouse and packing operation.

I do the best I can for customers, but have a life too. I also got an order late Thursday (it doesn't actually matter when during the day, since I have a real job too) that I didn't manage to get shipped until Monday. I make a best effort to ship the next day but sometimes there are doctor appointments or travel. It's going to be the same for any small business. You can't count the weekend in your day calculation either.

Limor could sit at home waiting for orders to come in so she could pack them, but that would end the creation of new product ideas since this is a participatory community.

rom
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by rom »

actually if you run through transit logic you can count the weekend. if it goes out on Friday, it moves through the system and oftentimes gets delivered on Saturday.. or it gets dropped off on Saturday and moves through the system, oftentimes immediately and shows up on Monday..

This is primarily in town logic but i've had shipments dropped off on Saturday that reach their destination across the country (via fedex ground) on Monday.

Small businesses make an extra effort to get things done as quickly as possible, usually going above and beyond what the big guys do because they want to establish a customer base and become a bigger business.. seems logical to me.

rom
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by rom »

and to imply that you'd have to have somone sitting there filling and packing orders is silly. you just need to get orders in by 5pm. I'm sure spending 2 hours a day wouldn't destroy limors ability to make new things and may even earn you a very loyal customer.

adafruit
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by adafruit »

Hi rom. I'm sorry to hear you are frustrated. However, you placed your order on Thursday night/Friday morning. As it says on our checkout page, we often take a couple of business days to process and ship orders. We didn't ship on friday because I was sick all day with a nasty cold*. (Regardless, some days are simply not shipping days here and although I appreciate the business advice, my system works well for me, my customers and my employees) However, your order was shipped one business day later - on Monday morning at 11am. We do not operate on the weekend and neither does Fedex, as such your order could not be shipped on the weekend.
The package was submitted to Fedex after 5pm (5:30pm to be exact, if you check the tracking number), because our local fedex drop off has a 6PM cutoff time and we want to make sure we get as many packages out the door at once. If you have a question about fedex delivery service you can call 1800GOFEDEX. Your package will be delivered very shortly.

As for my fedex shipping prices: I am not sure if you have ever negotiated fedex shipping costs but ground shipping discounts are quite low on the order of 3-5% for a small business. Only express services get discounts of 20%+ & they are also negotiated by zone. the rates on my site are direct from fedex.com's API. if you use fedex.com to calculate shipping cost for a 1 lb package from 10038 to (say) 10011 which is in midtown you will see:
$5.21 - Shipping charge
$1.95 - Residential charge
$0.66 - fuel surcharge
--------
$7.82
5% discount -> $7.45

So, in fact, I lost money shipping the package (which I should get around to fixing)

As for the 8.375% sales tax. Well, I think you can talk to Gov Paterson about that. It is outside my jurisdiction.

-All- my customers get the best service I can give them. However, its been clearly posted on the adafruit contact page that I don't have in-person pickup and that policy is quite strict.

This topic is being moved to kitbiz because i think it makes for good reading there...


* For future reference, staying in bed with a laptop and reading political blogs will only make you feel sicker!

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westfw
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by westfw »

Small businesses make an extra effort to get things done as quickly as possible
Bah. Small business make an extra effort to offer products and/or services not offered by larger firms. That does NOT have to include "extra fast service", IMO. I'd much rather have Adafruit continue to offer their current product line than become yet another "extra fast shipper" of Velleman kits...

So we've already covered:
1) it is reasonable for a home-based business not to allow "pick up" of orders
2) The costs passed on to you, the customer, are costs actually incurred by Adafruit.
3) It is reasonable for an employee to not have to work evenings and weekends, even if that's the only employee at the company. And shipping companies don't work odd hours either...

If you have data on how to "negotiate" with shippers to achieve the sort of huge discounts you mentioned, please post it; I'm sure lots of people would be interested...

magician13134
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by magician13134 »

I tend to ship the day of/after I receive orders (despite my caveat), but ONLY because I receive so few orders. Maybe 3 a week, and through some miracle they usually seem to happen on the same day as each other. Once business picks up (which I hope it will after MAKE publishers their interview with me) I do not plan to ship more that twice or three times a week. Both my site and Adafruit state this, so I think it's fair to cut small business owners a bit of slack. I wouldn't complain since you'll get yours tomorrow, I feel bad for the people overseas; 2 days from my house, 5-10 days to their country's border, 5-10 more days to them... They're the ones who have it rough...

@Ladyada, when you say
$5.21 - Shipping charge
$1.95 - Residential charge
$0.66 - fuel surcharge
Where do packing supplies fit in? Is that 'Residential'?

adafruit
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by adafruit »

westfw wrote:I'd much rather have Adafruit continue to offer their current product line than become yet another "extra fast shipper" of Velleman kits...
http://www.adafruit.com/promise.html

adafruit
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by adafruit »

magician13134 wrote: @Ladyada, when you say
$5.21 - Shipping charge
$1.95 - Residential charge
$0.66 - fuel surcharge
Where do packing supplies fit in? Is that 'Residential'?
It doesn't...that's the fedex residential delivery tack-on charge (UPS has a similar charge)
I have to figure out why its wrong. I usually add about $1 for packaging. The fedex API for zencart is a little wonky sometimes :(

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macegr
 
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by macegr »

I'm only using the USPS and UPS API in zen cart. But here's how I get the shipping quote to be very accurate: I use the tare weight in Configuration>Shipping/Packaging. My typical packaging is 6 ounces, so my tare setting is "0:.375". I also carefully weigh an item before I put it in the store. Then I add the approximate cost of a box, peanuts, and antistatic bags in the Handling Fee section of each shipping module.

More often than not, my shipping quote is accurate to the penny to what it actually cost me. This is mainly because I ship light objects and I use the same box for almost everything.

If you had a lot of different packages, it would make sense to tare the minimum packaging weight and then add a weight percentage per pound of product. So 10% + 6 ounces would be "10:.375".

magician13134
 
Posts: 1119
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Re: Shipping to NYC.. WTF

Post by magician13134 »

You guys are lucky, with your fancy APIs...
To be honest, my $3 shipping thing is more about not feeling like coding a real shipping calculator than being nice :wink:

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