Shipping Costs and Bottles ** Was: Camden Grey

[Guest guest]

Hi Kirstin,

 

I'll comment .. but not fer or agin any particular company .. just

generally how I think business such be conducted .. and how I do it.

 

> Did anybody else (other than Ro I think) also have the problem

> with the second shipping charge?

 

I think most folks would have a problem with that .. I would!

 

The problem with automated calculations on shipping costs are many .. it

can not be done very accurately. For any order that is not easy to

determine via US Postal .. like under 1, 2 or 3 pounds or so .. each and

every time I go back to the buyer with the below:

 

........................ Cost of Products Ordered .... $235.97

........................ FedEx Ground Shipping ....... ??

 

My employees in MD will advise you of the actual shipping cost.

 

(And .. they get back with the buyer ASAP .. via e-mail.)

 

Why do I do this? Because weight alone is not the determining factor on

calculating EXACT shipping costs .. size matters too. We have a FedEx

software program .. the same one they use .. and my folks in MD always

tell the buyer the EXACT cost .. no estimates and no ball park numbers.

We don't have handling charges because I disagree with the idea of such

things .. sellers can't perform their duties without handling the dang

goods and I think they should absorb the cost of packaging, etc., in

their overhead costs when they determine profit margins.

 

For international orders .. we go back to the buyer with EXACT costs of

shipping and give them the options .. they choose the method .. like:

 

Economy Surface Parcel Post (4-6 Weeks): $ 79.10

This cannot be tracked.

 

Airmail Parcel Post (4-10 Days): $151.50

This option cannot be tracked until 60 days following shipment.

 

Global Express Mail ( 3-5 Days): $159.80

This option can be tracked at any time.

 

Though Global Express is a bit more costly than Airmail Parcel

Post it is also the fastest and most efficient system.

 

FedEx International Economy ( 2-4 Days): $273.11

This option can be tracked on a daily basis via I-Net.

 

Please advise which option you prefer.

 

So .. I totally agree with you .. we must know UP FRONT what a purchase

will cost us .. and lemme tell you that a heckuva lotta sellers tack on

a buncha bucks to shipping costs .. its a way they increase their profit

and I totally disagree with a buyer paying more than actual cost!

 

> It was almost double what they'd quoted me.

 

Totally unacceptable .. matters not who did it!

 

> I had all my eo's shipped in glass too, thinking back... 1, 2, 4

> and 8 oz bottles. And nothing ever broke.

 

We ship ALL essential oils in glass .. to 50 states and 67 countries ..

and glass breakage IS insured by both the US Postal Service and FedEx.

Obviously, Canada does not operate the way we do in the USA. There is

NO WAY a person who is in the know would ship an essential oil in any

container except glass or some metals. Plastic of all kinds is not

acceptable. Some oils (Backhousia citriodora comes to mind) will eat

throw a normal bottle cap in a matter of days .. we gotta use phenolic

caps and even then Bc will eat throw them in time. All distilled oils

will absorb the molecules of a plastic container .. of any kind!

 

And .. don't buy that Bovine Excrement you see from time to time about

clear bottles being as safe for EO as colored bottles .. its just NOT

true .. its been proven over and over to not be true .. wise men with

PhDs in chemistry and other disciplines have disagreed in open forum

with those who claim otherwise!

 

As for breakage .. we use precut commercial styrofoam over packs on our

bottles .. they are NOT inexpensive .. but they save us one heckuva

lotta hassle .. we have had breakage but it is rare .. it will happen no

matter how well you package .. there will always be some dummy throwing

things around .. but with the over packs they have to do more than just

throw it around .. and they do that sometimes.

 

I offer customers a bonus to return those over packs .. but most folks

apparently throw them away because few folks return them. On the next

order I will give the buyer double the cost of shipping (via the lowest

cost method) if they return the over packs.

 

And .. there will be some leakage from time to time .. can't be avoided

because of pressure problems in the holds of some aircraft .. oils can

be forced right out of the bottle. That is not insured .. we eat it!

 

> However, they quoted me something like $16 for shipping, then

> when I checked my bill later, they'd not only charged me the

> $135 for my order and $16 for shipping, they'd also charged

> another $20 something charge for " boxing and shipping " later on.

 

Pays to read the fine print on all web sites of sellers .. I have read

the one you write of .. and many others. I will only say that I don't

want to do business the way some companies do.

 

> That is so dishonest, and I don't care if they're the only

> place to find some things, I won't do business with them again

> on the principle.

 

Principle counts for a lot .. leastwise in my book it does. But I doubt

that there are many companies that are the " only " place one can find

this or that. Folks need to shop around a lot and maybe do a search

engine check. A good one is http://www.dogpile.com because it pulls

up information on all the other search engines.

 

My opinion is that nobody should do business with an organization unless

they are satisfied with the quality and price of the products .. and the

customer service provided.

 

My business has grown slowly since I opened it in Summer 1999 .. new

buyers come on board daily .. almost always because of word of mouth

referrals. There are two things folks in this business should always

keep in mind if they wanna grow .. that is that the customer is right

even when they are wrong .. except in some really ridiculous extreme

cases .. and one " aw crap " will wipe out 10 " atta boys " anytime. ;-)

 

> Kirstin

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO, Rose Otto, Tested Hydrosols .. and other

nice things to make you smile shipped from our store in downtown

Friendsville, MD. Population: 597