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Thank you for contacting us. With the dramatic
increase in on-line shopping these past few years, shoppers are
increasingly looking for discounts on shipping.
Some on-line companies due to their volume of
sales can afford to absorb some of the costs of shipping.
In reality, however, a lot of companies, mark up
the cost of their products to make up for their low shipping
costs. Someone, someplace, has to pay for each and every part of
the cost of doing business if that company expects to stay in
business.
Most large retailers who offer deep shipping
discounts are doing so to attract customers (and it works).
Some retailers like Amazon and Buy.com, as an
example, that handle a large sales volume can truly afford to
offer deeper discounts because they can demand (and receive)
better shipping rates than smaller businesses.
You see, shipping rates are also based upon
volume!
When comparing shipping costs, one must also be
sure to compare “apples to apples”.
There are several components that make up a
particular shipping quote. Some of these are commercial or
residential, rural/ remote locations, size, weight and dimension
of the package. If the weight is more than the shipper’s formula
for the given size, then dimensional weight is applied. As
example, this means that although the package may weigh 10
pounds, the shipping rate may be based upon 15 pounds. So even
if you are in a commercial location, weight and size still
matter.
All of these components are taken into
consideration in the one shipping quote you receive.
We negotiate regularly with UPS and are
successful at getting our rates reduced. The rates we offer take
into consideration all of the factors above. We choose to show
the true costs of doing business by not adding on anything extra
to the cost of our equipment to make-up for a “reduced” shipping
rate. This is also the fairest way to treat our customers. Some
customers pick up their orders at our shop. We would not want
them paying more for their equipment, as an example.
Comparing our company - a company that
specializes in serving the handcrafted soap industry - to very
large companies like Amazon is simply not fair. Amazon does not
exist to serve one specific industry. We manufacture our
equipment and we sell it directly to you, our customer. There is
no way we can compete with their volume and there is no way we
are going to inflate our prices to offer lower shipping.
Our mission is to serve the handcrafted soap
industry and to offer the finest equipment available at the best
price available. Shipping is what it is and there is nothing we
can do to change it other than to keep building our business,
increasing the volume of shipping to be able to continue to
negotiate better rates and to continue to pass the true costs of
shipping on. You can have us ship it to a different location if
you wish – one that is commercial or one that is not rural,
etc., if any of these factors apply to your particular
situation.
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