Maybe we would have a better system if we could lower S&H charges and bring down C.O.D. charges.This would create a booming economy has people would ship by bus whatever they wouldn't be scared of C.O.D. charges.
If people knew they could return things at min. cost and use a effective C.O.D. system thats the answer
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Sparrow,
None of your suppliers enjoy freight charges anymore than you do! They have the same problems of increasing freight costs to get their goods and materials to manufacturer or distribute goods to you. When we ship UPS or some other method we bill the actual freight charges by that carrier. Freight is not a money making item for us. COD charges are another thing, that is a cost charged by the carrier for collecting funds from the receiver of the goods, not a upcharge by the supplier. Why COD charges? Well in perfect world everyone pays their bills in a timely manner. Unfortunately that does not always happen. In order for you to avoid those charges you need to establish a credit record with your suppliers, pay by credit card, prepay by check or money order. Return of materials that you have ordered and wish to return involves paperwork, and labor. If its the suppliers mistake, then they should take care of the problem. If its your mistake then its fair for you to pay the return and restocking charges, its not the suppliers fault.
Bottomline the impact of Transportation will always be there. Ordering in larger quantities lessens the cost per item purchased significantly. So plan ahead and put more in the box if you can. COD is another thing entirely! COD is almost always controlled by the customers individual credit situation and how they prefer to do business. Trust me no supply company enjoys having to do collections, anymore than you do having to chase your customers to pickup their mounts so you can to get paid.
I think that the real good taxidermists are getting all there money up front now for taxidermy jobs cause the taxidermist has to eat also?
May I make a suggestion to you Sparrow? Ship something...anything...to anybody...by COD.
To your utter amazement YOU will have tro pay the shipping charges up front to your customer...who then...HOPEFUYLLY...pays the carrier...then you waut for a few weeks for the USPS or UPS to send you a money order reimbursing you the cost tou had to shell out up front.
Now...multiply this times hundreds of customers a week...or day...and tell me how much of a bank loan you'll need to float your busines while praying...that customers don't wait a month to pick up his parcel...if ever.
And if not...the parcel is returned to you...for which you can receive from your carrier...AFTER you pay for the return shipping charges to you.
COD CHARGES?...no wonder most businesses avoid it like the plague. Might sound logical from you're point of view...but...how do you know what's in the box when you pay for it>...Could still be moon rocks.
~ ETCC
I can't imagine ordering anything COD in the first place. Why would I want to give the shipper $5 or more just for that? Ever heard of Credit Cards? They come in all sizes but most banks offer a decent package for businesses. I think mine is something like 7% IF I DON'T PAY IT OFF AT THE END OF THE MONTH. Nothing if I do and there's no monthy or annual fees. I take credit cards for the convenience of my customers since I'm hardly "big business", but the $12.00 service fee is usually covered and the "discount fee" they take back isn't a lot for the satisfaction of having my hands on the cash immediately. And best of all, it's ALL TAX DEDUCTIBLE. With credit card transactions, I don't HAVE to be here when the UPS or Fed Ex driver pulls up and he doesn't have to take it back to the yard. Guess I'm just a dumb country boy, but I quit using paper taxidermy forms years ago. Credit cards offer a convenience that S&H Green Stamps didn't cut.
George;
S&H Green Stamps WOW! Thanks for reminding me how old I am. LMAO!
Have a Great Weekend!.........Coyote
UPS is up to $7.00 for collecting a COD right now. A pretty stiff tariff added to your freight for not having a good credit relationship with your supplier. OUCH! Again the key is to purchase in quantity and either have credit established with the supplier, prepay, or use a credit card. We choose not to accept credit cards because of the upcharge by the credit companies of about 5% of the order value if it is not swiped through a machine. To beat all we have to enter all the credit info manually for them into the computer. Go figure! A ploy by the credit companie to increase service charges and they are successful with it. A four to five percent surcharge for over the phone credit card transactions at the end of the year is hard to justify. We choose not use an add-on fee to our customers for using the card so, we elect to not accept cards.
Well yes I know S&H are high like I was advocating how nice it would be if the S&H and C.O.D.'s were reasonable what a booming business and economy we would have?
You really wanna see it boom? Instead of asking the other companies to take a loss, how about we all charge enough to cover costs. Now theres a boom, rather then a bust...Many of you may not know what shipping and handling charges stem from. The computer system, manpower, and materials for staters. Those peanuts and bubblepack comes in boxes they most buy in quantity. Tape by the cases, boxes by the skid, etc. The lousy ten to twenty dollars handling they might charge is very small in that light...
Sparrow,
Listen to Bill & George, they are a couple of smart guys.
(bet you guys never thought anyone on here would dare say that! LOL :) )
You can even use a "debit" card that carries a Visa, MC, etc. to order as a credit card transaction or a "secured credit card" that you make sure there is enough money to cover your charges. In my mind there is NO reason to even use the C.O.D. system anymore.
If you don't have or can't get a debit card or secured credit card, just call your order in and have the supplier figure your total including shipping and send in a money order or cashier's check for the whole amount. So far all the suppliers I have dealt with gladly did this for me. Since graduating High School in 1982, I haven't used money orders to get my stuff, but I can't believe the suppliers customer service hasn't done anything but get better through the years.
Shipping costs are one thing, they are mostly set (UPS & USPS), but every supplier has a different overhead cost associated with their "handling". It depends upon their volume, number of employees, elaborateness of their computer system, etc. . When I started with the company I work for, our overhead cost associated with each order/return was $45.00 - now it is $110.00. When I started, we had only 13 employees and a 9600 sq. ft. building, now we have 45 employees and 29,600 sq. ft building (more worker & larger space to support = higher overhead). Also we put out approx. 20 times the orders that we did before and instead of taking 1 week to put each system together we now do about 5 per day. Think about this a little and the S&H costs start to make sense.
Take Care,
Kurt
P.S. Sparrow, and if you use a credit card that offers airline miles for dollars spent, you can rack up a lot miles ordering your supplies.
All Tanning, supplies, advertising, etc. annually = Free tickets for hunting trips!
Eric
Is this just another example of a taxidermist not charging enough?
He might also be just starting and just getting hammered by all the little costs of business he didnt really expect. Again, the customer pays for it, not us. We then have the responsibility of giving them their money's worth!
1st off you mentioned that suppliers pass on what they pay for shipping to the customer. Maybe your company does but, I know for a fact that what the big suppliers pay for shipping is less then what we get charged. They are shipping by semi truck full...they get a better rate. Hence they do make some money off of the shipping rate. Now I did not say here that it is wrong that they do that...go for it, They need to make money too. But no need for BS.
Second point do you really think what credit card companys charge for over the phone sales is a ploy? Its a much higher risk transaction when there is not a card to swipe or imprint. Thats the reason for the rate.
3rdly ,please don't take this as an attack...I like some of your products, but your business sense seems to be backwards! You need to except credit cards,period. Raise your prices that 2% to cover the added costs. Or go with a discount on prepaid with check or money order. I would bet you would find your sales go up...just my 2 cents
lastly and this is not ment for you Steve...:) Shipping charges are getting to be alot and anyone in a biz like this that has to have all these forms and products shipped needs to look real hard at the increase every year on shipping charges. UPS charges seem to go up in jan or feb every year. You need to plan on this and keep your price up to cover the increase. My shipping expenses seemed to double over the last couple of years...it sneeks up on you and the next thing you know you are paying $5.00 per form to get it too you! If taxidermy was a bigger business you would see companies giving better volume discounts and maybe just maybe free shipping. But with the lack of competion now....It ain't going to happen.