Shipping prices.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought businesses made money by selling product for more than they paid for it.
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This answers all of your questions and complaints.

 

Tfd1124 , the best way to solve this is to drive to Mckenzie or wherever and pick the items up yourself and see if its
better than $20-25- shipping. Go up to the search bar and type in shipping, theres a shipping post propably every
week and start reading and usually the same replies are there every time.

 

Its fun sometimes to watch a train come off its track. Kind of like this post. Instead of bashing him for bringing up something valid, we should either tell him that's the cost of doing business, Welcome to the Taxidermy World or offer him other alternative companies that we have dealt with that might have more economical shipping rates. Instead it seems like some are trying to justify McKenzie's business practices instead of helping out a member of the forum. (Tfd1124, recommend that next time post it under the Beginners section. You might not get pounced on so quick.)

McKenzie does have high shipping charges on small items. As a taxidermy business you can account for those costs in your pricing and pass them onto the customer. As a novice or recreationalist (which probably account for about 30-40% of the forum based on the recent poll) you absorb all those charges. Depending on your financial situation, it could make a difference of whom you purchase from. Yes, because he is new to the industry, it is a shock. I know it was a shock for me as well when I started. Anytime a business is not up front with you on their actual shipping charges, you know you are getting ready to take it in the shorts. You have to know that up front and be willing to pay they amount they charged you after the fact (when you open the package and see the actual shipping costs).

The following is "Cut and paste" from the McKenzie website at checkout:

PLEASE NOTE: Actual shipping charges will be calculated and added to your order when it is packed and shipped.

If your payment method is Credit Card there will be a separate transaction for shipping charges.

This business models makes it impossible to cancel or change your order based on shipping costs because the customer doesn't get the actual price until it is packed and shipped. Great for the business but stinks for the customer. Funny thing is that this is one of the only industries that markets this way that I have dealt with when ordering online. After getting burned on inflated shipping for a $5 knife and a couple of other small items, I learned to hold off until I had a large order or go with another company that is up front with their shipping costs. It is frustrating to pay $18 for something that could have been shipping for $5-$6 Priority Mail by the USPS. It does make it hard to compare prices between companies when you don't know the actual shipping charges up front or at checkout.

I should also note, that I am not bashing McKenzie. They have a strong business model and they do a lot for the industry including support to the local/state/national organizations. I do order from them more so than other companies and I don't feel that bad paying extra on the shipping sometimes (although it stings at times on small orders), simply because they have supported the organizations that I have been a part of in my short time.

 

I've got to ask if it hasn't been already, do you folks complaining about McKenzie shipping, pass this so called discount that you receive when you order from the companies that you claim don't overcharge for shipping? I highly doubt it. A business should make money on everything it does period, no exceptions. Yes, many of us forget that and get caught up in the hoopla of being a nice guy. Most if not all of the folks that have built a successful taxidermy business did not.

 

That is why it really will save you a lot of money to buy a lot of the stuff from Amazon or other online retailers that often have free or really cheap shipping. I save up my orders until I can break the max discount threashold. Most of the small stuff that I buy often, but has a limited shelf life, like super glue, Apoxi Scalp... I buy from Amazon, which is getting more and more of the stuff I buy every day.

 

I can get 100% of my supplies from other taxidermy supply companies than McKenzie. Amazon has a ton of stuff you can use instead of from taxidermy supply company. Hobby lobby, Michael's, Walmart, Home Depot, farm and tractor supply etc., all have suitable supplies that you can use in taxidermy.

 

It just seems that the ones who complain the most about shipping are the ones who don't understand how business works. I was just trying to explain that Tfd1224's complaints can be applied to any business and their practices.

 

I understand what you are saying here. If you know the how and why they are doing it and you don't like it, I agree 100%. I don't like it, but I understand it and deal with it. How I deal with it is I never use McKenzie, especially now that I do very little taxidermy and most of that is for myself, unless I can't get an item or similar from any other company or if I need to get it in less than a week and Research doesn't have it.

 

I ordered 1 semi sneak whitetail deer shoulder form ffrom Mckenzie. It shipped from Wisconsin to my shop in Minnesota and shipping was $11.24. I ordered 2 semi sneak whitetail deer shoulder forms, that were in 1 box ,from OTS. They shipped from Ohio to my shop in Minnesota and shipping was $7.96! Mckenzie shipped UPS and OTS shipped Spee-dee Delivery. I realize Spee dee delivery doesn't ship in all parts of the US, but it is a major reason I purchase from OTS as often as I can.

 

If you got a OTS form shipped Speedee, although you ordered it in Ohio, it was shipped from their Illinois branch as Speedee does not go to Ohio. You also could have asked McKenzie to ship Speedee instead of UPS from their Wisconsin branch.

 

Thanks Gary, I didn't think of asking Mckenzie if they shipped spee dee out of Wi. I have asked when I ordered other times and they said spee dee wasn't an option. (Must have been different location) Good to know for future orders, although I like OTS forms. Thanks again Gary!

 

No this isn't the first time someone on here posted about S&H Fee's. There was a thread on this in the summer of last year - 2016 concerning the same issue and I have had the same discussion as well with friends who are full time professional taxidermists with over 20 yrs experience in the business.

The thing is - that is often the problem of S&H Fee's of course is this:
1) The size of the box / boxes that are being shipped.
2) How FAR AWAY you reside from the suppliers closed warehouse or shipping hub. That has a LOT of do with shipping costs.

Some places do have inflated fee's - some don't. All I can suggest is to shop around, compare S&H Fee's and such - but keep in mind today that ALL shipping companies these days - be they UPS, USPS or FedEx - it's gotten pretty expensive to even ship small packages these days!

Good luck!

 

I'm well aware of the many shipping threads. I was being facetious.

 

Well you certainly accomplished that! Didn't we now?
How come every forums that I always have a smart ass that when someone asks the Virginia Mcquestion they have to be sarcastic and such or act like an asshole all the time to someone who doesn't know the answer to the question? Is that like a prerequisite to belonging to a forum or what - I wonder? LOL

 

Same reason every forum has whiners, people who ask the same question 300 people just asked and is too lazy to go to the archives and look it up, people who think they need to chastise others because they don't respond the way they want them to, or has trolls, argumentative bastards, hard headed know it alls, people who ask a question and then argue with everyone who took the time to answer it and so on.

The answer is because there are people on the forum. Sorry we all can't be the people you expect us to be. By the way, you are one of those people. Why do you have to be that way?

 

You're an idiot. Perhaps he and/pr OTHERS don't have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD dude to look shit up CONSTANTLY! Don't answer the question is you have to act like a A-hole.