Are bike shops taking the Mick with postage charges.

[johnb]

Am looking for a Surly Long Haul Trucker Fork, so on Monday of this week went on Spa Cycles website and yes they have them I'm stock for £67 and change plus £5 shipping. No sign of paypal option so I phone the shop and the ever helpful Dave tells me they don't use paypal, that's fine by me so Dave checks stock and they are in stock but he thinks there is extra postage charges as they are sent by courier. I am transferred to the office for confirmation of this and receive no answer Si Dave comes back on and apoligises that they are busy that's fine I will find out when I call back to order.

Called Spa again on Wed approx 12.30 to place the order and Dave was busy with a customer so the chap who answered proceeded to take my details for the order. All was fine until it came to postal charges as be didn't know how much they were as the courier was Fedex. I asked could it not be sent Royal mail standard parcels as it was within their weight and size regulations, no he said Royal Mail won't accept it because of its size. So my phone number was taken and I was told he would call me back right away. ( as of now I have received no call. )

So this afternoon I go on the net again and Triton cycles have them in stock,free postage to Eng and Wales but a whopping £20 postage charge to a BT post code address in Ireland. I phone them up and ask why the postage charge was so high yet its free postage to other areas, we have to use a courier was the answer I got.

On the net again. Cycle-ops have them in stock. Postage to Eng, Wales £5 postage to me £17 and yet again I got the courier tale of woe.

Eventually I find them in stock in cyclecentre, free postage and postage is via Royal Mail. Order placed this afternoon, email received an hour later from them telling me the order is complete and has been dispatched.

So what's going on with this courier carry on, anyone know?

Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining about postal charges, if a smaller company cannot afford free delivery that's fine. But its the excessive charges and this courier story that bugs me.

[ambodach]

You have opened up real can of worms here.Couriers are a rip off as well as in my experience being slow and inefficient.I live on a Scottish island where we expect perhaps a bit extra but the excess charged in many cases indicates that they clearly do not want the business. They have even tried to charge me extra for a mainland delivery because of my postcode. Don't get me started!

[531colin]

Go here http://www.royalmail.com/discounts-payment/discounts-packets-uk/packetpost/details
Download "designed to save you a packet" ...page 4 ....
Max size is 610mm....might be OK for a quill fork, unlikely for an ahead.
Don't know if this is a new rule, or just newly applied, we used to be able to send tyres a month or so ago.
BTW, it doesn't exactly help us, either.

[johnb]

Colin, thanks for your reply.

As you say, it doesn't exactly help you either so its of no benefit to either the customer or the retailer in this instance, so why use it when you have a service provided by Royal Mail which accepts the size of the fork and for a reasonable charge.


http://www.royalmail.com/delivery/busin ... rd-parcels

[531colin]

................ a service provided by Royal Mail which accepts the size of the fork and for a reasonable charge.............

Its the "aim to deliver in 3 to 5 working days" thats the killer.
On Wednesdays, we regularly get people phoning up complaining that the goods they ordered "nearly a week ago" havn't turned up....in reality, ordered at the weekend, so that Monday afternoon is the first actual chance of the Post Office picking up the parcel.

[johnb]

Most of what I order bikewise comes via Royal Mail including what I get from Spa and don't have any problem with the time it takes, in fact the problems I have had have been with couriers in that they don't have local pick up if you miss the delivery.

That being said offering a slower service (if it is that) at least gives the customer a cheaper option when you compare being quoted 20 quid to post a 67 quid item. And to the best of my knowledge using this service takes away the need to charge extra for a BT postcode.

[LANDSURFER74]

WE SEND 30 - 50 PARCELS EVERY DAY... by TNT or Tuffnels and charge a max of £17.50 for up to 5kg ... bike shops and especially E Bay shops take the micky ... we make a profit on our post & packaging, as we have to, we're a business ..thats how it works ...but not excessively...

[johnb]

WE SEND 30 - 50 PARCELS EVERY DAY... by TNT or Tuffnels and charge a max of £17.50 for up to 5kg ... bike shops and especially E Bay shops take the micky ... we make a profit on our post & packaging, as we have to, we're a business ..thats how it works ...but not excessively...

And I have no problem with anyone making a profit, but up to 20 quid for an item with a shipping weight of between 1.5 and 2kg and then the case of free shipping for all and a hefty premium for BT postcodes when it probably costs the same for postage for both areas.

[LANDSURFER74]

So you agree with me johnb ............................... good??

[johnb]

So you agree with me johnb ............................... good??

Does that suprise you?

[Ribblehead]

WE SEND 30 - 50 PARCELS EVERY DAY... by TNT or Tuffnels and charge a max of £17.50 for up to 5kg ... bike shops and especially E Bay shops take the micky ... we make a profit on our post & packaging, as we have to, we're a business ..thats how it works ...but not excessively...

I'll post a few observations:

1. A bicycle shop has a primary business of selling bicycles and bicycle related stuff, but when they post things they make a profit on the postage.

2. A garage has a primary business of repairing/maintaining cars. They buy a part from an automotive factor for £30, fit it to the customers vehicle, and bill them for the part at £60, and a charge for the labour expended fitting the part.

3. A cinema has a primary business of showing films, but they sell popcorn at £3 a bucket, drinks for the same price, and won't let anyone bring their own food and drink.

All of the above irk me, although I don't get caught by observation 2 because I buy and fit everything myself, and I have been known to smuggle a bag of jelly babies and a bottle of water into the cinema.

[gbnz]

WE SEND 30 - 50 PARCELS EVERY DAY... by TNT or Tuffnels and charge a max of £17.50 for up to 5kg ... bike shops and especially E Bay shops take the micky ... we make a profit on our post & packaging, as we have to, we're a business ..thats how it works ...but not excessively...

And I have no problem with anyone making a profit, but up to 20 quid for an item with a shipping weight of between 1.5 and 2kg and then the case of free shipping for all and a hefty premium for BT postcodes when it probably costs the same for postage for both areas.

If postage costs are excessive, travel to the shop and pick the item up

I'm sure it'd be far cheaper in both transport costs and time

[johnb]

If postage costs are excessive, travel to the shop and pick the item up

I'm sure it'd be far cheaper in both transport costs and time

Unfortunately your suggestion is not possible in this instance due to location and any shops locally do not stock the product in question.

[hamster]

People seem to forget that postage is not just the cost of a stamp, but also packaging and paying somebody to pack it up. If you don't like somebody's charges, shop elsewhere. End of.

[johnb]

People seem to forget that postage is not just the cost of a stamp, but also packaging and paying somebody to pack it up. If you don't like somebody's charges, shop elsewhere. End of.

Sorry, nobodys forgetting anything about material and labour cost, that's not the issue at all. So hardly end of, as you say.