I tried to order two small, light weight plastic items from Factory Direct Hobbies. Their prices seemed to be pretty fair and they offered a discount of $10 for signing up with your email address. The two items came to about $18 and then with the $10 credit would have been about $8. Great. except that when I went to complete the transaction they offered two options for shipping. The CHEAPEST OPTION was $19.09!!! The other option was over $30. This is ridiculous. I feel that they are just trying to make additional money by overcharging for shipping. So I just shut down my order but did not bother to clear the shopping cart. Later in the day they sent me an email to remind me that I still had items pending and would I like to complete the order. How thoughtful. So I sent a reply explaining that I thought that the shipping charges were way too high for the little light weight items I was trying to buy. I thought I might get a reply with some sort of explanation. Nope. But I did get another email to let me know that my shopping cart was about to expire. Wow, that really helps. So, I guess I will add lack of customer service to my complaint. Hopefully other people are having better luck than I am. I know I will not be going back to them.
wdcrvr
Your not alone, I do the same here except I empty the cart to eliminate the emails.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
shipping charges are flat rate based on how many items you buy.
When I order little brass parts from bowser, shipping is like $15.
When I order decoder from MB klein, shipping is like $20. That's why I usually also throw in some cheap items that I needed anyways that were large(like building kits or cheap freight cars) in to justify myself.
I believe these model train websites dont take into consideration the weight of your items, or the size of the boxes. It just knows how many items youre buying and where theyre shipping it to.
If you dont like their shipping prices, look elsewhere. FDT may be making a few bucks from shipping, can you blame them?
Charles
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Modeling the Santa Fe & Pennsylvania in HO
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLb3FRqukolAtnD1khrb6lQ
Instagram (where I share projects!): https://www.instagram.com/trainman440
Shipping is more than what you expect unless you are a big company. Smallest box USPS over $8 for the size of an HO boxcar, next size up is over $15, add any packing materials and you get the picture.
Thankfully places like Litchfield Station continue to offer reasonable shipping costs for lightweight items like decoders, wire, etc. $4 for regular shipping and $6 for expedited shipping. I only buy my decoders from them because everyone else's shipping costs are so high. And Debbie from LF almost always throws in a "thank you" mint in with the purchase, which I give to my dear wife for her to enjoy.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Trainman440If you dont like their shipping prices, look elsewhere. FDT may be making a few bucks from shipping, can you blame them?
It's flatly unethical to charge more than actual shipping for "shipping". If the vendor want to call it "handling and shipping" then they can charge whatever they want, but if it's more than a couple bucks over actual shipping I won't buy from them because handling is simply a cost of doing business. Pricing their products so low that they have to charge a "handling" fee to stay afloat is misleading the buyer, which is just another form of dishonesty. Post the actual cost of the product, and add on actual shipping cost. Period.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
My thoughts exactly. I have bought other heavier and larger items from other vendors and paid a lot less shipping.
And in answer to another comment: yes I will be buying my items from some other vendor. I can't afford to buy a big lot of items at one time just to try to spread the shipping charges out over many items.
It should be pointed out that the 2 reminder emails you received were automated sent by the order system and NOT a real person. Your reply email probably didn't go to a person but to a noreply email address.
Peter
I used to ask my LHS to order stuff for me from Walthers. He always did a weekly order anyway, so I would just drive there on Thursday afternoon and get my shipping free. That was really great if I just needed some tiny item or detail part.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Yes. Well, if you order soap from our website you will find that we charge for shipping exactly what the post office charges for us to those boxes, 8, 15, and 45 or whatever. It depends only on how many bars of soap you want.
Now then if you want wine, we only ship altar wine by the case, and only to the ND, SD area. The price for shipping is between $99 and $130 and it does not matter if you want one case or ten. 35 pounds or 500 pounds shipping is the same price. They charge by the hunderedweight, but I have never figured out how it works.
It is about $300 if we use Yellow freight.
But those be the fakts.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I agree that shipping charges are often pretty high. USPS has had another price increase and even their Flat Rate boxes are now very high. They have their FRB prices just a few pennies more than what they call Retail Ground which doesn't make sense to me. Media mail for bokks, mags & videos is still very rasonable.
I don't know about UPS because I'll never use them because of their poor service and refusal to pay damage claims and FedEx has been way too expensive when I wanted to ship.
It's up to the seller or business to charge what they want and many add in handling & picking charges which rightfully shouldn't be listed as shipping charges. Some list ACTUAL SHIPPING and others don't. The ones that don't feel it's ok to add in handling and anything else.
I painted for a hobby shop that charged the actual shipping charges from USPS plus added the time for an employee to drive the packages to the PO as well as packing materials. The employee drove very slow and took the scenic route judging by what he charged me even back then in the 1975-85 period.
Who knows? I'd say avoid those that charge more than you feel is right and find another shop. I avoid Klein's because of the long delay between when I order and when they BOTHER to actually fll my order. I've had them take 8 days to pick the stuff up off a shelf and put it in a box and that doesn't count the shipping time. just not acceptable to me especially since they closed the store and are soley an internet store. There are other places with better service.
Also remember that USPS is having delivery issues blamed on the pandemic. I don't know about that. I have a package shipped from Mineapolis on 9/7 that stll hasn't made it to me in NW Arkansas by 9/27. USPS states IN TRANSIT.
oldline1
MisterBeasleyI used to ask my LHS to order stuff for me from Walthers.
I do the same. There is a small old-time hobby shop I go to sometimes and I get him to order stuff in as well. I just phone him up with my order and he calls me when it is in. I pay retail but no shipping.
I have PWRS close to me as well but I would like to see this young guy stay in business so help him out often.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I need some #79 drill bits and Walthers want 11 dollars too ship them
Russell
Lion
Same deal here. If someone wants me to ship them a woodcarving, I will find out what it will cost me to ship it and charge them that price, nothing more. wdcrvr
Any company has the right to charge whatever they like for shipping.Any customer has the right to not pay it.Isn't that peachy?
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
csxnsI need some #79 drill bits and Walthers want 11 dollars too ship them
Hence, why I NEVER purchase anything from them - unless it's through my LHS. I'd rather give them the business than pay Walthers for shipping.
High shipping charges only really grind my gears if I do not get what I paid for.
If you charge $14.00 for shipping, you better not drop it in a bubble mailer and send it First Class USPS for $4.00 and pocket the difference.
For $14.00 it should be packed carefully into a sturdy box with two layers of bubble wrap.
I deal with two places on a regular basis that charge pretty high for shipping, but do an amazing A+ job of packing, and always ship in a hurry.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I'm not defending any dealer here and can only speak from my personal experiences. I buy all the time from MB Klein. When they closed the retail store and went mail order only, I saw their shipping charges changed, and as far as I can see for the better. Now, I always get free shipping over $100. The USPS charges look fairly accurate, based on Priority mail charges. I always check the cart to make sure I get free shipping from them, or a least a reasonable fee based on what I buy. Decoders are light weight and if I buy a few, it's over $100. USPS gives the dealer up to a $50 insurance on their order and anything after that you have to pay. If the order is lost, the first $50 is on someone (never lost anything from them or anyone else for that matter).
Trainworld has a shipping charge and I think it's fairly high. I buy from them when they offer some deals on engines and freight cars, then the carges seem more in line.
I can't speak for the one the OP mentioned since I think their deals are not that great. Just my opinion.
Do your homework on what you want. The legwork is worth it...
Neal
Im not justifying what they are doing, but Im trying to give a reasonable explanation as to why.
nealknows I can't speak for the one the OP mentioned since I think their deals are not that great. Just my opinion. Do your homework on what you want. The legwork is worth it... Neal
I agree, that's why I dont buy from them , nor trainworld unless I have to. MB clein will always be my go to.
The only way a company could make shipping charges be affected by what you order, is if every item in the inventory has an additional weight/size/shipping charge multiplier value, which in most cases, is a bit too complicated. Large companies like amazon do have that, they always show package weight and dimensions in item description.
Or, its manual, like ebay, when you request an invoice from the seller and they tell you the exact value.
Some companies will charge an upfront cost for shipping, then charge the actual amount to your card/refund the difference. IIRC, Trainworld used to do this at some point.
I have seen this on ebay. A seller will have a BIN price that really looks good until you look at what they are charging for shipping then you can see it's just a ploy to add to the price without making it seem so. Kind of like what some restaurants were doing in our area long BEFORE Covid. Instead of raising food prices they would increase drink prices because a lot of people didn't notice until they got the bill, in fact one restaurant even removed their drink prices from the menu. I became an avid water drinker after that. Just give me your best price, this should include your cost of doing business after all I understand you need to make a profit, but if you try to hide it in shipping it just becomes a shell game.
Ralph
I usually wait until I have a big enough order to make the shipping worthwhile.
Also I order from discount sites where the discount is more than the shipping.
And when I do an order, I look around for little items to add in.
But if I feel the shipping is too high I just kill the order.
Paul
Shipping charges are part of the overall cost of buying stuff, so I definitely look at it. If it's high for some thing small and inexpensive, it's no deal. It should be somewhat proportional. That's what I don't like about Lombards, although everyone worships them, and yes, they have a good inventory of goodies, but it's that standard $13.99 shipping that only makes it practical for larger orders and why I tend to only order from them occasionally and when I can "justify their" standard shipping.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
When I need a decoder (or two), and perhaps a few couplers, I get them from yankeedabbler. They have a "by weight" flat charge for small items: $3.00.
OK, let's look at Lombard's pricing as an example.
They have Rapido RS-11's in roadnames that are sold out elsewhere, for $250 for full sound/dcc version. Elsewhere, some of the same roadnames are $300 or up.
If they send me a correctly packed, brand new in box unfooled around with model, for $264 (with the $14 shipping some of you are complaining about) then I get a good model at a great price.
I just paid $321 for one from another dealer (including tax and shipping), who packed it horribly, then the USPS badly damaged the model (due to the improper packaging) and I am still waiting to actually clear my refund. The dealer is a name place some folks on these forums have mentioned, and they think they can return their poorly packed and now destroyed (nose) model to Rapido...
If my SP black widow RS-11 arrives mint from Lombard's this week, I'll consider that $14 shipping charge to have been a bargain, compared to the hassle I've had with other dealers lately.
(including 3 defective return engines IN A ROW to various other dealers. Other 2 were steam engines)
No other place that I found is selling Rapido RS-11's for $264 including the shipping, in some of the roadnames that Lombard's actually has multiple units of.
I've only ever bought one or two other items from them, but if they deliver, I can't complain about the shipping price.
PRR8259 Wow, this seems pretty harsh and completely totally unreasonable, and completely utterly ignorant of real world basic facts.
I will say "WOW" as well, but not because I agree with you. I don't.
Every business has the same costs that you mention. Nothing is free. However, some businesses seem to be able to keep their shipping costs reasonable and still make a profit, whereas others seem to need to gouge their customers on shipping costs.
Ultimately, it is your choice whether to be gouged or not. I choose to not be gouged.
One of the prime offenders is the Global Shipping Program used by many eBay sellers to calculate the shipping cost to Canada where I live. The Global Shipping Program conveniently takes care of the whole process for shipping out of the USA, but its shipping charges are bogus. Typically they will add an international shipping charge to the initial shipping cost, supposedly to cover import duties. There are no import duties for any model railroad items for less than $100.00 coming into Canada, but the Global Shipping Program will add in $10 or $15 in bogus fees. The worst part is that the seller is not made aware of the bogus fees, nor do they receive and portion of those fees. It is strictly a cash grab by eBay, and it is killing the opportunity for the USA sellers to sell to Canadian customers. Using USPS First Class Mail is much less expensive (I won't say 'cheap'), and it isn't any slower than eBay's shipping program.
Rant, rant, rant!!! Thanks for listening!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I don't know any real numbers, but we are losing brick & mortar hobby shops here in Florida post-pandemic. I assume it is similar in many other places.
That means for many of us, including myself, that mail-order is now going to be the normal way of buying. No more stopping at Gulf Coast Model Railroading in Sarasota when I drive to Tampa. No more Riverdale Station when I travel to Atlanta. No more popping into Metro Trains in Fort Myers.
I guess shipping charges will be my reality now. I better get used to it.
Having a convenient place to run into for a bottle of Micro-Sol, a pair of Kadee #500 trucks, and a bottle of Vallejo paint will be sorely missed.
hon30critter One of the prime offenders is the Global Shipping Program used by many eBay sellers to calculate the shipping cost to Canada where I live. The Global Shipping Program conveniently takes care of the whole process for shipping out of the USA, but its shipping charges are bogus. Typically they will add an international shipping charge to the initial shipping cost, supposedly to cover import duties. There are no import duties for any model railroad items for less than $100.00 coming into Canada, but the Global Shipping Program will add in $10 or $15 in bogus fees. The worst part is that the seller is not made aware of the bogus fees, nor do they receive and portion of those fees. It is strictly a cash grab by eBay, and it is killing the opportunity for the USA sellers to sell to Canadian customers. Using USPS First Class Mail is much less expensive (I won't say 'cheap'), and it isn't any slower than eBay's shipping program.
As an Ebay seller, I was not previously aware of this. Thanks for creating awareness on this topic.
Dave--
The Ebay seller NEVER SEES the costs of the global shipping program. We ship the package to the center in Kentucky, and THEY ship it to you. WE have NO involvement whatsoever in the prices or the shipping from Erlanger, Kentucky to ANYONE outside the U.S.
If it's a cash grab by Ebay, and maybe it is, we sellers have NO control whatsoever over it.
I recently shipped a BLI Santa Fe 2-10-2 to New South Wales. In that one case I did happen to see the buyer's costs but only because he messaged me and it was somehow included. He paid something like $100 in international shipping costs, insurance, and taxes, over and above my Ebay auction fees (I built my shipping cost into the selling price in that case, and he bid $100 more than I would have sold it for to buy the model).
I prayed he would be happy with the model, and he was thrilled to get it and with the condition and the packaging it arrived in.
I do try to use a modestly sized box, in case they ship it internationally in that box, but I do not skimp on packaging.
John
PRR8259If it's a cash grab by Ebay, and maybe it is, we sellers have NO control whatsoever over it.
Hi John,
I fully understand that you have no control over what the Global Shipping Program charges the buyer. I should have made that clear in my comments. I'm sorry if I upset you. Their overcharges are not the sellers fault.
If I may suggest, you do have an option which doesn't gouge your Canadian customers. That is to use USPS First Class Mail, or at least offer it as an option. I know that USPS First Class Mail doesn't offer any loss protection, but when I ask a seller in the USA if they will use the USPS, I always offer to accept responsibility if the shipment goes missing. I have made literally hundreds of purchases that were shipped by the USPS and I haven't lost one yet.
I'm glad that I bought most of my rolling stock when the shipping prices were still cheap. I rarely buy anything on eBay these days, and what I do buy has to be desireable enough to me for me to totally ignore common sense!
Take care,
PRR8259OK, let's look at Lombard's pricing as an example. ... If they send me a correctly packed, brand new in box unfooled around with model, for $264 (with the $14 shipping some of you are complaining about) then I get a good model at a great price.
At that level, its "ok". Where it is not so ok is if you ordered a boxcar, you'll still be charged that $14 shipping. So Lombards shipping policy is not very flexible and only worth it for orders which can justify it, as I said. I don't think I accused them of price gouging, but for a small order, the $14 shipping is unreasonable when you can order from somoene else and pay much less shipping.
As for "correctly packed". I bought a Rapido F40PH from Lombards and it had no padding on several sides. To me, that is not "correctly" packed. Really models should have at least a little padding or cushioning on all sides. Models may survive the shipping without it, but it's a helpful as packages can have rough handling.