68hemi

I just replied to the order below to Corvette Central about the shipping charges on this order and urge others to get on the bandwagon with me to vendor that are killing us on shipping. These are all very light weight items and can be compacted into a small box without fear of damage and $33.50 for shipping is terrible.

=left=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=right=rightHere is what I wrote:

ptjsk

Hey Darryl,
Yep...I agree with you. I've faced the same issues with more than one parts vendor. Many (unfortunately most), vendors are charging ridiculous cost(s) for shipping. I think it's become a way to make more revenue, rather than worry about customer service. Unfortunately, it's only driven me away. Especially if I can order it through Summit which offers reasonable shipping for items, and then it's actually free shipping for orders over $100.00. And....it arrives at my house the very next day!

Although there are a few exceptions. A few weeks ago, I wrote a short note regarding the postal costs from Corvette Rubber Co. But it was in support of their shipping costs. As far back as I can remember, they are the first and only company that has stated that they can fit my order into a small package, thus keeping the shipping costs down. What a pleasant surprise!

Pat

bruceg2016

I agree too, I just tried to buy an item from CC and the shipping was $15, Im in pa, found the same exact item from company in ca item was 3 dollars less but more important was the shipping cost was half what cc was trying to charge me. I sent an email to cc telling them they will continue to lose business with those shipping rates

68hemi

Here is the response I got from Corvette Central from my email. Of course I think the shipping is still high with the credit for what I ordered.

Dear Mr. Dayton,I apologize for the shipping cost on your recent order. We are charging actual rates based on UPS and USPS rates. We are not using it as a profit center. We monitor our costs vs. what is charged carefully and make adjustments as needed and have been refunding customers when we see discrepancies. Sometimes, dimensions can be incorrect and/or the items on the order can go in a smaller box that what is figured in the system. This appears to be what happened on your order. The mats and the owner’s manual were not shipped yet so I do not have the actual final cost, but we will go ahead and refund your credit card for $10.00.I do hope that you will order from us again in the future.

CaptainEgg

Well that was nice of them but I bet if you had not complained they would not have "caught it" This practice has been going on for far too long, so for every one that complains ten more don't and they make extra money no matter what they say they know it is being done and they approve it or it would be corrected. I especially like that it is blamed on the computer system!

bc6152

Numerous vendors getting away with this...

Bajaholic

I sometimes wonder if "real people" even look at the order or invoice from the shipper before it is sent out.? Everything in today's world is researched, ordered and received via computer. If there is human interaction it is the actual boxing up and placing the labels on the box. I doubt very much that person even looks at the costs, just what is in the box.

You also have distributors that do not have the actual inventory on hand, they come directly from the manufacturer. So again, it is all computer generated.

I guess what I am confused about is, don't you look at the shipping costs prior to hitting pay for item? If so, why don't you question it then? Make the call and negotiate the cost? Did you notice, I stated: "Make the call". Personal interaction is the only way to combat computer interaction. I know I am old school, but I still use the telephone and on a complicated or larger order will call it in to make sure and confirm everything is correct before it is sent. If you don't like the costs, there is almost always other options...

I guess, all I am saying is there is 2 sides to every story, and both sides could have issues...

bc6152

I agree that one should look at what the charges are before hitting "submit". I always check the amount and, if excessive, do not use that vendor. As you state, there are alternatives to dealing with those that use shipping as a profit center. However I'm not so sure that a vendor will negotiate a lower fee with a phone call. I believe that forums such as this one are useful in "reminding" these vendors that buyers DO notice what they are charging and will select a different supplier if the charges are excessive.

Bajaholic

I can guarantee when you are on the phone with the order person, there are costs that can be saved. Sometimes it is in a part, other times in shipping costs. If you don't ask when on the phone with them, you will not know.

As an example; I have located items/parts on Ebay and looked up the vendor, contacted them direct and was able to work out better deal. (A single part is fruitless but on a larger order, it often works) They know what their inventory is and sometimes they are parts that just need to be sold so bundle packaging helps them move parts and helps you same money. You will never be able to know this if you just order it via keyboard.

pewter99

if you ship a lot of stuff you would be surprised at what it costs....weight size and location all make a difference. complaining doesn't change that...buy from whoever can make the best deal and deliver the product

Zip Corvettes

Man, all of you have this so wrong. CC was right in there reply and I can vouch we go through the same thing. If you all want someone to complain to, its UPS and FedEx. USPS works but guess what, if the package is lost or damages it is seldom refunded and only up to a certain amount which is why only USPS orders will ship that way less then a $100. We have to go over every page of a UPS bill that can look like a small book every month to catch their discrepancies. We try to monitor everything on our end with Computers but we don't usually catch them until someone calls, like you did to CC. I get it, I order stuff too, but when the min charge from UPS is $9.00 there is not much you can do. They also have additions for everything that adds to it, but at the end of the day you get your package in the time they say you will 99% of the time.

Priya

No, Corvette Central is not blameless in this. I once ordered a piece of interior upper windshield trim from them and a couple of A pillar weatherstripping/trim rivets. The interior trim was backordered so instead of waiting until then to send the rivets some dumbass decides to throw two rivets that could have fit in a regular letter envelope into a box about 1 foot by 1 foot by 8 inches and ship the rivets immediately at a needless cost of around $25. But hey, not to make it look extremely absurd to open a box this size and find two rivets the size of a couple kernels of corn, they threw in a useless paper catalogue to make me feel better about not waiting to ship the rivets for free with the interior trim when it came in.

I find this with every vendor. I order a box of screws here, a couple of washers, a license plate light and I get 3 separate shipping charges in three separate boxes that could have all been put in one of the shipping boxes and I pay double or triple for shipping what the parts cost. I can understand employees not wanting to make a little extra effort to save us a bunch on shipping, but I'm not convinced this shipping practice isn't because the vendors make money off of shipping - hard to explain this consistent sort of shipping behaviour otherwise.

Having said that, I have not had such problems with Zip (so far, anyway).

Zip Corvettes

Well I can tell you without a doubt we do not make money on shipping. At the end of the day the shipping between what a customer pays and what we pay in the supplies and freight we are still in the Red. It is the cost of doing business and as long as it close we are ok with it. However already this year (2019) we now have gotten a new increase from UPS. I can understand a vendor shipping in 3 boxes if they are coming from somewhere else, the majority of all our parts are in stock so they end up on a desk with one person packing them.

Zip Corvettes

Wait are we not talking about shipping? UPS can get it there for a much better rate then you driving and picking up. We would love to see you in the Show Room but I don't think I would make that trip either.

1968swbbigblock

UPS seems to change and increase rates on almost a weekly occurrence.
Always updates on UPS world ship.
As Zip said it is a battle with UPS and Fedex over charges for all the little extras.
We can ship to an address for years and then have UPS tell us the address is incorrect and they nail us with a 15-25 dollars address update charge.
Box exceeds 12" in any direction - its an upcharge, COD its an upcharge, The list goes on and on.
Rates have gone up about 500% in the last 6 years.

vettebuyer6369