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$23.00... Really!?!?!?


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Just ordered a CHT probe from Insight Avionics. $128.00 which seems right in line with any other CHT probe however, I was also charged $23 for freight. Seriously? For a single CHT probe?

I have played this aircraft ownership game for quite some time now and I get it, but really? You can't stick it in a bubble pouch and throw it in the mail?

 

 

 

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27 minutes ago, Guitarmaster said:

Just ordered a CHT probe from Insight Avionics. $128.00 which seems right in line with any other CHT probe however, I was also charged $23 for freight. Seriously? For a single CHT probe?I have played this aircraft ownership game for quite some time now and I get it, but really? You can't stick it in a bubble pouch and throw it in the mail?

I've been trying to find the power cable for a 360FLY camera. With my move last year I have no idea where it went. Last night I found one at Fry's Electronics. $5. Plus $22 shipping ??? The thing is about an inch and maybe three ounces.

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For a second I thought this thread was about an aircraft part that only cost 0.023 AMU.  Heaven forfend!  The $23 is probably made up of $10 actual UPS cost, plus $13 for the guy to walk over to the bin, put it in a bubble pouch, print the UPS sticker, put it on the bubble pouch, and put it in the outgoing UPS bin.

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That's okay... I was just dinged $30.00 from Lasar for an envelope with 12 grease zerks in it.... 

Just to recap:
12 x 3019 Grease Zerk Fittings: $1.43 each $17.16 total. 

Freight- $30.00. 

$47.16 total.

And no, I wasn't in a rush for it. In fact, had to wait until they got more in stock prior to shipping. 

"Here! Let me turn around, pull down my pants, and grab my ankles for you...."

 

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1 hour ago, Guitarmaster said:

Just ordered a CHT probe from Insight Avionics. $128.00 which seems right in line with any other CHT probe however, I was also charged $23 for freight. Seriously? For a single CHT probe?

I have played this aircraft ownership game for quite some time now and I get it, but really? You can't stick it in a bubble pouch and throw it in the mail?

 

4 minutes ago, GLJA said:

That's okay... I was just dinged $30.00 from Lasar for an envelope with 12 grease zerks in it.... 

Did either of you call to ask if they'd be willing to send it by USPS first class or priority mail?  Occasionally this will help as long as they know you're okay with not having a tracking number or proof of delivery

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That's okay... I was just dinged $30.00 from Lasar for an envelope with 12 grease zerks in it.... 

Just to recap:
12 x 3019 Grease Zerk Fittings: $1.43 each $17.16 total. 
Freight- $30.00. 
$47.16 total.
And no, I wasn't in a rush for it. In fact, had to wait until they got more in stock prior to shipping. 

"Here! Let me turn around, pull down my pants, and grab my ankles for you...."
 
What can Brown do for you?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

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1 minute ago, jaylw314 said:

 

Did either of you call to ask if they'd be willing to send it by USPS first class or priority mail?  Occasionally this will help as long as they know you're okay with not having a tracking number or proof of delivery

I told them I wasn't in a rush, and send when it was in.... I HIGHLY doubt it cost $30.00 US to ship an envelope to Canada. 

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Shipping and Handling has become a profit center in this age of on-line ordering. A simple paper sectional from Sportys ran >$14 postage the last time I checked . . . . and it's just a folded up piece of paper. This is not just a aviation concern, check anything purchased on line [not through your amazon prime account, or free "ship to store" promotions like walmart and Home Depot] or even through a mail-order catalog. Welcome to the 21st century!

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That's okay... I was just dinged $30.00 from Lasar for an envelope with 12 grease zerks in it.... 

Just to recap:
12 x 3019 Grease Zerk Fittings: $1.43 each $17.16 total. 
Freight- $30.00. 
$47.16 total.
And no, I wasn't in a rush for it. In fact, had to wait until they got more in stock prior to shipping. 

If live near Lasar, I could open a business picking up parts and shipping them myself.


Tom
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Let's face it, shipping has turned into a profit center. Used to be that consumers were charged what the actual shipping charges were, those days are pretty much gone.

Want to know what irks me? Those companies who charge for shipping not based on the weight of the item, but the cost. What this means is that a $50 circuit board which weighs next to nothing costs the same to ship as a 10 pound coffee table book.

 

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21 minutes ago, Hank said:

Shipping and Handling has become a profit center in this age of on-line ordering. A simple paper sectional from Sportys ran >$14 postage the last time I checked . . . . and it's just a folded up piece of paper. This is not just a aviation concern, check anything purchased on line [not through your amazon prime account, or free "ship to store" promotions like walmart and Home Depot] or even through a mail-order catalog. Welcome to the 21st century!

If a significant part of it is "handling," some amount of this is justified.  Maybe not all of it, but we are working with business that keep warehouse and inventory for a large variety of small volume parts (unlike Costco which has a small variety of large volume).

Another way to think about handling in this age of online ordering is that before, you'd have to call and talk to people for 30-40 minutes to find and complete an order.  I think 30-40 minutes of my time is worth $10-20...

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1 minute ago, jaylw314 said:

If a significant part of it is "handling," some amount of this is justified.  Maybe not all of it, but we are working with business that keep warehouse and inventory for a large variety of small volume parts (unlike Costco which has a small variety of large volume).

Another way to think about handling in this age of online ordering is that before, you'd have to call and talk to people for 30-40 minutes to find and complete an order.  I think 30-40 minutes of my time is worth $10-20...

Your point is very well taken. However, many small businesses that run out of a storefront and take their orders over the net can't be spending all that much time gathering the items and placing them in Jiffy Bags. As for the bigger businesses, I imagine a lot of them are automated to the point where not a single human interacts with the order. Not gathering the item, stuffing it in a shipping envelope, typing the address label or licking the stamp.

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Two recent purchases pull me in both directions when complaining about aviation expenses. 

I ordered two oil lines (Standard w/ fire sleeve) for my oil cooler and the price was almost $500!  Over $200 for a single hose...I’ll have to price shop in the future instead of using my normal place.

I’ve also ordered from aircraft spruce a number of times in the past two months.  The items and shipping were priced fairly and shipped FAST. 

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1 hour ago, MIm20c said:

Two recent purchases pull me in both directions when complaining about aviation expenses. 

I ordered two oil lines (Standard w/ fire sleeve) for my oil cooler and the price was almost $500!  Over $200 for a single hose...I’ll have to price shop in the future instead of using my normal place.

I’ve also ordered from aircraft spruce a number of times in the past two months.  The items and shipping were priced fairly and shipped FAST. 

Just replaced the four oil and fuel lines under the cowling of my C. With firesleeves, the set was $963.87 + tax & shipping. The hose to the carb was a little short, they took it back in exchange but it was shown on the invoice as $228! It's 15" long . . . .

This was direct from the manufacturer. Gave them make, model and serial number of plane to make sure I got the right hoses.

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I was charged 9 for a quart of oil from Aviall. 

I ordered a case that came in 3 shipments. 

The last was the final qt. Shipping was billed 3x. 

Lol!

Somebody needs to pay for my father in law’s UPS retirement! 

Some vendors are making money on the shipping process too. 

-Matt 

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9 hours ago, GLJA said:

That's okay... I was just dinged $30.00 from Lasar for an envelope with 12 grease zerks in it.... 

Just to recap:
12 x 3019 Grease Zerk Fittings: $1.43 each $17.16 total. 

Freight- $30.00. 

$47.16 total.

And no, I wasn't in a rush for it. In fact, had to wait until they got more in stock prior to shipping. 

"Here! Let me turn around, pull down my pants, and grab my ankles for you...."

 

When getting something sent from the US, use USPS.  They seem to have some deal with Canada Post that avoids brokerage fees.  I never use Fedex or UPS from the US.  However, shipping to Canada can still be a crapshoot with duties, handling charges, provincial and federal taxes... and on and on.

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28 minutes ago, Cyril Gibb said:

When getting something sent from the US, use USPS.  They seem to have some deal with Canada Post that avoids brokerage fees.  I never use Fedex or UPS from the US.  However, shipping to Canada can still be a crapshoot with duties, handling charges, provincial and federal taxes... and on and on.

That was USPS

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I’ve done enough internborder shipping to know that the couriers will screw you fast. UPS (aka- Useless Parcel Service) now sends me an invoice for duty AFTER I sign for the package. I now call them, tell them I’m refusing to pay broker fees. Why? Because I have a broker I use and it’s a flat rate of $12.50 per order. 

Usually I have to pull the “I work for a multi billion dollar corporation, and I won’t ship with you, unless...” chat, but it works for me. 

Friggin gougers

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Hopefully you at least knew about it before you completed the order and they billed you. My invoice from Plane Plastics was $666.65 when I paid it, but a few weeks later they came back and tried to hit my card for around another $120 for shipping their system "forgot" to include. Then, the one piece they cut wrong cost $30 to ship a $57 part to me. So my shipping costs were about 25% of my entire order.

UPS Ground.

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