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Charged for shipping in the store?

tinytrains

tinytrains

Still plays with trains.
I have deleted my original rant. It has caused far more trouble and hard feelings than it was worth or I ever expected.

Scott
 
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I agree with you. If they are a retailer, they are responsible for stocking their store. Most stores nowdays are stocking minimal stock to avoid inventory taxes.
They are saving money in this regard, so I don't think they should charge shipping to the end customer. Sounds like double dipping to me.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but I think I would have walked out and let them keep their pants.

460
 
When a store orders inventory, they usually order a large enough quantity to absorb the shipping costs. If a store orders a special order item for someone, and they order it singly, the shipping costs go way up. If the order is placed to get it for you immediately and there is minimal mark up on whatever you are buying, they may have to charge some freight fee to make any money at all.

I don't know if this is the case or not but $4.00 shipping fee does not seem like a bunch. And they charged it up front. Seems like normal business practice to me. You can always choose not to place the order. By placing it you agreed to the price.

The reason a lot of stores have cut back inventory is not because they are avoiding inventory tax but because the current retail economy will not support the large expense.

I don't know anybody who is getting rich in retail in the current market and I know a lot of people who are barely getting by. We are upset when a dealer closes but we don't always let them make the profit they need to stay open.

Just a different perspective.
 
Yeah, but when you see the pants on the shelf & pay full retail, the guy is making a profit, now, he calls the distributor & they send a special size, you expect to pay full retail, even though they did no more than you would do to order them on line... You don't expect to pay shipping. Especially if they didn't tell you up front they were going to do it... Now, order on line, get a discount price & pay shipping? I don't mind it... I know I got a better deal.
 
Lots of businesses do this - but they call it "Special Handling" instead of shipping. When they call it special handling we understand it, but when they call it shipping we don't think it is fair. I don't like it either way but if I want the part or other item I wind up deciding if the $ amount kills the deal or not.

We live 125 from the nearest Walmart (not counting the one they are building 90 miles away in Mexico), 200 miles from the nearest mall or motorcycle dealership, and 400 miles away from a BMW dealership. So we do a lot of shopping by telephone or over the internet. It sometimes costs some shipping, and sometimes costs some special handling but that is just part of living where we want to live, in the desert far from the crowd.
 
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Howdy Tiny Trains

IF you do ever go back to Del Amo, can you check to see if my brake pads for my
'86 honda xl250 ever came in. 4 years ago I also pre-paid for my special order...
After 2 visits and many, many calls-I just chalked it up to business as usual for
that dealership. Got my pads online, the next day!
 
samthg said:
Howdy Tiny Trains

IF you do ever go back to Del Amo, can you check to see if my brake pads for my
'86 honda xl250 ever came in. 4 years ago I also pre-paid for my special order...
After 2 visits and many, many calls-I just chalked it up to business as usual for
that dealership. Got my pads online, the next day!
Click to expand...

I doubt I will be talking to them soon. It is too bad, because it is a neat store with a huge selection. I believe in supporting my locals retailers, but they have to want me as a customer.

Scott
 
Special orders require extra shipping...simple as that...come on, they aren't just gonna absorb that! Either that or they make it up in the price...as had been pointed out, when stores make a large regular order, quite often the shipping is free if they order over a certain amount...

I was gonna tend toward a flame response, but since this is a club forum, I'll be polite... You GOTTA let your brick and mortars make their profit, otherwise, they won't be around...four bucks shouldn't be a deal breaker, but I suspect that they'd rather give you your money back and not deal with you anymore, too...

As a business owner, I know that there are certain customers that I won't deal with if they don't understand the quid pro quo of letting me make some money on our deal... I'll let them find somewheres else to go...
 
mervingry said:
$4 seems reasonable for a special order
Click to expand...

VERY reasonable! I seriously doubt that this would have covered the shipping for a pair of pants shipped alone, and it's possible that the shipping was pro-rated if they ordered a few other things...bottom line, it's a fair deal...
 
TinyTrains said:
They were very nice and helped figure out what I wanted and what size.
Click to expand...

To me this is the important part of your experience. For $4 it appears to me you may be cutting of your nose to spite your face when you say you will not be going back. The other way this could have gone is that you guessed at the size, ordered online, paid more than $4 for shipping, the pants did not fit, paid shipping to return.......
 
Originally Posted by TinyTrains View Post
They were very nice and helped figure out what I wanted and what size.
To me this is the important part of your experience. For $4 it appears to me you may be cutting of your nose to spite your face when you say you will not be going back. The other way this could have gone is that you guessed at the size, ordered online, paid more than $4 for shipping, the pants did not fit, paid shipping to return.......
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

With a POV as a retailer in another industry, I can say, don't forget how pss'd off you would be if a customer came into your store, you spent time helping him fit a helmet [for example], he didn't buy it, and then showed back up a week later looking for another item and wearing the helmet you helped him decide on, which he then purchased on-line...

Explode-02-june.gif
 
Yarddog said:
I was gonna tend toward a flame response, but since this is a club forum, I'll be polite...
Click to expand...

Thank you for keeping it civil.

It is not the $4.

I went to my local store because I believe in supporting my brick and mortar stores. If we buy all the profitable stuff online, they will not be there when we need the little things we can' buy online.

I just spent $1000 on accessories at my BMW dealer. I could have saved $200 online, but I want them to stay in business.

I wanted service, and am willing to pay for that. No problem.

It just that in 35 years or special ordering items at all kinds of stores (large and small), no one had ever charged me for shipping the product to their store.

If they had given me a choice to pay extra for expedited delivery or wait until the next shipment arrives, that would have been fine. But they just put it on my charge without telling me.

That is why I was ticked.

Scott
 
Lmo1131 said:
With a POV as a retailer in another industry, I can say, don't forget how pss'd off you would be if a customer came into your store, you spent time helping him fit a helmet [for example], he didn't buy it, and then showed back up a week later looking for another item and wearing the helmet you helped him decide on, which he then purchased on-line...
Click to expand...

I completely agree, and that is why I purchased my pants from that store.

Scott
 
TT, I think all of us, even those that have disagreed with you to some extent like me, can identify with the frustration you felt. While I take a different view of the situation I can tell you are a great guy because of your avatar.........................

































Anyone who has a grey R12R must be an A-one guy!!!

P5090017.jpg
 
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AKBeemer said:
TT, I think all of us, even those that have disagreed with you to some extent like me, can identify with the frustration you felt. While I take a different view of the situation I can tell you are a great guy because of your avatar.........................

Anyone who has a gray R12R must be an A-one guy!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think this thread has spun somewhat out of control. We are all in agreement that supporting our local dealers an important thing to do and they need to be profitable to stay in business. I was simply upset that the fee was not disclosed up front.

I apologize if I came off sounding like a cheapskate. That was not my intent.

Thanks, Scott

PS, Crystal Grey is still the fastest! :thumb
 
I apologize if I came off sounding like a cheapskate.
Click to expand...

Between BMW motorcycles and tiny trains, you can't be a cheapskate!

How tiny TT? G, G1, O, S, Sn, HO... or are we talkin' really tiny...
 
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