Weavers Sneaky Price Hike

[Ferg]

Gougeing on the shipping is a killer for me. It doesn't matter if it's from a brick and motor store / company or one on ebay i won't pay it if theirs any place else to get it.

Just like the store in town that charged my customer $70.00 to overnight a package to Seattle. When i checked UPS website is should of been $50.00 . When i went back and complained i was told that's what the computer says and ithat i should of went to a UPS store if i wanted to pay $50.00. I doubt theirs a UPS store within a 100 miles of where i live. Now i don't mind them making some money. I think $5.00 to fill out a ticket and print a label would of been high but i would of paid it. I told the lady i wouldn't ba back and i haven't been back. Plus i have told everbody i see what a rip off joint their running. With the internet word travels faster now than ever before and people will tell quicker about bad service than good service. I guess that's human nature.

The UPS stores are traditionally higher than if you have an account with them.

We used to ship thousands of items with them but they have gotten so high priced, we send 90% via the post office. They do not lose more than 4 or 5 a year out of 20,000, we just cover that. Still cheaper than UPS.

ferg

[bruce johnson]

For the Priority Mail I can print a label but since we aren't home at mail time, it is a trip to stand in line at a post office for most of what I send. I have a UPS account and it is no big deal to print a label at home then pass it off to a driver, drop it off at a UPS Store, or the UPS service center. They are all a drop and run deal rather than wait in line. Ferg is right about the UPS store fees, and the independent shipping centers are even higher. Last year I shipped a saddle and a few other things in one box to Indianapolis for the guild show. With insurance and everything, it cost about $125 going ground. For the return trip I wasn't able to print a label and took it to a UPS Store. Same packaging and contents were $235. I don't begrudge them - they are a franchisee trying to pay rent in a strip mall and earn a living. He was sitting there on a Saturday afternoon and I was glad to see him. The alternative of asking someone to handle an 80# bulky box or trust the hotel to make sure a UPS pickup driver got it was not as attractive. Everything arrived in both directions just fine.

I have found that UPS website is handier than the post office for me, and their tracking for me has been much better. I still have delivery confirmation on some Priority Mail listing as not delivered from last year. They got them 3 days after I shipped. One was scanned as delivered in my hometown the day I shipped it. It was supposed to go across the country and did. Everybody has had different experiences with Priority Mail, UPS, and FedEx. I had a FedEx sit in AZ until they got a load to go to a remote location. It was delivered one day short of 30 days after I sent it. Insurance claims with the post office are not much fun and they can drag things out. I filed a claim with UPS and had a check a week after I sent the paperwork. For the small stuff replacable - Priority Mail is less expensive. Some of the bulkier things or the better stuff I care about and insure, I go with UPS.

[Ferg]

For the Priority Mail I can print a label but since we aren't home at mail time, it is a trip to stand in line at a post office for most of what I send. I have a UPS account and it is no big deal to print a label at home then pass it off to a driver, drop it off at a UPS Store, or the UPS service center. They are all a drop and run deal rather than wait in line. Ferg is right about the UPS store fees, and the independent shipping centers are even higher. Last year I shipped a saddle and a few other things in one box to Indianapolis for the guild show. With insurance and everything, it cost about $125 going ground. For the return trip I wasn't able to print a label and took it to a UPS Store. Same packaging and contents were $235. I don't begrudge them - they are a franchisee trying to pay rent in a strip mall and earn a living. He was sitting there on a Saturday afternoon and I was glad to see him. The alternative of asking someone to handle an 80# bulky box or trust the hotel to make sure a UPS pickup driver got it was not as attractive. Everything arrived in both directions just fine.

I have found that UPS website is handier than the post office for me, and their tracking for me has been much better. I still have delivery confirmation on some Priority Mail listing as not delivered from last year. They got them 3 days after I shipped. One was scanned as delivered in my hometown the day I shipped it. It was supposed to go across the country and did. Everybody has had different experiences with Priority Mail, UPS, and FedEx. I had a FedEx sit in AZ until they got a load to go to a remote location. It was delivered one day short of 30 days after I sent it. Insurance claims with the post office are not much fun and they can drag things out. I filed a claim with UPS and had a check a week after I sent the paperwork. For the small stuff replacable - Priority Mail is less expensive. Some of the bulkier things or the better stuff I care about and insure, I go with UPS.

As long as the item is not too big to fit into your mailbox at home or where ever, you can ship PriOrity. We haul shipments every day from September through January to the Post Office. We have an account with Endicia

Buy postage electronically which is posted to our designated Credit Card account. I wrote a program for Any and all Mail over 13 oz. The Endicia software takes care of all first class plus International, we ship lots to Canada.

We printout the labels for UPS and International. Our clients send us the mailing labels attached to each order, BUT !!! We do all the printing since we receive all orders via computer. I wrote a program to transfer most all orders we receive into Excel then into our Data base that I wrote also. Piece of cake

We don't even bother with insurance or tracking with the Post Office, too much hassle. Yes, we ship larger packages via UPS. Our customers routinely receive their merchandise from Ohio to the West Coast in no more than 5 days via PriOrity Mail.

ferg