Ohio Travel Bag ... Has Anyone Else Used Them Lately? *rant*

[RoosterShooter]

I usually use Ohio Travel Bag for my bulk buys on snaps, rivets, and screw posts.

However, here lately they're charging almost half the amount I pay for the items on shipping!

Is anyone else noticing this?

Today I ordered 3 items in bulk quantities that weighed less than 2 pounds for box and all. Shipping was almost $20! Any 'Savings' you make by purchasing their standard items ... you LOSE on shipping because they charge outrageously high prices for Standard UPS Shipping!

If this is going to be their standard practice from now on I think I'll pass. I can get it much cheaper if I were to pay retail somewhere else!

Your thoughts?

Edited April 24, 2014 by RoosterShooter

[benlilly1]

I've tried twice to get a catalog in the mail...Filled out all the information twice and still have yet to receive one.

[RoosterShooter]

They carry a large number and variety of items like rivets, bag handles, buttons, clasps, buckles, etc ...

However, they make you feel like you're getting a good deal on your order, and then hit you with an exorbitant shipping charge!

I weighed and measured the order I received last, and for me to ship it to them UPS was $10 cheaper than what they charged me! All savings went out the door when they tagged on their shipping charge.

[Troy I]

Just received an order from them...$35 for the items and $18 for shipping....very expensive considering the total weight of the package was less than a pound. ..One good thing is that I got everything within 2 days of ordering.

[TomG]

They need to fix their website. They only offer UPS on the site. But if you put comments in to please ship USPS or cheapest method, they will do it. I think my last 4 pound order came on a medium P-2 box for $12 or so.

[Troy I]

I didn't know that TomG. Thanks I will do that next time.

[ChuckBurrows]

one thing to remember - when buying from a business you are not just paying for the actual cost of shipping, but the cost of handling as well - any good business model MUST take into consideration the cost of packing materials as well as the labor otherwise it can kill you fast (I'm an ex-accountant) - not so much for a one man operation, but when you are shipping hundreds or thousands of orders it can become a major cost factor.

[kwelna]

I think I have to agree but also disagree. The handling costs (Actually all costs) should be included in the price of the object. The proprietor should know his overhead costs and price his items accordingly. (Not including shipping costs that is.) This is the same thing as the "Shop Fees" \ "Hasmat Fees" charged by auto repair shops. Most Hasmat materials cost nothing to dispose of adn nost shops have a collector that comes by and picks up the material for free. What this does do is give the repair shop an extra $10-$20 profit on each repair ticket. I know this to be true as that is how the added shop\hasmat feature on repair shop softare is touted ( I went to a couple of sales pitches for 2 different software packages and in both cases they drove this point home as a way to increas the bottom line without any effort). Think about if you are a repair shop and you turn over 5,000 tickets a year this would be a profit of 50,000 100,000 each year.

[Ferg]

You may be familiar with mechanics and Hasmat shops but you are a little less informed for shipping product.

We ship between 25,000 and 30,000 packages per year via USPS. To make things easy for our customers we average the shipping costs over the entire spectrum for USA only. Person packaging, checking address for mistakes, printing the label, applying label is paid $20,00 per hour. Some packages we make a few cents on, some we lose a few, it balances out. I guarantee you, we don't make thousands of dollars on the shipping.

ferg

[LTC]

I think I have to agree but also disagree. The handling costs (Actually all costs) should be included in the price of the object. The proprietor should know his overhead costs and price his items accordingly. (Not including shipping costs that is.) This is the same thing as the "Shop Fees" \ "Hasmat Fees" charged by auto repair shops. Most Hasmat materials cost nothing to dispose of adn nost shops have a collector that comes by and picks up the material for free. What this does do is give the repair shop an extra $10-$20 profit on each repair ticket. I know this to be true as that is how the added shop\hasmat feature on repair shop softare is touted ( I went to a couple of sales pitches for 2 different software packages and in both cases they drove this point home as a way to increas the bottom line without any effort). Think about if you are a repair shop and you turn over 5,000 tickets a year this would be a profit of 50,000 100,000 each year.

+1