Bennyleather Report post Posted April 23, 2019 So I was looking to get a watch buckle from this vendor, and prices weren't bad...until I looked at shipping. $7.50 shipping for a $0.56 item?! Outrageous! I can understand maybe $0.25 for postage, but $7.50?! Has anyone else noticed the higher-than-average shipping? Note that I have not ordered anything from here yet. Does anyone have better alternatives to buckleguy.com concerning small purchases with smaller shipping charges? Thanks in advance! Benny Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LatigoAmigo Report post Posted April 23, 2019 13 minutes ago, Bennyleather said: Does anyone have better alternatives to buckleguy.com concerning small purchases with smaller shipping charges? A single postage stamp costs nearly as much as your buckle, so how would it be possible to ship for less than that? Throw in the packaging, labeling, insurance, overheads, etc., and you will know that we should all thank our lucky stars that Buckle Guy is in business to provide us with all of the wonderful products that they carry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted April 23, 2019 What LatigoAmigo said..the person who has to look at the order, pick the order, insure the order, pay for the packaging, pay for the payroll charges ( social security etc etc etc ) ..don't come for free.. Those of us who run businesses know this, some of those who do not, appreciate nevertheless that there are costs other than that of a stamp involved in shipping.. Personally I don't charge for shipping, but then my profit margins on what I sell, are high enough that I do not need to..Knowing what I would have to pay in Europe to buy what the Buckle Guy sells, there is no way that their profit margins on the item before shipping are enough to offer free shipping. So..They have a fixed basic shipping price..because it costs any business as much to pay someone for "pick one item and package and post" as it does for "pick 20 items, package and post".. Or..they could do what the suppliers of those of us who are in business do.. Minimum quantity 100 items..plus business registration number must be supplied etc.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bennyleather Report post Posted April 23, 2019 1 hour ago, mikesc said: What LatigoAmigo said..the person who has to look at the order, pick the order, insure the order, pay for the packaging, pay for the payroll charges ( social security etc etc etc ) ..don't come for free.. 1 hour ago, LatigoAmigo said: A single postage stamp costs nearly as much as your buckle, so how would it be possible to ship for less than that? Throw in the packaging, labeling, insurance, overheads, etc., and you will know that we should all thank our lucky stars that Buckle Guy is in business to provide us with all of the wonderful products that they carry. LoL, I didn't think of that. Personally, I would prefer to pay a bit more for the product than 6x the amount of the item in shipping charges, but that's personal preference. Thanks for the insight and context, I appreciate it. I meant no offence, business is not something I am at all knowledgeable about. Benny. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LatigoAmigo Report post Posted April 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, Bennyleather said: I would prefer to pay a bit more for the product than 6x the amount of the item in shipping charges, I could not agree more... but my solution is to buy in volume (usually X 10, but sometimes more), then I don't feel so bad about the shipping costs. Of course, I have a shop filled with buckles, snaps, rivets, rings and fasteners that I will probably never use, but I figure if I used it once, I might want to try it again. That rationale eases the pain. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted April 23, 2019 (edited) LoL, I didn't think of that. Personally, I would prefer to pay a bit more for the product than 6x the amount of the item in shipping charges, but that's personal preference. Thanks for the insight and context, I appreciate it. I meant no offence, business is not something I am at all knowledgeable about. Benny. No offence taken :-) Business is complex, and everyone learns a little about it at a time.. Most important thing ( after "only do what you enjoy, because life is too short to do otherwise" ) is, never confuse receipts ( monies incoming ) with profit ( some of which you'll pay to yourself )..you may not get rich..But you won't be bored..;-) Edited April 23, 2019 by mikesc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hildebrand Report post Posted April 23, 2019 I just had the same thing happen with Strapworks. I needed some 3" plastic slides and they were the only ones that had them, it cost $7.50 for the slides and $8.00 for postage. Like above I just ordered more to drop the per item postage a bit. Todd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bennyleather Report post Posted April 24, 2019 2 hours ago, mikesc said: Most important thing ( after "only do what you enjoy, because life is too short to do otherwise" ) is, never confuse receipts ( monies incoming ) with profit ( some of which you'll pay to yourself )..you may not get rich..But you won't be bored..;-) Fair enough, lol! Some thing like business generally stays pretty stable, but there are more plastic aspects about it as well, i.e. the amount of supply vs. amount of demand. 3 hours ago, LatigoAmigo said: I could not agree more... but my solution is to buy in volume (usually X 10, but sometimes more), then I don't feel so bad about the shipping costs. Of course, I have a shop filled with buckles, snaps, rivets, rings and fasteners that I will probably never use, but I figure if I used it once, I might want to try it again. That rationale eases the pain. 2 hours ago, Hildebrand said: I just had the same thing happen with Strapworks. I needed some 3" plastic slides and they were the only ones that had them, it cost $7.50 for the slides and $8.00 for postage. Like above I just ordered more to drop the per item postage a bit. Todd The issue I have with buying in bulk is space. I am going to graduate from college in just over a week and space/money is something I don't have a lot of right now, so for me it would be more wise to refrain from purchasing anything rather than buy in bulk to decrease the effect of high postage costs. And that's what I did -- I refrained from purchasing the buckle. I wanted the buckle for a watchband I will be making for my uncles watch (it had a metal bracelet but the clasp broke, so he commissioned me ), but it looks like I may have to wait, or commission my brother to make me a buckle... hmmm, *ideas forming beep boop beep* Again, thanks all for the input, most appreciated. Benny Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
williaty Report post Posted April 24, 2019 I had the same problem with BuckleGuy recently and it resulted in me ordering from elsewhere. They have thread sampler cards for $7, which I thought was a fair price for making them up. I then tried to check out and was hit with $15 in shipping for a thread sampler card. Figuring the website had to be broken, I contacted them only to be told they would only ship the sampler cards in a medium flat rate box. Upon hearing that stupidity, I ordered the same sampler card from one of their competitors who promptly stuck it in an envelope and charged me about a dollar for shipping. Guess which one I'll be checking out first in the future? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bennyleather Report post Posted April 24, 2019 6 minutes ago, williaty said: I had the same problem with BuckleGuy recently and it resulted in me ordering from elsewhere. They have thread sampler cards for $7, which I thought was a fair price for making them up. I then tried to check out and was hit with $15 in shipping for a thread sampler card. Figuring the website had to be broken, I contacted them only to be told they would only ship the sampler cards in a medium flat rate box. Upon hearing that stupidity, I ordered the same sampler card from one of their competitors who promptly stuck it in an envelope and charged me about a dollar for shipping. Guess which one I'll be checking out first in the future? Would you be willing to share the name of the competitor? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
williaty Report post Posted April 24, 2019 Just now, Bennyleather said: Would you be willing to share the name of the competitor? I would if I could remember which order this week it was ! I'm pretty sure it was Rocky Mountain Leather Supply but truthfully with the week I've just had I'd actually have to go back through receipts to make sure. I was overloaded and must have placed 30 orders with vendors (not all leather stuff). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bennyleather Report post Posted April 24, 2019 32 minutes ago, williaty said: I would if I could remember which order this week it was ! I'm pretty sure it was Rocky Mountain Leather Supply but truthfully with the week I've just had I'd actually have to go back through receipts to make sure. I was overloaded and must have placed 30 orders with vendors (not all leather stuff). Wow That's lot of orders to keep track of! Thanks, I'll give them a look. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
