"What he said" + more.: As the co-owner of a small business (a ton smaller than Rivendell!) I read this thread with a little horror. I know a lot of non-business owners think owning a business is some magic that makes shipping cheap; some "consumers" even believe shipping is FREE if you own a business. It's not true. Until you get to a scale a little above Rivendell's size, you don't get ANY discounts on shipping. And until you get way, way, way bigger than Rivendell is or ever will be (and bigger than it WANTS to be) ... shipping's still "expensive."
"Free shipping" is an illusion. It's not free; it's just bundled into prices. Amazon and it's ilk (mostly just Amazon) has really effed things up for anyone smaller. As far as UPS vs. USPS...I can't understand why UPS still exists. USPS ships cheaper AND faster. That's right - not only is shipping an item via USPS cheaper...it will also arrive DAYS SOONER than if you'd shipped it UPS. UPS is just riding on the days of them being the only choice. Yes, UPS's tracking is a lot better, but in the end, tracking's cool - but what really matters is how much it costs to ship and when it will get there - and the answers for those questions with USPS will always be "less" and "sooner." On Friday, June 24, 2016 at 10:18:33 AM UTC-4, John A. Bennett wrote: > > Rivendell is a small company who often loses money on shipping, and whose > retail prices for Made In USA (or Japan or..) would not stand the test of a > number-crunching, pencil sharpening accountant. Their mark-ups are very > low. > > UPS's tracking service - and refund policy for lost packages - is head & > shoulders above the USPS. Answering emails and phone calls from customers > concerning the whereabouts of their merchandise is done effectively and > quickly (and pleasantly!) when the package was shipped UPS. The information > about its exact location is available on-demand. As someone commented, > customers now expect that. > > UPS picks up at Rivendell every day at exactly 4PM. The shipping > department is a blur of activity from the moment they arrive until the > moment Barry, the UPS driver, pulls away. The packages are wrapped with > incredible artistry and there is no waste. Diverting individual orders into > separate shipping streams is just not feasible with a shipping department > of only two people (and only one, when someone goes on vacation). Yes, they > could hire more people....and raise prices....and then....let the new > threads begin! > > > John Bennett > > Former Rivendell Employee > Portland, Oregon > > > > > > On Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 3:22:49 PM UTC-7, Belopsky wrote: >> >> Ordered gloves, ferrules, a couple washers.. >> >> $9 for surepost. >> >> And estimate delivery? July 1st. Ridiculous, right? >> >> All of those items would fit into a flat rate envelope and be here in 3 >> days vis USPS. >> >> Grant, hope you and others are listening. >> >> >> Thoughts everyone? >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
