And add to Ken's comments that the boxes to ship items in cost money
too. I keep boxes for shipping back repaired Elecraft gear, and if it
is going UPS, I have to pay for the boxes - which average $2.50 each
since I purchase them in quantities of 20 instead of 1000 (which would
reduce the price to about $1.00).
USPS is nice because they provide some size boxes at no cost, and I take
advantage of that whenever I can.
What the customer is charged (in my case) is the actual cost of
transport, and does not include cost for shipping materials and my
packing time or gasoline to get to the post office or UPS shipping site
- other firms add a "handling charge" to cover those costs.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 6/17/2013 2:44 PM, Ken G Kopp wrote:
Rose ships covers and cases all over the world ... or rather I should
say -I- pack and ship them for her. (:-) I'll wager we're one of the
larger shippers here on the reflector ... with the exception of Elecraft.
Powerwerks is most likely losing money at $6.49, and it has nothing to
do with the cost of the item(s) being shipped. They will have numerous
"hidden costs" ... all shippers do. It just depends on how deeply one
wants to burry them. If one lived in the same town where they're
located, I doubt that you could drive there to pick up an item without
conduming $6.49 in fuel ... maybe more. One's time also has a finite
value.
There's address and return labels and likely a label printer to print them,
bags for the item(s) and probably another label on that bag. Then there's
the shipping packaging, be it a small padded envelope or a carton. If it's
a carton, there's the cost of "peanuts" or other cushioning material.
"Bubble pack" is suprisingly expensive. (;-) Padded envelopes cost
$.50 to $2.50, depending on the size, even bought in 100 lots as we
do. Don't forget the shipping costs ths shipped pays their suppliers
when they purchase shipping supplis
Oh, and there's the cost of paper and ink for the printer that prints the
packing lists and labor costs of the person(s) who does the shipping
operation.
I'll almost guarntee they're losing money at $6.49.
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