Hello everyone, Thanks for some of the more positive suggestions. I wanted to stay out of this and let it fizzle but it's not going away.
Defending our shipping prices and carrier choices in the age of Amazon is a losing game, and I won't win again this time, but... deep breath... here we go! If we ship a $10 order that cost us $5 in goods and $5 in labor/rent/bandwidth/etc. and charge $9 flat rate to ship but it really costs $12 to ship, we just lost $3. This happens sometimes. Rarely do we get a thank you. We get, "I can't believe you charged me $9." Sigh... Mondays are the worst! Next time call or email d...@rivbike.com. For this and any other thing that doesn't really belong on this here fun group. We'll do our best to explain and give you the best options we can. If you agree to no tracking via USPS and a total loss on your end if it's damaged.... sure we'll send it cheaper, but you have to agree first. It's not an option on the website yes. Somethings like ferrules are best purchased locally... While it's not what we'd prefer, you also don't HAVE to buy from us if you can't afford to pay for shipping. If we have something you can't get elsewhere and your life depends on it, then yes, you might have to pay us to ship it because that costs money, materials and time, and always cost us a lot more than you think. We like to guarantee it arrives too. Our local USPS office and services are rubbish, just like many of your local UPS stores and services are rubbish, it depends a lot on where you live and the individuals involved. But we review shipping every few months and offer our best alternatives. Comparing us to other businesses doesn't work out for that and many other reasons. We don't get the same pricing, deals, and service they do. They won't pick up our big loads in their tiny trucks no matter how we beg. USPS reps come by and offer nothing most of the time. On the other hand we've started using FedEx for some frames and bikes this year to prevent increasing those costs via UPS. A small and unnoticed win for our customers. Shipping costs go up every year and we are expected to make them go down. We simply cannot stay in business that way. Our shippers lose a little hair every time they see lost money on a package. It's stressful and a major struggle for us, especially when we too see others somehow getting or offering better pricing. We try everything, we batch and moan and threaten to change carriers. We have meetings and crackdowns. Our shipping rates are as fair-to-you-but-not-us as we can handle, even while occasionally losing money on a package here and there, or dealing with shipping cost complaint emails. I take free shipping when I can get it, just like the next guy (almost always from major retailers with generic products and big margins), but in cases where a company charges for shipping, I have a uniquely sympathetic feeling and think of it this way..... If you can't come to terms with paying for shipping costs as the cost-of-shipping, think of it as your carbon tax for shipping a relatively tiny thing across the country/world in a big dirty truck/jet, those things that our cycling trips are supposed to offset. Or a money-saving convenience fee you pay instead of having to spend more on a bigger order (which is maybe more green than multiple small orders). Or a service fee so you don't have to go downtown on your own steam and purchase locally. Or think of what a bargain $9 is to have your box promptly packed, shipped, and handled by a dozen or so wage-earning people including pilots! in many different businesses and leased locations and have it arrive in a week. Wow, that's neat! Really spectacular when you think about it. Shipping costs are remarkably cheap. Think what it would cost *you* to travel here and get it. Even neater! Also out-of-staters get out of paying their local sales tax when applicable, don't forget that added bonus of paying for shipping. In the future please contact us directly with shipping questions, suggestions, complaints, etc. Not everything has to be duked out public and the Bunch can be used for fun stuff where the great community can help. For shipping quotes and policies and general malaisey stuff, we've got the goods so come to us first. We have the answers you seek. Complaining here is maybe more interesting but ultimately unproductive, and complaining to me will get you somewhere. I welcome complaints because it gives us a chance to understand each other. I might not break, but I might bend a little. Never hurts to ask. Sincerely, Dave Schonenberg General Manager Rivendell Bicycle Works d...@rivbike.com (925) 933-7304 On Friday, June 24, 2016 at 2:31:35 PM UTC-7, ian m wrote: > > People keep mentioning the cost as though that's the main issue. It's not, > it's really the choice of shipper. I like what Grant said and generally > agree with where he is coming from, but it's unfortunate to only side with > UPS as they tend to be against the sort of employee treatment that he > mentions. > > Prior to the GWB administration forcing the USPS to pre-fund employee > pensions (which no other federal agency or private company does) to the > tune of $5 billion (!) per year, the USPS was essentially the most > profitable not for profit company in the country. It was disastrous > legislation for the USPS and most likely due to lobbying from private > parcel delivery companies like UPS. Who want to charge much more for slower > service. But that's off-topic for an off-topic thread. > > Sure, the costs are justified when shipping via UPS. UPS offers no > shipping rate reductions to clients unless their volume is HUGE. So it gets > passed onto the customer since Riv can't afford to take a hit on shipping. > No brainer. The main point is using USPS first class or priority flat rate > shipping for those smaller orders would be faster and cheaper for the > customer, very easy to do with their online service, and I'm sure they > already pick up and deliver to RBWHQ > > On Thursday, June 23, 2016 at 6:22:49 PM UTC-4, 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. 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