The New Huntmastersbbs!: ordering videos

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Posted by albert (Member # 98) on April 19, 2006, 08:23 PM:

Someone here might know the answer to this question/ why is the shipping on videos vary so much? I live in Canada and I see shipping cost vary from 3 to 20 dollars how come? The last videop I receive from the US cost me $4.95 for shipping and the postage was $1.70. every thing is in US$

Storefront there is no shipping but the seller has to be/pay some one to be there. Internet some one comes in once a day and fill’s orders but you pay a handling fee over and above shipping costs.

What am I missing?

PS Jay I will call you thanks

Posted by Cal Taylor (Member # 199) on April 20, 2006, 06:52 AM:

I'm not really sure of your question Albert. As for me personally I have been charging the same for everyone. It varies alot on this end, depending on where the video is going, so on some S$H I make a buck or so over what it actually costs me, and on some I don't, but it kind of evens out. It does cost me a little more to send one to Canada.

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 20, 2006, 01:58 PM:

Albert,

I, too, was a little unclear on just what you were wanting to find out. I don't sell videos (the only one left who doesn't) but I do work for the U.S. Postal Service and have a pretty good idea what the costs of shipping a video-sized parcel via Priority Mail are. Like you, I used to be (let's say) shocked at the amount charged for shipping and handling over and above what the actual shipping costs were. Then, I started my own home business and quickly learned about "pricing out" versus "costing out" my product.

Using the example you cited, with $4.95 S/H and $1.70 postage, the shipper may or may not also have the cost of the carton the video was shipped in to consider. If they use USPS Priority Mail, they can get the cartons for free thru the Postal Service, but you still have the cost of printing the label, printing supplies, packing supplies, and the time it takes to process orders (that would all fall under the heading "Handling"). Because these are all expenses incurred by the business, there is often a small mark up to facilitate allowing the company itself to make a small amount per video sold that is earmarked for such things as capital improvements like replacing depreciated equipment (i.e., computers, printers, etc.) In short, the books for those guys may very well be split into expenses and income directly associated with the video/ DVD itself in one column, and another column that shows the expenses outlined above incurred for the actual shipping of the product. Add in the mark up for profit margin and the end result is the price you pay.

I agree that a mark up of $20 for S/H is exorbitant and I would question it, too. But, a S/H fee of $4.95 is a pretty good deal in my eyes. Better yet, the way Cal is doing it is good, too. Albeit a risky one. They charge a set rate, although they're shipping all over the country, and hoping that they can project their shipping costs out to ensure that what they make for close customers more than compensates for those that live further away.

[ April 20, 2006, 01:59 PM: Message edited by: Cdog911 ]

Posted by Krustyklimber (Member # 72) on April 20, 2006, 04:59 PM:

The answer to Albert's question is; they charge more, because they can.

It's certainly not a case of "passing a cost on to the consumer".
I sent quite a few calls to Canada, and didn't notice a cost difference.

Krusty

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 20, 2006, 06:21 PM:

Krusty,

With all due respect, you're one man that turns calls and offers them as an individual. Generally under priced and overly generous from what I hear. On the other hand, most of the DVD's are being fronted by a production company, whether it's a sole proprietorship consisting one one guy or not, which/ who is in it to make a profit by whatever means possible. In that sense, "because they can" is probably pretty accurate. On the other hand, "because they choose not to give the fruits of their labors away for next to nothing and have every right to do so" is probably more accurate. I've yet to see anyone give these DVD's away after investing their time and money just because they're helluva nice guy, or they consider it a community service sorta thing. Their experiences and talents are worth something to someone and they're entitled to some reimbursement if what they say helps the consumer. My point above was to give a better explanation of just how that is often done. I understand the point you're making, as well, but the price will be exactly as high as the consuming public will tolerate, as long as they continue to feel that the asking price is comparable to the money they offer in exchange. I sent several calls to Canada myself this year, and aside from the postage rate to get them there, I didn't make any adjustments in my going rate.

Posted by Cal Taylor (Member # 199) on April 20, 2006, 06:55 PM:

On videos 3 or 4 bucks is about the break even for me, so thats all I charge. I get the video packages a Wally World for about 85 cents each in bulk and the rest goes to postage. If I figure in the trip to the post office once or twice a week I'd probably be at a loss, but I'd hate to charge more and have guys like Krusty thinking it was too much.

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 20, 2006, 08:10 PM:

Cal,

If you're paying that much per shipping envelope, you might want to check with your local post office about shipping supplies. Then, you can go to usps.com and do your label with delivery confirmation, plus schedule those packages to be picked up by your mailman from right there at the house (saves you the trip). The postage per item may be a bit more than what you've paid in the past, but factor in not having that 85-cents plus gas to the PO and you may be money ahead. Get with your local postmaster, explain your situation and ask him to put together a proposal for how we (USPS) can help to make your shipping better and easier. Tell him a city carrier from KS sent you. [Smile]

(There. Now I've made the sales pitch for the big wheels upstairs so they can get off my donkey about "selling the company".)

Posted by Lonny (Member # 19) on April 20, 2006, 09:20 PM:

Albert is it just the shipping charges that vary, or it the shipping and handling charge? I know from shopping around on the internet for large quantities of rimfire ammo, some places will really stick it to you on the shipping and handling charge. I firmly believe some of these dealers offer ammo that they just break even on and than make up the difference on the "handling" end of the deal.

[ April 20, 2006, 09:22 PM: Message edited by: Lonny ]

Posted by Az-Hunter (Member # 17) on April 20, 2006, 09:37 PM:

Lance....you a rural carrier, or city boy? I was a rural carrier for six months, know full well why so many employees end up going postal:)

Posted by Krustyklimber (Member # 72) on April 20, 2006, 11:11 PM:

Lance,

My point was I never really noticed a difference in the price of shipping, so it is my OPINION it's not a cost being passed on.
Hey, I could be wrong.

Cal,

Actually "guys like me" don't give a crap about shipping costs... it has to get from there to here, and somebody has to pay for it.

Vic,

Lance told Cal to tell the P.O. a Ks city carrier sent him... I think that's a clue? [Razz]

Krusty

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 21, 2006, 04:00 AM:

Vic,

Yup, city carrier. But our office has more rural routes than city routes. I'm one of the lucky ones. My supervisor is an alright guy. Needs to be commended for his style of management, but he never will get the notice he deserves.

Posted by Tim Behle (Member # 209) on April 21, 2006, 05:35 AM:

Hey Lance,

Want to trade Supervisors? Yours can't know any less about my job, than the one I have now.

We had a 50% reduction in workforce this week, yet they increased my work load. Now he wants me in his Office at 7 this morning to explain why I'm not keeping up.

Maybe I missed my calling in life. Maybe I should have been the driver of that short yellow bus.

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 21, 2006, 12:44 PM:

Tim,

Just do like we do, smile at him and say, "I'm doing the best I can." Beyond that, they can kiss my ass. [Smile]

Posted by Krustyklimber (Member # 72) on April 23, 2006, 06:12 PM:

I been thinking a lot about this...

It must be a matter of what these companies feel like charging.

Let's say three companies ship out a DVD, all by U.S.P.S., one comes from Fort Worth, Texas, one comes from Chicago, and the third from Scottsdale... all going to Alberta, Canada.

If all three companies use a DVD mailer, each should be of similar weight, and the price of postage shouldn't vary much, certainly not by $15.
They don't pay anymore for shipping because they are a company, than I do as an "individual".

So, maybe one company has an hourly employee, who handles shipping and recieving?
What's he gonna make $15 an hour max? He oughta be able to process 15 orders an hour (or so)... so that adds $1 to the cost the company expends on shipping costs (if he can only process half that many it's $2).
Still no obvious justification for a $15 difference in shipping and handling charges (in my opinion).

I know of at least one person, who has given copies of his DVD away for free, and I got a free autographed copy of another video, so it does happen.
I was promised two more DVDs, and had these guys kept their word, I'd have three free (production) videos.

Krusty

Posted by albert (Member # 98) on April 23, 2006, 08:52 PM:

To clarify myself I was just upset that when I decided to order a couple of video's the one place that I was thinking about ordering from wanted $19.95 to ship 1 video therefore doubleing the price of the video. I have no complaints with any of the people that sell videos on this forum. The shipping costs have been resonable and delivery prompt.

I just feel that $20.00 dollars is little much.

Posted by Cdog911 (Member # 7) on April 24, 2006, 05:00 AM:

Albert,

I think I pretty much understood what you were saying and agree with your assessment. That's too much.

quote:
They don't pay anymore for shipping because they are a company, than I do as an "individual".

You're right. They don't. They pay less. Whether it's USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL - whoever - all the major carriers are in competition with one another for the shipping consumer's money. Therefore, they pay less because they pen contracts with the carriers for a set rate on shipping each unit, agreeing to ship a minimum number over a set period of time. You would be floored to know how cheap it is for some of these companies to use USPS. I can't speak to the others as far as what rate a shipper might pay, but I know we can beat most of them if the shipper really tries to get themselves the best deal they can.

I've covered this before some time back, and it's the way I price out my taxidermy work, but it's relevant here so I'll state it briefly again. I'm very open with my customers about how I set prices even though it's really none of their damned business, but it helps them to understand that the price I set isn't just a number I pulled out of my a$$. In (hopefully) this case, these companies have some rhyme or reason as well.

On any account, I have three entities that need to get paid: my suppliers, the company, and me.

My suppliers need to get paid what I owe them. Self explanatory.

My company needs to make money to replace depreciating non-disposable equipment such as air compressors, mounting stands, bandsaw, workbenches, freezers, etc. On top of that, the company needs to make enough to set aside a capital improvement fund to make upgrades and expansions as time and business dictates.

Finally, I need to make something for my time. After all, I'm not in it exclusively for fun. And I am paying self-employment taxes and income tax at the end of the year.

Just realize that if you're dealing with a company structured to make a profit, then they'll be charging a rate that seeks that profit margin.

Extrapolating how I do my business to how a DVD distributor might operate:

Suppliers - you have to cover the cost of burning, packaging, and mailing the DVD to your customers.

The company - your company (or yourself, whatever) accrued and incurred expenses in acquiring the video footage used in the DVD. That takes time and a lot of money to do that and your company has to recover those expenses thru revenue generated in sales by projecting how many units you hope to sell over the life of the product.

Yourself - your time is worth something and it's factored into the final product selling price.

In many cases, the seller chooses to adjust the amounts listed under each category to include an additional profit margin thus bumping the price up a bit on all three fronts. For you, the consumer, that might be recovered as "handling". It's the choice of the company how to do that and each seller will operate differently.

If the seller chooses to sell their videos cheaply or give them away, that's their right and choice, but they do so with the knowledge that they're losing money with every "sale", and possibly more than they think.

I agree that if someone is charging $15-20 shipping and handling, that's too much and they need to revisit their pricing structure to either reduce the amount of profit they're trying to make per unit, or admit once and for all (if that's the amount they HAVE to make to meet their bills) that maybe they ran right off the end of their budget and that it's likely they'll not make any money on the venture in the long run and try to cut their losses, but I wouldn't want to pay that kinda S/H fee either.

Posted by Possumal (Member # 823) on April 30, 2006, 06:59 AM:

Hey Albert: I have noticed a big variance in the S&H from different companies on lots of items, not just videos. Someone made the post "Because they can", and I'll add to that "Because some people let them get away with it". The same principle applies whether you are ordering a video or a dvd player. First you compare the price of the unit being bought, and then look real close at the S&H figure. The "H" part is where some companies take some excessive liberties. If enough people refuse to buy from them because of that, they will adjust or go under. As for shipping dvd's, if you package them in one of the virtually indestructible "Clamshell" poly cases, you cut down the cost of shipping considerably, and the recipient gets his dvd in a reusable container. Best of both worlds so to speak. [Wink]

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