p.s. Another part of the answer to your question #1 is that in most cases, an employee has to be paid to stand in line at the post office. So, even if you can't see why somebody's time is worth money, I'm sure you can see why somebody's money is worth money. Companies simply can't afford to pay somebody to spend an hour an a half (about 20% of the average employee's work day) going to the post office for the sole purpose of losing money on the deal. That's why a small pack of clips costs $8 to ship UPS and usually does not go through the post office.
As I've said already, I do go to the post office when it will save the customer money. The fact is that it costs me money though. Bigger companies simply won't do it. So, you buy a pack of clips for $5 and you expect the supplier to spend about $10 to pay somebody to take it to the post office, and then charge you actual shipping? It just doesn't work that way. You can't say "I want a dog, but I think the food is expensive, so I'll get a dog and I won't feed him." The dog will die. John Nasta -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Dan McIntosh Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 4:13 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Chevelle-List] Why OPG Sucks John, Point taken, but your response leads me to ask a couple more questions. 1) If I'm buying a product from you, why would I pay for your time? Am I receiving some kind of service, like a tune-up, where I need to pay labor? Taking time to ship the items you sell is an inherent part of doing business. 2) The reason I think distributors get a better price on packaging supplies is volume, volume, volume. The same concept applies when I go to the grocery store to purchase Pepsi. I can buy a 12 oz. can for 55 cents, or a 2 liter for 89 cents. Volume, volume, volume. 3) As I stated before, I don't expect to pay actual charges for shipping. I realize materials are involved. I realize time is involved. I just do not expect to pay 2 to 3 times what the shipping charges actually are. That was my point. Dan McIntosh 64 Impala SS ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Nasta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 1:30 PM Subject: RE: [Chevelle-List] Why OPG Sucks > There's the whole problem. People don't want to pay $8 UPS to send a package > of clips. Instead they want the seller to drive (or walk in my case) to the > post office, stand in line for a half hour, and then charge you less. In my > case, I lose about one and a half hours every time I have to go to the post > office. I realize that nobody wants to pay for that time. If I send an > employee, I lose that much time and I'm paying for it. If I go myself, it > only costs me the time, but time is also money. Then if you don't have the > time, and things go out a bit late because you haven't had time to get to > the post office, customers get mad because the turnaround time is not fast > enough for their taste. Yet they don't want to pay for the faster, easier > method. > > I do it because I know what the customers want, and the fact is that it just > makes it that much harder for me to run my business, and to compete against > the bigger players who will not stand in line for you at the post office to > save you money at their own expense. I can easily see why companies will > send a small pack of clips that could have been mailed for $2 via UPS for > $8. > > Also, what makes you think that distributors get packing materials any > cheaper than anybody else? Most people who sell on ebay use some old shoebox > whereas somebody who is shipping all the time has to buy boxes. You might be > surprised how much boxes cost. Also, most ebay sellers pack their own boxes > whereas distributors have to pay somebody to pack boxes. I try to save money > by re-using boxes and cutting big boxes down into smaller ones, but once > again the latter is time that nobody wants to pay for. > > I totally feel for you guys and I've said many times before that this is one > of the reasons I went into the business. I was a customer in this business > for many years before I became a vendor, so I know what the customers want, > and try my best to make it that way and still compete against the people who > don't care how much you pay for shipping, as long as it saves them time and > money. > > John Nasta > > > > -----Original Message----- > <snip> > for a distributor, usually the courier comes to them, and packaging costs > should be minimal. I bought windshield molding clips for my (ex)65 Malibu, > which they could have mailed in an envelope, but UPS'd them to the tune of > $8. But as long as we pay it and keep coming back for more, they have no > reason to change their ways. > > > ----------------------------------------------------- > To Unsubscribe please visit www.chevelles.net/list.html > To start a new topic, send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------- To Unsubscribe please visit www.chevelles.net/list.html To start a new topic, send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------- To Unsubscribe please visit www.chevelles.net/list.html To start a new topic, send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
