Does shipping cost influence your vendor preferences?

[AlgaeBarn]

I certainly do put some blame on the shipping companies...is it really that much more difficult to deliver something overnight versus 2-day? It still has to be picked up, still has to be sorted, still has to be loaded on a plane and down, etc. Sure, charging extra for urgency is understandable but triple or more?

@AlgaeBarn You guys do a great job, and I am a loyal customer. Don’t think we don’t understand that there are costs.

Thank you for the compliment! I've spent a little too much time with our USPS and UPS reps.

I'll shed some insight since we work with UPS and USPS pretty closely.

Overnight is the most "Premium" service they offer and has the greatest profit margin for the shipping company. 2nd day air is actually considered a "ground" service by UPS, they truck it as far as possible, and then ship the rest with air if required. When they get really busy (around this time and christmas), we've seen them load a trailer up of 2nd day airs, leave it overnight, and take it to the airport in the morning ;Dead, obviously, this is less than ideal for both parties (packages are exposed to the cold, and UPS has to pay the premium of air freight for all the packages for the entire distance). After driving from Denver to Florida a few times, I think paying $60 to overnight a package to Florida can be a great deal .

@Roosterjack I think the vast majority of people understand that there is a cost, but I think Amazon shipping has ruined the cost perception of overnight or 2nd day air. Don't get me wrong, I love the fast shipping and included freight price that Amazon offers (I'm a sucker for "flat or cheaper as you buy more" pricing). I guess I'm just jealous of Amazon's distribution capabilities.

 

[Terri Caton]

yes it dose no LFS so every darn thing gets shipped in...sucks really tho shipping cost do ad up.

I try to place larger orders to get the free shipping. but when you only need a small CUC for your new nano the 3 day shipping is more the the CUC it does suck.

so yes shipping is a big issue on where i spend my $$

Me too. Can’t just go to several LFS and pick up what I need. I refuse to pay more in shipping than the value of the items I’m purchasing.

 

[mich2599]

Shipping costs are a factor but I look at the quality of the product I am getting overall. I did not like the products I received from a coral seller based in San Diego nor the one in Orlando. Poor quality products that resemble nothing of what they look like in the pictures they post on their websites. The only retailer I am happy with is based in Ohio as they sell good quality products and you get free shipping at just $150 and only $25 if you spend less than that so its a win-win for me.

 

[Silent]

What I will be charged for shipping absolutely will matter where I buy something from or if I buy it at all. There are many times I only want a coral or two as I am looking for something specific. I refuse to pay $50 shipping for a coral or two.

Waiting for a company to be smart like Amazon and charge 1 yearly fee for free shipping or like a yacht club and charge a yearly free but you must purchase a set dollar amount each month for free shipping.
Whatever company does that will explode in sells and popularity.

 

[Daddy-o]

I looked into shipping and found that if I mailed a 4"x4"x4" - 1 pound package with Priority FedX from San Francisco to San Diego the price is $67.89 so I dont think shipping prices are as bad as they could be.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Biokabe]

What I will be charged for shipping absolutely will matter where I buy something from or if I buy it at all. There are many times I only want a coral or two as I am looking for something specific. I refuse to pay $50 shipping for a coral or two.

Waiting for a company to be smart like Amazon and charge 1 yearly fee for free shipping or like a yacht club and charge a yearly free but you must purchase a set dollar amount each month for free shipping.
Whatever company does that will explode in sells and popularity.

Amazon isn't paying for 2nd-day air on most items that are Prime-eligible. There's only one reason that Amazon can offer Prime's shipping guarantee and stay in business: They have a massive distribution network with redundancy built into it across the entire country. Just in my immediate area, they have three different warehouses. Overall, they operate 175 warehouses with duplicate inventories, all strategically placed so that almost anything and everything Prime-eligible is within easy transport of almost everyone who's eligible for a Prime membership. The exceptions to that are so few that they just absorb the miniscule costs when they do have to ship something air. (Miniscule compared to their overall revenues. On the rare occasion that they do have to pay for air freight, it's probably costing them $50+ per package)

It's not a matter of being smart like Amazon. It's a matter of being large enough to spend literally billions of dollars on developing a warehousing, logistics and purchasing empire to make every single address in America eligible for Zone 1 UPS shipping from an Amazon warehouse. And it's then spending billions more to develop your own delivery network so that you don't have to pay UPS shipping rates any more.

So with that in mind, we likely won't ever see that kind of Prime-style business model for shipping of livestock. The distribution network you'd need would be a level up from what Amazon currently offers since you'd need everything to arrive next-day. For our vendors, the current model - a flat rate that keeps the business profitable for small orders, and a larger threshold where customers can receive free shipping - is honestly probably the best that we can expect. Unless, of course, some significant advances happen that either drastically decrease the cost of shipping something quickly, or make it possible to reliably keep livestock alive long enough for three-day shipping to become feasible.

 

[TheOne]

Amazon isn't paying for 2nd-day air on most items that are Prime-eligible. There's only one reason that Amazon can offer Prime's shipping guarantee and stay in business: They have a massive distribution network with redundancy built into it across the entire country. Just in my immediate area, they have three different warehouses. Overall, they operate 175 warehouses with duplicate inventories, all strategically placed so that almost anything and everything Prime-eligible is within easy transport of almost everyone who's eligible for a Prime membership. The exceptions to that are so few that they just absorb the miniscule costs when they do have to ship something air. (Miniscule compared to their overall revenues. On the rare occasion that they do have to pay for air freight, it's probably costing them $50+ per package)

It's not a matter of being smart like Amazon. It's a matter of being large enough to spend literally billions of dollars on developing a warehousing, logistics and purchasing empire to make every single address in America eligible for Zone 1 UPS shipping from an Amazon warehouse. And it's then spending billions more to develop your own delivery network so that you don't have to pay UPS shipping rates any more.

So with that in mind, we likely won't ever see that kind of Prime-style business model for shipping of livestock. The distribution network you'd need would be a level up from what Amazon currently offers since you'd need everything to arrive next-day. For our vendors, the current model - a flat rate that keeps the business profitable for small orders, and a larger threshold where customers can receive free shipping - is honestly probably the best that we can expect. Unless, of course, some significant advances happen that either drastically decrease the cost of shipping something quickly, or make it possible to reliably keep livestock alive long enough for three-day shipping to become feasible.

Amazon basically just mimicked Walmart. Except instead of a physical store that needs to be restocked daily they just restock warehouses.

Jeff Bezos is a genious and I wish Amazon would put walmart out of business.

 

[alton]

At the end of the day I look at shipping, box charge, and taxes and if the fish is worth it I buy, if not I don't.

 

[Salty Lemon]

In looking over the various coral sales I looked at a LOT of sponsor vendors and I quickly discovered that there is a vast range of shipping costs for what amounts to the exact same thing. How can one vendor charge $29 and another charge $60? How can one vendor do free shipping at $125 while others want $300+ or don’t offer it at all?

i understand some vendors are quite a bit larger than others, thus the volume and economy of scale, etc. What I don’t get are the high end outliers, some of which are well known names. Just because I am able to buy expensive frags doesn’t mean I want to overpay for shipping.

What are your thoughts?

I absolutely determine vendors based on shipping costs. And those who are on the more ridiculous side, have lost the opportunity for a lot of money from me.

 

[Mical]

As many above have mentioned - it depends. If I feel shipping & purchase price is reasonable, I have no problem with it. Some vendors are way over the top and I just pass.

Shipping co's drive me crazy - UPS stores (which are franchises) charge whatever THEY feel like and rarely are any 2 the same. FedEx - I live in Mn, order livestock from Cal, it goes to Tennessee first (yes I know it's their hub) c'mon really? USPS is just a "bad attitude factory". Then there's last resort RPS.... ugh.

Rant over... (well maybe not)

 

[mike550]

Not sure how much I’ll be able to add to this thread as many good points have been raised.

I used to order fish online but now I’ve been lucky to find a LFS that will order what I’d like and then “pseudo” quarantine (prazi / copper) but not fully isolated for two weeks. So I take home a fish that I throw into QT for a couple of weeks for observation. Other LFS I’ll quarantine on my own. (Not meaning to turn this into a debate on quarantine methods)

Selfishly I have put the risk of loss on the LFS. I don’t pay for the fish until I walk out the door. Sure no 14 day warranty but I’m okay with that. They’re also much more skilled at helping fish recuperate from shipping etc. so I walk out the door with the fish I want knowing it’s in better shape than coming out of a styrofoam box

And YES, I’m willing to pay more for this than online — even with free shipping.

Dry goods are a totally different story. Best overall price — including Amazon.

 

[EMeyer]

Total price is all that matters. Free shipping is a myth, the seller is just eating the cost in that case.

The only bad guys here are the shipping companies themselves. Negotiated prices where one buyer has access to prices another doesnt, are fundamentally wrong and probably shouldn't be legal. They can only afford to give big companies discounts because they overcharge small companies. Effectively the big companies are subsidized by the little companies.

But there's nothing livestock sellers can do about it, shipping costs money.

 

[ca1ore]

I absolutely hate paying shipping charges. I’ve been spoiled by all the free shipping (eBay, Amazon, Wal-Mart, etc). When ordering livestock I buy enough to get free shipping or I won’t order. I’ll save up and get several at once.

Yes, that’s my approach also.

 

[ca1ore]

Maybe sellers make money on shipping, maybe they don’t. Either way, when I’ve taken the time to check, their rates are usually lower than I’d have to pay to ship something similar.

 

[Backreefing]

I personally think shipping should be less . $40 overnight is the general rule of thumb. It’s to much. It greatly affects how and when I buy . And I’m not alone I’ve had Freinds suggest ordering together. If not for shipping costs I certainly would have purchased more and more often. All I can do is to order alot of peace’s at once to lesson the cost per item . If shipping was $25-$30 I will order more . I hope our sponsors read all these replies because shipping charges are chilling sales more then they are aware.

 

[ahiggins]

I wouldn’t say I pick based on shipping. It’s kind of a coral basis but I wouldn’t pay over $40 for shipping. Most of the sites that I use are $20-$35 for shipping. Some of the ragged corals (infested with algae and pests) can be $20 shipping but I’d never order because it’s not worth the hours spent cleaning frags.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Absolutely yes especialy when One vendor charges $45 and another $29 for the same service.
Hard to justify shipping representing 25% of your purchase.
However I do realize the cost of shipping and how high it has gotten. USPS is out of control and claim losses annually

 

[radiata]

Location influences my vendor preferences more than shipping costs. If I want something in the next 2 or 3 days, I order it from a geographically closer vendor. If I'm not in a hurry, I'll order from my favorite vendor, even if it takes a week to get to me. That said, I usually also make an effort to order enough goods to meet a vendor's "free shipping" threshold.

 

[Peace River]

I focus on the total cost (in addition to quality, etc.). I don't care about what a vendor calls the fees (shipping, box fee, handling fee, etc.). A company could have really low prices and several added fees that make the total cost more expensive than a company that offers free shipping. When the pricing is added to all of the fees then that is my total cost and that is what I care about when I am considering the financial part of the transaction.

 

[vanpire]

I focus on the total cost (in addition to quality, etc.). I don't care about what a vendor calls the fees (shipping, box fee, handling fee, etc.). A company could have really low prices and several added fees that make the total cost more expensive than a company that offers free shipping. When the pricing is added to all of the fees then that is my total cost and that is what I care about when I am considering the financial part of the transaction.

I check the total costs, including the taxes as some vendors don’t charge taxes. But taxes are another can of worms.