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  #1  
Old 05-19-2016, 10:58 PM
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eljefe eljefe is offline
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Default Free shipping going extinct?

I've been shopping around looking for rocket deals and noticed free shipping offers seem to be disappearing from the vendors.

Hobbylinc no longer offers free shipping at >$99 orders

Belleville Wholesale Hobby no longer offers free shipping at >$100 orders

Tower Hobbies no longer offers free shipping at >$55 orders

I hope this trend doesn't continue! Long live AC Supply and JonRocket!
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  #2  
Old 05-20-2016, 07:36 AM
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tbzep tbzep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eljefe
I've been shopping around looking for rocket deals and noticed free shipping offers seem to be disappearing from the vendors.

Hobbylinc no longer offers free shipping at >$99 orders

Belleville Wholesale Hobby no longer offers free shipping at >$100 orders

Tower Hobbies no longer offers free shipping at >$55 orders

I hope this trend doesn't continue! Long live AC Supply and JonRocket!

I still get emails from Tower for an occasional free shipping code.
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  #3  
Old 05-20-2016, 09:16 AM
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I still get the Tower free shipping code emails too.
Quite frankly I'm surprised so many offered this for so long anyway as shipping is a HIGHLY variable cost based on weight and distance. A box of iron costs a LOT more to ship than the same box of balsa. As variable as this cost can be, it could REALLY eat into profitability.
How Carl's Semroc did it for so long is beyond me...he really must have been making CENTS per kit sold, not dollars.
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  #4  
Old 05-20-2016, 09:44 AM
BRS Hobbies BRS Hobbies is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghrocketman
Quite frankly I'm surprised so many offered this for so long anyway as shipping is a HIGHLY variable cost based on weight and distance.

I agree. The USPS rates can vary a lot depending on package weight, size and destination.

With that being said, we offer free shipping and handling on orders $ 89.99 and up!

Best regards,
Brian
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  #5  
Old 05-20-2016, 10:20 AM
bob jablonski bob jablonski is offline
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With shipping going up Free shipping is a fading perk. Want 2 packs of motors and a pack of igniters. Our cost $24.00 Ground USPS shipping $6.00+ If you cut the price so you have a $15-20% margin to try and stay competitive. Guess what you lost money. Most people didn't go into biz to loose money.
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  #6  
Old 05-20-2016, 01:12 PM
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It makes me wonder if some of these high volume companies could get pricing by the truck load instead of metering out individual packages.

As for model rocketry, the densest items sold are motors. Everything else is hollow plastic, paper tubes, etc. until you get into HPR. Pricing would hinge as much on package size as weight in a lot of cases.
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Old 05-20-2016, 03:22 PM
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Ultimately there is of course no such thing as "free shipping". The costs are folded into the prices somehow or other.

How to charge for shipping is a psychology game. Many vendors incentivize large orders by offering free or proportionately lower shipping on large orders, despite the fact that the incurred shipping and handling costs will be higher. Recently I padded out a JonRockets order with some extra engines just to reach the free shipping threshold.

On the other hand, I get pretty discouraged when I need a few centering rings and find it'll cost $9 shipping for them. BMS does pretty well at having fairly low shipping costs for very small and light orders.
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  #8  
Old 05-20-2016, 04:37 PM
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I had an order to McMaster-Carr for some lengths of plastic, probably about a total of 24' of 1/4" angle (two 6' lengths and two shorter). The shipping almost cost more than the the order. Then I found out they have a warehouse cross town. Well heck, it's cheaper just for me to have them hold it and I'll drive out and pick it up.

Another time I looked into ordering a 12V replacement bulb for an Estes launch controller. Ehile the bulb was significantly cheaper, when you added in the shipping it was cheaper just to get the bulb at a local auto parts store that is within walking distance.
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  #9  
Old 05-20-2016, 04:48 PM
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burkefj burkefj is offline
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Tower also has 1.99 parts shipping for small items and recently it is 99 cents, plus their $10 off of a $50 order helps as well, I use those often to get small parts and CA glue..as said BMS keeps their shipping pretty low. For my kits I just rolled the shipping cost into the kit cost which makes pricing simple for me.
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  #10  
Old 05-21-2016, 10:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neil_w
Ultimately there is of course no such thing as "free shipping". The costs are folded into the prices somehow or other.

How to charge for shipping is a psychology game. Many vendors incentivize large orders by offering free or proportionately lower shipping on large orders, despite the fact that the incurred shipping and handling costs will be higher. Recently I padded out a JonRockets order with some extra engines just to reach the free shipping threshold.

On the other hand, I get pretty discouraged when I need a few centering rings and find it'll cost $9 shipping for them. BMS does pretty well at having fairly low shipping costs for very small and light orders.


That's how it started for me. I saw Belleville had a kit I've been interested in at a really good price, and I could pad the order with enough other things to build up to the free shipping limit (motors are my most common padding). Then I saw they don't have that deal anymore--shipping has become a whopping $17.49 on the first $100. Suddenly their prices became so unappealing that I decided not to buy anything at all.
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