Shipping cost

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How can Amazon ship a add on item that cost $2 over 400 miles for free verses
Rockauto that you buy $40 from three places shipping is $20 and if you ship a 1lb box it cost $10 and know that im not a big shipper. The box amazon uses has to cost more that the product.
 
Corporate strategy.
Collaboration with shippers.
Market dominance.
Selectivity in loss leaders to gain market share.
Consumer intelligence and data mining.
Lethal competitive spirit.

Oh, and errrr..... volume...🙄
 
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How can a company not make a profit yet have a market cap in the billions of dollars?
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
How can a company not make a profit yet have a market cap in the billions of dollars?
laugh.gif



They use math you didn't learn while you were in school.
 
Amazon has negotiated great prices for shipping with all the major shippers. RockAuto is not a small business but tiny compared to Amazon. I am still surprised RockAuto has not done a better job negotiating better shipping costs. And RockAuto's policy of shipping from multiple warehouses and charging for shipping from each separately is annoying. Amazon Prime has 90 milion members. If even 50 million are in the USA, then 1 of 6 people in the USA have Amazon Ptime. Probably more like 1 in 3 families have Amazon Prime.

Amazon makes a good profit on AWS. Cloud computing.
 
I suspect Rock Auto is marking up the shipping. I don't even bother with them anymore.
 
Price the auto parts out on Amazon. Rockauto is still probably cheaper and no worries about counterfeits.
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
I suspect Rock Auto is marking up the shipping. I don't even bother with them anymore.


Ever price out the cost to ship something? I think everyone is just used the the low cost of shipping, but it's not as cheap as you think. Plus they might be marking it up a little to account for packaging/handling.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by dishdude
I suspect Rock Auto is marking up the shipping. I don't even bother with them anymore.


Ever price out the cost to ship something? I think everyone is just used the the low cost of shipping, but it's not as cheap as you think. Plus they might be marking it up a little to account for packaging/handling.


I have a work account and the price my company is charged v. over the counter retail is a ridiculous difference.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359

Ever price out the cost to ship something? I think everyone is just used the the low cost of shipping, but it's not as cheap as you think.


I've just about quit selling stuff on ebay for that very reason.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by dishdude
I suspect Rock Auto is marking up the shipping. I don't even bother with them anymore.


Ever price out the cost to ship something? I think everyone is just used the the low cost of shipping, but it's not as cheap as you think. Plus they might be marking it up a little to account for packaging/handling.


RockAuto used to use USPS Priority mail flat rate boxes when shipping to Hawaii, so $18.00+ for a large flat rate box was reasonable and I've purchased many parts from them in the years past. They switched to DHL which charges $50 for a $20 part so I avoid them now, period. I go to Amazon first, then OEM from an online dealer or local dealer then NAPA/Autozone/Advanced in that order and skip RA.
 
Amazon is shipping a lot with their own shipping service now. They even have an Uber type service for delivery. They have a huge amount of leverage now to drive down prices from shippers. Rock Auto has the worst shipping policy/cost of any website I can think of. Try adding small items to your cart. The shipping price may drop significantly with more items for some odd reason.
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by dishdude
I suspect Rock Auto is marking up the shipping. I don't even bother with them anymore.


Ever price out the cost to ship something? I think everyone is just used the the low cost of shipping, but it's not as cheap as you think. Plus they might be marking it up a little to account for packaging/handling.


I have a work account and the price my company is charged v. over the counter retail is a ridiculous difference.


Yeah no kidding. We make parts for major medical fixture companies and ship on their accounts. What would cost you and I $20 to ship UPS is $4 for them and they're smaller than tiny compared to Amazon.

I have(had) a hobby business but the increase in shipping costs over the past year have pretty much killed it. Amazon has trained people to expect free or very cheap shipping on everything.
 
I always negotiate shipping. I just used a contact form to protest $12 shipping on a $110 item that weighed 6oz and was 8" long. Quoted a competitor at $5 shipping and CS called me and asked if I was Military. Said I was a Vet and got free shipping!
 
Originally Posted by AZjeff
Originally Posted by dishdude
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by dishdude
I suspect Rock Auto is marking up the shipping. I don't even bother with them anymore.


Ever price out the cost to ship something? I think everyone is just used the the low cost of shipping, but it's not as cheap as you think. Plus they might be marking it up a little to account for packaging/handling.


I have a work account and the price my company is charged v. over the counter retail is a ridiculous difference.


Yeah no kidding. We make parts for major medical fixture companies and ship on their accounts. What would cost you and I $20 to ship UPS is $4 for them and they're smaller than tiny compared to Amazon.

I have(had) a hobby business but the increase in shipping costs over the past year have pretty much killed it. Amazon has trained people to expect free or very cheap shipping on everything.


And the cheap shipping from China also killed a lot of small businesses. They can ship it cheaper than someone in the US even though they may only be a few towns away. I've used Aliexpress a few times and the stuff on there is even cheaper than what you see on eBay and most of it has free shipping. You have to wait a few weeks though.
 
When shipping items like oil filters to Canada, Rock Auto seems to have a base price of about $12.00 ($8 US) for shipping to Western Canada. Then the price stays the same for the first 6 or seven filters and starts to climb again after that. If you order one, you might as well order six.
 
re Snagglefoot's point: Pat on the back to RockAuto for passing on the savings from whatever "initial flat rate" shipping method/option they have.

Still, their "multiple warehouses" is a false system designed to make money. I've selected and deleted parts from a big order and the warehouses changed about.

Still, their prices and frequent broad selections offer great choice options and more part numbers to look up elsewhere.

You gotta shop around.
 
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