Give us your input on our shipping time/costs!

[DaddyGlenn]

Not sure I understand. Are we talking about these two options as different from now?

I think what we really want is free AND immediate shipping. And the only way to do that would be to jack prices or find efficiencies somewhere else. So, I assume that you are as efficient as possible and raising prices would cost more sales than the free shipping would bring in.

I think adding time to the fulfillment process is going to cost you market share. If I look my last 5 orders that I paid shipping on, they average $11.49 for shipping. Therefore, you are asking me if I am willing to save $1.15 to $2.30 by waiting 4-5 more days for my order. That is easy. No way. As much as I love Pelican, I'll go elsewhere.

So that is the value analysis from one customer. Lets look at the psychology/marketing perspective.

When you look at the power of free shipping combined with immediate delivery, a customer is likely to over value the free shipping aspect. I know I would have (until I did that quick analysis. Currently, you have free shipping on specific items when the order exceeds $179. That is a good tool. I know I have added items in order to meet the previous $75 line. But I would say there are too many qualifiers to the offer. Only on specific items and only under 15 pounds are limiting and if the customer is not aware of these limits, he/she could be disappointed.

I think you are moving in the right direction. See what you would need to do to expand the list of qualifying items and eliminate the weight limit.

It would be great if you can get to a shipping offer of all orders over X dollars ship free and everything else ships at going rates.

That is my 2 cents.

[NY65912]

I have been and have tried to be a loyal PP customer. But....there are times I am not willing to wait for parts to come from Cali, usually 7-10 days and have gone to another supplier (in Ohio) and get the order in 2 days and sometimes at a lower cost as well.

IMHO, shipping faster is more important than a few extra $. FWIW, I always go to PP first and see how longer it will take to ship, during the order process.

[RSBob]

Glen a very well thought out analysis. Well done sir.

[tdw28210]

Look, I would spend every dime of mine with Pelican if you guys had anything reasonably close to a Midwest or East Coast location. You don't, so I end up spending my dollars with the East Coast sheisters, hoping I don't get ripped off too badly. And I do the Prime thing too.

Not really sure why you guys don't do an East Coast location, but I would bet your sales East of the Mississippi would bump up 30 to 40% if you did.

[Bill Jennings]

I too would buy almost all of my parts from you if it was not for your ridiculous international shipping charges to Oz. My experience is very similar to mike-s Post #20 where in my case a $10 gasket would cost $40 to ship. So instead I either buy directly from Porsche who give me a 15% discount and free shipping or from the UK where I get free shipping to my UK address as I or my wife visit there a couple of times each year. As a comparison I buy various sized orders of supplements (1 bottle to 30) from the US and they arrive here in 5 business days or less and I pay a flat rate of $12.95 US for DHL service. I also regularly buy Harley parts from the US so I am familiar with the shipping costs to here. Since becoming a member at PP I hate to admit I have never ordered directly from your company but would in a minute if your shipping costs were comparable to other US companies. I have participated in bulk buys where a few of us order together from you but the shipping is still out of line. Part of the problem is that you use flat rate boxes that are much too big for the part being sent where you might be able to use DHL or FEDEX prepaid pouches instead.
Sorry to be so critical as I support everything else you do as a company but I cannot accept subsidising your free shipping to your local US customers by paying a multiple of the actual shipping cost.

If your shipping charges change please let me know.

cheers

Bill

[universeman]

The two separate LA warehouses is the thing I'd work on first...but faster shipping is always better

[70basket]

I guess I am confused is this referring to the product cost being 10 to 20% more or the shipping cost. I thought we had the choice of higher shipping cost for faster delivery ie: overnight vs ground. I have ordered from other vendors that offered a very low price but it took very long to time to ship as they ended telling me they needed X number of orders before they order from the supplier I don't order there any longer. Part of the reason I order from Pelican is that orders ship quickly same day most times. If across the board price increase is needed to maintain that I will reluctantly go with that

[Green6]

Every order I've ever made with PP has been split between your 2 warehouses. One shipment usually arrives in 4 or 5 days, and the other ships and arrives 4 or 5 days later, even though all ordered parts show in stock.

The last order I made they called me [that was nice] and told me I had to delete the oil filter from my order because it put the total order weight over 15 pounds, and then would not qualify for free shipping. The order was split between the warehouses, with the usual oversized boxes [enough extra space for 10 oil filters], and different shipping times. I find it hard to believe the couple extra ounces in one of those boxes would have made any difference in shipping cost. Most shipping costs are not based on exact weights. They are based on box dimensions and the weight is rounded off. PP could probably save a bunch of money on shipping by being a little more careful box sizing, and using a ton less packing paper.

As far as your survey goes, I would gladly pay 10% extra for shipping just to have things shipped the same day from both warehouses. I usually receive some of the parts for a project in 4 or 5 days [which is a reasonable amount of time for me most of the time], only to have to wait until the next week to receive the rest. I usually place my orders on Monday or Tuesday for the next weekends project. Half comes before the weekend, the other half usually comes Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week [usually the things I am really looking forward to], so I have to plan on ordering 2 weeks before I do the project I really want to do.

Edit: It is possible that some of the issues I've had with delayed shipments was because I ordered something that PP gets from the Porsche dealer, that PP warns will take an extra 4 days.

[RichardNew]

Amazon Prime has spoiled most of us. I'm sure it's impacted your business.

I'm in south Florida so when I buy from Pelican I pay high shipping costs and have to wait as well.

My local Porsche dealer gives me 20% off but I think that's after he adds 30% to the part. I got tired of his little games. The good part was I never had to pay him shipping.

Stoddard shipping is much more reasonable given my geography.

You might do what Jegs does. If I can show them a URL with a lower price they match it and give me free shipping.

It's a tough market and Amazon.com isn't making things any easier.

Richard Newton

[DaddyGlenn]

Originally Posted by universeman

The two separate LA warehouses is the thing I'd work on first...but faster shipping is always better

This. And in a geographic location that provides best shipping value to your customers.

[SOAZ]

I'd like the choice. Some items are critical and we need them ASAP and others are no biggie to wait for.

[Pete000]

I'm just glad Pelican has Will call pick up !!

I drive right by Pelican everyday on my way to work !

Saves a bunch on shipping and always a friendly greeting and a beverage.

[jkuntze]

well you asked and honesty is said to be the best policy (although experience teaches us that this is sometimes wrong)

i am an amateur restorer
your shipping and more important charges are outrageous summit, stoddard, mid 50's ford xks unlimited wilkenson pantera all are more reasonable and transparent
i live in ca and the 'may qualify for free shipping' (but never did) is a deal killer, i dont understand the dual warehouse thing just gimme the price including warehousing and handling and reasonable usps, ups ground whatever shipping

like this site and tech articles wont be a happy customer until fix the shipping

jes sain

[JJ 911SC]

My last few orders to New York was just about 6 days, Order on Friday, ship on Friday and got delivered the following Friday.

Add a 4-5 delay and I probably order closer.

What is the real root of the problem? You don't have the man/women power to ship everything the same day and you will use the week-end to catchup or you hope that enough people pick the ship now higher price to effectively lower your lost on the Free Shipping?

[mreid]

Your poll is flawed. My answer depends on my situation. Most times I can wait a few days for a lower cost. Sometimes I need the part immediately and will pay more. You could offer your loyal, frequent customers (like me!) a once a year or once every ten orders or one time once we've spent over $1,000, free and immediate shipping on one order. In addition to Amazon and zappos as benchmarks, McMaster Carr and Summit Racing are two benchmarks for you closer to your industry.

[jdbunda]

I answered, but I didn't understand the question, either. Is 10-20% more for shipping, or overall? It's just the shipping, this is a no-brainer as others have said. I assumed it meant 10-20% more on the price of the parts - well, that kind of depends.

As others have said - if the part is essential to getting my car going or my progress on a project is halted for a part, I want at least the option of paying up and getting it here like tomorrow. If it isn't essential, I am okay with it taking longer and saving 10-20%. But most of the time, I need/want it sooner rather than later.

Like someone else, I recently ordered a part that showed "in stock" but it took 2+ weeks to arrive. Had I known it would be so long, I might have gone a different route.

I feel like this business of multiple warehouses, drop shipping from suppliers, the restrictions on combining shipping, figuring out eligibility for free shipping, and all that, has become way too complicated. I used to try to combine orders, anticipate what I would need, maybe order some extra stuff, now I just ignore it, it's not worth it to me to try to guess or intuit what warehouse or parts source you are using, it's too frustrating to add some stuff that maybe I might need or use soon, only to find that it doesn't help with the shipping cost. Most times, I either need the part or I don't.

If you truly need to have a one-size fits all, I would be in favor of quick shipping. Not sure a 20% across the board price hike is what I want to see to get that, though. If it's 20% of shipping though, completely different story.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by Green6

PP could probably save a bunch of money on shipping by being a little more careful box sizing, and using a ton less packing paper.

Actually, I have no problem with this. In the past, having ordered items from others vendors and then the stuff arriving damaged because of the piss-poor packaging, Pelican does a nice job protecting your order.

Oh... not a shipping question but I wish you'd make the expiration date on your "Appreciation Gift" coupon a little longer instead of just one month. Maybe two months, or 90 days. Often I will place an order and then not need anything right away. A few days later I get a coupon notice and end up not using it.

[matthewb0051]

I just re-read the question and think is preposterous. When someone places an order you should fill it, not charge them more to fill it quicker.

The shipping charges and times are the issue.

I placed an order this week on Monday, checked USPS shipping at a higher rate knowing that it had a prayer of getting here by Thursday so I could install prior to going to Ski Round Top on Saturday. Some genius in your shipping department changed my shipping method to FedEx Ground. No way this thing is getting here before Friday.

Kathy fixed my problem and thanks to her for the refund. However, when I select a shipping method at a certain dollar amount that is binding (lawyer speak).

We on the receiving end usually want our stuff when we want it, not when it becomes convient for you or the folks in your shipping dept.

As others have commented, this has caused me to find sources like Amazon, Stoddard, and others that can get me stuff to the East Coast in a more expedient fashion.

Again, thanks to Kathy but my stuff is still not here.

[donlan]

Hello, I have some things in common with Bill (post No.25).I think you need to look at your overall plan. An extra 4/5 days to people like us isn't much,but up to an extra 20% on top of the present price will have me looking else where for my four pages of parts I have in my project basket at Pelican waiting for the miserable exchange rate to hopefully improve. My last order was in a box much bigger than needed.Michael.

[JJ 911SC]

Dear Luccia,

This whole thing sound like Wayne hired some consultant company, pay outrageous fee on top of paying their daily expenses, only to come up with some really stupid survey...

Which would you prefer? Cutting off your Right Hand or your Left Foot?

I would pay a membership fee, with no problem, to be part of the the PP community but paying more for shipping stuff right away that are on the shelf... NEVER,.

Maybe you should subscribe to to E-Mail subscription of your competitor that have 10 & 20% sale or free shipping starting at $39.

Regards

JJ

PS: Part 2 of this post will follow shortly