is killing me!
Just venting
I am trying to buy some goods for my new business from a company in Chicago and it seems that the shipping companies make heaps more on the deal than the supplier.
200lbs of steel hooks and silicon caps and plugs (for powder-coating) was quoted as costing $950 for shipping an order value of $660.
I dropped 100lbs out of the order and they still want $800 for shipping a $500 order!
Part of the problem is that if incoming goods + shipping are valued over $A1000, duties and taxes of about 20% apply, so apart from the obvious incentive to keep a lid on freight cost, it has that extra 20% sting in the tail if total value goes over about $900!
Separate vent ...
I can't believe how unresponsive this supplier is to queries. It's like they really find it too hard to actually read questions in an email and answer them. The 12 hour time difference makes telephone calls difficult and turns email correspondence into a long drawn out affair. If I query something, I almost never get a response the next day ... it's always one and a half or two and a half days later and then they usually only answer half my queries.
I tossed up with buying this stuff from China, but opted to go with same language rather than same time zone.
Getting close to cancelling the order.
Before I do that, has anyone got a good lead on best shipping rates to Oz.
The USPS rates that apply to Pelican's shipping seem much more reasonable, but supplier doesn't want to use USPS.