Shipping Costs, Etc.

[NW Mailing List]

Jimmy,
I don't know what "free gifts" you're talking about. I personally have never asked for anything from the Society or the Commissary for free and I have always accepted paying shipping and handling charges. I would never expect the Society to subsidize the shipping costs for me. Whoever buys an item should pay for all shipping and handling charges incurred with that sale. The Society needs to, at minimum, break even on these things. 

There should be a way a purchaser can calculate the shipping costs when they order something though. If an item is a pre-production item or out of stock and needs to be back ordered then those costs need to be applied to it when it becomes available. No one should expect to receive anything later for free and should expect to pay the required costs. That's unreasonable and wouldn't be a very good business practice.
I do a lot of internet business buying and selling on feebay and with my custom painting business and though it may take some extra time to complete a transaction I calculate the shipping costs (postage & packing materials) for each transaction. Charging a flat rate can be a negative for the customer or the seller. Maybe it all works out even in the long run but I don't think it's fair to overcharge one guy and lose on another guy.
I think Society Management needs to do a better job of running things rather than having to pay a portion of shipping costs for items. The Commissary is a great thing for the Society and the members but it should never be subsidizing shipping. This is a serious item and needs to be rectified as soon as possible. There has to be a better way to operate.

I can sense a real feeling of someone being pissed off about being questioned by the various members on the questionable policy. I'm not privy to all the discussions that have taken place with the BOD and those involved in running the Commissary but obviously it has been a main topic of debate and argument. I think a better solution could be reached than how it is currently done without sarcastic and caustic remarks.
My 2¢,Roger HuberDeer Creek Locomotive Works
   

   From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
 To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> 
 Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2015 2:23 PM
 Subject: Re: Shipping Costs, Etc.
   
 On 11/3/2015 11:01 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:
  


 List,  
  As Alex has pointed out there are other factors that come into shipping that buyers do not generally see or care about.  
  If the Commissary makes a profit on shipping- that is a good thing. It's not about breaking even. The time and materials spent to package an item are not free.  
  Anyone who has done any amount of shipping, let's say on eBay as I have done for 15 years would know that you can make a small profit on shipping. At the same time- as Alex said- having the customer pay the exact amount for shipping would be highly tedious.  
  If this was Amazon or some other vendor, I might complain about shipping costs- but for the NWHS, I don't, it's a small organization trying to make ends meet.   
  Jeff Lisowski
   
  -- 
  "Sic Semper Tyrannis!"    
 
 Well Jeff,
     It could be all in the way we cook the books. 
 We could give everything away for free and just charge flat shipping rates of $49.99, $99.99, $149.99, etc. depending on the amount of free gifts that are requested.
 
 Jimmy Lisle
 
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