If a website has the cheek to charge you for shipping, it should be next day delivery

jacques_chirac

goater78 wrote: »

No that's a bit misleading.

Prices of items with free delivery are not always set higher than prices which offer paid for delivery.

Agreed - John Lewis, M&S etc charge the same in store as they do online, as well as offering free delivery (subject to some conditions) and free returns. Of course the cost of shipping is built into their overall price model but not at full cost, and to suggest that you always pay for postage is simply not true.

PZH

Azari wrote: »

..It's either a separate charge or the prices are all set higher to include an amount to pay for p&p.

Or they are willing to accept a lower profit margin....

System

Azari wrote: »

I don't want to get into some long and stupid argument about this.

If a business sells a product for £x and delivery is 'free' (but costs the business £y), then the business could sell the item for £(x-y) if it charged the customer for delivery.

The point being that for a profitably running business it's always the customers who pay for 'free' delivery.

Its a very simplistic view on how pricing in a mail order business works.

For instance you don't know how many products will make up one order. As an example if it costs the business £3 to send an order to a customer then this order could contain one item or 10 items. So its either cost the business £3 to post one item or .30p each to post the 10 items.

Therefore the price of delivery can't be used as a valid measure when costing the price of an item.

Prices for items sold online are as always driven by the competition by their rivals.

Its more profitable for a business to sell a lot of one item where their profits are lower (as they absorb the delivery costs and keep prices low), than it is for a business to sell few of the same item as the price is higher because they are charging the customer for delivery.

aileth

And even paying extra for next day doesn't guarantee it is next day. In the past week I've paid twice extra for next day delivery, one came four days after the supposed next day and the other three days.

Zedicus

goater78 wrote: »

Its a very simplistic view on how pricing in a mail order business works.

For instance you don't know how many products will make up one order. As an example if it costs the business £3 to send an order to a customer then this order could contain one item or 10 items. So its either cost the business £3 to post one item or .30p each to post the 10 items.

Therefore the price of delivery can't be used as a valid measure when costing the price of an item.

Prices for items sold online are as always driven by the competition by their rivals.

Its more profitable for a business to sell a lot of one item where their profits are lower (as they absorb the delivery costs and keep prices low), than it is for a business to sell few of the same item as the price is higher because they are charging the customer for delivery.

LOL, Goater's off! :rotfl:

It's very simple. If the customers aren't paying for delivery, who the hell do you think is? Sure there is the possibility that there is cross subsidisation over products but, overall, if a company offers free delivery, the headline product cost will be higher than for a company operating on a similar profit margin that doesn't.

Azari

PZH wrote: »

Or they are willing to accept a lower profit margin....

Nope.

If they were willing to accept a lower profit margin they could still offer a lower price if they charge separately for shipping than if they don't.

George_Michael

dgi_n wrote: »

I bought some trainers from Office on the 2nd. Delivery cost £3.50 and they've still not been delivered.
The delivery time is clearly stated on their website and this is 2-5 working days from order confirmation.
You are still well within this period.
I also bought some stuff from H&M on Monday. The delivery charge was £3.90 and the date I've been quoted to have them delivered is some time between "18-22 Nov".
If you thought that the estimated delivery date was too long, why did you proceed with the order?
When ordering, this information is shown before you reach the payment stage.

What a joke :mad:

IMO, the problem is people who buy things without knowing what they are actually agreeing to when ticking "I agree to the T&C's" box and then start complaining afterwards.

System

Zedicus wrote: »

LOL, Goater's off! :rotfl:

It's very simple. If the customers aren't paying for delivery, who the hell do you think is? Sure there is the possibility that there is cross subsidisation over products but, overall, if a company offers free delivery, the headline product cost will be higher than for a company operating on a similar profit margin that doesn't.

You appear to be under the assumption that the most important factor in product pricing on mail order sites is the cost of delivery.

That is wrong and shows a complete lack of Business understanding

System

Azari wrote: »

Nope.

If they were willing to accept a lower profit margin they could still offer a lower price if they charge separately for shipping than if they don't.

Nope because you are thinking of a one order = one item relationship.

That is not always the case.

brendon

I used to think the delivery charge was expensive. Then I realised I was paying £3.50 to get the tube to the shopping centre, so it's actually cheaper to sit at home and get it delivered.