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

System

hgotsparkle wrote: »

H&M have always been very slow with delivery because it comes from their warehouse in Europe (can't remember which country).So if you pay 50p for a second class stamp, you're expecting it to get there on a first class basis?

A second class stamp is 50p these days? How much is a first class stamp? I thought they were only 30p! (I don't post much!)

hgotsparkle

goater78 wrote: »

A second class stamp is 50p these days? How much is a first class stamp? I thought they were only 30p! (I don't post much!)

60p I believe....
I don't post much either but I remember that second class is 50p

Sheldon_Cooper

A couple of people on this thread seem very confused so I've prepared the following to try and help show how this works. I hope it helps.

In each of the following scenarios we assume the following:

Wholesale cost of product £10
Direct costs other than delivery £1
Profit required £2
Amount to be paid to delivery company £3

---

Scenario 1 - Free delivery

Direct cost £4 = £1 + Delivery charge £3

Wholesale cost of product £10
Direct costs £4
Profit required £2

Sales price £16
Delivery charge to consumer £0

Total cost to consumer £16
Profit to company £2

---

Scenario 2 - Charged delivery

Direct cost £1 = £1 + Delivery charge £0

Wholesale cost of product £10
Direct costs £1
Profit required £2

Sales price £13
Delivery charge to consumer £3

Total cost to consumer £16
Profit to company £2



Notice that in each of these two cases the overall cost to the consumer is the same and the profit to the company is the same.

System

Sheldon_Cooper wrote: »

A couple of people on this thread seem very confused so I've prepared the following to try and help show how this works. I hope it helps.

In each of the following scenarios we assume the following:

Wholesale cost of product £10
Direct costs other than delivery £1
Profit required £2
Amount to be paid to delivery company £3

---

Scenario 1 - Free delivery

Direct cost £4 = £1 + Delivery charge £3

Wholesale cost of product £10
Direct costs £4
Profit required £2

Sales price £16
Delivery charge to consumer £0

Total cost to consumer £16
Profit to company £2

---

Scenario 2 - Charged delivery

Direct cost £1 = £1 + Delivery charge £0

Wholesale cost of product £10
Direct costs £1
Profit required £2

Sales price £13
Delivery charge to consumer £3

Total cost to consumer £16
Profit to company £2



Notice that in each of these two cases the overall cost to the consumer is the same and the profit to the company is the same.

Good example to try and win your argument but complete and utter fiction.

Sadly a mail order business does not work on a profit per item basis. It works on a profit based on total orders not on one item. Some items will be low margin and some would be hight margin.

In reality what happens in your example is one company accepts a profit of only £1 per item and would then sell 10 times as many items as the other company. This meaning that they would get a much greater total profit even though they are getting a less profit per item.

Still it's a good attempt to simplify the debate.

Azari

Sheldon_Cooper wrote: »

A couple of people on this thread seem very confused so I've prepared the following to try and help show how this works. I hope it helps.

Quite honestly I can't see it helping.

The two people in question seem to be completely oblivious to all logic.

Or they may be trolling as neither of them have answered the fundamental and very pertinent question: If the company is offering 'free' delivery, where is the money coming from?

The seem to believe that there is some magical source, other than the price charged to the customer. :rotfl:

System

hgotsparkle wrote: »

60p I believe....
I don't post much either but I remember that second class is 50p

Well. That explains why moonpig cards are getting more expensive to post!

System

Azari wrote: »

Quite honestly I can't see it helping.

The two people in question seem to be completely oblivious to all logic.

Or they may be trolling as neither of them have answered the fundamental and very pertinent question: If the company is offering 'free' delivery, where is the money coming from?

The seem to believe that there is some magical source, other than the price charged to the customer. :rotfl:

As a matter of interest when a company charges for delivery and then has a free delivery promotion instead of the usual £2.99 who is paying for that £2.99?

Are you saying that these companies have deliberately set their prices higher knowing that they may be offering free delivery every now and again?

Or is it more likely that they absorb this cost knowing that it will increase orders thus meaning that although profit per item will reduce, total profit will increase.

Azari

goater78 wrote: »

Sadly a mail order business does not work on a profit per item basis.

Why on earth is that sad?

In reality what happens in your example is one company accepts a profit of only £1 per item and would then sell 10 times as many items as the other company. This meaning that they would get a much greater total profit even though they are getting a less profit per item.

You really haven't got a clue, have you?

Even if they do accept a smaller profit, the money still has to be found to pay the delivery company.

The point about the delivery charge in the example above is that it is a direct cost. It has to be found for each sale. Selling ten times as many makes no difference to the equation. It would only make a difference if it was a fixed cost.

But, even then, whatever cost it is per sale it still has to be taken from the customer, either as part of the headline price or as a delivery charge.

Sheldon_Cooper

goater78 wrote: »

As a matter of interest when a company charges for delivery and then has a free delivery promotion instead of the usual £2.99 who is paying for that £2.99?

Unless they are investing new money the money must have come from the customers. Who else? The government? The church?

Are you saying that these companies have deliberately set their prices higher knowing that they may be offering free delivery every now and again?

Part of the gross profit requirement will be an element to allow them to offer various promotions, including free delivery. So the answer to your question is effectively, yes.

Or is it more likely that they absorb this cost knowing that it will increase orders thus meaning that although profit per item will reduce, total profit will increase.

They can only absorb the cost if they have made enough profit to enable them to do so. That profit comes from the money they charged their customers, so, once again, it is the customer who is paying for the delivery.

Face it, it can't be anyone else unless the company is losing money.

KxMx

I can see where the OP is coming from, sort of.
It's perhaps not the best business model these days to charge for p&p on top of item costs.

Thinking about it I either use free delivery to store and collect on a general, would have been made anyway, trip into town, a free delivery code, or a website which has delivery costs included into product pricing. One inclusive delivery website offers DPD next day delivery for heavy items (under free Super Saver delivery, i've never known them to take more than 3 days to ship) -RM First class for everything else so they get my trade. While they might be a little more expensive than others, it's not more expensive than shopping with a cheaper rival and paying for next day delivery, no where near. In fact the next cheapest website for that item is german based so they don't offer next day delivery but send ParcelForce 24 so it's 2-4 days before it arrives to me here in the UK.

Two exceptions where I pay a delivery charge on top are A) in a niche market, there are about 6 websites in the UK and the one I shop with is the best. Even there I usually wait until they have a discount code and do my orders then (they are an import by sea business so stock can vary). That way if i'm getting 10% off a £30 order and delivery is £4.50 I don't do too badly. The website where I can get 95% of the toiletries and health care items I use, they're so cheap even with a £2.95 delivery charge, which is very reasonable, I save loads. For the others I just wait until Superdrug has a free delivery promo and buy in bulk!

Internet retailing changes all the time and it's my opinion that the places that still charge for delivery on top are losing out. As are those which take 5 working days to deliver to store when the likes of Wilkinson, Boots and M&S do it in 1-2 days, or even less. Very impressed with Boots recently, ordered 12pm Sunday it was in store the next day by 2pm for me to collect.

Customers are getting more and more demanding about delivery prices, options and times with internet ordering, websites need to keep up or risk going out of business.