Sometimes I have to shake my head.....

[BARRACUDA1968]

I want a small part for my engine (dress up) I don't need it but I'd like to have it. EGR block off plate since I have a Champion intake it would look good and eliminate the stock EGR valve.

I went to 2 vendors from the site and I won't name them but the part is $19.95 and will fit in an envelope.

Why does it cost $13 to ship this to me?

Husek shipped me a Turbo with housing from NY to Iowa for $25

I own my own business and I get it but this one had me shaking my head.

 

[dynoman]

I almost bought one myself last week , but then had the toolmakers at work make one for me. I just put a piece of paper over the raised boss and rubbed the outline of it with my finger. It was good enough for them to make it out of 3/8" aluminum & countersink a 8mm hole for a 8mm flat head allen screw.
$ 0 part & $0 shipping

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

Looks great! I may be buying a biggie oil filter adapter so maybe RJC will throw one in throw box for me.

 

[DavidM]

Yea I agree, shipping is overpriced in the Buick world. I shipped a Mountain Bike from NC to NY for $28. An F-Body Radiator from NC to CA for $22, plug Wires from NC to PR for $7.

 

[Rafs-T-Type]

It's probably shipping....and handling. It's hard to make money when you spend $3 in paper, envelope, shipping label, and administrative fees to make $2.

 

[bison]

It's probably shipping....and handling. It's hard to make money when you spend $3 in paper, envelope, shipping label, and administrative fees to make $2.

...and time. Time should be the largest expense of them all if you're running a successful business. Once it's gone you can't get it back.


BPE2013@hotmail.com

 

[bison]

I almost bought one myself last week , but then had the toolmakers at work make one for me. I just put a piece of paper over the raised boss and rubbed the outline of it with my finger. It was good enough for them to make it out of 3/8" aluminum & countersink a 8mm hole for a 8mm flat head allen screw.
View attachment 232622 View attachment 232623 $ 0 part & $0 shipping

I've found the block offs need to be a half inch thick or retained like the factory egr or the ex pressure will lift the plate right off the manifold.


BPE2013@hotmail.com

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

I have a Champion intake with the EGR blocked off so mine will just be cosmetic.

I understand the time and material part of it. I own a car dealership and we do all the title work for our customers for free, no DOC fee. I can legally charge $195 to do this in the state of Iowa but if you follow the law by the book EVERYONE must pay it, no exceptions. That never happens so I just don't charge it.

If it were me I would charge $25 for the part and lower shipping and handling cost. Same amount in the end but it doesn't seem as lopsided that way. I know some of you will scratch your head at that statement but that would be a better way to market this gizmo.

 

[whitehot1]

What really makes me shake my head is NAPA and O'Reilly auto parts both which have asked me to pay shipping charges on items they carry but was not in stock at the store or in their warehouse at the time.

I have been to many auto parts stores over many years and those 2 stores were the only ones that ever asked me to pay extra for shipping an item to their stores. The shipping charge by NAPA was twice the cost of the item.

 

[dynoman]

Mine is blocked off too..... it's just for looks

 

[salvageV6]

Nobody should ship a dress up aluminum plate in an envelope not even a padded one.

Assuming USPS with their shredding machines to be used in the attempted destruction..... errrr postage cancellation.

Just my .02 plus shipping....

A small box and bubble wrap wouldn't cost that amount to ship either so I agree with the OP.

 

[1BADTT]

I almost bought one myself last week , but then had the toolmakers at work make one for me. I just put a piece of paper over the raised boss and rubbed the outline of it with my finger. It was good enough for them to make it out of 3/8" aluminum & countersink a 8mm hole for a 8mm flat head allen screw.
View attachment 232622 View attachment 232623 $ 0 part & $0 shipping

That is sweet. Countersink Looks awesome!

 

[Phoneguy]

I almost bought one myself last week , but then had the toolmakers at work make one for me. I just put a piece of paper over the raised boss and rubbed the outline of it with my finger. It was good enough for them to make it out of 3/8" aluminum & countersink a 8mm hole for a 8mm flat head allen screw.
View attachment 232622 View attachment 232623 $ 0 part & $0 shipping

Looks great !
I will take one shipped for your price shown ...lol

Bryan

 

[Dennis Kirban]

A word about shipping costs. Unfortunately websites including ours (kirbanperformance.com) is not perfect when it computes
shipping as the smallest weight assigned to any particular part is 1 lb. It's best to order a few small items to make it worthwhile or call the order in to get a more specific price structure.

Most Buick vendors if not all are not n the business of over charging for shipping. Personally I don't see why in the world a basic letter to send to canada is I believe a $1.15 versus what it is in the US.

As it has been pointed out the egr block off plate would get destroyed in a envelope. A jiffy bag cost a few cents plus ads more to ship over an envelope.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[Stage24u]

$13 for shipping a block off plate?

USPS flat rate box ($5) works wonders in this situation.

Any "profit" should be built into the ITEM not the SHIPPING.

 

[gnxtc2]

I just went through with this exact problem.

I need some tie rods for my rack. My machinist was on vacation so I couldn't machine the ones I had and had to order custom ones. The sleeves would've fit inside a padded envelop or the USPS VCR tape size flat rate box. I asked the company if they would send it Priority mail, they told no because the post office is over an hour away, understandable. The parts were sent UPS because UPS picks up from their business.

Also with USPS, there is no real time tracking if the part was delivered or lost.

So the $13 shipping cost includes the service that the business owner does not have to go to the post office.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

I called RJC and bought a biggie oil filter adapter and a new gasket. I was going to get the EGR plate but they were out of them due to a supply issue right now so I didn't get one.

BTW the guy at RJC was a real decent guy to talk with.

Agreed that automating shipping calculators are less than scientific.

The flat rate box would be a great idea and when I said envelope I didn't really mean a normal envelope. I get more delicate items all the time in the padded envelopes. If this item is made out of aluminum or steel I would think it would survive the trip? I get key blanks shipped to me all the time, they can't be near as strong as this block off plate.

 

[DavidM]

They have envelopes with bubble wrap in them and also with that jute padding material.
$15 from Kirban's to ship 4 plastic GNX wheel caps 2 states away.

 

[GerrywithaG]

Call up the vendor to get a more appropriate price on shipping. Webstores don't differentiate between what would be more cost effective; shipping UPS/FedEx over US Postal. Lighter items are cheaper to ship US Postal, however, once you get to a certain weight and size of the box, UPS becomes cheaper than USPS, and the vendor can only have one automatic Shipper choice for ALL their items on their webstore. Not to mention some light items have bigger insurance values than what they're worth in weight which adds to the cost. Plus what Billy T. said, USPS can be inconvenient for the vendor, especially if the shipper can make the shop $80+ an hour doing other things but they have to drive an hour there and back to the post office.

 

[Stage24u]

Shipping rates for UPS/Fedex/USPS are publicly posted, not reflecting a shippers volume discount.

Any one can look these up on the respective site, and I don't think it would be a good business practice to charge more than the listed amount, given the stated weight of the item.