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This may not be a big deal for some, but here in NZ shipping prices can get up there. Some places charge as much as 30-40 NZD shipping, others are usually between 15-25 NZD.

This has lead to a habbit of viewing shipping as a 100% waste of money. 15NZD is a cool random metal miniature, 45 is a box of 44 models (depending on the models) and so on.

I usually have to (when I say have to, as in I hate being ripped off so much that I spend money not to be ripped off...) spend an extra 60 dollars or so to get free shipping. How do I rationalize that? Well the 15+ NZD that would be wasted on shipping is now part of (or at times a whole) product that will go a long way. I usually do not buy unless free shipping is available OR the shipping is reasonable (3 dollars in country for example).

How many people consider shipping in their purchases? I wonder, if people add up how much they have paid for in shipping alone, how much product/savings would you have more of? Does everyone simply eat the shipping costs without second thought?

I am only asking because places on Ebay have stupidly high shipping rates and some stores (wargames factory for example) have stupidly high shipping rates compared to companies in the same region and it seems like people who buy from these places are throwing money away (in my opinion).

Just curious.

When calculating what I'm willing to pay for used minis, I always include shipping. (Usually I pay a maximum of 50% of retail for used minis, shipping included, although I'll go up to 75% for some out of print miniatures.)

It definitely factors into my decisions. Shipping is the sole reason I haven't purchased Forgeworld so far. It also frequently prevents me from picking up ebay purchases from the UK, since I'm not willing to pony up ten times the cost of the bit I want just to ship it to me.

Expensive overhead costs (shipping, etc.) seems to be a recurring theme in Australia and New Zealand. Personally I despise shipping costs. For new products from major companies, I would the cost of shipping be added into the display price of the product.

Here in North America, the expectation for new goods is that shipping is free (shipping is *overwhelmingly* the #1 reason that people abandon shopping carts online). The expectation from eBay is different of course, because individuals don't have the same kind of volume, and a buyer must expect to pay the cost of the shipping, and wouldn't want the seller to price based on the worst possible scenario.. It's totally fair to see, though, "free shipping within Continental USA" (or Canada). Like Jim, though, it's a reason I don't buy a lot of stuff that's not being shipped from nearby.

Probably the only company I regularly pay shipping to is SWM.

The 15% shipping is definitely *one* reason I don't buy very much ForgeWorld.

What can you expect when you live on the opposite side of the planet from civilisation?

It's not cheap to get ships past the Kraken you know!

 Talys wrote:
Expensive overhead costs (shipping, etc.) seems to be a recurring theme in Australia and New Zealand. Personally I despise shipping costs. For new products from major companies, I would the cost of shipping be added into the display price of the product.

Here in North America, the expectation for new goods is that shipping is free (shipping is *overwhelmingly* the #1 reason that people abandon shopping carts online). The expectation from eBay is different of course, because individuals don't have the same kind of volume, and a buyer must expect to pay the cost of the shipping, and wouldn't want the seller to price based on the worst possible scenario.. It's totally fair to see, though, "free shipping within Continental USA" (or Canada). Like Jim, though, it's a reason I don't buy a lot of stuff that's not being shipped from nearby.

Probably the only company I regularly pay shipping to is SWM.

The 15% shipping is definitely *one* reason I don't buy very much ForgeWorld.

What gets me though is how different shipping is for different retailers, does the US not have standard shipping/postage rates? In NZ I find shipping is pretty reasonable for most items when posting overseas yet one company in USA charges 30 USD to ship here while others are as low as 5 USD etc.

But yes I agree.

 notprop wrote:
What can you expect when you live on the opposite side of the planet from civilisation?

It's not cheap to get ships past the Kraken you know!

There was a time we and the Kraken where on good terms, but we had to end that relationship in the kraken wars of the early 90s. I was born in the great population boom following the conflict and many of us grew up without fathers. The Kraken still haunts us to this day it seems.

@Swastakowey - no, there's not really standard postage rates here

Everything from free to insane, even on Amazon. Sometimes on Amazon, I see airbrush tools or maybe a little acrylic stand I like that are $7; I click on them, and it says, $22 shipping and 6 week delivery. I'm like, wtf, is this coming from Antarctica by penguin?!

Other things, I have no idea how they do it. I've ordered $7 items with Amazon Prime, and it shows up the next day by courier.

For eBayers, a lot make some money off of the Shipping & Handling -- which I philosophically don't have an issue with as long as it feels reasonable, and they tell me what it is ahead of time. I mean, I know it takes time and effort to pack stuff up properly, label it, take it to the post office, etc.

I hate it on ebay when shipping costs more than the part I need for a conversion.

I always look at the total price (item + shipping) when deciding what to buy,

and don't care whether its £10 with free shipping or £0.01 with £9.99 shipping

as for international shipping it's getting more and more expensive, meaning you need to spend more and more to make it worth while

(it's always worth looking at what somebody's national carrier would charge before getting too upset over getting 'ripped off', you often find that you're being charge less than it will cost them... even when you figure in big stores will get a volume discount of some sort)

I always consider shipping when buying used minis, and it's why i tend to stay within the states. Even Canada is getting ridiculous for shipping.

Shipping factors into what i'm willing to pay (usually 50-60% of MSRP, tops), but when you go halfway around the world, unless its a huge lot that can eat into a LOT of the minis value. Onesie-twosie's almost isn't even worth it unless it's something i'm really, really jonesing for or a large model.

I always wondered at nib eBay items that have a whopping big shipping fee. Like, okay I can get a codex for %10 off brand new, but pay an extra 15% in shipping? Aren't I paying more?

Its like pawn shops nowadays. You realize everyone watches pawnstars right? Haggle me down to 60% off, then turn around and sell for 150% mark-up? What?

I always factor in shipping. If I can get it at my LFGS within a dollar or two of eBay + shipping, I'll do that. Support your LFGS when you can.

I always take note of shipping. It's the main reason I order very little from the USA or even internally from AU and do a lot from the UK, where Free shipping internationally (ie reuse of the 20% VAT not paid) is common.

I usually factor shipping into my purchases if I'm buying something off the web. While usually my orders are sufficiently large that they don't cause too much trouble, I do have a few random boxes of models that I don't plan to do much with, but happened to be at the right price point to get me free shipping. It's the same sort of logic you mention; why spend $16 on shipping when I could spend $18 and get another box of 20 models? Sure, it cost me $2 more, but it got me more noticeably more product rather than...air?

It's also why I order very little from overseas. I'd rather wait for a local distributor or store to get some stock in to save on shipping rather than spending the money on shipping. Sometimes this has translated into a month of more of thumb-twiddling, especially in the early part of this year with the port strike. I also try and afford the FLGS their shot at getting me products, but if they can be had somewhere else for 25-30% cheaper and the FLGS doesn't want to work with me (this behavior does irk me a bit when discussing pre-release product, but whatever, it's their business), then yeah...off we go to the interwebs.

That said, I'll make exceptions for rare/limited stuff, and obviously direct-order from worthy producers (e.g. - Vic, who has quite reasonable S&H I feel), but in the main it's going to be ordered from someone in the US already. I agree with your outlook that shipping costs are a "waste" that should be minimized/avoided whenever possible, and I don't even really have horrifically bad rates like people who live on upside-down part of the world.

I always look at the cost of postage.

I do like companies such as Victoria Lamb's where I may make one large order rather than more regular smaller ones to take advantage of free postage.

Plus in Vic's case, I think the longest I've had to wait for an item is 10 days (but that could be because there were two weekends in that 10 days!).

Shipping and currency exchange rates factor into all my overseas purchases. Even with the horrible exchange rate, even with shy-high shipping costs, sometimes ordering from overseas is still cheaper than Japan prices. It pays to compare before you buy, I find.

I'm a little puzzled as to why anyone wouldn't factor in the shipping cost, unless they don't actually care how much they're paying for something...

The shipping cost is quite often the make-or-break between a good value purchase and being just not worth it...

 Talys wrote:
@Swastakowey - no, there's not really standard postage rates here

Everything from free to insane, even on Amazon. Sometimes on Amazon, I see airbrush tools or maybe a little acrylic stand I like that are $7; I click on them, and it says, $22 shipping and 6 week delivery. I'm like, wtf, is this coming from Antarctica by penguin?!

Other things, I have no idea how they do it. I've ordered $7 items with Amazon Prime, and it shows up the next day by courier.

For eBayers, a lot make some money off of the Shipping & Handling -- which I philosophically don't have an issue with as long as it feels reasonable, and they tell me what it is ahead of time. I mean, I know it takes time and effort to pack stuff up properly, label it, take it to the post office, etc.

For amazon prime you answered your own problem, the reason prime is able to next day recieve is because there is a warehouse within X miles of you that has the item. Expect food within a few years. If you buy a lot on amazon (I do, there are 3 warehouses within 45mins of where I live) prime is like the golden easter egg, I know fedexx and UPS hate my guts . USPS loves me though.

I always figured shipping was just another place to hide yet more markup.

Price, tax, exchange rate, brokerage fee, shipping, COD, PayPal: they all contribute to the net cost of something.

It is your hard earned cash, spend no more than you have to.

Sometimes the need for miniature crack makes me willing to pay the absurd fees to the shipping maffia

On my eBay page, I offer free shipping worldwide.

Australians and Kiwis were my absolute undisputed #1 customers, I shipped to those spots more than any other country and I knew it was because of the free shipping on top of my already discounted stuff.

I had tons of models I accumulated over the years and just wanted to get rid of them. That time has now passed and my new inventory only ships to a few places, but yeah, poor folks down under. :(

I always look for low but non-free shipping (I'm in the US). Since the shipping charge on "free shipping" is usually just added in to the price, the best way to save is to find sellers who combine shipping, then order multiple items.

If I only need one thing, I'll only buy if it's a super deal either way.

Order enough original books or model kits from Japan, you'll learn not to ignore shipping costs.

Seriously, Hobby Link Japan added a feature where you can buy their stuff, one or two items at a time, and just ship it all together in one shipment once you've got a big enough collection of stuff that the cost of shipping is less than the cost of the items. That's about what it takes to enable impulse buying across the ocean.

Shipping is often a factor in my purchases, but not always. My Forgeworld orders are nearly always big enough for free shipping. The ones that aren't are usually for the things I gotta have now (usually the new books they publish). If I'm trying to score some cheap stuff on eBay, shipping will definitely be a factor.

One reason why shipping costs can vary from seller to seller is who they are using for shipping. USPS, UPS, and FedEx all cost different amounts. Also, boxes, tape, labels, and bubblewrap aren't always free. Of course, some sellers do use shipping fees as a moneymaker, too.

No such thing as free shipping once you realize that its just a case of who is paying.

Normally its you or someone in a cheaper local to ship to who subsidized your shipping. Sometimes its the retailer.

I suppose a more accurate description then would be "Free (to me) shipping."

You just gotta hit that 250 British Pound Moneys minimum order to get that sweet, sweet free shipping from Forge World! That, or go to GenCon. Or Adepticon. Or some other event they frequent.

GENCON!

 dragqueeninspace wrote:
No such thing as free shipping once you realize that its just a case of who is paying.

Normally its you or someone in a cheaper local to ship to who subsidized your shipping. Sometimes its the retailer.

I only care about free for me though. It is easy to tell if it truly is free shipping for the customer by comparing the price of the product with everyone else. If their product is suspiciously more expensive than everyone else then you know the shipping is being paid for by you.

I am only keen of retailer pays sort of thing.

International orders are usually large-ish for me as if the shipping cost is near to the purchase cost I won't go for it. Even if it's still cheaper than getting it locally (as at that point it's probably <%10 difference, for that I'll support my locals).

Even then I've only done 2 and not in the last year with lowering the limit on import duties and customs clamping down on it. Annoyingly both of mine have been from the USA where silly folks don't want to ship internationally so have gone through reship (feels like a ripoff to me). Paid $250 for shipping + a little on import charges for about $480 of vostroyan (nzd). Annoying but once it was at reship, they had me by the proverbial balls, so had to pay it. Added up to the same cost as NIB cadians, but still wasn't too bad as they were vostroyan, so a little cheaper overall.

But definitely, Northern America is the worst to ship from. I'd go any where else any time

Generally I'm pretty patient though. Twice a year there's the %20-25 sales on at vagabonds (FLGS) so its sweet then.

You know what I find funny, the "free shipping if you spend more than $X" has actually resulted in me spending less money on stuff than I otherwise would have.

Often I've started adding stuff to my cart to purchase and found I've come up shy of the free shipping limit and decided to wait until I have more that I want so I can get the free shipping, but instead just end up not ordering anything.

A couple of times I've had FW orders on that are just shy of the free shipping and ended up buying nothing because by the time something has come up to add to the order, I've already started another project. Or sometimes I see that I'm below the limit on free shipping, so I ONLY buy the bare minimum of what I need thinking that I'll come back later to do another order that will be over the limit... but I almost never do.

Just last week I was going to buy 3 things from an online store, $30, $20 and $20 but it'd be +$10 shipping for a total of $80.... or get free shipping at $100. Instead of buying from it, I decided I only really needed the $30 item and bought it from another place that has $5 shipping instead, lol.

There's been a couple of times when such free shipping limits have caused me to buy more stuff to get the free shipping, but more often than not it's actually gotten me to buy less.

That's where it can depend on the free shipping threshold, though. There's a huge difference between Firestorm's 30 quid, Warlord's 60 quid and Forgeworld's 250 quid.