Black November Sale Week #4

[sr1355]

Week #4 is here for the Black November Sale. All Made To Order 30*F(-1*C) and 50*F(10*C) Flight Jacket Top Quilts are 10% off. Beat the rush and get your shopping done early. All current order will ship well before Christmas....

Prices are reflected on our website with no additional code needed.

www.undergroundquilts.com

No additional promotions or coupons can be combined with these Sale Prices. No discounts can be provided on Custom Made To Order quilts. To be eligible all orders must be placed via our website to receive the sale pricing.

Black Friday Weekend Sale is coming SOON, we have some great offers including a top secret super duper fill deal......

[Gravity]

I do wish you wouldn't charge so much for shipping. Assuming a shipping weight of 25 ounces for a 50* tapered quilt, the shipping charge is only $5.84 USPS Priority from your door to mine. Signature confirmation adds $2.36, for a total of $8.20. But you currently charge almost $20. I haven't found any other vendor that has such a high shipping charge for similar merchandise.

[frosty_1]

I was wondering the same thing about shipping...I ordered my first quilt yesterday and was very surprised to see the shipping total of $20...

[Passinthru]

This is from the UGQ website (FAQ)

(quote)
Q: Why is your shipping charge higher than other vendors?

A: We ship USPS Priority Mail Insured with a Signature Required for delivery. After having several packages go “MIA” after delivery we are now requiring all orders over $100usd to be signed for to protect “US” and to make sure “YOU” get your goodies. We know it's a PITA but please understand it's on our dime to replace missing deliveries. (end quote)

Also keep in mind that to insure your package for its value, and not just the included $50 insurance that comes with Priority Mail, also costs extra. I recently bought a quilt from another vendor, not insured, and shipping cost was $15.
$20 doesn't seem so bad to me.

[sr1355]

Shipping has been a thorn in my side since day one. There are a lot of BIG box stores that offer extremely low or free shipping, and they can afford to do so as their margins on the products are much higher than we have. Some of the cottage vendors bury shipping costs into the product, some take it out of their pocket (not a good idea in the long run), and some past it along to the consumer.

There is more involved in the SHIPPING cost than just the postage, there is a box, tape, labels, and labor to produce the shipping label. All expenses to be incurred by the customer in one way or another. Then there are the SHIPPING Extras, Signature Required, Insurance, etc. We ship in either a 6X6X12 box, 12X12X12 box or a 20X12X12 box. Up to 12X12X12 carries no shipping premium from USPS but after that their is a charge for the size as well as weight of the package and all are location dependent based on shipping zones, it takes a PHD to understand their shipping rates and zone charts.

Our typical package is roughly 3lbs8oz and say a $325 value, shipped from Jackson, MI to Chicago, IL via USPS Priority Mail it costs $16.35 actual postage with Insurance and Signature Required, add for shipping supplies/labor and we are well over $20. That same package shipped to Portland OR and actual postage with Insurance/Signature Required jumps to $25.38 before our materials/labor.

We could drop Signature Required and Insurance, adopting a policy of once the carrier marks it delivered it's considered delivered but at some point someone is going to have a package stolen off the porch and then who replaces the goods? The vendor provided the goods to an outside service, the outside service delivered the goods, and the goods went missing. No matter the outcome there will be one unhappy customer when they get home and can't find their downy goodness....

We've looked into UPS/FEDEX and to be honest both charge even more and take longer to deliver. We've looked into the "It FITS IT SHIPS" boxes, which in the example above only saves $0.48, but once you get to a large 30*F quilt your pushing to get it into a 12x12x5.5 large USPS box comfortably with out risking an explosion mid transport. Down in the sorting machine would not make the carrier, the customer or us very happy. We could setup an ECONOMY shipping that ships Parcel Post but I do not believe there will be any tracking unless we pay for it at the post office adding labor to go there and ship orders.

We are looking at Real Time Shipping Solution as one option. I know some vendors have this with their E-Commerce solutions and that may be the final result for us as well. Those services add additional cost to our overhead and at some point we can only afford so much additional overhead before prices have to rise.

In the end the consumer receives a fantastic value for their dollar when purchasing from any of the cottage vendors even with included shipping costs. By purchasing direct from the manufacturer you are skipping several levels of distribution and margin increases resulting in an exceptional value for you. By making sure the vendor is covering their costs you ensure their continued operation, providing local jobs, paying taxes, and making products in the USA.

I hope that shed some insight into the concerns....

[Gravity]

Specific Example (for a TQ, weighing about 15 oz, and a 12x8x12 box weighing about 9 oz.) (Total weight = 24 oz)
================================================== ===================

-USPS Priority shipping door-to-door: $5.84
-Insurance (first $50 free so may be over-estimating here. For value up to $200): $3.30
-Signature confirmation (Priority includes free tracking, but let's say you insist on this): $2.36
-Cost of box (found in quick Walmart search, probably cheaper if bought in large quantities): $1.85
-Cost of two feet of 3M commercial quality shipping tape: $0.10
-Cost of one Avery shipping label: $0.07
-Grand total: $13.52

So it would seem to me that $15 would more than cover even a 20* TQ.

Edit: If you paid your employees $10/hour and they took 7.5 minutes to ready a small box for shipment, that would increase the cost to $14.77, still under the aforementioned $15. Including the nylon storage sack wouldn't incur an extra charge, as the $5.84 would cover a shipment up to 32 ounces. I weighted the nylon storage sack that came with one of my quilts, and it tips the scales at 1.8 oz.

I am not trying to annoy you, but it seems that your shipping calculation is off, and you are overcharging at least some your customers. You may also be losing those potential customers that get scared/annoyed at the high shipping charges. I was going to order a quilt from you, but the shipping charge stopped me. And remember that for every customer that speaks up, many others feel the same but don't bother to say anything. Use this as part of your market research. Good luck in your business, and in your growth towards becoming an extraordinary businessman.

[sr1355]

You're certainly entitled to your concerns and we appreciate your posing the question. In your latest example you omitted the weight of the included 200d breathable nylon storage sack we provide as well as paying our employees to perform shipping services. Unfortunately they don't work for free...

Now back to the topic at hand which is Week #4 of Black November Sale. This week is the last of the Pre-Black Friday weekend sales and all current orders will ship in plenty of time for Christmas. Once BF gets here all bets are off, if you are looking for a 30*F or 50*F Top Quilt and you gotta have it before Christmas get those orders in....

I'm surprised no one has caught the TOP SECRET SUPER DUPER FILL DEAL.... more info coming soon....

[Bla1z3]

Really your gonna complain about the $20 shipping? Thanks Paul for making such great products.

[Squid In The Woods]

Must not understand "overhead"......

[Baby Huey]

I for one did not mind the shipping at all. For the quality of the product and great customer service I would have paid more if I had to.