Shipping Insanity - I Paid 3x Retail to Ship LPT Vinyl to Toronto
Let me start by saying I love this band. I also really love the little touches they leave for Ten Club members. It's often thankless work. So to Santos and the whole team - thanks for everything you do.
But let me also say, as many others have, that UPS Mail Innovations totally gouged me and I suspect other 10C members in Canada.
I acknowledge I pay a premium to buy direct from PJ.com and there's often good incentive. In this case I paid $33 for the LPT Vinyl and an almost equal amount to ship the package to Canada. The total ends up being about $60 USD, which then converts to $80 CDN.
That's a lot of money but the Amazon site would charge me $60 CDN. So fine. I hate saying this, but a 30% surcharge is something I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford. I'll deal with it.
But then yesterday, I had to pay ANOTHER $30.50 brokerage fee from UPS and spend time fencing with them to leave the package on my doorstep.
In total, I ended up paying $110 for a double vinyl set from my favourite band. More than half of which went to shipping.
Please stop the insanity.
But let me also say, as many others have, that UPS Mail Innovations totally gouged me and I suspect other 10C members in Canada.
I acknowledge I pay a premium to buy direct from PJ.com and there's often good incentive. In this case I paid $33 for the LPT Vinyl and an almost equal amount to ship the package to Canada. The total ends up being about $60 USD, which then converts to $80 CDN.
That's a lot of money but the Amazon site would charge me $60 CDN. So fine. I hate saying this, but a 30% surcharge is something I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford. I'll deal with it.
But then yesterday, I had to pay ANOTHER $30.50 brokerage fee from UPS and spend time fencing with them to leave the package on my doorstep.
In total, I ended up paying $110 for a double vinyl set from my favourite band. More than half of which went to shipping.
Please stop the insanity.
MP
8/22/98 - Barrie, Ontario
10/5/00 - Toronto, Ontario
6/28/03 - Toronto, Ontario
9/22/05 - Halifax, Nova Scotia
9/11/11 - Toronto, Ontario
9/12/11 - Toronto, Ontario
7/31/12 - London, England (EV)
10/12/13 - Buffalo, New York
12/2/13 - Calgary, Alberta
05/10/16 - Toronto, Ontario
8/22/98 - Barrie, Ontario
10/5/00 - Toronto, Ontario
6/28/03 - Toronto, Ontario
9/22/05 - Halifax, Nova Scotia
9/11/11 - Toronto, Ontario
9/12/11 - Toronto, Ontario
7/31/12 - London, England (EV)
10/12/13 - Buffalo, New York
12/2/13 - Calgary, Alberta
05/10/16 - Toronto, Ontario
05/12/16 - Toronto, Ontario
09/06/16 - Hamilton, Ontario
09/08/22 - Toronto, Ontario
0
Comments
UPS is notorious for gouging on brokerage fees (the amount they charge to figure out how much tax you owe). The regular method (mail innovations) hands off the item to the Unitied States Postal Service so it goes through regular customs/clearing which is understaffed and lets most packages slide through without being charged. UPS Standard is UPS handling delivery start to finish, so they handle getting the item cleared through customs and they make you pay dearly for it :(
As soon as I saw 10c put UPS Standard as a 2nd shipping option I knew it was going to be trouble :( You're better off choosing the other one even if it is more expensive :( When I ordered it I chose mail innovations even though it's slower and was $3 more.
I wish 10c would ditch UPS all together. USPS is better.
^ This is really helpful. Thank you. Will remember for next time. It's just a little frustrating because I don't see a business reason why it would make sense for 10C to let a third party layer on ridiculous surcharges that triple the price of their units.
The only rationale I would think is simple ease of logistics. UPS must be a one-stop shipping solution that suits 10C's worldwide shipping needs without affecting their unit margins. They presumably know their business and don't believe UPS affects their volume of international sales. Or perhaps there is no other international shipper that comes in lower, but I seriously doubt it.
Anyway. I'm sure I'll love the album. Apologies for repeating a tired topic.
8/22/98 - Barrie, Ontario
10/5/00 - Toronto, Ontario
6/28/03 - Toronto, Ontario
9/22/05 - Halifax, Nova Scotia
9/11/11 - Toronto, Ontario
9/12/11 - Toronto, Ontario
7/31/12 - London, England (EV)
10/12/13 - Buffalo, New York
12/2/13 - Calgary, Alberta
05/10/16 - Toronto, Ontario
I'm glad that Pearl Jam produces products I still want to buy, but when possible, Amazon is the way to go. Rest assured, Pearl Jam are still profiting off of my purchase, otherwise they wouldn't bother listing on Amazon
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
I actually ran into it again last week. Often records are cheaper on Amazon.uk than in Canada, so I've been ordered records from the UK site for a number of years now. I got two records in the mail last week and instead of royal mail (the regular uk postal service) they came ups and I got dinged :( Some genius in another forum taught me how to setup flex delivery which forces my packages to go to directly to a post office, which means amazon uk can't use ups (Forces them to send it royal mail.. lol).
I think the reason more and more international companies use ups is because ups undercuts on price. I don't think retailers (like the 10c) realize how seedy UPS is with charging less for shipping but then gouging for brokerage. As Bubbles would say, its greasy!
Order Summary
If Ten Club managed to do something about those shipping costs, they would sell a whole lot more merch.