[Towertalk] Buying nuts and bolts - Rationalized gouging

[Robert Shohet]

> I don't see what the big deal is with respect to handling charges. As long
> as  a vendor lets you know up front that they are tacking on a handling
charge,
> then you have the option to go somewhere else.

The problem is that most DON'T let you know there is a "handling" charge or
what the amount of that "handling charge" is until you are actually placing
that order!  Hardly meaningful disclosure.

Might be a lot more honest for vendors to advertise the handling charge and
amount of same as prominently as they advertise their pricing.  Ever wonder
why so few companies actually do that?

 I use several vendors that  have minimum charges. When dealing with them, I
make sure my orders are  big enough to meet the minimum. Also, it is also
very common for vendors
> to provide price breaks for larger quanities of a particular. This is
> another  way of factoring in handling overhead.

Exactly my point.  Then what you see IS what you get.

I regularly work with companies that have a set schedule of "shipping"
charges by order $ amount.
While it is not perfect, at least it represents a good faith attempt to
charge what they need and to disclose it prominently so I can figure out
what to order and at what level to minimize the "extra cost".  If it is
exorbitant, then I can quickly move on to another company BEFORE wasting my
time choosing them, placing an order and THEN getting a nasty surprise at
order time.

Companies that don't disclose things prominently do so intentionally to gain
an unfair advantage.  Companies that do disclose things prominently are more
ethical and trustworthy as far as I am concerned.

73

Bob KQ2M