Minimum delivery charges get on my nerves

[vickster]

It's a b'twin garment which really narrows it down

Just that £70 minimum spend is an awful lot of money and not a light purchase.

At the end of the day though I wanted their product so paid the money.

Presumably whatever it was, being BTWIN represented good value versus a competitor product, so you saved there? Unless something unique to Decathlon

How much was the postage fee? How much would an equivalent product be from say Wiggle?

 

[Andrew_P]

I advertise free delivery, I do not charge delivery separately. I buy next day tracked delivery with DPD and add that to the cost of the product before I put margin and VAT on. Because I buy delivery I believe I should make a margin on that too. I cannot believe how many people comment on the fantastic free service, do they really believe that DPD have delivered it for me free and that none of the cost has passed on to them?

 

[stephec]

I advertise free delivery, I do not charge delivery separately. I buy next day tracked delivery with DPD and add that to the cost of the product before I put margin and VAT on. Because I buy delivery I believe I should make a margin on that too. I cannot believe how many people comment on the fantastic free service, do they really believe that DPD have delivered it for me free and that none of the cost has passed on to them?

By the sound of it yes.

 

[Sara_H]

Taking P&P into account is a bit of a minefield.

Often you can find items at such a good price that even with the P&P it's cheaper than another shop with free P&P. Also, you have to take into account the cost to you of returning if its not right.
These days I try to order from places that have a local(ish) store as you can often have stuff delivered to store to collect for free, which works out well because you don't have to gamble on being in when the postie comes.

 

[Sara_H]

You have a point, however you are paying for a product that you would otherwise have to collect, which takes time and money.

It just comes down to competition at the end of the day. If you don't like it buy elsewhere.

Good point. I rejected online ordering of my sons school uniforms as there was a £5 P&P. Went to the local shop instead, cost me £7 in bus fare! Though we did at least kill a couple of school holiday hours!

 

[screenman]

One of the things I sell a lot of costs the buyer £25+VAT and I charge a postage on top of £4.30

 

[nickyboy]

As Screenman says, it's about margins. Companies have had to control prices to remain afloat in a difficult economy, and in many cases margins are 3-4%. That means on a £10 item, they are making 30-40p - they can't then spend £3 to deliver it to you.

3-4% may be their net profit % after all overheads etc but it certainly isn't a margin (the difference between what they sell it for and what they buy it for) that a retailer, online or otherwise operates on.

Typical high street retailers (like an LBS) operate on margins net of VAT of 35-45% ie the thing you buy for £10 has cost them about £5. Sure, online retailers operate on a lower margin but not the kind of numbers you're talking about. Businesses with high volumes and low overheads (like petrol) do operate on much lower margins, low volume high overhead businesses (like expensive jewellery) on much higher margins

 

[marknotgeorge]

Free delivery charges on a minimum spend aren't there to help you out, they're there to get you to spend more.

 

[byegad]

It's unreasonable to expect free delivery on orders that mean the company loses money. That said, If I buy an article with a large profit margin for the seller, I'd expect the retailer to absorb the delivery from that margin. Many mail order firms make a lower margin on articles than a High St shop, but they have overheads much larger than the postage costs to meet.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Typical high street retailers (like an LBS) operate on margins net of VAT of 35-45%

True but irrelevant. We're not talking about high-street retailers, we're talking about online retailers, where margins are often razor-thin.

'Free delivery' is no such thing - it's just a cost added to the price, and as it gets added to each product, you generally end up paying more when buying several items.

 

[ufkacbln]

Evans is free to a store

Minimum parcel post is about £3, you can't really expect a retailer to cover that on an under £10 order. I was 10p under from Wiggle recently, bought some £2 lube for the free delivery

You could support your LBS and buy/order from them

Evans nearest is at least 50 miles away!

As for the LBS, they are brilliant, but tied down by manufacturer's delivery schedules and times.

I can often get a part cheaper, and quicker through the internet than the LBS can supply through no fault of their own

 

[vickster]

Your LBS?

 

[ufkacbln]

Your LBS?

I have several.

MY favourite is Solent Cycles who have several branches and a superb record.

The problem is of my making and not theirs.

Expecting an LBS to stock Rohloff parts or some of my other exotica is not reasonable.

 

[ufkacbln]

Here is an experiment for you to try

Go onto a large site like Amazon or "Shopping" on Google

Then compare the prices.

It is revealing how many of the lower prices have higher shipping costs and the higher prices lower shipping costs

When you add the two together there is usually little difference across the board, so "free delivery" often isn't!

 

[BigAl68]

Prendas are free on any order. Just ordered another cycling cap for my collection and spent £7.50 no postage and next day delivery. Seems some of the smaller companies are still able to cover their postage within their margins.