carvin strings--when did shipping get so expensive?

Jumbotron · #1 08-26-2008, 07:50 AM

So yesterday I went on Carvin's website, mostly because I wanted to buy one of their gig bags. Shipping for the gig bag is $12 for ups ground--that's fine, since the bag is already a good deal. But I figured I'd pick up some strings while I was at it, since I've used their strings in the past, and they're also a good deal.

Turns out, though, that they charge shipping for the strings in addition to the gig bag. $12 worth. Which means that to get a gig bag and a set of strings shipped to me (this is ups ground, mind you), it would cost $24. You've got to be kidding me. (Juststrings, for comparison, charges $6.95 for usps).

I don't think Carvin's shipping used to cost that much--the flat fee for parts and accessories was way less. And it's totally insane that they won't tuck a small item (strings) into a larger item (gig bag). I used to work in the packing industry, and we did stuff like that all the time.

I still like Carvin's products, but while I still might get a gig bag from them, I seriously doubt that I'll ever buy their strings again. And I don't see why anybody else would either.

Phalex · #2 08-26-2008, 07:58 AM

I think it's a website glitch. I had a similar situation about a year ago. (I told them all about it and I thought they would fix it.)

Call their customer service and ask them about it. They refunded shipping charges for five out of the six packs of strings I ordered back then I think.

JTE · #3 08-26-2008, 08:39 AM

"Shipping & Handling" is NOT the same as "shipping". If it only says "shipping" they gotta charge what the actual shipping cost is. So they all cover it by calling it "S&H". That way they can build profit into it. Look at MF prices. Shipping is based on your order total. There's no way that it costs them the same to ship a $500 amplifier as it does to ship $500 worth of software, yet it's still the same base shipping rate (about 5% last time I bothered to look).

It's partly how they keep the costs down on the advertised prices. If you realized that every purchase was actually going to 5-10% higher how good a deal would it appear to be?

jte

Luckydog · #4 08-27-2008, 02:21 PM

Thats it man, it creates profit. Look at Ebay...look at all those websites that compare the purchase prices of items. These companies compete with each other, and when you are looking to buy a product, you shop around on the net, right? What pops up when you google your product....lots of that product with different prices. These companies angle to get googled on the first page of the search string, then they angle to show you the lowest price, so you click on it, right? Once they have your attention, their almost home. You go through 16 pages of ordering info, putting in your credit card, shipping and billing info, lots of other stuff, BEFORE you get to the shipping cost, right? Last page is shipping and you might think to yourself, hey thats kinda steep...but shoot I'm already invested in this transaction, so I'll just click to complete the transaction. Nextag helps a bit, so do some other comparison sites. Then there are the sites that say they have the item in stock and 3 hours after you do your order, you get an email saying it is backordered. It is ALL about getting you to click their buttons.