JustStrings Shipping?

[Doodaddy]

I was just about to order a Ken Smith Bass Burners .130 taper string, but then I noticed that the shipping is $7 which is absurd for a single string. All they're going to do is put it in a bubble envelope and put a stamp on it.

Is there anywhere else that this string is available? I just can't bring myself to pay $19 for a string.

[reidar otto]

send http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/kensmtacobag.html
an email and ask if they deliver single strings.
I have been impressed with the service, friedlyness and speed of delivery many times.
cheers

[fretlessguy]

I usually order several string sets for all my instruments at one time, so it's not an issue for me. But you are correct, it is steep for one string. Call and see if something can be arranged.

[GM60466]

It has happened to me before and when I called, I was politely told that is their policy. I'm buying all my strings from Elderly Instruments now.

G

[73jbass]

Shipping a string through the Post Office first class mail shouldn't be more that a couple of dollars. What shipping method did you select?

[Sundogue]

First of all, there isn't much of a markup on strings to begin with (unless you are buying from a music store ).

Secondly, padded mailers aren't free. And last but not least, a package of strings doesn't just magically jump off the shelf, put itself into the envelope, or self address and stamp itself either. Nor does it drop itself in the mailbox. What do you think the "handling" part is of shipping and handling? Products don't ship themselves.

For a place that sells ONLY strings and has the widest selection of strings on the planet, and given the fact that for this kind of business a flat fee for shipping makes the most sense, I really don't see what the big deal is with $7 to get your strings to you in a few days. My guess is that most would easily piss away (literally) that much money in drinks at a bar.

Time is money, and unless you run your own business, you won't understand how getting merchandise out the door costs you money (not even including the actual shipping cost), no matter how little time or effort it actually takes you. It takes just as long to ship one string to you as it does to ship a whole set. When you run a business, you are either making money or losing money. There is no such thing as breaking even, because if you aren't making money you are wasting time not doing so. Successful business owners know this. Selling and shipping strings for a living is not the same thing as you selling and mailing a single set to a fellow TB'er one time. Do it thousands of times and see how much time is wasted doing so.

I never begrudge anyone what they charge for what they do. If you don't like it, don't buy from them. Funny how people complain about the cost of something until that something is the product they are selling. I'm guessing you'd feel differently about it if you owned juststrings and were making a living from it.

[rllefebv]

Buy seven of those strings and shipping comes to $1 per string... Pretty darned reasonable

Sundogue hits it on the head... They still have to pay employees whether they are pulling a single string or a full set... Me? I buy serveral sets at once... I love JustStrings!

-robert

[Fretlessboy]

Have you contacted Ken Smith?

[Solarmist]

They have real fast service, but one needs to buy a couple sets at a time to make it worth that $7 shipping charge.

The sets I needed cost about $4 to $5 less there than at local music stores.

[bassdaddy5]

Originally Posted by Sundogue

First of all, there isn't much of a markup on strings to begin with (unless you are buying from a music store ).

Secondly, padded mailers aren't free. And last but not least, a package of strings doesn't just magically jump off the shelf, put itself into the envelope, or self address and stamp itself either. Nor does it drop itself in the mailbox. What do you think the "handling" part is of shipping and handling? Products don't ship themselves.

For a place that sells ONLY strings and has the widest selection of strings on the planet, and given the fact that for this kind of business a flat fee for shipping makes the most sense, I really don't see what the big deal is with $7 to get your strings to you in a few days. My guess is that most would easily piss away (literally) that much money in drinks at a bar.

Time is money, and unless you run your own business, you won't understand how getting merchandise out the door costs you money (not even including the actual shipping cost), no matter how little time or effort it actually takes you. It takes just as long to ship one string to you as it does to ship a whole set. When you run a business, you are either making money or losing money. There is no such thing as breaking even, because if you aren't making money you are wasting time not doing so. Successful business owners know this. Selling and shipping strings for a living is not the same thing as you selling and mailing a single set to a fellow TB'er one time. Do it thousands of times and see how much time is wasted doing so.

I never begrudge anyone what they charge for what they do. If you don't like it, don't buy from them. Funny how people complain about the cost of something until that something is the product they are selling. I'm guessing you'd feel differently about it if you owned juststrings and were making a living from it.

Well said!! Juststrings is the best! I order strings for me and our guitarist at the same time. Saves us a lot of money.

[Hutch1]

I liked how they threw in a couple of picks with my string order. Even though I don't use a pick, it was a nice jesture. And the prices are very good, although the Rotos I saw on Elderly's Website were cheaper.

[Doodaddy]

Shipping a string through the Post Office first class mail shouldn't be more that a couple of dollars. What shipping method did you select?

The slowest and cheapest one. 2 day shipping was over $20.

Originally Posted by Sundogue

First of all, there isn't much of a markup on strings to begin with (unless you are buying from a music store ).

Secondly, padded mailers aren't free. And last but not least, a package of strings doesn't just magically jump off the shelf, put itself into the envelope, or self address and stamp itself either. Nor does it drop itself in the mailbox. What do you think the "handling" part is of shipping and handling? Products don't ship themselves.

For a place that sells ONLY strings and has the widest selection of strings on the planet, and given the fact that for this kind of business a flat fee for shipping makes the most sense, I really don't see what the big deal is with $7 to get your strings to you in a few days. My guess is that most would easily piss away (literally) that much money in drinks at a bar.

Time is money, and unless you run your own business, you won't understand how getting merchandise out the door costs you money (not even including the actual shipping cost), no matter how little time or effort it actually takes you. It takes just as long to ship one string to you as it does to ship a whole set. When you run a business, you are either making money or losing money. There is no such thing as breaking even, because if you aren't making money you are wasting time not doing so. Successful business owners know this. Selling and shipping strings for a living is not the same thing as you selling and mailing a single set to a fellow TB'er one time. Do it thousands of times and see how much time is wasted doing so.

I never begrudge anyone what they charge for what they do. If you don't like it, don't buy from them. Funny how people complain about the cost of something until that something is the product they are selling. I'm guessing you'd feel differently about it if you owned juststrings and were making a living from it.

I'm not naive and I do realize that there are added costs in the process of shipping. I never negated those points, I just didn't think it was a reasonable increase in price for the shipping. The question in my post was "Is there anywhere else that this string is available?" because I couldn't justify their prices.

Have you contacted Ken Smith?

I glanced at their site, but haven't contacted them. Do they sell direct?

[pdbass]

I needed to give a major shout-out to the people at Juststrings.com. I've bought from them for years, and their service has always been outstanding. They're usually in stock on whatever string (and I've tried a lot of different brands over the years). I'll usually order at least 2 sets at a time to get a little more bang for my shipping buck. They've always been reliable.

So, I ordered 2 sets of Fodera Nickel Medium 6's earlier this week. If you've seen Fodera strings (particularly nickels), you know that the nickels come in the same package as the steels, save for a sticker that says "Nickel" on the package. So, when I got my 2 sets, there was no Nickel sticker. Looks like they sent the steels by mistake. I send an email, and they call me, first thing, the next morning to tell me that the 2 nickel sets are being shipped out with a prepaid envelope--so that I can just drop the steels in to send back--at no cost to me. Another reason for me to keep using them! Happy customer

[LilRay]

Juststrings has the most selection available on any instrument, Period. However you do pay additionally for the luxury of selection. And unless you use some of the obscure brands, you can definately get strings cheaper.

God Bless, Ray

[JTE]

Well, let's get the terminology straight. It's not "shipping". It's "shipping and handling". As others have posted, it's not just the cost to pay the postage, it's the cost of creating the pick, having someone fill the order, creating and printing the invoice, creating the shipping documentation, the envelope, etc.

It's the same in any business- you have to spread certain costs across all your transactions based on some average. Now to buy one string at a time, you pay for the privledge.

jte

[LilRay]

Originally Posted by JTE

Well, let's get the terminology straight. It's not "shipping". It's "shipping and handling". As others have posted, it's not just the cost to pay the postage, it's the cost of creating the pick, having someone fill the order, creating and printing the invoice, creating the shipping documentation, the envelope, etc.

It's the same in any business- you have to spread certain costs across all your transactions based on some average. Now to buy one string at a time, you pay for the privledge.

jte

You're exactly right.

That was sort of my point too I just added that you pay a premium for selection as well ie; Guitar, Bass, mandolin etc. If you're willing to buy just bass strings their prices can be beat, in reguards to string sets not just S&H. They are a one stop shop for strings, and you pay a premium.

God Bless, Ray

[msiner]

Originally Posted by JTE

Well, let's get the terminology straight. It's not "shipping". It's "shipping and handling". As others have posted, it's not just the cost to pay the postage, it's the cost of creating the pick, having someone fill the order, creating and printing the invoice, creating the shipping documentation, the envelope, etc.

It's the same in any business- you have to spread certain costs across all your transactions based on some average. Now to buy one string at a time, you pay for the privledge.

jte

This brings up an interesting point. The prices at your local music store include the "handling" charges that cover overhead. Imagine what it would be like if you asked for a pair of strings off the wall and they charged you $1 for each trip they had to make to the wall. I would image JustStrings, like a traditional music shop, has people working regular hours who get paid the same wage/salary no matter how many orders they "handle" in any given day/hour. I am not an economist or even a business minded person, so these kinds of things do seem strange to me.

I think online retailers keep their "handling" charge separate for two reasons;
1) to advertise as low of a price as possible in the competitive Internet market that includes powerful search engines, and
2) to promote, as people have already suggested, purchasing more products to "spread the cost" of shipping between multiple items

Which system is preferable or better is subjective based on your needs and shopping style, but it helps to understand the differences in order to properly compare costs.

[HogieWan]

Originally Posted by Hutch1

I liked how they threw in a couple of picks with my string order. Even though I don't use a pick, it was a nice jesture. And the prices are very good, although the Rotos I saw on Elderly's Website were cheaper.

There's a guy I work with who loves those picks (guitar player who does a lot of flatpicking), so he gets a little treat everytime I get strings.

[bass12]

Juststrings is one of the few places that stock some of the strings I've needed in the past. As others have pointed out, you pay for the luxury of selection. Why, by the way, would you only buy one string? Unless you like dead strings, wouldn't you want at least a couple of extras for down the road? Anyway, I'm grateful to the guys at Juststrings for doing what they do. Anything that provides me with such a great selection and means fewer trips to my local filled-with-obnoxious-salesmen music stores will receive my support any day.

[HogieWan]

I've bought one string - probably a similar situation. I have elixirs on my fretted variax 5er. I got the .130 and after putting it on, I realized they make a .135, so I ordered just the .135