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I didn't mean to sound like I was griping at SU for paying tax on S&H. I know it's not their fault, it's the individual state/province/country.
I was curious whether the demo/hostess is supposed to bring it to your house (for same town/city folks) for that 10% S&H. Or is it expected that I pick up my own stuff? Sounds like some of you have great demos/hostesses that bring it to you!
Oh, and another thing: if you think you aren't paying for shipping when you are shopping at a store, think again. You are ALWAYS paying for shipping, they just roll it up into the price.
It's just like a balloon, you squeeze it on one side, and the other side inflates larger. Companies gotta make a profit, some make a bigger margin than others. When you see a company that says no shipping or low shipping, you gotta know that they are making up that lost dollar somewhere, usually with higher prices on their merchandise.
__________________
Milette
The dreamers of the day are dangerous people,For they dream their dreams with open eyes,And make them come true.- D.H. Lawrence
Our total tax is calculated on the price PLUS the S&H charges. Here in BC I'm paying 24% (10% shipping and 14% taxes). Being in a remote area, it takes almost 3 weeks to get my orders.
I work for a major corporation, and we have deals with FedEx that you would NOT believe.....I don't know why SU isn't utilizing them! We get about a 70% discount off "retail" FedEx prices because of the shipping volume....maybe SU should start looking at other shipping options!!
But.......that being said.......I love SU's products...and will take advantage of the free shipping offer they've got going on now!
__________________ ~Debbi~
Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. ~Author Unknown
10% does seem like a lot sometimes. However, I had the benefits of shipping explained like this: you don't have to leave your house, drive to a store, wait in line, risk getting in wreck, drive home, and spend your time. 10% is worth it for all that.
I did hear that SU is doing a special right now. If you spend $50 or more, you get free shipping through Dec 31. I guess it is the time to stock up!!!
As a demo, I always have the items shipped to me (unless its an individual order and the customer lives far away). I bag them, include a tips and technique booklet and attached a thank you to each bag. I then deliver the bags to the hostess. It is up to the hostess how they want to deliver the filled bags. I have been the hostess for Mary Kay, Tupperware, and Pampered Chef, and that was the procedure that each of those consultants used. I just followed after them.
I , too, had this concern about the cost of shipping when I started as a demo. I expressed this concern in the survey they sent me. The answer I got has always helped me on the few occasions when customers have concerns about our shipping.
They said that I should realize that ALL companies recoup their shipping charges. If not the way SU does, then in higher costs of the products. The handling fee not only covers employee costs, but I am sure there are constant repairs and upkeep on the machines that keep that warehouse going smoothly.
As to this paying for our hostess benefits, I doubt that comes from this particular part of the pie. But, obviously the amount of money we spend with SU pays for the benefits in one way or another. And do they make money on us...absolutely. They are in business to make a profit. That is what this is all about. I think in general, this is a great company that is really family and people oriented. I have found them to be fair and honest in all of my dealings with them and I am glad to represent them. I could never sell something unless I believed in it like I do these products.
Roberta
For the person who asked about why Mary Kay can charge a flat 7.50 fee. It's because some accountant has crunched the numbers to find out what an average order is. Let's say the average order is about 50$, then 7.50 is actually 15% S&H on an average order. Only if you order more than 75$ do you pay LESS than the same 10 % that SU charges. Basically any place that charges a flat fee has done a careful calculation to subsidize the money they lose on those big, rare $1200 orders by making up for it with the millions of people who make a $40 purchase (in which case of course you pay 18.75% S&H!!!!).
Now, for those companies that charge a bit less than 10% (and there aren't many), they make up for it in one of 2 ways. They stick it to the people who place small orders by charging a flat fee up to a minimum amount. Say $4.95 on orders up to 50$. In other words, you pay MORE than 10% unless you order $49.95 or more. Anything over 50$ is 7.5%. Well that just means that number crunchers have figured out that average orders are lower, where you pay MORE than 10% so the excess makes up for the higher orders at the lower rate. (This is how Amazon does the free shipping over $25. They have figured out that the average order is less than that. Plus they probably get a bulk book rate anyway. Their volume makes up for whatever shipping costs they lose -- if they want to make a profit that is).
Or, more likely, they smoosh that cost in the the actual product cost and it becomes a hidden cost to the customer. They do this because they know that customers are willing to pay higher prices but balk at see 10% shipping. Even though in the long run, they are spending the same overall. You better believe that none of the these companies are giving such a great deal on shipping that they are letting it impact their bottom line in a way that they don't make up for it somewhere else.
This is why I think it's silly to get so concerned about that S&H line. Everything comes out in the wash. I do suggest that whenever there is a deal on shipping like SU has now, you should take advantage!!
__________________ Jennifer Henry
Lawyer by day, stamp and scrap addict by night.
As a Canadian demonstrator, I needed to get the scoop about the S&H charges right away, back in our early days of 15% or a $15.95 minimum charge, whichever was higher!! The current 10% and $9.95 minimum is sooooo much better, and shows that as our Cdn volume increased, our costs dropped and they passes those savings on to us.
This is how Demonstrator Support explained to me how came to asses the amount they charge us:
The shipping and handling charge includes the freight charged by the carrier and the handling expenses the company incurs to prepare the order. They do not separate the freight charge from the handling charge.
Their shipping and handling costs for Canada are significantly higher than for the U.S. because they must pay a per-package surcharge for international shipments, plus a per-pound border charge on every package entering Canada, plus Canadian import duties on selected products not produced in NAFTA countries. At "full volume," they projected their Canadian shipping and handling revenues to just equal their Canadian shipping and handling expenses.
In some one way or another, every company collects the full cost of its shipping and handling. Some companies do so by including these costs in a higher price for their products. Other companies can afford to use shipping as a loss leader because their profit margins are very large. Yet others charge different rates by weight or distance. Still others, like Stampin' Up!, base their charges on the true cost of shipping and handling, no more, and no less.
The company philosophy is to have each segment of their business stand on its own, with its own goals, and without hiding the costs of one segment in the prices of another. Canada stands on its own. Shipping and handling stands on its own. Concerning shipping and handling, they carefully monitor four goals:
(1) Accurate and Timely Delivery;
(2) Uninflated Markups and Prices;
(3) Fair, Equitable, and Simple Charges;
(4) Revenue Equal to Expenses.
As far as paying provincial/state taxes on the S&H charges, as other posters have already mentioned it's a legislation issue. Ontario as a province charges it on the S&H as well.
I hope this helps explain some of the rationale behind how the S&H charges are calculated and justified. It helped me tremendously once I had it explained to me as such!
I have wondered about this too...it just seems like stamps dont weigh all that much...I sell Usborne books and some of our books (like our encyclopedias) are VERY heavy and we only charge 6% for s/h....
and i forgot to add that our products are VERY reasonably priced, they start at just $3.59 and 80% of our books are under $10! so its not like we charge a HUGE amount for the books then have a lower s/h rate...
I look at S&H as a necessary evil kind of thing. It has got to cost to have someone physically pack the blocks, the sheet of images and sheet of rubber images into a plastic case. Yes, the shipping isn't probably a lot, but the handling, well, that seems like a lot of handling is done. At convention one of the chosen group said she was amazed at the guy who puts the paper packs together. There is a lot more hands on handling of SU product than a lot of other products. AND I really appreciate the "technical" explanations posted. It all makes sense! I just wish for demos there was a way to be able to make catty orders and supply orders on same page so that there is only one S&H fee instead of 2. But again - rock on with free S&H on those over $50 orders!
sweetandsour - just curious - why do you have to drive across town?????
I ordered through a party. I don't know if it's different if I order it direct from the demo - is it? The hostess said that I have to pick up my order myself, even though she's a 2 car family and we are not, and she lives 30 mins away from me.
If I continue buying from SU (depends if I get my Oct 23rd ordered Stampin' Spots before 2005), you bet I'll be looking for the closest demo to me!
As a demo, I deliver everything to my hostess and also offer to deliver her customers orders too if she can not. There are many demos out there and I am sure you can find one that meets your needs.
I didn't mean to sound like I was griping at SU for paying tax on S&H. I know it's not their fault, it's the individual state/province/country.
I was curious whether the demo/hostess is supposed to bring it to your house (for same town/city folks) for that 10% S&H. Or is it expected that I pick up my own stuff? Sounds like some of you have great demos/hostesses that bring it to you!
The 10% gets the order to the hostess or demo. It's really up to them how they get it to customers. Before I was a demo I hosted several SU parties, plus I've hosted several parties for other companies (SLAH, Tupperware, etc.). Sometimes I delivered stuff, sometimes I told guests at the party that they would need to come pick it up. I know that most hostesses do deliver. Now being an SU Demo is my 2nd job. I honestly just don't always have the time to deliver and most of my customers pick up orders from me. If I didn't also have a full-time job, I would probably deliver more orders. Hostess orders get shipped direct to the hostess and it's up to her how she wants to handle it. You should talk to the demo who placed your order and see what her policy is when you order direct from her (not through a hostess). You may find that she would be happy to deliver to you or have orders direct shipped to you. If not, then perhaps you can locate another demo closer to you. But it's really not this demo's fault if your hostess isn't delivering to you. HTH.
I thought as a demo that Demo orders would have a lower shipping cost, but they don't. I was also a demo for another direct sales company (PartyLite) and they had a flat shipping fee of only $4.50 for demo orders. No matter how much was ordered. And those big 3 wick candles weigh about 9 lbs!
As a Partylite and former MaryKay consultant, I've seen many of the in's and out's of direct sales businesses. While, yes, these companies do only charge a flat shipping rate, think of how much your average customer is PAYING for that flat shipping rate.... if consultants for both companies can order products at 50% (and you KNOW they aren't taking a loss at those costs!), how much is the product marked up to cover things like shipping and handling? With Stampin' Up!, I feel like the product is a very reasonable, almost unbelievably low price, so it doesn't hurt that we pay a little more for shipping... would you rather have your $29.95 stamp set be $59.90 and pay $4 s/h instead of $2.99???
I have wondered about this too...it just seems like stamps dont weigh all that much...I sell Usborne books and some of our books (like our encyclopedias) are VERY heavy and we only charge 6% for s/h....
Anna
Books also have a cheaper shipping rate usually because its media mail. I know whenever I've ordered books or anything, usually the shipping is cheaper, for that reason.
__________________ Emily Kirk
The only normal people are the ones I dont know very well.
With regards to the S & H with SU, the 10% still bothers me. No one can tell me that SU doesn't have a corporate acct with UPS or whoever else they vend with, due to the numerous amounts of Stamps that they ship out. So SU is getting a deal. The flat rate of 10% doesn't appear reasonable to me. The box they send to the demo. would be approx. $20, depending on the deal they get. $1000 worth of product retail is $100 worth of S & H cost. At least give us S & H at cost.
I am not sure if someone already posted this, but I just read on the SU! website that there's free shipping until 12/31/04 for all orders over $50...Wee-heeeeeeeee!!
My Mom mailed my brother's Christmas parcel last year, had to do airmail since the "surface" deadline for UK is in October and who is ready then??? Anyway, the postage came to $115. Yup, not a type! One hundred and fifteen dollars! That would have bought a lot of other presents (hey, and stamps too, but I dgress...)
Needless to say, she mailed a cheque this year :-)
Hi all! I am a demo for another company as well and I have to pay the shipping for orders under $800 - $15.00 flat rate, and by the time you take into consideration credit card fees I pay, and the hostess credit that comes out of my profit, I make no money sometimes if my sales are low. As a new SU demo, I find that my customers feel that the 10% is very reasonable based on some other comanies they have dealt with.
And if you compare the cost of SU sets to sets in the store, the SU sets are VERY reasonable. I saw a set at AC Moore the other day for $29.00 for 5 small stamps. So, I guess you could pay more at the store, or pay less + shipping for a product that is well worth it!!
Have a great day ladies!!
And remember - FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS OVER $50US UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR!! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER...
