UPS and Newegg, WTF?

[Arkangyl]

In regards to the UPS guys, I ordered a vid card from the egg last monday, got it friday. The thing is, I heard the UPS guy in my driveway, went to a window to be sure and it was him. No knock, my car was parked outside on the driveway and he just walked up left the box on the porch and left. That was kinda annoying, and by kinda I mean I wanted to slap the guy.

 

[evancold]

Hello Thread Readers,

All shipping prices on our website are the prices FedEx and UPS offer, we defiantly do our best to negotiate the lowest price, however since we are not the ones providing the shipping service we have no control over the prices.

We do still offer FedEx as a method of shipping, however since UPS offered lower prices we made them as our primary shipper, this simply means they are the default shipping option. Again, we have no control over the prices these companies are charging.

In regards to the numerous Newegg representatives appearing as contacts on OC Forums, we do not plan on adding any other Newegg Representatives to the task of assisting our OC Forum friends, this task has been given to me with Jason as my supervisor. To be honest we need every Newegg agent we have answering phones after this Holiday season, but I can assure you, you will always receive the help you need.

Hopefully this touches on every question or concern anyone had, in the event you require further assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me and let me know.

Thanks,

Aaron Aragonez
Newegg Customer Support

So now if you could explain something for me. If I order two kits of ram for say 199 each with $4 shipping, why am I charged $8 for shipping? I could understand if they were shipped in two seperate packages from different places but that has not been the case. Newegg ships both kits in the same package. It costs the same to ship 2 kits of ram as it does to ship one kit. Shipping is done by weight, not by quanity of the product being shipped. Seems to me that newegg could have better shipping service/pricing if they did not pocket half of the shipping charges.

 

[TankGuys]

So now if you could explain something for me. If I order two kits of ram for say 199 each with $4 shipping, why am I charged $8 for shipping? I could understand if they were shipped in two seperate packages from different places but that has not been the case. Newegg ships both kits in the same package. It costs the same to ship 2 kits of ram as it does to ship one kit. Shipping is done by weight, not by quanity of the product being shipped. Seems to me that newegg could have better shipping service/pricing if they did not pocket half of the shipping charges.

I can actually think of a few reasons for this:

1.) There is a chance (albeit small) that the kits may ship from 2 different places, SOMETIMES. So if Newegg gave combined shipping charges all the time, they lose money. (we deal with something similar)
2.) Box size also matters. Our shipping system, for example, gives rate quotes based purely on weight. If, however, we have to use a huge box to ship it, the quotes are far lower than our actual cost, so we lose money. A similar situation may happen on Newegg's end, in that combining shipping charges does not take into account larger box sizes.
3.) It's just a lot easier, from an administration standpoint, to charge a set amount for each item, rather than using a scaling system that can't take into account all the other aforementioned variables. This translates to lower opterating costs, which translates (roughly) to lower consumer prices.

Yes, it does seem odd that per-unit shipping does not decrease with more items, but there are some possible reasons for this. There's a *lot* that goes into shipping items in large volumes, and there are considerations that the average customer wouldn't even think of. Shoot, we ship about 1/10000000th of what Newegg does, and I can tell you it's hard

 

[evancold]

I am not really the average comsumer. I ship anywhere from 60-300 packages a week. I know how shipping charges work, I have to deal with them everyday. So....

1. very very very small chance of that happening. How would they lose money on combined shipping? By losing the profit that is made on overcharging the shipping perhaps You have to admit that the way newegg calculates the shipping charges is just retarded. If they charged the proper shipping this would result in better customer satisfaction and no profit loss.

2. I understand what you are saying, and trust me I know that box size also matters. However it is not like they need a bigger box to ship to kits of ram. Even if they did I know for a fact that UPS has an automated system for the charges. Ordering $500 worth of harware that can fit in a small box should not be charged shipping for every item. For example, I placed an order about a month ago that I paid over $40 for shipping from the egg. Now how much would it cost me to send that package back them? The answer is $22.10 to be exact. That is with the same 3 day select that they used to send it to me. Now does a small company like mine get better shipping rates than newegg? I think not. This is a bit too much overcharge on neweggs part in my opinion.

3. Exactly, it is easier for them just to make profit off of the shipping as well. Why take the extra effort to charge customers correct for shipping? It CAN be setup for them to properly charge shipping, however you are correct, it is easier for them to avoid this.

 

[evancold]

Anyways back to the point of this thread. I would like to share my recent experience with UPS. I ordered some ram that was shipped out of CA via UPS 2nd Day Air to ID. So this is what went down after that. First the ram sat in CA without moving for an entire day. Then the ram was shipped to KY 2000 miles in the wrong direction. So then they put a delay due to some error due to it being sorted wrong or something like that. The way I see it they could have avoided this very easily. First off if the package is 2nd day air don't let it sit for an entire day, also ID is not far from CA. What were they doing shipping it clear across the country anyways? Needless to say my 2nd day air turned into 4day air. Everytime I decide to give UPS another chance they screw it up.

 

[TankGuys]

I am not really the average comsumer. I ship anywhere from 60-300 packages a week. I know how shipping charges work, I have to deal with them everyday. So....

1. very very very small chance of that happening. How would they lose money on combined shipping? By losing the profit that is made on overcharging the shipping perhaps You have to admit that the way newegg calculates the shipping charges is just retarded. If they charged the proper shipping this would result in better customer satisfaction and no profit loss.

2. I understand what you are saying, and trust me I know that box size also matters. However it is not like they need a bigger box to ship to kits of ram. Even if they did I know for a fact that UPS has an automated system for the charges. Ordering $500 worth of harware that can fit in a small box should not be charged shipping for every item. For example, I placed an order about a month ago that I paid over $40 for shipping from the egg. Now how much would it cost me to send that package back them? The answer is $22.10 to be exact. That is with the same 3 day select that they used to send it to me. Now does a small company like mine get better shipping rates than newegg? I think not. This is a bit too much overcharge on neweggs part in my opinion.

3. Exactly, it is easier for them just to make profit off of the shipping as well. Why take the extra effort to charge customers correct for shipping? It CAN be setup for them to properly charge shipping, however you are correct, it is easier for them to avoid this.

I agree with your points completely, I'm just brainstorming trying to think of a good reason

 

[Newegg Support]

Good Morning All,

In regards to Evancold’s post, we do understand that at times our shipping prices calculate ridiculously for small orders. Actually I believe there is a pervious thread with this same discussion. Our system is set up such that every item incurs a shipping fee and a discount is not included until 4 or more items are added (so in the event someone purchased $500 worth of products rest assured you will NOT be charged a shipping fee for each item) in fact we calculate a discount to keep shipping costs low.

I definitely agree this causes inconvenience for smaller orders, such as two sticks of RAM, but please take into consideration we ship hundreds of thousands of packages a day. Because we have numerous warehouses it would be pretty difficult, even for a computer, to sift through ALL our orders (in a timely manner) for the ones that have less than 4 items and are shipping from the same warehouse, forecast (because the shipping fee is adjusted before the items are picked and package) how much it will weigh and what kind of box it will be shipped in AND get the order pulled, packaged, labeled and on a pallet for pick up within 2 business days (In a lot of cases the same day the order is placed). In addition we have customers calling to void orders, change order, upgrade shipping, etc. Instead we place an estimated generic price to the item and charge per item.

If we could assign one person to each order placed we could offer a system that is previously mentioned as well as a price you might consider more reasonable, but again with the amount of packages we ship out, from the number of warehouses we own, within the small time frame we work in, that would just be impossible, also we probably wouldn’t be able to get it shipped until 3-5 business days. Newegg tries to balance affordable prices of products, with affordable shipping charges, and speedy possessing.

Even still we strive for your happiness, if you feel you have an order and the shipping is just outrageous please PM me, Email me ([email protected]) or call (800) 390-1119 ext. 2050, and we can come to some sort of reasonable ground. I am always here to help!!!

Thanks,

Aaron Aragonez
Newegg Customer Support

 

[evancold]

Good to know you are trying to help

 

[=ACID RAIN=]

Kudos to newegg for running a tight ship, and staying on top of customer relations

But I too have a gripe about UPS - the UPS station in my town is ridiculously inefficeint and pays no heed to "fragile" labels. I have personally seen them throwing boxes from truck to conveyor belt with no one to catch it. Heavy boxes, mind you. After reading around, I suspect it's not just in my town. UPS seems to have this "eh who cares, toss it in the corner" attitude about its items.

I personally shopped the egg because they had such great deals on fedex shipping, and I could avoid UPS, which has destroyed several of my items over the years. This is not the case now, and I have been glancing at other shops more for both home and work because I refuse to play nice with UPS. It's great that newegg offers more shipping options than almost any other site, but IMO you had it right the first time with fedex. I would gladly pay 2 or 3 dollars more on an order for home if the shipper was fedex, and even more than that for work.

In the end, I base alot of my purchasing on the shipper. If fedex is offered somewhere else for a few bucks more than UPS (since at times the fedex prices at newegg now seem somewhat high) I will buy there even if it means I am losing the "quality newegg support" I am now used to.

 

[evancold]

well said acid

 

[David Coleman]

But I too have a gripe about UPS - the UPS station in my town is ridiculously inefficeint and pays no heed to "fragile" labels. I have personally seen them throwing boxes from truck to conveyor belt with no one to catch it. Heavy boxes, mind you. After reading around, I suspect it's not just in my town. UPS seems to have this "eh who cares, toss it in the corner" attitude about its items.

That's pretty accurate. You sorta get desensitized after the 10 billionth (literally, no exaggeration) package. People forget that there is somebody's stuff in there. Sad, but true.

 

[brickout]

I have a good friend that has worked for UPS for 3 years, and unfortunately package disrespect runs rampant due to optimized package handling efficiency.

They don't employ nearly enough people compared to workload, and dock workers are given completely unrealestic goals for # packages moved/hr worked. They are rewarded by speed, not service or delicate handling.

The whole company doesn't have a 'eh, who cares' outlook, it's just that there is a disconnect between how workers are rewarded and how the company wants to run. It doesn't help UPS to ship damaged packages, but it most definitely helps the dock workers to toss as many boxes as they can.

 

[Rozal]

I liked FedEx alot. Miss them

 

[martinjon666]

And once agin it comes back to the same ol' thing. Even though newegg isn't responsible for what UPS does it still will come back to haunt them. It has been said that newegg is trying to give us the best prices on products and shipping without themselves losing money, i for one have called multiple times about my messed up orders and gotten a refund, how much money does newegg make then? There is a fine line between cheaper shipping costs and CHEAPER shipping costs. Even though they charge a few $$ less at the beginning, how many refunds does it take to make that savings invalid? As far as being de-sensitized: how would you feel if you went out for dinner with your wife on your anniversary and the person who cooked your food was already "de-sensitized" and dropped your food or spit in it or rubbed it on his hairy nuts? NOT ACCEPTIBLE. what if the manager said thats the way it is? Would you go somewhere else? My hard earned money s pays for what it pays for, not for some half-measure because the company i gave my money to is too stingy to hire workers and invent an incentive program to make sure that OTHER PEOPLE'S STUFF gets to where it is going IN ONE PIECE.

I had hoped i would never have to say this, BUT as far as NEWEGG is concerned i have 3 words

ZIPZOOMFLY

 

[Spion]

I had hoped i would never have to say this, BUT as far as NEWEGG is concerned i have 3 words

ZIPZOOMFLY

i completely agree. i recently purchased my PSU from newegg but now i'm wishing i would've gotten it from ZZF. i would've had my PSU by tommorrow instead of thursday/friday if i would've gone through ZZF. not only that, ZZF had it for cheaper with free shipping! i would've saved a total of $10 by going through ZZF and also had fedex shipping instead of ups

 

[Ach3r0n]

Ordered a mobo and PSU from NewEgg the other night and they were in my hands within 18 hours despite the 3-day shipping. I am seriously impressed with that ..

,,, [/b]however[/b] - the UPS guy still didn't ask for my signature. He handed me the packages ans said "NewEgg .. computer stuff eh?" Then he got back and his truck and headed off. It was no problem since everything worked out ok, but I'm really disturbed that NONE of these shipping companies adhere to their own signature policies. Wouldn't they be responsible for reimbursing NewEgg if the items didn't arrive at their destination b/c they didn't get the required signature?

 

[TankGuys]

Ordered a mobo and PSU from NewEgg the other night and they were in my hands within 18 hours despite the 3-day shipping. I am seriously impressed with that ..

,,, [/b]however[/b] - the UPS guy still didn't ask for my signature. He handed me the packages ans said "NewEgg .. computer stuff eh?" Then he got back and his truck and headed off. It was no problem since everything worked out ok, but I'm really disturbed that NONE of these shipping companies adhere to their own signature policies. Wouldn't they be responsible for reimbursing NewEgg if the items didn't arrive at their destination b/c they didn't get the required signature?

Yea, I guess signature policy is ultimately up to the individual driver. They can decide in the end if they'll actually make you sign or not. It's kind of nice if you know your driver well, and they will leave your package somewhere for you if you aren't home. The problem for them is that if the package is reported as undelivered, I guess it comes out of thier paycheck... or something along those lines. There is accountability for them if they don't get the signature and something ends up going wrong.

 

[stool]

As my porch is out of the weather, and I've had the same driver for years, we usually forego the signature process. In all honesty, I'd rather not have the bother, and only on rare occasions do I actually sign for anything. My biggest problem with UPS has always been the generally crappy shipping in the first place, not my local guy.

 

[Rozal]

Okay I ordered a nice heatsink and fan on sunday. In the morning on monday it was step 5. I asked for UPS 3-day right? Well they seemed to cheat me out in a 4 day. They had monday,Tuesday, and Today. That's three business days. But Im Schelduled for Thursday...Why newegg did you do this? Fedex was always on time or a day early.

Scheduled Delivery: 01/12/2006
Shipped to: MERIDEN, CT, US
Shipped or Billed on: 01/08/2006

 

[Newegg Support]

Good day everyone,

I'm here to respond to a few posts, first Rozal. If I could get your Sales Order number I would be more than ecstatic to look into this for you. I'd even be happy to offer a shipping discount if there seems to have been any delay!! All I need is a PM or an Email ([email protected]) with your Sales Order number, or Invoice number, or customer number and I'll get back to you shortly with my discoveries.

Okay I ordered a nice heatsink and fan on sunday. In the morning on monday it was step 5. I asked for UPS 3-day right? Well they seemed to cheat me out in a 4 day. They had monday,Tuesday, and Today. That's three business days. But Im Schelduled for Thursday...Why newegg did you do this? Fedex was always on time or a day early.

Scheduled Delivery: 01/12/2006
Shipped to: MERIDEN, CT, US
Shipped or Billed on: 01/08/2006

Second Spion,

If $10 is the only thing keeping you unhappy with Newegg, please PM or email me!! I'd be happy to get you this credit! We can make one-time credit exceptions for customers like this periodically to keep them happy, and that’s what we want, we would like you to keep a smile on your face.

i completely agree. i recently purchased my PSU from newegg but now i'm wishing i would've gotten it from ZZF. i would've had my PSU by tommorrow instead of thursday/friday if i would've gone through ZZF. not only that, ZZF had it for cheaper with free shipping! i would've saved a total of $10 by going through ZZF and also had fedex shipping instead of ups

In general,
I'm sure a lot of you have seen my name around these posts regarding Newegg. Everyday I jump on here to find out if there is any way I can help, I check my PMs to see if anyone has contacted me with assistance requests. I find a lot of complaints in board posts, but no PMs. I don't mind hunting through message boards for unhappy customers, but If you really want something resolved please PM or Email me! Everything (within reason) is negotiable!!!


Have a nice day,

Aaron Aragonez
Newegg Customer Support