I would really appreciate your opinions on the following shipping question:
If you purchased a chanter or set, would you rather:
a) pay the minimum shipping cost (say $20) and receive your order in two weeks, as regular post is slow, or
b) pay more for shipping (say $30), receive it in 4 days give or take and then incur an additional brokerage fee which is standard amongst parcel services (say $25, for a total of $35 above post delivery)
What would be important to you, lower shipping costs and longer delivery, or higher shipping costs and quick delivery?
I would definitely go with express shipping, more for the attention the package receives than for the simple time benefits. Regular post parcels are more likely to take a good s**t-kicking before they finally get delivered, in my experience.
My concern is how do you plan to pack them?
I’ve sent and received many sets in the last few years and always worried about damage, despite insurance… no one wants to have to deal with claims and the frustration surrounding a damaged shipment.
I’ve had chanters mailed to me in cardboard tubes with minimal bubble wrap inside and they were received OK. Also received sets sent in standard weight cardboard boxes with styrofoam peanuts and the boxes were crushed or busted open and the pipes (though undamaged) were ready to fall out.
If at all possible, use reinforced or heavy wall cardboard boxes.
In the US… Priority via USPS gets to the destination in 2-3 days otherwise I go UPS second day air. This minimizes the amout of gorillas that handle my package and keeps it further away from heavy and oversized packages going UPS ground.
I got a chanter recently from David Boisvert. He packed it in a length of PVC pipe with styrofoam pellets and wrapped in bubblewrap. Great idea using the pipe - cheap and sturdy.
Thank you all for your feedback. I don’t want to get sidetracked here… I am not concerned with damage as I package very well with lots of internal cushioning, and I am not asking what type of shipping I should use (express post, etc)… I am asking what is more important to you, quick shipment or $35?
Uilliam, you are correct in that I could offer the choice to each customer but I would like to see what all your opinions are (hopefully more then 4 individuals) in the hopes of standardizing.
I’m sure that it works best if it is clear to the client that there is a choice in shipping method and cost and that the client should decide. Most companies work this way.
This way, you don’t have a surprised customer on the other end wondering what a “brokerage fee” is, due COD, when this cost was perhaps not mentioned in the original arrangement. It is nice to choose faster, insured shipping, but the customer must know about this added charge in advance.
As someone who has bought pipes I can say that I do care about the method of shipping. It’s not the speed, but rather the improved handling, that makes me willing to pay more for air shipment.
I personally would not trust pipes to ground shipping.
I have had beeter experience with overnight shipping (and other tracked) and found it woth the cost. Every change of hands and locations is recorded and tracked. Insurance is also extremely important. I had a miserable experience regarding a Crowley chanter from Australia that arrived as an emty tube with one end cap missing through typical post. It was shipped heavier than it arrived, so I beleive that the issue was in the shipping than the shipper. Never the less, never got any satisfaction from the post (not insured), nor the seller (despite staements to the contrary).
I am a total newbie to the UP (just to give you an additional perspective to those provided). I agree with Bill, that the handling of the speedier delivery would be worth the few extra dollars. The added speed, that’s just gravy.
On a related/unrelated note: I appreciate your questions and attitude. I can imagine the difficulties of moving into the pipe making business (wasing into the piping community in general is intimidating enoug). You seem to respect all who give their opinions, whether they are openly constructive or seem purely critical. I just want you to know that I appreciate your efforts, work, and attitude.
For critical items, the shipment needs to be trackable, as well as predictable, and that pushes it to the higher half of services. Weight vs safety comes into play but double-boxing, superior containers, and things like PVC tubes are good choices.
Insurance is important. For import/export, the insurance valuation must match the declaration or that will cause a potential jam up.
In the US, certain parts of the country are not available for overnight shipping (even though I’m in Chicago) but the way the model works for FedEx is that everything goes to Memphis for sorting. A shipment to New Hampshire spends an extra night in Boston, for instance. USPS also uses FedEx for getting their overnight stuff delivered to their local post offices for next-day delivery.
So, I’d say pack it up to your heart’s content, insist on the buyer paying insurance, track teh item, and then let the buyer decide how fast they want to receive it.
**Not very Christian of ye is it Rev?**Are ye saying that only praiseworthy comment should be tolerated and that there isnae the room for the “purely critical” as ye dismissively put it…
perhaps ye should understand the reason for critiscism afore ye start a schism
Slán Agat
Uilliam
Please re-read my post. You will note the absence of judgmental language or value assignment. If I want to condem one and condone the other, I will do so explicitly. Please understand, I believe that there is value in both openly constructive and purely critical commentary, and my comment was one that praised Chris’s apparent respect for both (and ability to see the value in each). That is all, nothing more…nothing less. For future references concerning my posts: If it isn’t there, that means it isn’t there. If, for any reason, you cannot discern the nature or meaning of my posts, I would encourage you to simply ask me about them. That, to me at least, seems the best way to handle misunderstandings.
Christian or not, reverend or not, respectful behavior is respectful behavior, something of which we are all capable regardless of our worldview, faith, culture, or religious perspective. I was simply acknowledging CJ’s respect for both dissent and agreement.
Points all well taken… but, again, all shipping charges must be revealed to the customer in advance however it is shipped. One must not quote one price, then charge another.
Thank you all again for your input. I think, in order to please those who want to cut down on costs as well as those who want to expediate their order, I am going to take Uilliam’s advice and offer the choice of shipping method to the customer… 1) trackable post (lower cost) or 2) carrier service (higher cost with potential additional costs such as brokerage).
Blake, a sincere thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it very much.
I have..The whole post is judgemental
Ye “agree with Bill”…Judgemental
Ye appreciate “your questions and attitude”..Judgemental
Ye wrote "You seem to respect all who give their opinions…Judgemental
all in all I would say ye should re read your own post afore giving out on the forum…Respect is earned, not granted as a right, and of course is something we are all capable of but not entitled to regardless..
Now then as ye asked for questions here is one… What does Wasing mean?
I presume ye mean wading,but then I am not in your mind no more than ye are in mine.
Chris seems to have made his mind up so its time to move on… :roll:
Slán Agat
Uilliam
