Just want to say, I wasn’t defending Dover’s non-response to years of complaints about shipping! I just feel a little bad that some of the ill-feelings are getting directed towards Janet. After all, she doesn’t make the policies. And, for all we know, she’s not authorized to speak more to the shipping policies than she already has.
[QUOTE=Lucassb;5512185]
Smartpak, on the other hand… they get a big chunk of my business. Their service has been great, they have what I need/want, have free shipping and don’t try to con me into a credit card every time I shop.
Bottom line: Smartpak makes it easy to do business with them; Dover makes it tough.[/QUOTE]
There was a thread recently that SmartPak is no longer offering free shipping. They do have free shipping if you get SmartPaks over $40, but I don’t fall into that category.
Luckily, I have a Dover store 15 minutes from my house. If they don’t have the items in stock, they’ll ship it free to the store. Unfortunately, since I no longer need to do Dover mail order… they stopped sending me their sale catalogs! (I have a friend who works at the Dover store looking into that for me)
So, looks like SmartPak will be losing some of my business now.
Unless you live in a state where Dover has stores… like I do. I have to pay 5% tax on anything from Dover whether it’s an online order or if I buy it in the store. I also have to pay sales tax on orders from VTO.
Love Dover’s products and selection–better than Smartpak’s current product selection.
No issues with customer service.
Shipping? There’s the rub! It takes forever to get items on the West Coast, the closest retail store is a 6 hour flight away, and the tiered shipping costs are out-dated. This is a company that does a tremendous amount of online-catalog sales. Why, in this day and age of multiple companies competing on line/catalog are they still using this silly system to calculate shipping?
I hate ordering from them, knowing that no matter how much it weighs, it is simply cost that will calculate my shipping. A saddle pad, some breeches and wham! I’m in the $20 shipping zone. Smartpak is the way to go.
Dover–study their model, and make the change to a flat rate!
And, no, I won’t use your Visa to get $4.95 shipping. Bad on you for encouraging consumer debt to save a buck.
I had good service from Dover except for the order on the pair of breeches which somehow got lost (which they fixed by expedited shipping without charging me extra, so all good there) and the bridle tag that I added to a sale order because its cost wouldn’t trigger any extra shipping (but the sale item was out, they didn’t notify me, and I ended up paying an unseemly price for the bridle tag + its solo shipping).
I do love their shaped baby pads and the medium-weight pads and their version of the no-bows (and at least I can get the latter for less money, by ordering from Dover’s Western cousin–now that’s something I’d like explained*).
But, as others have noted, I figure out what something is going to cost me in $$ for item+shipping/handling+tax and factor in how soon I need it and the reliability of the merchant. Froogle is very useful for price comparisons, BTW. Dover often loses on the $$ for shipping and the timing, if it’s an item that’s available elsewhere. I can get stuff from SmartPak without paying for shipping if I time it to arrive with the SmartPaks themselves. I can patronize my local feed/tack store if I need or want it pronto.
- Don’t believe me? Dover’s no-bow wraps, 10", $12.90. Smith Bros no-bow wraps, 10", $10.99. Interesting that the list price is higher on Smith Bros. Not sure what sort of discipline-related psychology is going on there.
If you can’t stand the heat…
[QUOTE=mg;5512569]
After all, she doesn’t make the policies. And, for all we know, she’s not authorized to speak more to the shipping policies than she already has.[/QUOTE]
You know what, it would be better if SHE would say that. Rather than making a show of coming on here and saying “On behalf of the Dover CSR’s thank you so much for this posting”, and then completely ignoring the complaints of everyone else on the post.
Even to say they have heard us, and are looking into trying to figure something out. Instead, by acknowledging the positive comments, and pretending the negative ones don’t exist, it gives off the impression that Dover doesn’t give a #$%^&* where you buy from.
It gets old feeling like this company that claims to be about customer service is just flipping everyone off.
[QUOTE=KingoftheRoad;5512603]
Even to say they have heard us, and are looking into trying to figure something out.[/QUOTE]
It would even be kind of nice if she had posted that they heard/read our complaints but can’t do anything about them at this time…
Instead, we’re ignored - again :mad:
[QUOTE=KingoftheRoad;5512603]
You know what, it would be better if SHE would say that. Rather than making a show of coming on here and saying “On behalf of the Dover CSR’s thank you so much for this posting”, and then completely ignoring the complaints of everyone else on the post.
Even to say they have heard us, and are looking into trying to figure something out. Instead, by acknowledging the positive comments, and pretending the negative ones don’t exist, it gives off the impression that Dover doesn’t give a #$%^&* where you buy from. [/QUOTE] This. A “director of communication” should know that you need to address unsatisfied customers, (particularly former customers, and people from whom you would like repeat business).
As KingoftheRoad said, a simple acknowledgment other than “sign up for our credit card” would have gone a long way. All that does is tells me they are going to get the money somehow, whether on shipping or on fees they earn off the credit cards. And if it is the credit card, they are STILL going to charge you for shipping, just a normal amount instead of a price-gouging amount.
I’m sure Dover has done the basic cost-benefit analysis and prefers fewer customers with a large profit center in shipping.
[QUOTE=MintHillFarm;5512343]
“Secondly, even with the reduced price on the shipping, the FedEx Smartpost simply isn’t working well for a lot of us. With other companies, we get shipments that can be tracked door-to-door. With Smartpost, we get a shipment that eventually gets dumped into a black hole, and we have to wait and see when it might show up. This is incredibly frustrating, and often unworkable, especially when ordering items for a specific event.”
So true. I feel like I could get into that black hole but still never find my order…I always request not to use that method. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t…[/QUOTE]
Regarding FedEx Smartpost – when your product is shipped we send an e-mail with a tracking number. This can be tracked through FedEx and through the Post Office, or you can call Dover Customer Service on (800) 989-1500 and a Customer Service Representative would be delighted to assist you with the tracking.
Janet did contact me via PM as well, asking for more info on my Smith Brothers issue (they put $1200 worth of hold on my debit card for my $800 order, causing an overdraft from my bank and couldn’t explain why), so it sounds like she’s trying to address some of the “odd” issues that people have had. I still haven’t had an explanation as to what happened, and there really isn’t anything they can do to “fix” it after the fact, but hopefully it won’t happen to someone else in the future.
Is there an elephant in the room??
My Dover orders do not take forever to get to me…and I live in a podunk town on the central coast of California. They take about the same time as any other mail order company.
Please. You may not like or want the credit card, but they aren’t encouraging consumer debt to save a buck. :rolleyes: If you’re going to make an argument, at least make a valid one.
Possessing and/or using a credit card does not encourage debt. Using a credit card to purchase things you can’t afford encourages debt. If you pay off the card each month there is no debt and no extra fees. Lack of self-control is not the credit card company’s fault…
Rugbug- perhaps encouraging consumer debt was a bit much, but if the only way to get the “cheap shipping” is to use their Visa, then it cuts out those of us who don’t want or need another Visa–and more cards on our credit rating. I have a very low interest card and would love to buy more items from Dover, but I despise their archaic shipping rates.
And, items shipped with SP get here faster than those I get from Dover…and I live in a podunk town in SW WA…
Perhaps it is who does the delivering, in this case, rather than a specific company. Dover usually takes 7-10 business days, SP is always dead on 5-7.
I just think Dover needs to listen to the consumer, and they aren’t. This isn’t about customer service, it is about meeting the vast consumer voice, crying out for more reasonable shipping. You can’t tell me that SP isn’t taking away some of their sales…or a lot of their sales, as SP has grown so much in the last few years.
I love the Dover catalog, I pour over it. I even order on occasion, but I’d damn sure order more often if they had a flat rate of $7.95!
[QUOTE=paintlady;5512586]
Unless you live in a state where Dover has stores… like I do. I have to pay 5% tax on anything from Dover whether it’s an online order or if I buy it in the store. I also have to pay sales tax on orders from VTO.[/QUOTE]
I live in Texas, there is a store an hour from my house in Dallas, and I still don’t pay tax on my online orders.
[QUOTE=Janet Nittmann;5507340]
We do not ship to Canada via the post office as unfortunately in the past too many packages were lost and a claim cannot be made for 180 days which led to a lot of frustration. We use FedEx Air for shipments to Canada as it has proven to offer the most reliable consistent service without any worries about when will the package arrive and what additional fees will be added (as is the case with ground) The fees you were charged were for tax and duty and unfortunately these have to paid regardless of shipping method.[/QUOTE]
I am sorry but isnt that what trackable numbers are for or insurance? I have shipped many items USPS and UPS from the USA and they have all been received within a week. Each time I have been charged $8-20, to ship a saddle it cost $100. I am currently waiting on a package from the USPS. Also the Fedex air charging $100 is insane I shipped many items from england and was charged less than $20 to ship it airmail and it was received within 5 days. Explain how it is cheaper to ship from England than the USA?
Believe me if smartpak shipped to Canada they would have line ups of customers. And if dover shipped to Canada affordably they would see similar results.
LL Bean just launched a new ad campaign to introduce their free shipping, all the time, no minimum orders. They, like many other retailers, were discovering that the savvy shopper is turning away from online companies that rake people over the coals for shipping, and turning towards free shipping. Food for thought.
OK, I’ll bite! Credit card transaction fees from the perspective of the business owner are a significant cost impact - greater than debit/cash/check transactions (and probably paypal), so every time you use a credit card (even if you responsibly pay it off without you incurring finance charges) you are increasing the business overhead (which in turn leads to increased prices). Not that Dover the store is worried about Dover card transaction fees (although I am reasonably sure the card manager/bank has only negotiated reduced fees, not zero fees), but my guess is Dover is trying to make money on external transaction fees while promoting easier purchasing power.
Hey, nothing wrong with making a buck, but in looking at the entire picture, it would rub me wrong to use a credit card instead of a debit card to save me a few bucks in shipping if that will ultimately contribute to the rising cost of goods… especially if I could purchase the same thing with low/free shipping and use my debit card with another vendor.
But I’m kind of serious about not using my credit card and not taking on add’l cards with high interest rates, so my perspective may not reflect the average population.
[QUOTE=kgro632;5513265]
I live in Texas, there is a store an hour from my house in Dallas, and I still don’t pay tax on my online orders.[/QUOTE]
Interesting. Consider yourself lucky then. I’ve always been charged sales tax on online orders from Dover and any other retailer that has a store in VA. When I used to work in DC, I had online orders shipped to my work address to avoid the sales tax. My office is now in VA, so I can’t get away with that anymore. 
Maybe Dover is listening and choosing not to change their policies. If they are still getting the orders they need with their current shipping prices, then why would they change it? Dover has expanded like crazy over the last 10 years, they used to have only 1 store, now they have 12. They used to have 1 website, now they have 3 (?). So maybe they are taking a breather for a while. If they all of a sudden offered $7.95 shipping, they would probably have more orders than they can handle, not be able to keep up, then get more heat for delayed shipments. In reality, I have no idea what their current status is, but I would be surprised that if they were: 1) losing a ton of customers due to their shipping, and 2) in the position to handle all the extra orders which would result from flat rate shipping, they would not go ahead and do that.
Smartpak may offer great $7.95 flat rate shipping, but have you ever seen them have a decent sale? They have a few things on clearance now and then. Once Smartpak comes out with seasonal sale catalogs like Dover does, and still offers their flat rate shipping, then I will begin to question whether Dover needs the higher shipping prices to make up costs, but for now, it’s a give/take. When Dover drops their sales catalogs they get innundated with orders, and all those customers don’t seem to mind paying for shipping.
ETA: Smartpak is no longer offering their free shipping codes, so one would think the reason to be that it is hurting their bottom line.
[QUOTE=Coreene;5513373]
Land’s End just launched a new ad campaign to introduce their free shipping, all the time, no minimum orders. They, like many other retailers, were discovering that the savvy shopper is turning away from online companies that rake people over the coals for shipping, and turning towards free shipping. Food for thought.[/QUOTE]
Not to hijack, but really? I just looked this up and couldn’t find anything. I know LLBean announced permanent free shipping with no minimum order value just this past Friday. No doubting, just wondering if I’m looking in the wrong place! 
