Sometimes if you make a noise, you get some action. Don’t imagine it works more than once or twice, but…I had a couple of gift certificates from renewing USEF and USDF memberships. Even though their shipping costs are ridiculous, I figured I would order, since the gift certificates would take up a lot of the purchase cost (Neumann gloves). When the gal on the phone reeled off the total - including shipping - it almost negated that benefit. $20 for a $38 pair of gloves ($39.99 with the gift certificate)? I hit the roof, said I’d throw the gift certificates away before I’d pay that much to ship A PAIR OF GLOVES!!! Service rep backed down and said “just this once” free shipping, so total charge $19.99. Okay. Package arrives, I take out shipping order and it says $39.99. I bite my tongue and first check my credit card statement on line, and the charge from Dover is the correct $19.99. Cool. I then slide gloves out of the package and…wait for it…TWO pairs. I only ordered one. Hmmmm…well considering the shipping charges I’ve paid over the years, I did NOT correct the order. ROFLOL (not do I order from Dover anymore unless it’s the ONLY place I can get something.)
Do any of you use UPS or FedEx at your jobs? I do and can tell you the shipping charges are going thru the roof! I shipped out some holiday gifts for clients - some of the shipping rates for $45 dollars for a 7lb box of popcorn (don’t ask why we didn’t use popcorn factory - very sore subject) to CA! Another box to CO was about $80 (2 clothing sized boxes) - shipped overnight.
Many online businesses will have to increase their shipping fees to cover their costs of shipping. BTW UPS charges by weight and size of package so i don’t know how Dover can charge more for a $100 shirt which weighs nothing vs. a $25 feed tub which would double the weight and size of the shirt package.
[QUOTE=gottagrey;7626218]
Do any of you use UPS or FedEx at your jobs? I do and can tell you the shipping charges are going thru the roof! I shipped out some holiday gifts for clients - some of the shipping rates for $45 dollars for a 7lb box of popcorn (don’t ask why we didn’t use popcorn factory - very sore subject) to CA! Another box to CO was about $80 (2 clothing sized boxes) - shipped overnight.
Many online businesses will have to increase their shipping fees to cover their costs of shipping. BTW UPS charges by weight and size of package so i don’t know how Dover can charge more for a $100 shirt which weighs nothing vs. a $25 feed tub which would double the weight and size of the shirt package.[/QUOTE]
Well, I use UPS, FedEx and DHL too, but that’s for overnight or at most 2-day delivery, so yeah, it’s pricey. But standard mailing - which is what I always specify? It ain’t $20 for a pair of gloves!
[QUOTE=Sandy M;7626184]
Sometimes if you make a noise, you get some action. Don’t imagine it works more than once or twice, but…I had a couple of gift certificates from renewing USEF and USDF memberships. Even though their shipping costs are ridiculous, I figured I would order, since the gift certificates would take up a lot of the purchase cost (Neumann gloves). When the gal on the phone reeled off the total - including shipping - it almost negated that benefit. $20 for a $38 pair of gloves ($39.99 with the gift certificate)? I hit the roof, said I’d throw the gift certificates away before I’d pay that much to ship A PAIR OF GLOVES!!! Service rep backed down and said “just this once” free shipping, so total charge $19.99. Okay. Package arrives, I take out shipping order and it says $39.99. I bite my tongue and first check my credit card statement on line, and the charge from Dover is the correct $19.99. Cool. I then slide gloves out of the package and…wait for it…TWO pairs. I only ordered one. Hmmmm…well considering the shipping charges I’ve paid over the years, I did NOT correct the order. ROFLOL (not do I order from Dover anymore unless it’s the ONLY place I can get something.)[/QUOTE]
So…it’s NOT ok to charge “too much” for shipping (costs represented up front), but it’s ok to keep something that you didn’t pay for? Everyone wants something for nothing…don’t kid yourself, with the companies that offer free shipping, you’re paying for it somewhere else… either in higher costs, limited availability, limited return policies… NOTHING IS FREE, except for that pair of gloves that you didn’t pay for.
I luckily have a Dover near me, and when I need something that isn’t in the store I always order it through the store and have it shipped to them as it is free shipping. But its a pain because I am not just down the street from them so I have to drive into town an pick up my stuff.
HOWEVER, I was surprised a couple weeks ago when I needed to order breeches that weren’t in stock and they had them shipped to me at my house FREE OF CHARGE. Now I don’t know if that was a mistake, but maybe there is hope that its sinking in that the shipping charges are outrageous!
I am an avid Smartpaker and Farm House Shopper and those are my go to shops before Dover. The only reason I shop there is that it is near town so I can easily go into it and get supplies that I need immediately.
[QUOTE=Sandy M;7626372]
Well, I use UPS, FedEx and DHL too, but that’s for overnight or at most 2-day delivery, so yeah, it’s pricey. But standard mailing - which is what I always specify? It ain’t $20 for a pair of gloves![/QUOTE]
But that shipping cost includes handling, packing materials, box, printed invoice, that is all rolled into the cost. I’m not trying to justify the cost but there is more than just the shipping charge in that dollar amount. How some companies do it for free I don’t know, I can only guess they make up those costs somewhere else. As far as $20 for a pair of gloves, that probably isn’t as far off as you might think. I mailed a priority envelope at USPS going from AL to NM, no insurance etc. cost was almost $10. That was just a standard size envelope stuck in a small priority mail envelope. Dover now uses UPS and USPS to deliver their packages as do other tack shops now. The package starts with UPS and final delivery is from the USPS. I can’t see how this either saves time or money. Always costs me an additional $3.50 to have UPS keep and deliver the package but easier than dealing with the post office delivering boxes.
My only recommendation, don’t use Dover if free shipping is important.
[QUOTE=js;7627523]
But that shipping cost includes handling, packing materials, box, printed invoice, that is all rolled into the cost. I’m not trying to justify the cost but there is more than just the shipping charge in that dollar amount. How some companies do it for free I don’t know, I can only guess they make up those costs somewhere else. As far as $20 for a pair of gloves, that probably isn’t as far off as you might think. I mailed a priority envelope at USPS going from AL to NM, no insurance etc. cost was almost $10. That was just a standard size envelope stuck in a small priority mail envelope. Dover now uses UPS and USPS to deliver their packages as do other tack shops now. The package starts with UPS and final delivery is from the USPS. I can’t see how this either saves time or money. Always costs me an additional $3.50 to have UPS keep and deliver the package but easier than dealing with the post office delivering boxes.
My only recommendation, don’t use Dover if free shipping is important.[/QUOTE]
Sorry, but I’ve mailed (regular mail) things MUCH heavier than a pair of gloves, and the cost was nowhere near $10, let alone $20. Again, you’re talking “priority,” and I ALWAYS specify regular mail (7-10 days), so $20 IS outrageous. Schneider’s shipping is free on orders over $100, Smart Pak on orders over $75. Okay. Gloves aren’t that expensive. But the shipping charges from, say, Schneiders or Dressage Extensions are nowhere near as high as Dover’s on smaller, lighter items-assuming you aren’t asking for overnight or two-day delivery. If that’s what you want, then you pay the premium. But again, high prices for 7-10 day shipping - no thanks.
As for my keeping the pair of gloves I didn’t order - Until I reached the “FED UP” point with Dover’s charges, they probably collected hundreds from me in gouging shipping charges. I don’t feel a bit of guilt.
I’m okay with paying a reasonable shipping cost, and I do agree that companies that offer free shipping probably make it up in other ways. However, I still think that companies that charge shipping based on amount spent are operating an archaic, and possibly fatal, system. A consumer advocate wrote last Christmas that paying for shipping for internet purchases was a bad idea, and enough companies have either greatly reduced or eliminated shipping charges that I think Dover is sticking out like a sore thumb, and not in a good way.
Ya, have never purchased from them thru a catalog because the shipping is BS.
I will support other places with reasonable shipping
[QUOTE=Sandy M;7627551]
Sorry, but I’ve mailed (regular mail) things MUCH heavier than a pair of gloves, and the cost was nowhere near $10, let alone $20. Again, you’re talking “priority,” and I ALWAYS specify regular mail (7-10 days), so $20 IS outrageous. Schneider’s shipping is free on orders over $100, Smart Pak on orders over $75. Okay. Gloves aren’t that expensive. But the shipping charges from, say, Schneiders or Dressage Extensions are nowhere near as high as Dover’s on smaller, lighter items-assuming you aren’t asking for overnight or two-day delivery. If that’s what you want, then you pay the premium. But again, high prices for 7-10 day shipping - no thanks.
As for my keeping the pair of gloves I didn’t order - Until I reached the “FED UP” point with Dover’s charges, they probably collected hundreds from me in gouging shipping charges. I don’t feel a bit of guilt.[/QUOTE]
Well, I’d feel guilty if I kept something that didn’t belong to me & I didn’t pay for … keeping something that doesn’t belong to you is theft, which is something else businesses have to consider in their business plan/pricing structure. If you don’t like a company’s business practices, don’t do business with them, pure & simple. To say that theft is ok because you don’t agree with their costs (that you agreed to at the time in order to get your product) is wrong, IMHO.
I gave up on Dover years ago, not just because of their shipping charges, but because of their “multiple pricing” strategy. It isn’t just that they have innumerable “sale” catalogs, but because they have mutliple SKUs for a product. So you can order A12345 from the main catalog, or B12345 from the sale catalog, but B12345 is cheaper ( although not by much). Their system does not charge the lowest price for the item.
Every once in a while we go to the Plaistow NH Dover store, but I’m always a little sad because it was the original State Line Tack store, a destination before the family sold it.
Regular mail is different that shipping via UPS, FEDEx etc. those providers include tracking and some form of insurance for a lost package. Mailing something via USPS does not except Priority mail now does have a tracking feature. Plus now you have to take into consideration the cost of fuel - so everyone’s fees have to go up to keep up w/ the price of fuel.
Oh please. You can fit quire a few pairs of gloves into a flat rate box, which is priority mail with tracking for less than $10. Box is free too.
I have no problem with paying for shipping. Dover’s method of using the cost of an item as a proxy for how much it costs to ship is the problem, and over the years it has prevented me from making quite a few purchases.
If it were up to me, I would make shipping a flat rate for any order or even lessen the shipping cost for a large order and then roll larger shipping costs into the items, particularly ones that are more expensive to ship like buckets.
It’s fine for overnight or heavy item etc shipping to be hugely expensive. It is an expensive service and if you need it, you need it.
But you lose me when you tell me you can ship me a pair of Kerrits schooling breeches for $9.95 but a pair of FITS or Tailored Sportsmans or Pikeur will cost you $24.95 to ship. 
Having an enormous shipping charge for a bit or a pair of breeches or a shirt eats any price advantage and it also tremendously increases my risk if the item is the wrong size, because the shipping isn’t refundable. It makes me not buy at all.
If Dover had a week long sale of free shipping, (or even just free shipping on selected items like apparel) I imagine there’d be a lot of pent up spending that would come out of the woodwork.
And, no, it’s not worth it to me to get a Dover credit card. My resistance to getting one has saved me hundreds of dollars…
[QUOTE=trubandloki;7627944]
Oh please. You can fit quire a few pairs of gloves into a flat rate box, which is priority mail with tracking for less than $10. Box is free too.[/QUOTE]
Amen!
[QUOTE=trubandloki;7627944]
Oh please. You can fit quire a few pairs of gloves into a flat rate box, which is priority mail with tracking for less than $10. Box is free too.[/QUOTE]
True, but I don’t know any tack business that use those, Dover doesn’t. Ebay is the only time I see them used.
VTO Saddlery uses flat rate shipping for everything. $4.99 or something like that. I find that a big draw.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;7627944]
Oh please. You can fit quire a few pairs of gloves into a flat rate box, which is priority mail with tracking for less than $10. Box is free too.[/QUOTE]
THIS. I buy and sell a lot of books on Amazon, so I’m paying for shipping almost every day and know what the various services cost.
Dover’s shipping charges are not in step with the rest of the world.
[QUOTE=walktrot;7627878]
I gave up on Dover years ago, not just because of their shipping charges, but because of their “multiple pricing” strategy. It isn’t just that they have innumerable “sale” catalogs, but because they have mutliple SKUs for a product. So you can order A12345 from the main catalog, or B12345 from the sale catalog, but B12345 is cheaper ( although not by much). Their system does not charge the lowest price for the item.
Every once in a while we go to the Plaistow NH Dover store, but I’m always a little sad because it was the original State Line Tack store, a destination before the family sold it.[/QUOTE]
I have to agree with you here. While the shipping charges are clearly out of sync with other companies, the duel pricing and fake “sales” are a little outrageous. A simple google search can tell me that the GPA you (Dover) have listed as 60% off (I made that number up - I can’t remember what the exact percentage is) is not really on sale. Their “sale” prices often match or are higher than Smartpak and other companies with better shipping policies. It drives me nuts. If you want to call it a sale, than the prices actually have to be discounted.
Their shipping IS insane, but considering how close I am, I get things pretty much second day so look at the shipping as for that and it’s worth it 
However, outside of their local area? Yeah, ridiculous.
