Wouter van Ooijen wrote:
> > The problem is in 'out of all proportion to what it should be'. A simple
> estimate: 5 minutes handling for an order, with a hourly rate of $60 =>
> $5 *handling* fee per order.
.
The guys (gals?) in  the shipping department get $60 an hour in the 
Netherlands?  Gracious!  We just use illegal immigrants over here, and 
they get around $5 an hour!  :-)   Seriously, "out of proportion" should 
be determined by the marketplace.  If your competitor (not you 
personally -- if "one's competitor") does the S&H a lot cheaper, then I 
kind of assume that it is out of proportion to what the true cost is.  I 
might add  that I consider $5 a reasonable handling charge.
> > That is *handling*, so shipping should be
> added. And the carton boxes, bubble plastic etc. I use to package stuff
> are not free either. I don't know whether you consider that out of
> proportion, I know some people do. 
>   
No, I don't.  If someone comes into the shop and buys something, then 
they should be able to pay less than someone who has the same item 
shipped.  The difference should be the cost of  the postage, the cost of 
the materials used for packing, and the cost of the labor involved in 
packing and shipping.  What I object to is some additional profit being 
tacked onto that S&H charge.
> > I agree that *that* (adding an unknown extra cost) is not honest. But it
> might be impossible to calculate the shipping when the order is placed,
> especially for out-of-the-country customers.
>   
Right, I agree.  And when dealing with reputable sellers (such as 
Digikey, for example) one goes ahead and does the deal even without 
knowing what the shipping is going to be, because it is  going to be 
fair.  I kind of like the way Amazon.com does it, since they seem to 
enforce a fair shipping charge on the people that sell through them, 
even though they are little independent dealers (so far as I can tell, 
anyway).

> sigh of relief :)
>   
I know that you were worried!  :-)


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