I now officially do NOT like futurlec.

[ExpAnonColin]

So I order about 3 dollars worth of ICs and transistors for a good price... and then I pay over 5 dollars to have it shipped to me about a week and a half later, when the goddamn postage on the envelope says 80c.  Something makes me think they make most of their profit from overcharging slow shipping.

-Colin

[Fp-www.Tonepad.com]

Colin,

Shipping charges are more than the cost of the postage. It also involves time and other resources that have to be paid for (like the envelope itself, driving to the post office, etc).

Now, $5 for shipping a pack of ICs sounds excessive, but may not be. I'm not defending anybody, just my point of view since I ship tonepad's boards myself, and have some experience handling/shipping packages.



Fp

[troubledtom]

not to say what's right or wrong......
       i hate mailing devices, standing in lines , blah blah blah.
but i only charge the client what it cost to send it ,give or take a buck or 2 .
    but yah,
         i do understand the postage cost frustration . that's why i almost never make a small order , cause the postage is often the sameish.
       
            peace,
                - tom

[Fp-www.Tonepad.com]

I'm with you Tom.

I charge a fixed $2 fee to ship a reasonable number of ready to solder pcbs world wide.

Most of the times that is just the cost of sending it (give or take a few cents).

Shipping a small envelope with boards to, for example Japan is >$2.

Fp

[J. Luja]

haven't had a problem with them personally (I would think a week and a half isn't so bad considering it's coming from thailand), but it seems they've made a mistake with your order, quoting from their shipping info page;

SHIPPING METHODS
For Australian, Canada, UK, EU and USA customers, we can offer domestic postage rates as follows,


USA, Canada, UK, European Union(EU) and Australia


Standard Post
For orders up to US$30, Delivery Charge - US$3.00.
For orders US$30 to US$49, Delivery Charge - US$5.00
For order US$50 to US$99, Delivery Charge - US$8.00
For order US$100 and above, Delivery Charge - US$12.00

Express Post
For orders up to US$100, Delivery Charge - US$15.00.
For order US$100 and above, Delivery Charge - US$30.00

Courier
For orders up to US$100, Delivery Charge - US$30.00.
For orders US$100 and above, Delivery Charge - US$60.00

-Jeremy

[ExpAnonColin]

They aren't all to great in general in terms of mailing stuff out. I can understand charging maybe a dollar or two for the envelope (bubble wrapped) and the bags, but when the profit they made on the shipping is more than the amount of money in your order, it's a bit much.

I ship about 3 packages/week, and normally I charge about a dollar extra, partly as a pillow but mostly to pay for packaging.

-Colin

[ErikMiller]

They got you for a couple of bucks more than they should have, so let them know and ask for that much credit on your next order.

Everybody screws up. My last couple of orders from Small Bear have been slooooow. It happens.

[drew]

As soon as any of you run a full-fledged company, you will learn that:

(1) Packing orders takes time.
(2) Either you pack them all yourself, or hire someone to do it.
(3) Unless your time is worthless, packing orders takes MONEY.

Sorry, have to say something here, as a dude who is packing 30 or so orders a day (I sell tshirts and other merchandise from my web site) I certainly can appreciate #1 up there...

Now, on the other hand, I think that hiding your shipping costs is a bit dodgy... you know, when you go to check out, and only when you've filled up your cart and checked "UPS Ground" and the shipping total is way, way, WAY WAY WAY more than it should be for a pound of stuff! Why not say, "Shipping: $X.XX"? Because it looks like they're tacking on money, I suppose.

I post the shipping costs clearly on my site, don't add handling costs, and the extra $0.30-$0.80 per item goes to paying for things like shipping supplies (envelopes, tape, labels, postal scale, etc.) And the six or seven cents that are left go STRAIGHT INTO MY POCKETS!! I WILL BE RICH IN NO TIME! The internet boom isn't over after all!


drew
toothpastefordinner.com

p.s. Speaking of Small Bear, even larger orders I have placed have arrived within a week or so, and there are no hidden "shipping" charges... if you haven't checked them out yet, you should! www.smallbearelec.com

[bwanasonic]

I know the "I've been ripped off on shipping" feeling, having gotten it from Mouser on small orders, but I went over the details and the shipping method I requested, and it did add up. I'm not sure how much of the delay can be blamed on the postal system in your country.  Do packages from other vendors in Thailand arrive promptly :wink: ? It's frustrating, but I think it's *live and learn*. For one thing, I get everything I possibly can from Steve at smallbear! I'm exited that he is expanding his stock, as I may never have to use another vendor again! But I have learned which shipping options from places like Mouser work out with the scale of my orders. I also order a crapload of a given part where possible when ordering from the *big guys*, so I don't have to order again for a while.

*I feel your pain*
Kerry M

[ExpAnonColin]

I get stuff from smallbear here and there, however I tend to buy things in megabulk from ebay most of the time.  I usuallly use futurlec or mouser for the really specific parts I need, like this 8038 I'm proud of.  I like smallbear because he's straightforward about how he will charge exactly how much it weighs, and not a fixed rate for what it costs (that anvil coems to mind, drew).

-Colin

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

If you do a google search for futurlec in 'groups', you will see MANY MANY opinions & experiences, ranging from ecstatic to bleauggh. I thn the problems might arise when orders are taken in one country & fulfilled i another.

[Fp-www.Tonepad.com]

A little OT, but:

Drew, I really like your page and your work!

BTW, you may want to add the "www" to the link on your signature so it becomes a hyperlink.

Fp

[drew]

Thanks FP- will do!


drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

[Doug H]

They aren't all to great in general in terms of mailing stuff out. I can understand charging maybe a dollar or two for the envelope (bubble wrapped) and the bags, but when the profit they made on the shipping is more than the amount of money in your order, it's a bit much.

-Colin

Never ordered from Futurlec, but I've done plenty of small orders from Mouser. They individually bag and label everything in zip locks. Think about it like this: how much labor is involved to sort, pack, and label 2 of these, 10 of those, 5 of the others? Quite a bit, I would think, more than what it takes for quantity orders where the sorting and labeling is minimized. I'm still amazed that there are parts houses willing to deal in small quantities, it seems like a big PITA to me. Think of the "shipping" charge as a "shipping and handling" charge. Now you've learned the economics of ordering in large quantities.

Doug

[Peter Snowberg]

I agree with Doug.

BIG houses won't even talk to you with less than a $50 order and you can tell they don't like to deal with such small orders as 'only' $50. It really isn't worth their time, other than for the PR aspect.

If you ever think you're being charged too much for small orders, try running a business. You'll find out quickly. Also think about the cost to you to will-call the order from another state/country.

My last order from Mouser was about $420 before UPS. I used to order multiple thousands of dollars of parts from them every month and I was pretty small-time. I'm a 100% satisfied customer.

-Peter

[ExpAnonColin]

I agree with Doug too, however, I would much rather they put that as part of the component charge, and not make it seem like a hidden charge that depends on price, not quantity.

-Colin

[Doug H]

For small pieces parts buying, nothing beats surplus. If there's a surplus place near you, check it out. Nothing beats walking in, grabbing it off the shelf and bagging it yourself. They get all kinds of business from me buying little doodads and gizmos I see while shopping for parts. My mail-orders activity has dropped like a rock. I still order from Steve now & then (best choice for mail-order AFAIC), but 80% of the time I can get it surplus.

Doug

[ExpAnonColin]

For small pieces parts buying, nothing beats surplus. If there's a surplus place near you, check it out. Nothing beats walking in, grabbing it off the shelf and bagging it yourself. They get all kinds of business from me buying little doodads and gizmos I see while shopping for parts. My mail-orders activity has dropped like a rock. I still order from Steve now & then (best choice for mail-order AFAIC), but 80% of the time I can get it surplus.

Doug

I don't have a surplus place within 1 hour of me, so I do eBay.  That's how I get about 80% of my stuff (the generic things like caps and resistors.)

-Colin

[Switched]

My beef with Futurlec is they state clearly on their site that they won't charge your CC until your order ships. Guess what happened to me? An AU$75 order was charged immediately, but since they didn't have one of my items in stock I waited a month for the whole order to be shipped. And yes, I complained to them regularly, to the point where they stopped answering my emails (I was polite but firm). What I discovered throughout the whole thing is they have absolutely no phone numbers listed on their site, and even though they claim an .au presence, they aren't in any of the online phone directories here. They won't be seeing another cent from me.