Originally Posted by charmpacksplus
When shopping online I think it all comes down to total price including shipping and the convenience of shopping from home. How much gas would I burn driving around town or maybe even to the next town to find exactly what I was looking for when I know I could find it online at a reasonable TOTAL price at midnight on a holiday in the pouring down rain with no make-up on.
Keep in mind that most online shops have to pay a percentage of the sales price not including shipping to the host site (Ebay, Etsy, Yahoo, Amazon, and even their own website hosted by another party) They still need to make a profit off the sale so they lower the price a little to bring down the percentage they have to pay, and add it to shipping. Shipping is not free to the seller, in fact it is way more than the actual postage as Patrice said. Lots of other costs involved.
TOTAL PRICE and convenience is the bottom line.
Shipping costs are a necessary evil. I find that whenever I need something for quilting, I have to travel all over the place to find it around here, and that costs me money, as well as time and effort. And I mean effort! I am handicapped and trekking from one store to another is no laughing matter, and is at times not even possible. I hate to shop for that reason. And half the time the item cannot be found no matter where I go. I am just as happy as a clam to sit here and order what I need online! My problem, as I described it earlier in this thread, was that I didn't even look at the shipping costs on my last purchase, and paid dearly for that mistake. Now I will compare the shipping costs, and use the cheaper one -- unless I really want the item or really need it, or can't find it cheaper anywhere else, and then the shipping cost will kinda take the back seat, I guess! I'm one of those people who say," Oh I like that" followed a little while later by "Oh I need that", followed a little while later by " I HAVE to have that!" Such is life in this house!!!!:-)