I was notified (via email on June 1st) that I had won a $10 gift certificate from the Calico Junction from the MARCH shop hop. It seems odd to me that I was just notified-that was 2 months ago!

Anyway, I went to the site. Very small selection so I found a pattern that was $10 and was going to order that. As I went thru the check out, I found that shipping and tax would cost $6.78. I know that it can't cost 5.95 to ship a pattern. This seems like more of a rip off than a prize.

Am I being unfair? Or am I just cheap? Is anyone familiar with this website?

I forget which shop I won a $10 certificate from for the March shophop & ran into the same deal. I have until June 30th to use it. I was wondering the same thing, why so late to notify me of being a winner & what's with the shipping charge?? I haven't ordered from them before & probably never will.

If they use flat rate priority mail envelopes for everything and the tax rate is 7-8 percent, that may be fairly close to the actual cost.

If it's just mailed in a manila envelope at first class mail cost, it seems high to me, too.

Try contacting them directly and see if they have a better shipping option . Can't hurt to try :wink:

Many sites have a minimum shipping and handling fee that is charged no matter how much you buy, so if you buy more the percentage that is shipping as opposed to handling diminishes. Either that or they may have a 'small order' fee that is added unless you have a $50 or $20 or whatever amount order. This may or may not actually be stated on the site, but if you look at the shipping fee schedule you can figure out where the price breaks are, whether it is weight or $amount of purchase.

Some places charge actual shipping expenses while others will charge shipping and handling, which is to cover the expense of the shipping materials, like the envelop, and the cost of actually going to the post office to mail it.

Very often, (and I am not saying this shop is doing that) a small certificate is given and when you see how much the shipping is, you go on shopping to make it worth it. By giving you $10 they get you to spend much more than that. Is like coupons. If you don't use them smart you will end up buying items or brands you normally would not use. I argue with DH about this because I find brands that are as good and cheaper without a coupon than the ones he wants to get just because there is a coupon.

They don't give a shipping fee schedule. It just says at check out what it will cost and doesn't indicate how it will be shipped.

I'm thinking at this point that it's not really worth anything to me.

I'd be happy to pass it on to someone else. I know I'm not going to use it. There really isn't anything there I want to buy. (and I can't believe I'm saying that about a quilting website, but the selection was not good in any category-fabric, notions, books, etc).

It always takes awhile to be notified of winning. I am a two time winner of the fabshophop. I spend about $20 so with the coupon I only pay $10. I figure I got something half price. This time I was lucky and everything I wanted was on sale anyway so I feel I got a great deal.

What if you call and ask if they will ship it first class rather than flat rate? It can't be more than $1 or $2 to ship a pattern. Do they have a download option instead? Sometimes I can find patterns that I can purchase and download, eliminating any shipping cost.

Unless they have a physical location in your state, they shouldn't be charging you sales tax. I believe A 2-3 day USPS priority mail envelope is only $4.95 and first class mail on a pattern shouldn't run more than a couple bucks. They probably base their shipping based on price rather than actual cost or maybe they are shipping UPS/FedEx/DHL???