Ok, so I find this site, they have some beautiful batiks I was looking for and they are fat quarters....the bundle has 24 FQ's in it for $55.....great I thought good price, ummmm until I went to the check out just to find out it was going to cost me $26.95 to ship...NOT!!!!!! I have ordered way more fabric and have never ever paid that much shipping ever...this was being shipped to Canada...wow will be certainly looking else where.....ok I will get of my high horse.....just need to vent...thanks for listening.....

that is terrible on shipping

YIKES!

I really do not like excessive shipping charges ... I've cancelled many orders because of that.

Shipping to Hawaii is also ridiculous with some companies. Some even consider Hawaii as international. Seems many don't know that Flat-rate Priority Boxes from the PO cost the same no matter what state they are going to. Shipping is the first thing I look at when I go to a website.

I have gotten up to 5 yards in a flate rate envelope for $4.90, they must want to keep their merchandise.

Many's the order I did not carry through on because of outrageous shipping! There's just no excuse for some of those exorbitant rates.

have anyone every asked why high shipping rates for an order.

So have I. It really bugs me!

shipping is outrageous without a doubt!!! But that is criminal! I'd pass too!!!

Me too! Some of the online shops that offer good prices try to make up for it in shipping. To me A Big Rip Off & I won't order from them. Makes you wonder if they think the consumers are stupid or what! I do most of my shopping for fabric online & I have favorites with no or at least reasonable shipping.

So have I.

Hancocks of Paducah just announced they are shipping to Canada for the same rates as US

http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/content--id-14

I always check shipping and handling charges before I complete an order. If it's way out of line, I don't finish the order. Some people want to get rich, and they think they can cheat on the shipping to do it!! Some vendors on eBay are really the worst with this. ALWAYS check the shipping on eBay before you bid...some of them are truly outrageous!!

Me too.

That is excessive. 24FQ ==> 6 yards. T4 they probably could fit all in a
Global Priority envelope for not more than $15.

I always look at the shipping costs first before I go shopping. I always figure the shipping costs into the cost of what ever I am buying and if I can get it cheaper at my LQS I drive there or look elsewhere on the net. It's not a deal unless all costs are cheaper than here.....

Good to know. Hancocks of Paducah has great customer service. :thumbup:

I ordered fabric from the west coast. I live in NH. It was nice fabric at 7.50 a yd. I ordered 4 yds. When they shipped it the fabric came out to 10.95 a yard. I should have looked. I can't/won't buy from them again.

that company wont be around for long. are they shipping each seperate? that is they only way that i could see getting anywhere close to that amount.

I shipped the same amount of fabric to two places---one Ohio, one Quebec. The package going to Ohio was $4.95, the one going to Canada was over $11. From where I live Canada isn't that much farther than N.E. Ohio. Ridiculous. My husband ships and recieves RC plane parts from all over the world---shipping rates from Hong Kong to here aren't near as much as the reverse.

Have you check out Marshall's Dry Goods? Their pricing is so low that you can pay more for shipping and still get a good deal. Of course, I don't know about the shipping charges to Canada but it's worth a try. They have bundles of 17 (I think it might be 11, I can't remember) 5 yd blenders for only $102.

If the company has a toll free number, you should call and let them know that they missed out on an order because of high shipping. Tell them your friends (that's us!) feel the same way too.

I always check the shipping and then calcullate that in for my cost per yard. Sometimes it's way over the top for sending to Canada.

Many times it isn't expensive with the USPS flat rate global envelopes and boxes but it seems that some companies almost double the true cost for 'international' shipping. It may be that they do not wish to worry about the hap-hazard tracking of international mail (which I really don't blame them) or that they do not wish to fill in the correct paperwork that goes with it.

Whatever you do, be sure that they do not send you anything through the private companies like Fed Ex, UPS or any of the others. Always insist that shipping is through the US postal system. I learned the hard way and didn't inquire about shipping method and got slapped with a huge brokerage charge on top of the money already paid for shipping cost. When using these companies the receiver must pay, on delivery of the parcel, all brokerage fees that are required for cross border shipping. These fees can amount to 50 - 75% of the value of the parcel depending on what the merchandise is. This is paid to the delivery person at your door and can be quite a shock!!

I like dealing with Hancock's of Paducah - they are very fair and reasonable.

Well I feel alot better knowing most of you feel the same way about shipping as I do...So I did contact this store and they said the shipping amount was correct that it is shipped by flat rate box...hummmmm NOT...I surfed around a bit more and found most of what I was looking for and I can buy up to 8yds of fabric and the shipping in a flat rate box will on cost me......are you ready for this.....$14.99 at the most...and as for shipping fedx or UPS Not a chance I was also caught on the extra huge charge...so yes it is USPS.....but hey thanks bunches for listening to my alittle rant....I feel much better now...Yeppers if the shipping is out of this world I just don't buy from that shop......

As someone who works shipping packages for a company, I will always pay more for UPS. USPS has lost more packages and the tracking they (USPS) use is a joke, even with the priority boxes. I want to know where my package is. Yes, UPS costs a bit more but it's worth it.

If you complain to the company, they'll say that part of the shipping costs are the "handling" costs. Yeah, right...like who pays for those workers when there's NO orders??? That has never made sense to me. The handling costs should be included in the cost of the fabric....because they don't hire someone JUST to handle my order. As for shipping, I'd wondered if anyone was going to lower prices since USPS started with those specials. And I agree with cjc, I trust UPS and FedX a heck of a lot more that the PO.

Well, not living in Continguous USA, we are usually not allowed to use free shipping. Why? It costs more to ship to AK. NOT if you use flat rate boxes. Well, the last excuse was we have contract with FedEx and use them only. Your order is separate. So three boxes came by USPS but the total was $7. Not bad. And when one was lost I called the company and they had tracking numbers. All turned out ok. I guess I am just used to paying more for EVERYTHING!

Here's my two cents: Yes, some places have outragous S & H charges. on more than one occasion I've been told that's how they get away with selling the item for less. So they can make up the difference in S & H charges. Recently on eBay I had a lady tell me that's how she offsets the eBay fees. I didn't buy from her. Shipping was almost twice the price of the item I wanted. Oh well, just keep shopping around and eventually I will find it at the price I'm willing to pay. I was just using eBay as an example, I think it's that way with a lot of businesses. Maybe they think we aren't paying attention and that's how they stick it to us.

Agreed!!! I can't get comfy using any on line site till I find shipping charges.BTW,several sites state they can get up to 7yds in a pre paid envelope.Sorry to hear about the $$ shipping charges to to you!


[ Shipping is the first thing I look at when I go to a website.[/quote]

I have been selling books on the board and I can ship them anywhere in the Continental US for $2.77 media rate. I am shipping a book to Canada and it cost $10.88. Big difference.

Tell me about charges for shipping to Canada!! Not too long ago I sent a "Pay it forward" box to Canada and ended up paying over $20. for it. Never again.....

when asked why answer is handling they have to pay what they call pickers to select and pack said order

I got 5 yards from Whittles Fabrics last week, and the flat pack postage to Australia was $13.45. Fabric was $17.50. Even at $30.95 including postage, it was still a lot less than paying the $25 - $35 per metre we pay in Australia for the same fabric.

One place over here has a flat rate of $7.50 postage - even for ONE reel of thread! Expensive thread. AND it is only 40kms away. Problem is, they only do mail order. I definitely don't buy from them.

I always check shipping and handling beforeI even start browsing the site. I hated the fact that I got all excited about the fabrics, then to find the astonomical figure of shipping for it.

Oh how familiar are the stories and experiences. I too watch packaging and postage to OZ. I find Jinny Beyer and a couple of other sites are really good at keeping postage prices to a minimum. I have frequently challenged a projected postage value before actually submitting the order. On most occassions the supplier was able to reduce the $$ value considerably.
I only purchase when the exchange rate is reasonable. It's amazing what the exchange rate can do to the final $ value.
However when all is said and done the US$ price of fabrics and notions are so much lower than we are urged to pay in OZ. I will continue to look at US web sites and when possible, buy from reputable US stores.

I work in Shipping for my company. We do not use USPS because we can not track the package. We've had to many customers say that they never received the package using USPS. When they loose the package and the customer service from USPS SUCKS!!! what good it flat rate postage. My company has negotiated rates with UPS and FedEx even with that we can't ship anything for less than $11.00. And then if it is a residential address and out of the 'normal' zone (whatever that means) then there are extra charges. And if you are shipping outside the continetal US the charges are way higher.

I, on behalf of my company, have spent hours...days...trying to find ways to reduce shipping costs. Most companies loose money when it comes to shipping.

Just FYI from someone on both ends of the Shipping debate.

I`m from Canada also and agree you have to watch the shipping.
I have gotten patterns shipped for 3.00 other places charge oputrages.
As for fabric got beautiful batiks and large backing on sale at fabric depot and shipping is about 7.50 I think connecting threads who I orderd a few years ago is also reasonable.
Gale

when I order fabric and they charge so much shippingcosts I always sent them an email and ask if it's realy that much to ship it to France. Often I get mail back that I have to put: please put it in a Flat Rate Priority envelope in the commend bar. The last order was 7 yards and I payed almost $14 for it.There are 7 or 8 yards going in such an envelope.

Just got an email from
fabric closeout and 1-8 yards is 10.50 to canada not bad
Gale

Hello btiny36,
I feel like ranting with you!!!!
A couple of months ago I ordered some Jinny Beyer fabrics, which I can't buy in England. I ordered $63 worth because My shipping would only be $8 ( an offer for July only! ).
When eventually 4 weeks later I received a card from our local post office informing me they couln't deliver my parcel untill I had paid the customs charge of £15 , about $22 !!!! To cut a long story short, it turned out that half of it was VAT and the other half was Roial Mail charges!! Needless to say , I won't do that again. Mad Gertie from Kent