For millions of people across the globe, purchasing products on-line has become an integral part of life. One wonders how we ever shopped without our computers. But, no matter how wonderful the process seems there is at least one tiny grumble that looms in the back of many customers' minds: "I don't want to pay shipping costs." One would think that paying a nominal shipping fee, to have products delivered, would be worth the expense. After all, on-line shopping saves time, energy and money on taxes and gas. So why are we all grumbling? Perhaps there are several reasons.
The most obvious reason seems to be that many consumers think that on-line retailers make a profit off of shipping charges. Second, shipping costs are still a new cost variable to consider and often put some consumers' grand totals over their budgets. Third, many retailers keep shipping costs a mystery until final checkout - forcing the shopper to invest time selecting items without knowing all the costs. Whatever the reason, the grumble over shipping costs is certainly understandable and an issue we feel we need to address.
We do not make a profit off of shipping charges. We take a loss. In order for us to gain and retain customers we have to keep shipping charges low and feel it is our obligation, as a retailer, to carry some of the cost. Occasionally we do make a couple of dollars off an order but it is a very rare occurrence; and, on standard shipping orders over $75 we carry the entire expense.
Our shipping charges are very straightforward. When you shop at Thinkbutton our shipping policy is easily accessible on every product oriented page on our website. There are no surprises and, at any time during the browsing or shopping experience, one may quickly determine how much shipping will cost and how long it will take to receive the product(s).
We determine shipping costs based on the amount purchased and not the weight of items. We use the purchase amount to determine shipping charges for very specific reasons. First, the amount-purchased-system allows a customer to budget accordingly. Second, weight-based systems cannot determine the shipping costs until all items are selected and placed in the customer's virtual cart. As a result, customers are forced to invest in shopping time without really knowing the final tab. Finally, weight-based systems generally result in much higher shipping costs for the customer.
We rely on UPS and USPS for all our shipping needs. Which carrier we select depends on the size of the item(s) ordered, where, and what type of shipping the customer requests. All international orders are shipped through USPS, as well as, some of our smaller items. The remaining items are typically shipped via UPS. UPS does take a week to deliver a standard ground shipment from coast to coast - as our shipping map indicates. Both services offer a variety of expedited shipping options and, although we offer expedited shipping as a courtesy, we do not encourage using it unless absolutely necessary. Express shipping is expensive and we have no choice but to pass the expense onto our customers. It is quite an impressive feat for UPS to pick up a package from our North Carolina warehouse and have it delivered to California by the next afternoon - thus, justifying the expense. The same may be said for second and three day delivery. We have had great success with both carriers and feel confident in our delivery promises to our customers.
Therefore, to all our past, present and future customers we thank you for accepting the reality of shipping costs and taking time to understand how much the benefits of shopping with Thinkbutton outweigh the minor shipping costs one may have to incur. Delivery expenses are a necessary part of on-line shopping that we take gladly a loss on so that our customers may enjoy the benefits of having fast, reliable, front door delivery for all our unique educational products.
