The price of all types of computer memory chips has fallen dramatically over the past few years and this has been a big an advantage to all computer users. With the release of ever yet more devices that can use removable storage cards, MP3 players, digital cameras etc. the price of these types of cards have also dropped in price. But as I have discovered, what you think is a good bargain, turns out to not be so, when you look at the final price that you pay!
For example… I am off for a short break to Turkey soon and of course will take my digital camera (Canon IXUS 400) with me. Since I’ve had my camera, I have managed quite well with the 256 MB memory card that I bought at the same time of the camera, as I have generally had my laptop with me to download the images on a daily basis. However this time, for various reason I’m not taking my laptop with me – how will I blog?
Therefore, I thought that it was time that I purchased another memory card. So off to the Internet and soon I have some good prices for a SanDisk 512 MB Compact Flash Card. I am pleased to find that if I purchase two of these, the total price is less than I paid for the single 256 MB card three years ago, on average UK£11.00 each, apart from Argos online who want £35.00, I bet they don’t sell many!
So I finally select a supplier (Amazon in this case) and go through the various add to basket, proceed to check out pages and suddenly find that the price has gone up by some, I am facing a shipping and handling charge of £9.00, which of course pushes the price of the purchase from £22.00 to £31.00! Further investigation of the extras show that the shipping and handling charge is £4.50 per item!
Bear with me… Lets look at what I’m buying here; a 512 MB Compact Flash Card per the manufacturer information measures 37 mm x 43 mm x 5 mm thick and weighs in at a mighty 20 grams (with its little protective plastic case), then by adding the obligatory blister packaging – the ones that you have to practically use an acetylene torch to get into – the size of the packaging then goes up to 180 mm x 130 mm x 30 mm and the weight increases to a massive 70 grams!
Finally, these items (2 off) then have to go into their final shipping container. This is a thin cardboard box measuring 250 mm x 180 mm x 110 mm, along with the blister encased Flash cards we have an a single sheet of brown paper (placed on top of the two blister packs, for what use I know not!), this adds a further 200 grams to the weight, bringing up a total weight of 270 grams! Why a Jiffy bag could not be used I am not sure.
So the next thing to do, is to find out what this would cost me to post to someone else? For some reason this package, although purchased from Amazon UK, came from a supplier in Germany! Looking at the Royal Mail’s overseas postage rates, if posted at the Airmail letter rate, the cost would be £2.89 and at the Airmail Small Packet rate, the cost would be £2.12.
So returning to my original point, if I’m being charged £9.00 for shipping and handling by the supplier and I could send the same package to Germany for £2.89 (maximum of the two Royal Mail postage rates) what is the £6.11 balance charge for? Is it the cost of the cardboard box and single sheet of brown paper (maximum of 75 pence I guess) ? Is it to cover the cost of someone putting the two blister packs into the cardboard box – if one blister pack costs £4.50 why does two cost double! – and seal it with tape and adding the address postage label on the box? The image included with this post, shows what the supplier paid for postage, nowhere near £6.11.
It’s a shame that what I had thought to be a bargain turned out to be somewhat less so, with the addition of these hidden charges – it reminds me of the so called taxes that airlines still add to supposed cheap airline tickets, but don’t get started on that again!
However, there is a good ending to this long whine. I complained to the supplier and after just 20 minutes received a full refund of the complete shipping charges! It would therefore seem to me that they (the suppler) along with Amazon UK (the supplier said that this was an Amazon policy) realise that they are charging too much for shipping and handling.
I don’t mind paying for delivery of goods and understand that all companies still need to make a profit. But please, wake up and charge a reasonable figure. If I had bought four of the cards, would it really have cost the supplier £18.00 to send the same package (into which they would have all fitted) to me. I think not!
Tags: Royal Mail, Amazon UK
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