My email correspondance with ZZPerformance

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: Trav
The pooch is screwed now and its too late to fix it next time PM instead of going Postal on a company.
They are good guys over there and will always help you if you treat them like a you want to be treated.


You know, I would have to say that if Merkava acts the way he does in real life as he does online all the time, this was a great opportunity for ZZ Performance to have prevented ever doing business with a bad customer. I can't say anything bad about the company, and that they honestly dodged a bullet not having to deal with him in the future.

Reasonable adults find other products to wrap into their shipment to make shipping costs either more reasonable, or completely eliminated.
Merkava wanted a shipment of 4 studs, and wanted a discount on shipping, just because he's special, and he was arrogant and conceited in his email to the company. The company had every right to tell a potentially bad customer to fluff off.

Every now and again Merkava needs to be reminded that he's not the source of joy and entertainment to the entire world that he's convinced that he is.
This was one of those moments in his life that he will remember forever.

BC.



YEP! Good post!

 

[DriveHard]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: E150GT
Shipping can kill an order. I once tried to order a couple of shirts online. I didnt need them but I wanted them. Got to the checkout and the shipping was almost the same price as the shirts. I just closed out the browser and said oh well. No shirts for me.


I've never understood the crazy expensive prices to ship clothes. For example,a 99 cent t-shirt on Ebay costing $12 to ship.


Coming from China...its a long trip

 

[turtlevette]

For small odds and ends eBay is great. Lots of items under 10 bucks with Free shipping..

I don't know how they do it. I got printer ink refills for $6 and free shipping. You'd think the shipping would be $6.

 

[CKN]

These parts were for his car that had a massive amount of blow by plugging the PCV valve-but is supposed to run forever-according to some on here.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I agree with Merk. There's nothing I hate more than people marking up shipping and profiting off it. I see eBay sellers doing it all the time.


So there's no human time and effort involved in shipping items? None?

You could argue that its built into the part price, but for a $4 item its likely not.

The company should figure better/more efficient means of getting low cost items to the consumer. It would be a nice thing to do for customer service. But if theres not enough money in it, then there's not.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I agree with Merk. There's nothing I hate more than people marking up shipping and profiting off it. I see eBay sellers doing it all the time.


So there's no human time and effort involved in shipping items? None?

You could argue that its built into the part price, but for a $4 item its likely not.

The company should figure better/more efficient means of getting low cost items to the consumer. It would be a nice thing to do for customer service. But if theres not enough money in it, then there's not.


Profiting off of shipping is just plain sleazy. A lot of reputable sellers say in their ad "The shipping you'll always pay is what's postmarked on your package. Shipping is never marked up for any reason,and we never upset and profit off our shipping charges". That's the way it should be. For example,I just got a 33rpm record album in the mail today. He charged me $4.00 shipping. The postage stamped on the package is $3.12. He essentially charged me 78 cents for the mailer that he had to purchase,which probably cost him more than that,which is more than fair. But some sellers I see will charge a flat $10 for media mail when it costs $3 to mail the item,and not even ship it in a professional record mailer,but a homemade one fashioned out of a soda water case or something they dug out of the trash.

 

[slo town]

I've used ZZPerformance for my Dad's Supercharged 3800 Buick Regal GS. I was 100% satisfied with all my dealings with them.

Had I needed 4 exhaust manifold studs I would have gladly paid $21 shipping for the convenience.

Scott

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: SLO_Town
Had I needed 4 exhaust manifold studs I would have gladly paid $21 shipping for the convenience.


I can't comprehend the shipping cost being more than the merchandise total. Defies all reasonable logic. The studs are only $1.00 a piece and they take up very little space. They're only 55 millimeters long.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I just wanted to share that with you guys.

Share what, your snarky response? Clap clap, you're a winner and you sure showed them.


X 100,000

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I can't comprehend the shipping cost being more than the merchandise total. Defies all reasonable logic. The studs are only $1.00 a piece and they take up very little space. They're only 55 millimeters long.


EXACTLY!! Unless they're overnighting them to you,all they need to do is put them in a padded envelope and slap a stamp on it.

 

[slo town]

It took a ZZPerformance employee 10 minutes to process your order, from the time of arrival until the time it was set out for pickup. For a $4 parts order.

Just a difference of opinion, not war.

Scott

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I agree with Merk. There's nothing I hate more than people marking up shipping and profiting off it. I see eBay sellers doing it all the time.


So there's no human time and effort involved in shipping items? None?

You could argue that its built into the part price, but for a $4 item its likely not.

The company should figure better/more efficient means of getting low cost items to the consumer. It would be a nice thing to do for customer service. But if theres not enough money in it, then there's not.


Profiting off of shipping is just plain sleazy. A lot of reputable sellers say in their ad "The shipping you'll always pay is what's postmarked on your package. Shipping is never marked up for any reason,and we never upset and profit off our shipping charges". That's the way it should be. For example,I just got a 33rpm record album in the mail today. He charged me $4.00 shipping. The postage stamped on the package is $3.12. He essentially charged me 78 cents for the mailer that he had to purchase,which probably cost him more than that,which is more than fair. But some sellers I see will charge a flat $10 for media mail when it costs $3 to mail the item,and not even ship it in a professional record mailer,but a homemade one fashioned out of a soda water case or something they dug out of the trash.


That's why it's typically shipping and handling. I agree if a shipper charges $1, the vendor shouldn't charge $2 just to pad their bottom line... But if an employee has to spend 10 minutes retrieving the items, packing them (even if in a first class envelope), addressing, etc., that takes some time and costs some labor. Maybe only $2-3 worth of labor, but in $4 worth of parts, it's not built into the price. This concept can get taken too far, where some of these intrinsically "overhead" functions get charged too much one way or another. I'm not saying the shipping fee is "correct" for the work or effort done. But one should not expect a freebie either.

Nobody has the obligation to give you their time for free just because you are the customer. And you have no right to anyone's time just because you've got $4 to buy the items... It's as simple as having mutually agreeable terms, or going elsewhere. How much would the OP have paid at Autozone? How about the dealer?

 

[dareo]

4 studs can go 1st class package for under $3.00 total. Thats a padded mailer, sticker, postage. Two minutes of shipping clerk time is negligible since you pay him if he ships that or not. Parts like that have huge margins and dont take up space. Retailer is inefficient at best and unethical at worst. Is it ok to make a margin on shipping? Sure, but it should be small.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
How much would the OP have paid at Autozone? How about the dealer?


Autozone doesn't have anything remotely close to them and the GM engineer conveniently left the studs out of the parts drawing which makes them non-existent as far as the dealers are concerned. Where ZZPerformance is getting them is a real mystery.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
How much would the OP have paid at Autozone? How about the dealer?


Autozone doesn't have anything remotely close to them and the GM engineer conveniently left the studs out of the parts drawing which makes them non-existent as far as the dealers are concerned. Where ZZPerformance is getting them is a real mystery.


Well......

Where are you going to get these studs then Merk?

If you needed them this bad, you should've paid.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: dareo
4 studs can go 1st class package for under $3.00 total. Thats a padded mailer, sticker, postage. Two minutes of shipping clerk time is negligible since you pay him if he ships that or not. Parts like that have huge margins and dont take up space. Retailer is inefficient at best and unethical at worst. Is it ok to make a margin on shipping? Sure, but it should be small.


See, I argue no margin on shipping, but at least for these small buys, recoup the shipper's time. For small businesses, there isn't necessarily a shipping clerk, and one person may fill multiple roles. That said, it's a few bucks, not $20. Priority mail is also ridiculous for such stuff. Agreed. Having more options is good for the consumer. But the business makes a decision what they wish to offer... And the buyer makes a decision whether the terms are mutually agreeable.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Link to ZZPerformance Item Page

Me:
Quote:
Please give my an alternate shipping method for (4) exhaust manifold studs. $20.05 for priority 3 day mail is insane.


ZZPerformance:
Quote:
Hello Vance,

Unfortunately shipping costs on the items is calculated by USPS/UPS, not by us. We do not upcharge shipping. USPS options are usually higher, I would suggest UPS options.

Thank you for your business,

Ryan Derrick


Me:
Quote:
Hey Ryan,

Even UPS Ground is $16.73. The part number is ZZ-EMS-1A at a total cost of $4.00 before shipping for four studs. The shipping cost is more than four times the item cost. I’m sure glad I didn’t try to buy something larger from you people. You could have put the four studs in a business size envelope with one 49 cent stamp and sent it that way. You people are unbelievable.



I just wanted to share that with you guys.

The shipping most likely includes tracking and insurance and other fees (calculated by the shipper, not ZZP) to protect the company from morons like yourself who will claim that they never received the item. They likely use some kind of auto-calculator embedded on their website.

ZZP is a great company and has one of the best customer service reps in the industry.

Pablum. USPS flat rate inudes tracking and insurance!

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: dareo
4 studs can go 1st class package for under $3.00 total. Thats a padded mailer, sticker, postage. Two minutes of shipping clerk time is negligible since you pay him if he ships that or not. Parts like that have huge margins and dont take up space. Retailer is inefficient at best and unethical at worst. Is it ok to make a margin on shipping? Sure, but it should be small.


See, I argue no margin on shipping, but at least for these small buys, recoup the shipper's time. For small businesses, there isn't necessarily a shipping clerk, and one person may fill multiple roles. That said, it's a few bucks, not $20. Priority mail is also ridiculous for such stuff. Agreed. Having more options is good for the consumer. But the business makes a decision what they wish to offer... And the buyer makes a decision whether the terms are mutually agreeable.


But it's not the customer's responsibility to pay the retailer's employee,it's the retailer's responsibility. I don't pay my mailman every time he delivers my mail from the post office to my house for his time,trouble,and inconvenience,his employer does. I work in a warehouse and our customers don't pay or tip me to walk back into the warehouse and retrieve their items,my employer does via my salary. We ship UPS,and all we do is go online,print a shipping label for the exact cost of shipping per weight of the item (I don't get paid extra or get tipped to do that either),place items to be shipped on the outgoing table,and the UPS person comes and picks them up.