Shipping and Handling
 

“Shipping and Handling” these little three words can cost you big bucks. 

 
You have seen the commercials on TV and ads in magazines that have fantastic prices like $19.99 on special new products.  Then the announcer on the TV spot will say, if you call right now we will give you two of the special products plus an extra power extender for the same price as one special product.  Then he says all you have to do is pay for the “shipping and handling.”  Read between the lines, they will now charge you “shipping and handling” for two of the special new products, and a power extender, that means they will charge you three times for shipping and handling.   Plus, they have never said what “shipping and handling” actually costs, is it $6.00 each or is it $25.00 each. 


 
 Here is what happened to Patricia Clement, of Lancaster, Ca. when she called in and ordered a new type of power augur garden tool that she saw on a TV commercial.

 

The price was just $19.95, for the Auger tool for digging holes to use for planting or weeding your garden.   Here is what she says they gave her for just $19.95; The Auger tool, a power extender, a weed hog, and the power drill.  Remember the TV ad says this was all for just $19.95, plus S & H. or sometimes called S & P, shipping and postage.
 
When Ms Clement got her credit card bill, the total charge was $177.00.   The product she ordered and the extras were still $19.95 but the shipping and handling was $157.05.   They must have hired a lemo to take the items to the post office or UPS.  Ms Clement called and complained, and after a long runaround they gave her just $20 as a refund. 

 
You may have seen the magazine ads for a semi precious stone ring for FREE.  Many consumers have asked me how can the company afford to give away any ring of value.  First of all, the “shipping and handling” will pay for the ring and normally give them a small profit.  The ring may cost $1, and the “shipping and handling” is $6.99, so they have already made a gross profit of $5.99.  With the information they get from your order for the Free Ring they can put together a mailing list and an e-mail list.  This type of consumer mailing list sells for a premium because it lists  consumers who responded to an advertisement in a magazine or TV commercial.  So the companies major profit is from renting or selling the mailing lists.    

 
Some companies simply make their profit out of the “shipping and handling” charge.

Here is another example; you get an e-mail prepaid shipping notice that states a camera has been purchased in your name and the only thing holding up shipping it to you is the shipping charge.  The notice states the camera is prepaid.  The camera is a 35 mm with a flash connection that has a name that sounds like a major brand.   
The shipping notice states it is insured for a value of $300.  This is to make you believe that the camera is worth $300.  The notice states the shipping charge is only $12.95. 

Right now, I have one of those 35mm cameras on my desk.  I paid the shipping to see what kind of camera I would get.  Let me tell you what I got for $12.95, a plastic camera that is so light weight that it has two fishing weights glued inside it.  When I tried to load it with 35mm film live on TV the small plastic handle broke off, so I do not know what type of pictures it would have taken through its plastic lens.

  

Lets break down the price; $12.95 for shipping, a similar plastic camera can be purchased at the 99-Cents Only Store for 99-cents, and the store is making a profit on it.  That means the cameras in bulk supply are about 50 cents each.  Postage on a four to six weeks delivery is about $3.00.  So the scammer company makes about $9.45 off a camera that you could have bought for 99-cents.
 
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, then there is a 99.9% chance that it is.  

 

Posted Aug. 09, 2008