Delivery charges

[onthefloors]

AIBU or have delivery charges skyrocketed lately?! In the last few days I’ve paid £5.95 for ASOS standard delivery, £5 from an online clothing company for standard, and I’m seeing £8-9 for next day delivery now!

Considering it costs over £3 to send a small parcel at the post office, how much do you think they should be charging to cover their costs?

I bet they are trying to sell annual delivery or considering the high number of returns, charging double to cover that.

I think that the very common practice of ordering lots and sending the majority back was inevitably going to lead to this.

I wonder if lost and stolen parcels have increased?

Delivery charges have definitely increased.
£4.95 seems to be a "regular" cost now.
It shows up when advertised % discounts on items work out at less than the postage costs.

I find sometimes the price difference between Standard and Next Day delivery is negligible. I object to paying a fiver for standard but £6 to get it Next Day seems reasonable especially when you have a daughter with ADHD who only tells you she needs an item for an event about 2 days in advance. Sadly my postcode occasionally falls foul of exclusions to Next Day delivery.

I have been guilty of over ordering to get free delivery with a view to returning unsuitable items, but they are clearly clamping down on this with return fees. They don’t always carry DD’s size in store so even if shops have a high st presence I seem to end up ordering stuff online. I quite like the Bravissimo and Schuh approach that if they don’t have your size in stock they’ll home deliver for free.

Hi OP

I run an online business and shipping is a real cost for the business. You have the courier charge along with somebodies time to pick and pack your order, the packaging materials, and label + delivery note printing. Returns the same, the actual cost to move the parcel, the fee to the PO for handling it or the cost of the locker, then the person receiving, unpacking, processing your return and the cost of waste/rubbish.

on low value orders I make nothing, but accept that to keep the shipping costs low as I have a high return customer rate.
Some companies charge more for the product to disguise shipping charges.

the cost for you to travel to the high street, fuel/wear and tear, or public transport fee, parking charges, + your time, in lots of situations costs you more than most online shopping shipping charges

£2.95 is to move the parcel. Who is paying for the Inpost locker (physical locker and location rental) or person that took it from you ? Who is paying to unpack and re stock and refund you? Who is paying for the packing to be disposed of? Who is paying for the IT system that manages your return?

Yes, I am hoping this might benefit high streets.

A transparent company - the cost of the product and the cost of shipping - honest. If the pencils had cost more and the shipping was less would you have ordered? A lot of companies disguise costs that way. Personally I'd rather order from the transparent company.

Online delivery charges have been minimised and subsidised by retailers who also have to deal with returns. Now we are seeing a more realistic approach. If people do not want to pay the charges then they can go to the shops

They've killed the high street, so now they can turn the screws.

I wanted a piece of furniture (not huge) costing £95. Standard delivery was £9.99 so I was happy with that. Get to checkout and delivery is £60! They'd decided I was "Highlands and Islands" - I'm neither.

I emailed to ask why and 6 weeks later I'm still waiting for a reply.

Edit... didn't read the whole thread. My point has already been made :)

M&S click and collect is free

And there’s no minimum order for c&c which is amazing considering that they were the victims of such a massive cyber attack.

I wish! My kids remind me of that scene in The Last of Us, when they go to a deserted shopping mall. Wish they had a relatively safe, warm place they could spend the day with their mates, looking around and eating.
Returns are surely an issue, with so many people buying knowing they won't keep (less likely when they had to return in person!), so maybe the increased delivery fee put s people off buying so much stuff they know they won't keep?

I paid £5.95 for a big handbag to get delivered a few weeks ago, I’m not paying £4.50 to get 6 pencils delivered that would fit in an envelope!

I would have paid £3 max.

ridiculous.

So you think the business should be out of pocket?

I paid delivery for sweaty Betty the other day, forget how much it was , maybe 3.50/£4 but it took 9 days from ordering to arrive ! Never in history of everness has anything taken over a week lol

If you think you can do it cheaper, why don’t you go to the shops?
Petrol costs and parking costs would come to this at least, not to mention the time you are saving.

No I expect the business to charge me the correct delivery cost and to not make a profit off the delivery, make the profit off the item they are selling not the delivery cost.

Do you sell items with over priced delivery charges?

If you shop at somewhere a lot it’s worth paying the yearly charge if there is one. Next is about £22

But that IS the correct delivery cost - most places offer cheaper or free delivery with inflated item charges to make up for it.

A small parcel via RM is over £3 to post.