Newegg and the military - shipping cost ripoff?

[AndrewR]

While I applaud them for actually shipping to military postal addresses, they are flat out ripping people off on the shipping cost.

For those of you who aren't aware, the military has APO/FPO (Army Post Office and Fleet Post Office) boxes for military personnel stationed overseas. The way it works is that any shipper can send mail or packages through the US Postal Service to an APO/FPO box at the standard domestic rate because the military postal facilities are located in California or New York. The only additional item needed for packages is a customs declaration form which takes about 30 seconds to fill out if done manually. The military picks up the mail and ships it overseas to the recipients at no additional cost to the sender.

Now, I entered an order with Newegg to see what it would cost, and to my surprise, a $34 order would have incurred $29 in shipping and handling costs! Keep in mind that I wasn't ordering batteries or lead weights -- the order is for a 1m digital monitor cable and two 80mm fans by Vantec. Needless to say, I didn't order the parts and will look locally instead because even the Japanese should sell the stuff cheaper than that.

Incidentally, the same order sent to a Georgia address using FedEx standard would have cost $14. Last time I checked, USPS rates were cheaper even assuming Newegg gets a bulk discount from FedEx. Maybe I'm overreacting, but is there some overriding reason why shipping should be so high when the shipper is paying USPS rates?

 

[AnyMal]

I think you're looking for the answer in the wrong place. Why not email their customer service, they have always been very responsive and helpful. Maybe there's a glitch in their shipping calculator and it's treating your order as foreign one..

BTW: the statement "Newegg hates the military" is irresponsible to say the least.

 

[CanOWorms]

I know with USPS you can't add delivery confirmation and probably not insurance, too, if you sent a package to an APO box. So, maybe they charge extra for some sort of insurance?

 

[Vonkhan]

didn't u kno ... Saddam's a primary stockholder in newegg

u get to play with guns, stop yer b!tchin :beer:

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
I know with USPS you can't add delivery confirmation and probably not insurance, too, if you sent a package to an APO box. So, maybe they charge extra for some sort of insurance?

You can add both delivery confirmation and insurance with USPS but even adding both of those with Priority Mail you don't arrive at anywhere near $30 in shipping costs.

BTW: the statement "Newegg hates the military" is irresponsible to say the least.

Fine, changed it.

u get to play with guns, stop yer b!tchin

Bah, once every two years they let me qualify with a pistol. I'm not in a gun-toting career field. I have more opportunity to play with guns when I have mine (4) in the States and can visit a range.

 

[AnyMal]

BTW, most of us appreciate your service to our country. :beer::beer:

 

[kami333]

They may not be set up to use USPS through their shipping system and therefore have to manually do everything.

If you're in Japan, what are you doing buying from newegg?

 

[drunkmunk]

I'm stationed in Germany but have been stuck in Iraq for the last 4 months (someday they'll let us leave). I also would have to agree that newegg does overcharge to ship to and APO address but that's pretty much the norm for online retailers. I think it pretty much sucks that due to the "customs form" requirement that sellers can tack on an additional $15.00 to $30.00 just to send it to us. Without trying to sound high and mighty I think that these businesses need to realize that the armed forces help make it possible for them to make the money that they do.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: AndrewR


You can add both delivery confirmation and insurance with USPS but even adding both of those with Priority Mail you don't arrive at anywhere near $30 in shipping costs.

Whenever I ship a package by USPS Priority Mail to an APO, the post office employees say I can't use delivery confirmation or insurance

 

[drunkmunk]

Whenever I ship a package by USPS Priority Mail to an APO, the post office employees say I can't use delivery confirmation or insurance [/quote]

You can't insure packages to APO/FPO due to once the Army gets ahold of it the companies can't be sure how good of shape it will be in when you get it.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: drunkmunk
Whenever I ship a package by USPS Priority Mail to an APO, the post office employees say I can't use delivery confirmation or insurance

You can't insure packages to APO/FPO due to once the Army gets ahold of it the companies can't be sure how good of shape it will be in when you get it.[/quote]

Hmm, that makes no sense (the way it's setup, not what you wrote). What should happen, to me at least, is that Delivery Confirmation or Insurance will ensure that the package makes it into the military's system thereby absolving the USPS of any responsibility for the package. The military has a claims system which, while a serious pain in the ass, does work and would cover the military mail system.

If you're in Japan, what are you doing buying from newegg?

Correction -- I'm in Okinawa, Japan, which is the backwater area of this country. I haven't found any quality computer stores for nitnoid peripherals like fans or cables. There's a great one for drives, motherboards, systems, etc., but their selection of smaller stuff is garbage. Prices aren't always the best over here either, with the dollar lurking around 115 yen.

I also would have to agree that newegg does overcharge to ship to and APO address but that's pretty much the norm for online retailers.

Not all of them. Amazon doesn't charge too much, and I know that Kohl's, an online clothing retailer which my wife orders from excessively, gives free shipping for >$75 orders (even without free shipping, charges are typically less than $10). I can understand if these companies have to eat the cost of lost items, but that may be their fault also if they don't file claims with the government for the same lost items. I would very surprised if the government wouldn't honor a claim from a company.

As it is, I won't be ordering from Newegg anymore because of the exorbitant shipping charges. Now I'm stuck trying to find a replacement!

 

[DanTMWTMP]

dude that's awesome you're in japan!!! that's like a geek's DREAM!!!!!!!


aha yeah one dude asks what the heck are you doing buying from newegg for?....

ur in japan

 

[WhiteKnight77]

Have you been down Gate 2 Street behind Kadena? What about down in Naha? Back when I was there (82-84), the PC craze hadn't been a big thing. Sometimes you gotta find the out of the way stores to find what you really want.

Right now the yen is weak against the dollar compared to when I was there. IIRC it was ¥256+- to the dollar which was down compared to the late 60's when it was ¥300+ to the dollar.

It was a pain getting stuff sent to me while I was in Oki too. I feel for ya and as the other poster said, try contacting CS about the price of shipping. They may just drop it down a bit.

 

[amnesiac]

If you want you can ship the stuff to me and I'll send it to you. I have 170+ heatware and work a block from the post office. Wouldn't be no trouble at all.

 

[tnitsuj]

I bought an external CD burner for my wifes laptop and shipped it to her when she was deployed to her FPO and Newegg ended up charging me the same as they would have for a domestic delivery. This was a while ago though. You should call them and ask.

 

[Crucial]

This quote was from a thread about newegg. It was from a guy who knows someone that works at newegg.

The Postage stamp fee is no doubt correct at $3.95

What he does not understand is what's called S/H (Shipping and Handling). We charge the necessary fee to make APO service worth while.

Amongst all the normal automated orders they go down the conveyer belt line and placed right on the FedEx trucks parked on the warehouse dock, we have these APO orders. They get placed into a stack and have an employee manually fill out paperwork, put the packages in his Van and drive down to the Post Office, wait in line and fill out their paper work. Do all this and then come back.

Should we have only charged $3.95 ?

 

[Jugernot]

Heh, now you know what it's like for those of us up here in Alaska. I've paid more for shipping than the actual product several times before.... no UPS ground = suckage

 

[kami333]

Did you try looking at sofmap? They have a website (although it's in Japanese, know any?) and they used to have a magazine out, not sure if they do anymore. One of the biggest computer stores in Japan.

 

[SgtBuddy]

Originally posted by: csaddict
This quote was from a thread about newegg. It was from a guy who knows someone that works at newegg.

The Postage stamp fee is no doubt correct at $3.95

What he does not understand is what's called S/H (Shipping and Handling). We charge the necessary fee to make APO service worth while.

Amongst all the normal automated orders they go down the conveyer belt line and placed right on the FedEx trucks parked on the warehouse dock, we have these APO orders. They get placed into a stack and have an employee manually fill out paperwork, put the packages in his Van and drive down to the Post Office, wait in line and fill out their paper work. Do all this and then come back.

Should we have only charged $3.95 ?

She has really nice girly hadnwriting too.

In OKinawa there is the "Yellow store" It is over on the beach with the pirate ship. A real geek would know how to get there. They have some decent selctions, but prices are a little high.

If you want some cheap gear, come on over to Korea. Land of Samsung, LG, and others. They use CDROM drives as packing material over here

 

[madthumbs]

Yeah, they're ripping you off! You don't even know the shipping cost until after you press the "pay" button and then it's too late! On top of that, they're charging you for the hidden cost of handling which is a total crime! I mean those boxes, bubble wrap, and foam peanuts are free, and the time spent retrieving it from the warehouse and delivering it to fedex was done by a machine which runs on solar power that our taxes payed for! On top of this, they made me wait on the phone for two whole days for customer support before I decided to hang up just because I dialed the wrong number! The nerve of those con artists!