Shipping Fees - A Necessary Evil

Millions of people buy merchandise online every day.  Usually shipping costs are added to the purchase price which in some cases, greatly increases the overall charge of the product.  

It's a sad but true fact that shipping is expensive.  The Postal Service and other independent shippers calculate costs based on a number of factors, including fuel costs.   As the price of fuel rises, so does the cost of shipping an item from point A to point B.

Our Shipping Department here at Chuck and Eddie's ships a wide range of items every day.  Different sized items need to be shipped in different ways.  The majority of our items can be shipped via UPS or USPS, but some larger items such as engines, transmissions, fenders, bumpers, etc need to be shipped via truck.  Truck freight is the most expensive of the shipping methods we use.  Independent trucking companies base their fees on size, weight and distance.  Rather than calculate each buyer's individual shipping cost, Chuck and Eddie's uses a "flat rate" system.  We looked at average rates charged for certain items shipped east of the Mississippi, campared them with rates for the same type of item shipped west of the Mississippi, then formulated a fair average that each buyer would pay regardless of where they live in the Continental United States.  This means savings for the customer since most shipping rates are higher than what the customer is charged. 

UPS and USPS rates are calculated based on weight and distance.  Rates can beviewed by ebay buyers before they actually make a purchase.  This helps them to decide if the overall cost of the delivered item would be a good value. 

Since a large part of Chuck and Eddie's business is done online, we try to compensate for today's high shipping costs by reducing the price of our parts.  This practice provides our customers with a very good overall value.  
 

As our business grows, we will seek out other forms of shipping that may offer good service at reduced cost.   Here at Chuck and Eddie's we do what we can to provide our customers with the best parts at the best delivered price.

A Word About "Free Shipping":   As most of us already know, there's no such thing as "free". One way or the other we pay for the products and services we get.  Free shipping is no exception.  Merchants that offer free shipping most usually incorporate the cost of shipping into the price of the product.   A quick look on ebay found an item we sell for $20 plus shipping is offered by another vendor at $42.99 with "free shipping".   So before you click the "buy now" button on an item offering free shipping, do some comparison shopping.  It could save you plenty!