SOF postage, Ripoff or Justified?

[Stuart]

The military and survival equipment retailer 'Soldier of fortune' (not the dodgy magazine) seems a poplar shopping stop for people involved in bushcraft. They have some occasional bushcraft stuff like the tatonka pyramid tarp (which is an excellent bit of kit).

I made my first attempt to purchase something from them today but stopped when I saw their policy for postal charges:

Postal charges to UK Main Land
Order under £30 and weighing less than 750g £2.99
Orders over £30 or 750g £6.50

now the jump from £2.99 to £6.50 for orders over 750grams seems entirly justified, however the hike in postage simply for spending more than £30 with them regardless of the weight seems crazy .

In my case I wanted to order two items, which combined weighed much less than 750grams, but together they cost just over £30. So they wanted to charge £6.50 postage rather than £2.99

If however I ordered the two items separately and had them shipped separately I saved 50p on postage, how can it cost less to pack and send two items separately than send them together???

Why would a shop want to penalise you for spending more money with them? Is there a justifiable reason, or is it like the eBay scam where they try to slip by an insane postage fee and hope you don’t notice , so they make a little extra money from your lack of attention to the small print?

 

[firebreather]

I am going to guess that it is for insurance reasons. If they use royal mail then letters etc are insured up to £30 then you have to use special delivery or one of the other rates to keep the item insured.
just a guess tho


Greg

 

[andyn]

Stuart...If you were going to make an order with them....Why don't you just phone and ask them?

Rather than just guess and make accusations about their pricing.

Personally I think Greg is likely spot on.

 

[spamel]

I'd call them.

 

[steve a]

If they are using the post office to deliver their goods and using the first class mail system then they will be covered for loss of goods upto the value of the goods or £34 whichever is the lesser ammount.For insurance for goods above the £34 value you have to pay extra. So it seems to me they are just covering their costs, no rip offs or underhand practices.

 

[Risclean]

£6.50 is at the high end for postage, but it's not unique. You should think yourself lucky you don't live up here, orders over £30 postage to NI and HIghlands £13.50
Needless to say I have never spent over £30 with them and I'm not going to unless I'm in their shop.
They do have a very large range, and their service has always been fine. It's worth noting that their prices are often a bit high and you could get the same elsewhere for less, usually with cheaper postage.
The choice is yours.

 

[Stuart]

Stuart...If you were going to make an order with them....Why don't you just phone and ask them?

Seems it is legitimate, if still a little strange.

I was using the computers at a local collage when I attempted to make my order, and didn’t have easy access to a phone to inquire.

I have called them since I've returned home, and their response is the same as many have stated here, apparently its to cover insurance. Which leads me to wonder how most companies get by without charging this amount.

Rather than just guess and make accusations about their pricing.

Do you just have a general dislike of anything I post AndyN, I cant recall a time you haven’t responded to one of my posts negatively, would you like the explain the reason behind you discontent? but that aside.

Where did I make an accusation Andy? I asked if anyone knew of a legitimate reason for this sort of pricing as I couldn’t think of one.

Look at the title of this thread

"ripoff or justified"

is that an accusation or a question? And the text,

"Why would a shop want to penalise you for spending more money with them? Is there a justifiable reason, or is it like the eBay scam where they try to slip by an insane postage fee and hope you don’t notice"

Again a question, is it justified or is it a way to sneakily make extra profit?

In my phone conversation with SOF they also stated that I can indeed order the items separately, and they will post them separately, and I will save money that way. Which seems both ridicules and wasteful to me!

 

[spamel]

I suggest you all calm down a little! Life's too short!

 

[Graham_S]

I've always found their service to be fantastic.
phone them up and ask. they've always been good to me.
Granted, they're not the cheapest out there, but I feel the level of service and kit availability makes up for it

 

[Stuart]

I've just realised that this thread is in completly the wrong place, I'm not sure how it ended up in 'resources'

could a mod move this to 'other chatter' please.

 

[spamel]

Err.... it appears you are a Mod Stuart!

 

[Toddy]

I've moved it over

cheers,
M

 

[Stuart]

Err.... it appears you are a Mod Stuart!

I havent been a Mod for some time now

 

[spamel]

Well, it says you are below your name!

 

[Toddy]

I've just noticed that myself
Maybe pester Admin Stuart?......on theother hand, it is an interesting conundrum

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Stuart]

Well, it says you are below your name!

So it does! :Wow:

how did that get back there, it wasn’t there before. I don’t have any of the extra Moderator buttons or access to the control panel though, perhaps I’m an honorary moderator

 

[spamel]

Come on! Pay attention you two!

 

[Toddy]

Well, we didn't expect it.

Anyway, I still think of him as a Mod, he knows everything, and when I get stuck he's awfully good at simple instructions

Not terribly computer literate, me

cheers,
Toddy

 

[C_Claycomb]

Not long ago I shipped some wood to the US for stabalizing. The package weight about 3kg, which I discovered is over the limit for what they normally quote prices for. I was hit for about £47 postage Had I sent two packages, each weighing 2kg, I would have got off with paying just £41.44.

Of course, when it was all shipped back it weighed 50% more and I was only charged about $42

Clearly, postal pricing does not have to make sense!

I have never encountered a company that prices their postage quite like SOF. It is more usual for postage to be waived after someone buys more than a certain amount. I can't quite get my head around it, based on the Royal Mail charges
http://www.royalmail.com/portal/po/content1?catId=19100231&mediaId=22700554
Bearing in mind that if you buy something for £30 from them, and it is lost in the post, it isn't going to cost anything like as much as £30 for SOF to replace it. The insurance would be for the wholesale value.

Oh well. I haven't every shopped with them, so not an issue for me

 

[spamel]

Always expect the unexpected! My wife was nice to me today, but I was ready for it!





(Only joking, she's pretty cool!)