A set of un-inked dice, like the ones shown here, cost about five bucks — that seems to me to be quite reasonable. I followed the "buy" link, which took me to Amazon, and ordered five sets. Twenty-five bucks, right?
Then Amazon added postage and handling.
Near enough to THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS! Just for shipping! Bloody hell!
What would five sets of dice weigh? Maybe a hundred grams? They wouldn't even make a very bulky package. I think that Amazon are gouging more than a trifle on their shipping fees, and if not, then the US Postal Service is. I've been stung before with shipping fees from Amazon, when I bought some second-hand science fiction books. This experience indicates that it's not a rarity, so screw Amazon. I won't be shopping there again.
As it happens, I went elsewhere, to frpgames.com, for my dice. The shipping still stung a bit, but it was half what Amazon wanted to charge me.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteFirst a disclaimer. I have been an employee of Amazon in the past and work there now as a contractor.
You state "Then Amazon added postage and handling" but that is not correct. Those are actually sold by RPGShop'com on the Amazon website - look next to the price. RPGShop is doing the gouging, not amazon. Amazon has lots of merchandise by 3rd party merchants on their site, and the merchants set shipping costs.
I was going to say the same thing as James. I get all kinds of books off of Amazon and have yet to pay a cent of shipping costs. I'm sure its factored into the price of the books, but the books themselves are cheeping than I can find anywhere else either. I guess I must just be giving into the man and screwing over someone, but I can't figure out who.
ReplyDeleteJames: if I go to a page that is prominently branded with company A's corporate imagery to buy stuff that transpires to be from company B whose identity is, if not actually hidden on the page, so insignificant as to be virtually invisible, then company A can expect to wear the flak for company B's pricing policies.
ReplyDeleteIan: we poor schmucks who live outside the continental USA get no benefit from any of those sweet shipping deals. Hell, they won't even sell us Kindles out here in the wilderness.