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Van's shipping charges have gone through the roof!

Walt

Well Known Member
Be aware of insane shipping charges.

I needed a couple of things from Van's last week and as normal, their webstore doesn't give shipping costs.
I was floored when I got the bill for 2 day UPS shipping (that took 3 days) on a $278 order that fit in a standard small box... $139.48 :eek::eek:

When I inquired about what I figured must surely be a mistake, the answer I got was "carriers have added a surcharge thru the end of the year".

I get a lot of packages via UPS and I have never paid a "surcharge" before, so this seems to only apply to Van's customers.

Needless to say I will no longer shop at Van's if the parts are available somewhere else.
 
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Yup, I was amazed at how high my shipping was, but now seeing yours, I feel better. I paid $70 shipping for a rudder skin last week which should arrive tomorrow UPS ground. Granted my skin is outsized and assuming it will be in some sort of protective shipping container.
 
The lack of transparency with shipping costs has always bugged me a bit. I believe that Greg posted elsewhere here that changes were coming to the web store soon; hopefully this will be one of them.
 
The lack of transparency with shipping costs has always bugged me a bit. I believe that Greg posted elsewhere here that changes were coming to the web store soon; hopefully this will be one of them.

We plan to be able to making shipping quotes available at order time, but it won't be in the initial release due to the complexity - it's on the list for the follow-on phase though.

Walt, I'm looking into and asking about your situation.
 
We plan to be able to making shipping quotes available at order time, but it won't be in the initial release due to the complexity - it's on the list for the follow-on phase though.

Walt, I'm looking into and asking about your situation.

Thank you Greg, I appreciate that.

In the past I always thought the shipping charges were quite reasonable.

The only reason I generally request 2 or 3 day shipping is that if I select standard UPS shipping it usually takes the better part of week before it leaves Van's then another 3-5 days to get here, I can't run an aircraft repair business that way but I also don't feel like it's fair to pass on extraordinary shipping charges to my Van's customers so I end up eat those charges.
 
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Last month I placed 2 orders with Vans, the need for the 2nd one didn't arise until after I'd placed the first and Vans wasn't allowing edits. I wasn't in a hurry for the first so I picked USPS International. The second was more urgent so I chose USPS international priority. Both packages shipped the same day. Got the regular package in 3 business days (unheard of). The express package came a day later. $35 for the regular, $95 for the express. I hate shipping costs.
 
Shipping

I always tell them to ship cheapest method. Living in the mountains, it doesn't matter how fast I want it. Package still takes three days to get from the local post office dock to a pickup slip of locker key. I've had overnight packages take the customary three days inside the building so I quit spending the money long ago. UPS, FedEx, USPS. All the same.
 
I can't comment about Vans but shipping charges have all gone up and FedEx has been absolutely the worse in terms of service that I have received in the past few months. If I have the option, I will always-always select USPS. It has been cheaper and more reliable for me with UPS next.
 
With out knowing zip code to and from, the dimensions of the box, and the weight it's kind of hard to determine if the charge was appropriate. It does sound like a ridiculous amount. I can attest as somebody who ships a lot prices have gone up. This is of course 2 day service. It is going to be a premium. USPS parcel post nine-day (not guaranteed) probably is going to be the cheapest.
 
Van’s is unique in my experience in that they don’t provide shipping quotes at the point of purchase. They also ship slow, and the parts take awhile to bet here because I always choose “cheapest method”. Oh well.
 
Amen Brother!

I ordered Longeron angle because "somebody" botched one. Obviously they're oversized, so I was expecting shipping to be around $100. For good measure I ordered 4. They're cheap and I can always pay fwd right?

18 lbs, 16' long 2" pvc for shipping.

Cheapest truck shipping, 2 weeks to 67230?.....$506.46!

I'm thinking of starting a side hustle where I but a truckload of stuff from Vans and just drive it around the country kinda like the Snap-on man does with tools
 
My theory is that many businesses, shipping companies included, are using COVID as an excuse to jack up prices. Hard to blame this on Van's.
 
Yeah, carriers have added "Peak Season Surcharges" due to covid-related volume increases. Some of that might be profit-seeking, but a whole lot of it is overtime-paying. In addition, they've significantly increased their size-related surcharges e.g. "longest side exceeds 40 inches". Some of these are now triple digits.

If you're ordering from a vendor who charges you actual shipping costs (as opposed to some sort of flat-rate based on order amount), one way to lower that cost is to ship to a commercial address instead of your home. That is, have the package delivered to your office.

Rates for commercial deliveries are lower than for residential deliveries.
 
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My theory is that many businesses, shipping companies included, are using COVID as an excuse to jack up prices. Hard to blame this on Van's.

Hard to know. I certainly don't suspect Van's of anything nefarious, I just note that their shipping and parts distribution is completely different, less user-friendly and much more cumbersome, than any online vendor I've every used. I do understand, however, that they are not really an "online vendor" in the usual sense, so it's not a surprise that ordering airplane parts from them is a lot more of a hassle than ordering something from Amazon. I do think it could be better, however. Shipping, shipping charges, parts lookup, order tracking could all be improved. Admittedly, I say all that without any understanding of their business model or the costs of those improvements.
 
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What would it take for VAF to have a member group (discount) joint account with UPS/FedEx? Doug could rake a percentage for management.

Early in building I noticed shipping as a significant part of the total if not managed. Being in the rural midwest extra time is typical. I first signed up for UPS - not an account just a direct log in. It saves substantially in outbound.

I noticed that the big difference of Vans was when it was picked up by the shipper, and the onsite time from order-to-pickup varied. Knowing the low cost philosophy of Vans, this was completely acceptable. And . . the prices were nearly always better. Distance was a factor so that also added cost and time. A 3 day order was nearly always a week. Still - first choice for most.

I started asking for uninsured first class mail for small and low cost items from all vendors. The risk of loss was acceptable. Spruce even ended up with that option on the order estimator.

While I don't order much from anyone anymore, a preview of the costs from Vans would have been nicer, but I usually trusted them and said - cheapest way.
 
Aircraft Spruce also

Aircraft Spruce no longer accepts payment via "their" Pilot Visa Card which used to include free shipping. My last order was $62 plus $28 shipping!!!
I said, "No Thanks" and ordered grease and filters on Amazon. Yes, it was cheaper and faster.
 
If you're modus operandi is to always go to the cheapest source, you'll be left with, well, the cheapest source .. that then has 100% control of the market .. just sayin' consider that when giving Amazon business over aviation oriented shops :eek:
 
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Maybe Vans should negotiate a contract with a shipping company. I just ordered a 102# tool box from HF and the estimated shipping charge is $6.99. That is to my home not a commercial address. My dogs food comes from Chewy with free shipping and it is also heavy, est 60# each shipment and cost less than WM.
 
Here is a trick I used as I built. I did my avionics myself and couldn't write a check for the 20K at once. So, I ordered almost all of my Dynon avionics though Spruce and if the order was above $500 (if I remember right) anything else within reason was free to ship. While doing avionics I placed orders with Spruce every month sometimes every week it seemed. Each time shipping was free because I ordered one more piece of avionics.

Now this doesn't help lower shipping costs or address the issue Walt brought up but it is a trick you can use to save many hundreds in shipping while building.
 
Since we’re comparing scars..... ;)

It could be worse - all of the commenters here are in the US. Shipping international can be prohibitive. The little 42 pound engine of mine had to go back to Prague about a year ago, and while I didn’t have to pay the freight (the manufacturer did- whew!), I saw the shipping charge on the FedEx invoice. Eye-watering doesn’t even begin to describe it. Let’s put it this way - the next time it has to go back to the old country on my dime, I am buying a round trip first class ticket on Lufthansa to Prague and checking the engine as luggage strapped in an ice chest. It will cost half as much as FedEx.....

Meanwhile, the $1.70 first class USPS postage for a couple of bolts from Spruce has gone up to almost $2.50 this fall!
 
Sorry guys, this sucks.

ACS...UPS Ground...I get it overnight if ordered by 1500. It's awesome since they opened Chicago/DuPage. It is SprucePrime!
 
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Here is a trick I used as I built. I did my avionics myself and couldn't write a check for the 20K at once. So, I ordered almost all of my Dynon avionics though Spruce and if the order was above $500 (if I remember right) anything else within reason was free to ship. While doing avionics I placed orders with Spruce every month sometimes every week it seemed. Each time shipping was free because I ordered one more piece of avionics.

Now this doesn't help lower shipping costs or address the issue Walt brought up but it is a trick you can use to save many hundreds in shipping while building.

I always try to keep my ACS cart cached so I can get to that point, but recently found that I forget I already have the item in my cart and I get duplicates.:eek:
 
Maybe Vans should negotiate a contract with a shipping company. I just ordered a 102# tool box from HF and the estimated shipping charge is $6.99. That is to my home not a commercial address. My dogs food comes from Chewy with free shipping and it is also heavy, est 60# each shipment and cost less than WM.

Not a fair comparison as the shipping cost wasn't really 7 bucks or free. The companies are pricing shipping into their products in order to suck you in with free shipping. Sometimes it works in your favor and sometimes it doesn't. I have compared the same product on Amazon and on their own website and Amazon is always higher priced.
 
You guys are lucky! Try getting stuff sent to Australia! Goes via the Moon first with the costs of a Moon flight!
 
What the previous reply said

Add an ocean in the way the order has travel........then you are entitled to complain about shipping costs......

Add customs and it gets really beyond sometimes........
 
Walt, does this have anything to do with my “had to have it “ metal tape? I knew I should have painted the flaps.......
 
Slight thread drift: At work, historically I could air freight flammable materials for roughly ~$7-$8 /kg. Got a quote yesterday for $12/kg.

Also sea freight has slowed tremendously since the pandemic. I can't get a clear answer as to the driver but it can take 1-2 weeks just to book shipping.
 
Maybe we start a thread for people driving to pick up orders. They can pick up others near them or on the way for a small fee.
 
Just put in a small order from Aircraft Spruce, shipping out of West Chicago. Thought about just going to pick it up and saving the $10.60. Let's see, 45 minutes each way, gas for the car, traffic...... hmmm. Not feeling as bad about the shipping charge now and I get to keep building while I wait. Of course if I needed it asap I would go pick it up.
 
Interesting...

If I remember right the shipping charge for my empennage crate to Las Vegas was only like $250... so I guess the trick is going to be order a crate worth of stuff at a time!
 
We plan to be able to making shipping quotes available at order time, but it won't be in the initial release due to the complexity - it's on the list for the follow-on phase though.

Walt, I'm looking into and asking about your situation.

Quick followup, thanks to Greg and Van's, I received a refund on shipping for $52, I want to thanks the them for looking into this an providing a refund.
 
I ordered a new emp skin ($50 something bucks) and was floored when shipping charges were $250+. Which is total nuts. I know Vans wants to ensure that the pieces show up safe and sound but come on. Where does it make sense for the shipping to be 5xs the cost of the actual part?

I ordered a new skin because of a little dent and i thought what the heck, what could the shipping be $50? The piece maybe weighed 5 lbs. Just insane.......
 
Hi folks,

Our business gets quotes for and chooses from available shipping options just like other businesses do, of course. We shop the shipping rates available (from the common companies that you would expect) and we work to ensure that the best available shipping option(s) is/are provided to our customers for the services that are needed.

Some of our products are oversized pieces as far as shipping goes, and the cost to ship one or two parts can sometimes be higher than one would expect, both due to the unusual sizes/dimensions and other reasons, as described below.

Unfortunately, shipping prices are simply higher right now than they were in the past. That’s just a fact. Surcharges were put in place by the shipping companies related to the pandemic, plus beginning a couple weeks ago holiday peak season charges were instituted by the shipping companies, which are in place until about the end of the year. That surcharge-double-whammy (so to speak) can be pretty tough to stomach for is all. We will continue to work hard to find the best options for you, as we always strive to do.

We don’t set or control the shipping rates, and we have not jacked up shipping rates at Van’s - we are simply charging for shipping based on the fees charged to us by the carriers for their services. And we do review the cost of shipping on each order to determine what from the available options can work best.

We’re looking forward to lower rates as much as the next person! Once we are past the holidays and this pandemic situation, we certainly hope things will become a little more normal (whatever that is!).

Thx

Greg
 
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