jeri Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I have bought so much from this site! But today I went to order 5 books (math and science) which totalled just over $50, and the shipping came to more than $17! I emailed them to ask if this was priority, since I could take a delay and would be happy with book rate. The short email reply was that this price was in keeping with the USPS pricing. Next I went to RR. I ordered the exact same books (I had no idea that RR had a lot more than just SM math books!), + a couple of more unrelated books. Not only did I save a dollar or two on their lower cost of SM books, but they quoted me $8.80 for book, and $13 for priority. Needless to say, I went with RR. I think what really bugged me was the SM was really uninterested in my concerns about shipping costs. There was not even a discussion here, just a statement that said, "this is how it is." Jeri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Shipping rates have gotten higher overall in the past year - my mother used to be able to ship things for $3-4 UPS Ground, but then last year they went to a $7.00 minimum! As for USPS shipping, I learned the hard way that unless you are shipping media mail or flat rate priority, it is a ripoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I think what really bugged me was the SM was really uninterested in my concerns about shipping costs. There was not even a discussion here, just a statement that said, "this is how it is."Jeri :iagree: That's why I haven't bought from SM for years and years and years. RR on the other hand is always interested and oh my, I LOVE talking with their CS folks. Caring, wonderful ladies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 :iagree:That's why I haven't bought from SM for years and years and years. RR on the other hand is always interested and oh my, I LOVE talking with their CS folks. Caring, wonderful ladies. :iagree: They (Singaporemath.com) really seemed disinterested in customer service to me, so I will not use them. And yes, their shipping was too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 When I order from singaporemath the only option I get is UPS and it's much cheaper. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 When I order from singaporemath the only option I get is UPS and it's much cheaper. :confused: I went and tried it and I got the same result! I had a $45 subtotal and $9.88 for UPS shipping (which is reasonable!) I wonder if it has to do with location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Distance does have something to do with shipping cost. Rural delivery is also expensive via UPS. I (literally) just ordered $79 worth of books and my shipping was only $8.70, but I am out west and Singaporemath is in Washington or Oregon I think. 2nd day for me would have been $19 but I always get the books within a week anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I ordered last month from Singapore Math -- my subtotal was $73 and shipping (UPS Ground) was $9.62. I don't think that's bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Distance does have something to do with shipping cost. Yes, I get my stuff very quickly and not at 17 dollars. They have answered my emails promptly, and have never had a moment's concern with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeri Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 I am overseas but with a US address (dh is a DoD employee stationed in Germany). So, we can't use UPS. So that explains something! But I still don't understand how they justify the high US mail prices! Yesterday I shipped 5 books (probably abour the same size as what I'm buying from RR) back to the States and it was lesss than $10 priority. Anywayy, I was happy to find out how *much* SM RR carries now, including science! It used to be fairly minimal! jeri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) I am overseas but with a US address (dh is a DoD employee stationed in Germany). So, we can't use UPS. So that explains something! But I still don't understand how they justify the high US mail prices! Yesterday I shipped 5 books (probably abour the same size as what I'm buying from RR) back to the States and it was lesss than $10 priority. Anywayy, I was happy to find out how *much* SM RR carries now, including science! It used to be fairly minimal! jeri I think that some companies justify jacking up their USPS rates for DoD customers overseas because they have to fill out a customs form. Many times it is actually cheaper to find places that do free UPS shipping and utilize a service like APO box dot com, who will then ship USPS priority to a DoD address for a flat $15, regardless of the price of the goods (Zero - 40lbs, 0-108"). You can even buy insurance for a small fee. I realize this doesn't work for many of the smaller companies, but then again, the *smallest* companies usually don't mind the customs form! HTH a Edited November 24, 2009 by asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I am overseas but with a US address (dh is a DoD employee stationed in Germany). So, we can't use UPS. So that explains something! But I still don't understand how they justify the high US mail prices! Yesterday I shipped 5 books (probably abour the same size as what I'm buying from RR) back to the States and it was lesss than $10 priority. Anywayy, I was happy to find out how *much* SM RR carries now, including science! It used to be fairly minimal! jeri That's where I purchase my SM books. I just had Singaporemath.com calculate a $43 order and the shipping to my address was 46% more than from RR for the same dollar amt, both by UPS ground. The one time I ordered from them delivery took much longer than RR, so I guess for my location, it's not the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Shipping policies to APO/FPO addresses has changed where I will buy books from. I haven't bought from CBD for years because I decided the shipping based on % of the order total really worked against me when I was buying stuff like Latin curriculum. This year, I got many of my books for Sonlight from Amazon, which ship for free and is very fast to my FPO. Sonlight doesn't extend their free shipping rates to FPOs. It may just be that they get a great bulk discount rate from UPS. But it didn't make sense for me to pay for the shipping when Amazon is so easy. What I've found, however, is that the company loyalties or dissatisfaction linger even when we're not at an FPO. I didn't order from CBD at all in the couple of years when we did have a regular US address. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 This Is why I buy as much Singapore as I can from Rainbow Resources. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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