Anyone else experience unreasonable shipping charges from Apogee?

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I've not had any issues with Apogee shipping charges. Ordered a dozen E6's and some other things in June, and many orders over the years (since..... 1989!).

I presume you did not try order anything requiring HAZMAT shipping?

If you did order stuff requiring hazmat shipping, that is always a big hit. This year I did an order with another well known dealer, who didn't charge a Hazmat fee since the order was big enough. That dealer illegally shipped the motors without the proper HAZMAT labels (perhaps not even any labels like Flammable Solid), via a means that COULD have involved it flying in an aircraft (Wasn't shipped "ground"). And the engines (A lot of G's) were just randomly stuffed into the box, not carefully packed as per typical Hazmat I've gotten from others So, uh, yeah, easy to give "free Hazmat" when it's not shipped as Hazmat.

 

At the risk of getting booted off here....you sure are full of yourself.

 

i cant read the email communication so dont know what was ordered.
but could see a $35 hazmat fee plus a $20 shipping fee happening depending on what was ordered.

 

There are any number of threads about Apogee's higher pricing for product and for shipping. They argue that their customer service and better packing justify the premium. Maybe so. Still, there are other vendors out there with good customer service (though perhaps won't draw pictures on your package upon request) that have more reasonable pricing. To each is own; I really only buy stuff from Apogee that I can't get elsewhere.

 

sir,yes sir.
after i poop

 

I don't see why anyone would be so yanked by this. Guy orders stuff, shipping seems kinda stiff and tries to find out why. In the process, orders most of the same stuff from elsewhere and saves on shipping. I don't blame CORZERO one iota and perhaps it
was a mistake at Apogee. He's forthright with at least inquiring courteously about the situation directly with Apogee. Myself? I'd just likely see if I could order from elsewhere and not even bring the issue up with the original vendor.
Apogee has a right to make a living and people have a right to shop around. I haven't ordered very often anymore since I moved on to HPR and switched to different materials from vendors located nearer by.
Apogees service is beyond reproach and I tried to get a second license full price for Rocksim as I used a downloaded v5.0 for years and had one paid license for a late v8.0. I felt they deserved it. They replied no problem as my current license was good for an update and refunded the cost. That order was appended to one for a bunch of bluetube and ebays so it did amount to a sizable remittance. I didn't think the shipping was that unreasonable. Kurt

 

Hardly. You blindly copy-pasted the entire, confusing HTML email into the original post. Not easy to read at all.

So, in all your horn-tooting, you neglected to tell us the outcome. Did Apogee tell you why $55 shipping was charged? Did they fix the shipping calculator?

 

Apogee replied with a statement regarding software limitations. Apogee also suggested a remedy in a timely manner. They are aware of the issue and handled the situation appropriately. I have since made two orders with them without a problem. I would not hesitate to order from Apogee Components in the future.

 

They charged me $20 + dollars shipping for 2 Apollo capsules a few years ago. Shipping weight was less than 12 oz.

 

Based on the response I received to an inquiry a few years ago about items that I wanted to purchase which ranged from 5% to 22% over MSRP, I now understand that many customers actually prefer to pay more for items because it makes them feel like they are getting better service. It was OK if I didn't happen to feel that way, though, because I wasn't the kind of customer they were looking for anyway. They only asked that I not use their webpages for reference.

Maybe the same rule applies to shipping, and by paying more some people may feel like they are getting their items more quickly.

I try my best not to miss an opportunity to share my Apogee anecdote. It has clearly left a lasting impression on me. I estimate that I have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $50k to $75k on rocketry since I received that email...and every penny of it has been with vendors who were looking for the kind of customer I am!

In all seriousness, though, it sounds like both you and the vendor handled the situation appropriately in your case. It cost them one order, but you were able to place future orders with the confidence that overcharges would be corrected. If shipping rates seem out of line, I will always contact a vendor prior to making the purchase so that I know what my total bill will be. In most cases, high shipping was caused by the e-commerce software and was corrected during processing.

Cheers,
Michael

 

$35.00 for Hazmat shipping? A while back ago it went from $27.50 to $30.00 to ship Hazmat. Neither Fedex or UPS charge $35.00.
By the way (hijack) I am doing a flat $5.00 shipping sale till the end of October.

 

In the 90's, HAZMAT was something like $12 to $14.

Three years ago, it was $27.50, two years ago it was $28.50. Last year and present day, it's $30. Tomorrow or next year, likely more. FedEx and UPS match the others lead it seems. Either way you can expect increases about every 15 months.

 

Was the $50K a typo?! Ugh not saying I wouldn't be in the same boat if I had it but jeez, I will no longer keep track

 

I really, REALLY, wish I could say it was. And no...I absolutely don't keep track. I had to take a small sample of typical months and then extend it out over the time since I received that email. I have no control. I am ashamed.

On the upside, I have enough inventory that I could recover some of it in a pinch. This is what happens when an addict is left to his own devices!

Cheers,
Michael

 

Software has a hard time dealing with shipping unless you spend a LOT of time on it. For most, it's easier to overestimate, pack it up, get a real price and refund the difference.

Some places (cough*apogee*cough) don't always bother to check what the shipping cost against what was charged.

I'll gladly pay for packing materials and boxes....but the costs of pulling an item and someone packaging it up? You run a business on the internet. That's your overhead, not mine. Put it in your price.

 

Apogee is not alone, here. It is even easier to to overestimate, pack it up, and DO NOTHING unless the customer complains about it.

 

I really don't understand this thread. Apogee isn't the only business that "overcharges" for shipping. Personally, I don't think they do. During the recent Estes sale, I ordered two low power kits. Shipping was $10.99 and took over a week to get here, via UPS. So, I just went to Estes website and put a $3.99 Christmas tree ornament in my cart. Estimated shipping for this 2 oz item by UPS is still $10.99. I've placed some sizable and expensive orders with Apogee, and I've paid less for shipping and gotten it faster, compared to other companies.

 

$50 order gets you free shipping with Estes during their current sale. And they have many items at 75% or much more off of MSRP. By the way...with each of my 3 recent Estes sale orders they threw in a free 2 oz. Christmas ornament! :wink:

Cheers,
Michael

 

But what if I don't want to spend $50 to get free shipping? On my last order I chose not to spend another $35 just to save $10.99. And I didn't get a free ornament either. No matter what, $10.99 shipping for a Christmas ornament that they give away is highway robbery.

 

I understand your point!

If you are serious about an Estes Christmas ornament, I will send you one of mine for actual shipping cost from South Carolina.

Cheers,
Michael

 

I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass. Thanks though!

 

Apogee is known for unreasonable shipping costs. Everyone knows that. So I bought a 4" diameter fiber glass kit from MADCOW w/ and engine retainer. What do you think I paid for shipping??? Under $9 for a 4" kit over 55" long. Pretty amazing. Why spend extra cash when you can use it for other stuff.

 

Amen, Brother . . . Well said !

Dave F.

 

Wonder if Apogee monitors this venue, perhaps they will take notice and make some adjustments if possible. I believe they would get more volume in sales.

 

Good question . . . I don't know if Tim / Apogee is on TRF or not.

Dave F.

 

Of course they would. They have a great selection and a nice website. I mean if other vendors can do it why can't they? Tim seems to think that most other vendors will wait to ship items to get a bulk rate or something like that? Well if that's the case then I don't mind waiting a week or whatever it is? I rather do that and save money.

 

Maybe he should and then he might realize how many people will buy elsewhere.

 

Tim would certainly "get an earful" here, unless the Admins decided to shut it down . . .

I think another thing is that Apogee maintains a "walk-in storefront", which would increase their overhead costs.

Store Address: 4960 Northpark Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80918

https://www.apogeerockets.com/index.php?main_page=about_us&m=education#directions

Dave F.