Hey guys, I am no longer going to buy my parts from Year One. Reason and only reason being their shipping rates have risen and the only option to New Zealand is the most expensive UPS option available. See below. Anyhow, I need a new supplier where I can get good quality items from interior to exterior all at the one shop. eBay sells most of the same items but when you have to get 10+ items from different sellers it becomes expensive and worse yet, very messy.
Couple of days back I made a little order for some misc small parts (basically to pass some time). I needed dust boots and grabbed some spare items for Dad while I was there. I emailed Mike @ YO and asked if everything was in stock and ready to ship. To my shock, here is the shipping and in stock quote, check the shipping price out lol. Followed by that is Mike's email (in red) reply to my shock of the shipping price and cancellation of my order.
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001-> FD71173 0000002 TORSION BAR DUST BOOT 18.850 37.60
002-> MP326 0000001 70 CHALL ILLUS FACT MAN 9.000 9.00
003-> MP182 0000001 70 BARR. WIRE DIAGRAM 9.000 9.00
004-> FC204BLK 0000001 FENDER GRIPPER FNDR COVER 19.750 19.75
005-> YHBK6XLG 0000002 YEAH ITS GOT A HEMI T-SHRT 13.800 27.60
006-> MLNY2LG 0000002 MOPAR "M" W/FLAMES T-SHIRT 13.800 27.60
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TOTAL WEIGHT 10.800 TOTAL PRODUCT 130.65 USD
0.0000% TAX .00
AIR PARCEL POST SPECIAL P&H 226.30 USD
ORDER TOTAL 356.95 USD
Hi Carl,
Unfortunately, the U.S. Postal Service has changed their guidelines. Very few shipments still qualify. I will have to send these parts via UPS. Yes, UPS is getting more and more expensive. As fuel prices surge over here (just beginning to see prices that are common in Europe, Asia, and Australia), so does the cost of shipping. One such example is the change in services offered. UPS used to offer two different methods of shipping to New Zealand. UPS Expedited was the standard method and least expensive. UPS Express was a faster, more expensive, option. Under their new guidelines, UPS Saver (between Expedited and Express) is the only method available for New Zealand.
There are a couple of options you may want to consider. Our shipping rate is a fraction of the advertised UPS rate, because we have made an exclusive agreement with them. The total shipping cost on any given order also includes a nominal handling fee to cover warehouse expenses. We can still ship with DHL or FedEx if it is not billed to us though. In other words, if you have an account with one of the other major carriers, we can schedule them to pick-up the shipment and bill you directly on your account. In that case, we would only charge the handling fee. The handling fee is a minimum $10.00 for any order under $200. On orders over $200, we charge $5.00 for every hundred dollars in product.
You are a wonderful customer, Carl. Beyond that, it is a pleasure chatting with you outside of orders for all these years. I would not like to lose your business, but my hands are tied pretty tight when it comes to shipping. There is little I can do, though I try. I will cancel the order(s) if you do not have a shipping account that you would like to use. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Best regards,
Michael Lancaster
Int'l Sales/Wholesale
Year One, Inc.
I said I will no longer be shopping at YO and wished Mike all the best. There is no way I'll be paying twice the amount of my parts order on shipping, who in their right mind would? I always knew they were somewhat expensive but this was basically the final straw for me. You can find the same parts on eBay for 3/4's the price and 1/4 the price shipping. YO is good, no doubt, but, with shipping prices like this they will quickly lose sales downunder, like myself with some 45+ orders (most large) under my belt.
