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Hi Cosmo or Corey,
I've got a question regarding shipping. I've already come up against it yesterday on my orders from the sale, but I want to order more and well... bleh.
I'd like to order the products listed below (they are in my shopping cart):
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #4: A Dreadful Dawn (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Fang & Fury: A Guidebook to Vampires (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $16.95 $2.00
• Freeport: The Freeport Trilogy (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $27.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #1: Mansion of Shadows (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Temple Quarter (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $19.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #5: Temple of the Death Goddess (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $2.95 $2.00
• Thieves' Quarter (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $17.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #2: Beyond the Towers (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #3: Dirge of the Damned (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Tales of Freeport (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $18.95 $2.00
Now when I had six products I could still have the nice long shipping route for $ 6.86. With the complete listing of ten products I no longer have that option. Shipping and handling would come to $39.85 and for a $ 20.00 order that is just ridiculous.
Could I have those 10 items shipped together in the long route for $ 6.86? And if so, could they be bundled with my two other sale orders:
Order # 836703
• Artifacts of the Ages: Swords and Staves (d20) $2.00
• Artifacts of the Ages: Rings (d20) $2.00
• Advanced Bestiary Hardcover (d20) $5.00
Order # 836695
• Denizens of Freeport (d20) $2.00
• Creatures of Freeport (d20) $2.00
• GameMastery Module W1: Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale (OGL) Print Edition $12.99
Both have shipping of $6.86 each.
Anyway, I hope you can help me, or explain to me how shipping options work. Basically I don't mind waiting for the items to arrive, but I do love the dollar to euro rates.
If you can ship the ten items in one shipment for $6.86 that would be great and I authorize you to put it through my credit card (don't know if you are allowed to do that, but hey worth a try).
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I am affected by this topic, too.
I happily delved through your Green Ronin Product offerings and chose products worth 40 $$. I am to pay 81.13 $$ of shipping costs for 40 $$ worth of products?!?! (-> items are still saved in my shopping cart)
I followed discussion in a different thread of these boards (link) and I do understand that implementing new shipping options takes effort, man power (which is needed for many other scores, I am sure!) and of course: time!
But isn't there a way to somehow combine our orders with subscription items? I know that the shippment costs won't be the usual PF shipping costs, but they shouldn't be as high as 81$$, should they?
Thank you very much for your effort to make us happy Paizo customers!
Greetings,
Günther
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Hi Cosmo or Corey,
I've got a question regarding shipping. I've already come up against it yesterday on my orders from the sale, but I want to order more and well... bleh.
I'd like to order the products listed below (they are in my shopping cart):
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #4: A Dreadful Dawn (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Fang & Fury: A Guidebook to Vampires (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $16.95 $2.00
• Freeport: The Freeport Trilogy (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $27.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #1: Mansion of Shadows (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Temple Quarter (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $19.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #5: Temple of the Death Goddess (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $2.95 $2.00
• Thieves' Quarter (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $17.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #2: Beyond the Towers (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Bleeding Edge Adventures #3: Dirge of the Damned (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $11.95 $2.00
• Tales of Freeport (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $18.95 $2.00Now when I had six products I could still have the nice long shipping route for $ 6.86. With the complete listing of ten products I no longer have that option. Shipping and handling would come to $39.85 and for a $ 20.00 order that is just ridiculous.
Could I have those 10 items shipped together in the long route for $ 6.86? And if so, could they be bundled with my two other sale orders:
Order # 836703
• Artifacts of the Ages: Swords and Staves (d20) $2.00
• Artifacts of the Ages: Rings (d20) $2.00
• Advanced Bestiary Hardcover (d20) $5.00
Order # 836695
• Denizens of Freeport (d20) $2.00
• Creatures of Freeport (d20) $2.00
• GameMastery Module W1: Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale (OGL) Print Edition $12.99Both have shipping of $6.86 each.
Anyway, I hope you can help me, or explain to me how shipping options work. Basically I don't mind waiting for the...
I've added:
• Advanced Gamemaster's Guide Hardcover (d20)Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $32.95 $5.00
• Advanced Player's Manual Hardcover (d20)
Green Ronin Publishing 1 @ $34.95 $5.00
to my shopping cart... of course if I can get the shipping costs down.
Director of Sales
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Shipping and handling would come to $39.85 and for a $ 20.00 order that is just ridiculous.
Actually, it isn't.
The shipping and handling fee is based on the weight (and slightly on the size) of an entire order. It is not based on the price of the order.
At about 2lb each, or so, this many hardcover books will be something on the order of a 50lb shipment. Shipping 50 pounds of books overseas is never going to be cheap.
We try to cut shipping costs whenever, wherever, and however possible. Furthermore, we don't turn a profit off of the shipping and handling fee (often, quite the opposite). The shipping and handling fee applied to an order is the cost we pay to ship the order to you.
I understand that this isn't really the answer that you wanted to hear, but this is the cost of shipping a bunch of hardcover books overseas.
Tio, if you would still like me to add the books to an existing order, I will. However, it is more likely to raise those shipping prices than lower this one.
Thanks,
cos
Yeah I get that Cosmo, and it is just one of the burdens we have to bare down under (although the currency conversion rate is awesome at the moment).But I just bought a stack of the Green Ronin stuff on sale as well. And ended up breaking my order into 4 smaller orders as the total shipping charges were less this way.
My question really is what causes the shipping to jump so significantly? Things are going well, shipping is 6 bucks or so (which is phenomenally low I might add, and very much appreciated) then you add one more book, and BANG! its up to 40. I suppose I just wish there was some in between rate, that gradually wound up towards the 40 dollar rate instead of a massive jump. Makes that final book really expensive :)
I had this issue too with the Green Ronin sale. 1 extra item basically doubled the shipping costs from about $38 to $75-$80. I just messed around with the items that I wanted to maximise the number of books I got, while at the same time keeping the shipping costs to the lower shipping amount. That was the best solution I could come up with.
Olaf the Stout
OK, to see if I actually saved any money by shipping in multiple shipments, I chucked all the stuff in my shopping cart, and shipping came to $75.67.
But if I select to not wait to ship it all together (got a couple of back ordered / pre ordered items as well), and get it shipped in a couple of lots, then the shipping comes down to $53.57.
And if I break it up into lots that qualify for the 6 buck shipping option, the total shipping drops again to around 27 bucks or so.
To me it just says that there is somehting wrong with the shipping options. Either with the code (if so, then I realise that Gary has a stack of things on his plate), or with the charges from the post office.
It's just annoying to need to spend so much time to keep the shipping costs down.
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Shipping and handling would come to $39.85 and for a $ 20.00 order that is just ridiculous.Actually, it isn't.
The shipping and handling fee is based on the weight (and slightly on the size) of an entire order. It is not based on the price of the order.
At about 2lb each, or so, this many hardcover books will be something on the order of a 50lb shipment. Shipping 50 pounds of books overseas is never going to be cheap.
We try to cut shipping costs whenever, wherever, and however possible. Furthermore, we don't turn a profit off of the shipping and handling fee (often, quite the opposite). The shipping and handling fee applied to an order is the cost we pay to ship the order to you.
I understand that this isn't really the answer that you wanted to hear, but this is the cost of shipping a bunch of hardcover books overseas.
Tio, if you would still like me to add the books to an existing order, I will. However, it is more likely to raise those shipping prices than lower this one.
Thanks,
cos
My beef really was with the fact that you no longer have the option of the long shipping time once you get above a certain amount of products (based on weight). You simply can't chose anymore. I guess I'll break up the stuff into several shipments and wait for them to arrive that way. At least I'll have the low shipping costs of $ 6.86.
Thanks for the answer though Cosmo. If you can get Gary to look into the code that eliminates the long shipping option that would be great though.
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Order #839633 Today
Tales of Freeport (d20) Pending
Freeport: The Freeport Trilogy (d20) Pending
Bleeding Edge Adventures #1: Mansion of Shadows (d20) Pending
Bleeding Edge Adventures #2: Beyond the Towers (d20) Pending
Bleeding Edge Adventures #3: Dirge of the Damned (d20) Pending
Bleeding Edge Adventures #4: A Dreadful Dawn (d20) Pending
Bleeding Edge Adventures #5: Temple of the Death Goddess (d20) Pending
$20.86
Order #837855 Today
Thieves' Quarter (d20) Pending
Temple Quarter (d20) Pending
Advanced Gamemaster's Guide Hardcover (d20) Pending
$15.86
In the above posts I'm talking about the USPS Package Service, 9 to 36 business days in transit, $ 6.86. Once you go over a weight limit you lose this option. In fact you have no more options to select shipment.
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My beef really was with the fact that you no longer have the option of the long shipping time once you get above a certain amount of products (based on weight). You simply can't chose anymore. I guess I'll break up the stuff into several shipments and wait for them to arrive that way. At least I'll have the low shipping costs of $ 6.86.Thanks for the answer though Cosmo. If you can get Gary to look into the code that eliminates the long shipping option that would be great though.
I'm guessing that this is because of USPS - From USPS.com the "bound print matter" shipping rate has a weight limit of 15 pounds. So you can either break your order into 15 pound blocks, and get multiple packages at this rate, or have to be charged the next rate and media rate requires it to be under a certain size along its biggest side,Gary may have hardcoded the average size of a hardcover/softcover so that it calculated when it was above this limit.
(I'm not sure if the books qualify for the bound print matter rate or not, of if this is the rate you are talking about - just trying to help)
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My beef really was with the fact that you no longer have the option of the long shipping time once you get above a certain amount of products (based on weight). You simply can't chose anymore. I guess I'll break up the stuff into several shipments and wait for them to arrive that way. At least I'll have the low shipping costs of $ 6.86.Thanks for the answer though Cosmo. If you can get Gary to look into the code that eliminates the long shipping option that would be great though.
I'm guessing that this is because of USPS - From USPS.com the "bound print matter" shipping rate has a weight limit of 15 pounds. So you can either break your order into 15 pound blocks, and get multiple packages at this rate, or have to be charged the next rate and media rate requires it to be under a certain size along its biggest side,Gary may have hardcoded the average size of a hardcover/softcover so that it calculated when it was above this limit.
(I'm not sure if the books qualify for the bound print matter rate or not, of if this is the rate you are talking about - just trying to help)
I figure it has to do with the weight of the items and the limits of the 15 pounds that USPS has for that shipping rate. I'd like to see how heavy the items are then that I purchase to make it less a try multiple versions of the same order into smaller orders. So showing the weight of an item would be helpfull in this. Don't know if Gary can show this in the shopping cart.
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Chief Technical Officer
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I'm guessing that this is because of USPS - From USPS.com the "bound print matter" shipping rate has a weight limit of 15 pounds. So you can either break your order into 15 pound blocks, and get multiple packages at this rate, or have to be charged the next rate and media rate requires it to be under a certain size along its biggest side,Gary may have hardcoded the average size of a hardcover/softcover so that it calculated when it was above this limit.
Cpt_kirstov is mostly correct. Except for that last sentence—we have the actual weights and dimensions of most of the products we're shipping (at least, we do once copies arrive in our warehouse—before that, we have estimated weights).
Believe me, Gary has gone to great efforts to save everyone as much as possible on shipping costs. We know how much stuff weighs, and how big it is, and what type of item it is; we've coded all of the relevant postal service rules and options relating to postal classes and weight requirements; we know whether or not we can fit your order into flat-rate boxes and such. When you put stuff in your cart, we make sure we're giving you the best possible options for shipping the contents of that cart.
Basically, the root of the problem for almost everyone here is that they're exceeding the weight limit on Bound Printed Matter, and then the only appropriate method is usually Priority Mail, which is way more expensive. If this happens, pretty much all you can do is bite the bullet or take stuff out until it gets cheap again.
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Chief Technical Officer
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I'd like to see how heavy the items are then that I purchase to make it less a try multiple versions of the same order into smaller orders.
The list of products isn't the complete picture, so it wouldn't help. We also figure out which of our standard boxes your products will fit into, and we include the weight of that box and an estimate of the packaging materials... and if some of your products don't qualify as bound printed matter, we figure out whether that's enough to change the class... plus there are different rules for different shipping services... basically, there are a lot of variables, and there's no reasonable way to give you that information or expect that you'll know what to do with it. Which is why we go to great lengths to do it for you.
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The list of products isn't the complete picture, so it wouldn't help. We also figure out which of our standard boxes your products will fit into, and we include the weight of that box and an estimate of the packaging materials... and if some of your products don't qualify as bound printed matter, we figure out whether that's enough to change the class... plus there are different rules for different shipping services... basically, there are a lot of variables, and there's no reasonable way to give you that information or expect that you'll know what to do with it. Which is why we go to great lengths to do it for you.
Thanks for the response Vic. I guess I'll have to keep my orders a bit smaller so I won't run into this problem again. Damn you Paizo for running a Sale like this... j/k. There are just too many goodies to order.
I did manage to get seven items into one shipment for $6.86, but that is about the max I think. In the end I simply dropped two items from my total shopping list because I didn't want to fork over another shipmment. Perhaps if more is added to the sale I will succumb again or if the Dollar keeps going against the Euro like it is now: EUR 1 = $ 1.48 :-) I say go 1.50!
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I did manage to get seven items into one shipment for $6.86, but that is about the max I think. In the end I simply dropped two items from my total shopping list because I didn't want to fork over another shipmment. Perhaps if more is added to the sale I will succumb again or if the Dollar keeps going against the Euro like it is now: EUR 1 = $ 1.48 :-) I say go 1.50!
You must been more fortunate than me: I never got more than two books into one order without shipping costs hitting the roof. It didn't seem to matter if the books were hard or soft cover.
Unfortunately the shopping cart wasn't able to recalculate shipping costs after items were removed from the cart. So after some unsuccessful attempts of "optimizing" order size I ended up splitting my order into several two item orders.
Greetings,
Günther
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You must been more fortunate than me: I never got more than two books into one order without shipping costs hitting the roof. It didn't seem to matter if the books were hard or soft cover.Unfortunately the shopping cart wasn't able to recalculate shipping costs after items were removed from the cart. So after some unsuccessful attempts of "optimizing" order size I ended up splitting my order into several two item orders.
Greetings,
Günther
The minimum I got into an order was three items. The shipping costs don't actually update while in the cart if you remove items. You'll have to go to the check-out and reselect the cheaper shipping option.
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The minimum I got into an order was three items. The shipping costs don't actually update while in the cart if you remove items. You'll have to go to the check-out and reselect the cheaper shipping option.
Bugger. :( Then I payed at least one shipment too much. ;)
On the other hand I tried to bundle two hardcovers and a softcover first.
Maybe this is a destination country thing (unlikely...) or it does depend on book size...
Anyway I was running out of patience and splitting it into two book bundles still saved me about 40 $$.
Greetings,
Günther
I was about to suggest that the shipping software try to break an order down into multiple packages (For instance, I'd much rather get an order in two boxes two days apart for $12 than together in one big box for $40.) But then I remembered the knapsack problem is NP-complete, and Gary has enough to do.
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Chief Technical Officer
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I was about to suggest that the shipping software try to break an order down into multiple packages (For instance, I'd much rather get an order in two boxes two days apart for $12 than together in one big box for $40.) But then I remembered the knapsack problem is NP-complete, and Gary has enough to do.
Yep—frankly, just figuring out how to fit differently-sized stuff into a single box chosen from a selection of differently-sized boxes is tough enough!