Ridiculous shipping charge and the need for better communication

[Rarok Dreadwind]

Okay. I don't usually vent in public like this, but the series of issues that's been happening recently REALLY get on my nerves. First, there's the Paizo Connect issue with Demiplane, almost 6 months in after the new store opens.

Now, I was just served a bill with close to $100 for shipping a book for my subscription. I'm not sure what Paizo was doing, but I've heard nothing about this jump of over 500% in shipping price (it was less than $20 last time). I can understand paying more due to the "situations", but this jump is just ridiculous. It's even more than the cost of the book itself.

Really. Paizo. You are making this 20-year supporter rethinking about continue to support you.

[0xTJ]

Rarok Dreadwind wrote:

Okay. I don't usually vent in public like this, but the series of issues that's been happening recently REALLY get on my nerves. First, there's the Paizo Connect issue with Demiplane, almost 6 months in after the new store opens.

Now, I was just served a bill with close to $100 for shipping a book for my subscription. I'm not sure what Paizo was doing, but I've heard nothing about this jump of over 500% in shipping price (it was less than $20 last time). I can understand paying more due to the "situations", but this jump is just ridiculous. It's even more than the cost of the book itself.

Really. Paizo. You are making this 20-year supporter rethinking about continue to support you.

Not sure where you're located, but I had raised the issue with removing DHL (at least to Canada), and got no answer from Paizo people: DHL Removed as Shipping Option to Canada?.

I could at least *understand* having removed the un-tracked international shipping. But removing the only remotely affordable shipping option makes buying directly unsustainable. (Even before recent events, USPS and UPS were already expensive options.)

Yesterday, I skipped the two map subscriptions (and will likely cancel them), after seeing that the shipping would come out to about 40 USD, the same as the price of the items (and that's not just because it's a *relatively* low-value order; shipping keeps scaling up with items quite quickly). And I'm not even facing the 5x you describe!

I had previously been on the edge about sticking with subscriptions, since the price was similar between that and waiting for a games store here to get it and buying the PDF separately, and the early access was nice. But the new prices are probably going to be too much. Plus I could then save money by only buying PDFs on books I particularly want as PDFs.

[BobROE]

Yeah, it's pretty insane that the shipping price isn't included in the pre-shipping confirmation e-mails, since there's no way for anyone to know that this sort of change is happening.

I too am reconsidering my continued support.

[Maya Coleman]

Thank you all for expressing your concerns here. I'm passing it on to the team for review! Keep in mind also shipping prices are pretty rough right now. We're doing our best to figure out the best options, but it's an ongoing process. Thank you all for your support, though, and I will be passing this on!

[magnuskn]

Maya, I got an e-mail saying "[Action Required] Update information to place your order" in its header, stating that there was an unspecified problem with my suscription order and I should update my payment details. The credit card I use is however still valid and useable, although I've updated it now (apparently now you need to leave your telephone number as well). I've already contacted customer service, but of course they are probably swamped at this moment and will take some time to get back to me.

Could you check if there is a more general problem with suscriptions this month, as there was some months back? Otherwise it's probably a thing I need to solve between CS and me to get this months suscription for me back on track.

[BobROE]

Maya Coleman wrote:

Thank you all for expressing your concerns here. I'm passing it on to the team for review! Keep in mind also shipping prices are pretty rough right now. We're doing our best to figure out the best options, but it's an ongoing process. Thank you all for your support, though, and I will be passing this on!

This suggests that Paizo doesn't know that the shipping company being used is going to change before the order is created, which doesn't seem possible. All people are asking for is a heads up that this is going to happen so we can consider our orders, as subscribers don't know the shipping cost until it's already shipped, and we've paid for it.

[magnuskn]

BobROE wrote:

Maya Coleman wrote:

Thank you all for expressing your concerns here. I'm passing it on to the team for review! Keep in mind also shipping prices are pretty rough right now. We're doing our best to figure out the best options, but it's an ongoing process. Thank you all for your support, though, and I will be passing this on!

This suggests that Paizo doesn't know that the shipping company being used is going to change before the order is created, which doesn't seem possible. All people are asking for is a heads up that this is going to happen so we can consider our orders, as subscribers don't know the shipping cost until it's already shipped, and we've paid for it.

Yeah, that is a strange change as well. It'd be really appreciated if we could see our shipping costs before the shipment goes out, the same as we could before the store change.

[Maya Coleman]

magnuskn wrote:

Maya, I got an e-mail saying "[Action Required] Update information to place your order" in its header, stating that there was an unspecified problem with my suscription order and I should update my payment details. The credit card I use is however still valid and useable, although I've updated it now (apparently now you need to leave your telephone number as well). I've already contacted customer service, but of course they are probably swamped at this moment and will take some time to get back to me.

Could you check if there is a more general problem with suscriptions this month, as there was some months back? Otherwise it's probably a thing I need to solve between CS and me to get this months suscription for me back on track.

I haven't heard of a general issue about this, no! I do hope CS can get back to you ASAP about it, and thank you for going through the proper channels!

[0xTJ]

I can somewhat understand not having a final shipping price in the reminder email, if there's a chance that they could change from the reminder to the actual order creation. (Though an estimate/warning would be important when you have such large increases from one month to the next.)

But the changes in shipping options were absolutely in place ahead of time, just not stated anywhere. You had to happen to manually go check out with an order to notice that the options are different. If all the same options were present but had increased prices, then there'd at least be some transparency and you could say "Okay, DHL doesn't make sense anymore, since it went from being the cheapest to being expensive".

EDIT: Oh, it seems that from when I last checked (within the last few days) to now, DHL Express Worldwide has been added back as an option, at least where I am.

[Maya Coleman]

BobROE wrote:

This suggests that Paizo doesn't know that the shipping company being used is going to change before the order is created, which doesn't seem possible. All people are asking for is a heads up that this is going to happen so we can consider our orders, as subscribers don't know the shipping cost until it's already shipped, and we've paid for it.

Oh no, that's not what I meant to indicate! I meant that it's a process that we're constantly looking into and researching to see if better options come up, because if they do, we'll look into making changes that are better for our customer base.

Shipping costs change ALL the time, and we know that shipping internationally is very expensive. For this reason, we are diligent in researching the best options for any given section of time through out the year. That's all I was trying to say!

Seeing the costs before they go out though, that is feedback I've passed onto the team for review!

[Maya Coleman]

Hey everybody! An update!

We identified an issue with a handful of sub orders automatically using a high-cost ship method. We are fixing them all now to be the most affordable option and will be issuing refunds to affected customers automatically. The team will also be emailing affected customers. Thank you all for letting us know about this so we could get it sorted out so quickly!

[BobROE]

0xTJ wrote:

EDIT: Oh, it seems that from when I last checked (within the last few days) to now, DHL Express Worldwide has been added back as an option, at least where I am.

So the cheaper option wasn't available when they generated the subscriptions but is now back as an option, that's not sketchy at all...

[BobROE]

Trying to order the book directly, not only is the DHL option back, there are a range of other cheaper options than the $98.49 that I was charged for my subscription order, so why was that option chosen, cause it's clearly not the cheapest option.

This sure seems like something went wrong in the ordering system.

If I contact CS would they be able to change it?

[0xTJ]

BobROE wrote:

0xTJ wrote:

EDIT: Oh, it seems that from when I last checked (within the last few days) to now, DHL Express Worldwide has been added back as an option, at least where I am.

So the cheaper option wasn't available when they generated the subscriptions but is now back as an option, that's not sketchy at all...

From what Maya added above, it seems like some subscription orders incorrectly used a more expensive shipping method. You may have missed their post, since you had posted right about the same time they did, but:

Maya Coleman wrote:

We identified an issue with a handful of sub orders automatically using a high-cost ship method. We are fixing them all now to be the most affordable option and will be issuing refunds to affected customers automatically. The team will also be emailing affected customers.

My issue was specifically regarding the fact that DHL Express Worldwide was completely gone for some period of time (at least about a week). The last time I can be sure to have checked which shipping options were available (to my location) was the morning of this past Friday (at least based off the cadence of the 10% discount nudge emails that I got each time I checked).

Being on the outside, I don't know whether the lack of DHL and the system choosing the wrong shipping method were related. I didn't have a chance of getting hit with the extra-high shipping fees because I had already skipped my subscriptions this month after noticing that DHL was gone.

Unless it became a pattern (which seems extraordinarily unlikely), I wouldn't attribute this to malice, just some system issue. But I do hope that any future significant changes to shipping costs will be announced over email ahead of time!

[Antony Walls]

And to add to this I am also being charged 'tax'. This is not shown on the emails, only when viewing the order online, which I have not been in the habit of doing. This is very much a stealth tax. The UK has no tax on books and you are shipping to me in the UK. I have not had any tax on books from you for the past 20 years, but I have for the last 6 months or so. What is this unnamed tax, what percentage is it, and who is getting it? It certainly is not UK vat.

[Antony Walls]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/zero-rating-books-and-printed-matter-for-vat-no tice-70110

UK rules for zero vat of books

[Maya Coleman]

Antony Walls wrote:

And to add to this I am also being charged 'tax'. This is not shown on the emails, only when viewing the order online, which I have not been in the habit of doing. This is very much a stealth tax. The UK has no tax on books and you are shipping to me in the UK. I have not had any tax on books from you for the past 20 years, but I have for the last 6 months or so. What is this unnamed tax, what percentage is it, and who is getting it? It certainly is not UK vat.

Hey Antony!

I'm not sure which tax you're referring to, and since I can't share personal order info or screenshots on the forums, definitely reach out to Customer Service at [e-mail] to ask this!

[Maya Coleman]

BobROE wrote:

Trying to order the book directly, not only is the DHL option back, there are a range of other cheaper options than the $98.49 that I was charged for my subscription order, so why was that option chosen, cause it's clearly not the cheapest option.

This sure seems like something went wrong in the ordering system.

If I contact CS would they be able to change it?

Hey BobROE! Yes, as I posted earlier, there was a systematic issue with this that we've since resolved, and we're issuing our refunds as well! This thread was actually integral in locating that issue, so thank you everyone for posting your experiences here! When I brought it to the sales team and they looked into it, they found the problem!

[magnuskn]

Maya Coleman wrote:

magnuskn wrote:

Maya, I got an e-mail saying "[Action Required] Update information to place your order" in its header, stating that there was an unspecified problem with my suscription order and I should update my payment details. The credit card I use is however still valid and useable, although I've updated it now (apparently now you need to leave your telephone number as well). I've already contacted customer service, but of course they are probably swamped at this moment and will take some time to get back to me.

Could you check if there is a more general problem with suscriptions this month, as there was some months back? Otherwise it's probably a thing I need to solve between CS and me to get this months suscription for me back on track.

I haven't heard of a general issue about this, no! I do hope CS can get back to you ASAP about it, and thank you for going through the proper channels!

Thanks, Maya! We'll see how long until they can respond.

[Calcryx666]

Forgive my ignorance, but where can I check the shipping methods available and the option selected on the new store?

[0xTJ]

Calcryx666 wrote:

Forgive my ignorance, but where can I check the shipping methods available and the option selected on the new store?

For the available methods, you can create a cart and go to the checkout page. If your cart contents roughly matches the subscription items, the shipping prices should be roughly in line with the actual subscription shipping.

For the method chosen for subscriptions, I believe that it should always be the cheapest of the ones available (when things are working correctly). I don't think that the shipping method shows up on the order page until the items are actually shipped. However, if you click the "Print Invoice" button, it'll generate an invoice showing the actual shipping method used, even before fulfillment.

As an extra bug to pass along to the Paizo team, it seems that shipping methods showing up for past order aren't correct. Mine show Australia Post, even though it's correctly showing as DHL Express Worldwide for the tracking link (and it's going to Canada, not Australia):

Quote:

Date Shipped:

Mar 17th 2026

Shipping Method:
Australia Post

Tracking Link:
<shipping number removed> — DHL Express® (Express Worldwide)

Is Australia Post maybe the first shipping method alphabetically in some list?

[Calcryx666]

Cheers for that 0xTJ, just checking to make sure my subs were using the cheapest available, and luckily are, big relief there!

[BobROE]

Maya Coleman wrote:

Hey everybody! An update!

We identified an issue with a handful of sub orders automatically using a high-cost ship method. We are fixing them all now to be the most affordable option and will be issuing refunds to affected customers automatically. The team will also be emailing affected customers. Thank you all for letting us know about this so we could get it sorted out so quickly!

When should we expect an e-mail if we were affected?

[Maya Coleman]

BobROE wrote:

When should we expect an e-mail if we were affected?

As soon as they're able! They just discovered it yesterday, and they've still got a lot going on, so hopefully soon! As of now it's been less than a day since they've known about the problem, but they are absolutely working on this!

[Falkus]

Came here to look into the subject, glad to see it's being handled.

[Cyria]

Maya Coleman wrote:

Antony Walls wrote:

And to add to this I am also being charged 'tax'. This is not shown on the emails, only when viewing the order online, which I have not been in the habit of doing. This is very much a stealth tax. The UK has no tax on books and you are shipping to me in the UK. I have not had any tax on books from you for the past 20 years, but I have for the last 6 months or so. What is this unnamed tax, what percentage is it, and who is getting it? It certainly is not UK vat.

Hey Antony!

I'm not sure which tax you're referring to, and since I can't share personal order info or screenshots on the forums, definitely reach out to Customer Service at [e-mail] to ask this!

I have a tax-problem too, starting with the second shipment (to germany) from the new shop.

DHL Express worldwide charges the tax I have already paid to paizo again and slaps an whopping 18 Euros handling fee an top.
I have contacted customer-service each month since then, but an solution as to why this is happeing is not found

[magnuskn]

Cyria wrote:

Maya Coleman wrote:

Antony Walls wrote:

And to add to this I am also being charged 'tax'. This is not shown on the emails, only when viewing the order online, which I have not been in the habit of doing. This is very much a stealth tax. The UK has no tax on books and you are shipping to me in the UK. I have not had any tax on books from you for the past 20 years, but I have for the last 6 months or so. What is this unnamed tax, what percentage is it, and who is getting it? It certainly is not UK vat.

Hey Antony!

I'm not sure which tax you're referring to, and since I can't share personal order info or screenshots on the forums, definitely reach out to Customer Service at [e-mail] to ask this!

I have a tax-problem too, starting with the second shipment (to germany) from the new shop.

DHL Express worldwide charges the tax I have already paid to paizo again and slaps an whopping 18 Euros handling fee an top.
I have contacted customer-service each month since then, but an solution as to why this is happeing is not found

Oh, same here! Although last month it wasn't there for the first time, after the three shipments before had the extra charge from DHL Express. I hope this can be solved permanently, because it's quite annoying to be charged another 20 - 30 Euros per shipment.

I do remember that the last shipment had for the first time the order information document included in the package (which lists the total costs, including paid sales tax), maybe that was what made DHL Express not charge extra?

[Kopfgesicht]

magnuskn wrote:

Cyria wrote:

Maya Coleman wrote:

Antony Walls wrote:

And to add to this I am also being charged 'tax'. This is not shown on the emails, only when viewing the order online, which I have not been in the habit of doing. This is very much a stealth tax. The UK has no tax on books and you are shipping to me in the UK. I have not had any tax on books from you for the past 20 years, but I have for the last 6 months or so. What is this unnamed tax, what percentage is it, and who is getting it? It certainly is not UK vat.

Hey Antony!

I'm not sure which tax you're referring to, and since I can't share personal order info or screenshots on the forums, definitely reach out to Customer Service at [e-mail] to ask this!

I have a tax-problem too, starting with the second shipment (to germany) from the new shop.

DHL Express worldwide charges the tax I have already paid to paizo again and slaps an whopping 18 Euros handling fee an top.
I have contacted customer-service each month since then, but an solution as to why this is happeing is not found

Oh, same here! Although last month it wasn't there for the first time, after the three shipments before had the extra charge from DHL Express. I hope this can be solved permanently, because it's quite annoying to be charged another 20 - 30 Euros per shipment.

I do remember that the last shipment had for the first time the order information document included in the package (which lists the total costs, including paid sales tax), maybe that was what made DHL Express not charge extra?

The double charge of tax from paizo and dhl express is a known problem of the new store. Last month I was only charged once from paizo(for the first time), maybe that is solved now.

The other 18Euros is a fee from DHL Express. They pay the tax in advance to the customs for you and terefore they take a fee of 15Euro plus 19% Vat for the first 5 items, after that each item costs another 5Euro net. In June there will be a flat tariff fee for each item of 3 Euro on top. This is done by EU law to stop the cheap China imports from Ali express and others.

Before DHl Express my parcel was handled by DHL (without express) and their fee was 7.5 Euro without tax. So the fee of DHL Express is higher (twice as much), but the delivery is very fast. I get most of the parcels in the same week on Friday or even Thursday when it was shipped on Monday. (I live in Germany).

So I think paizo can't do anything about the 18Euro, is a fee from dhl express.

[Maya Coleman]

Falkus wrote:

Came here to look into the subject, glad to see it's being handled.

Yup, we're working on it! We don't want to give our community stress or charge you for anything unnecessary, so we're doing the best we can.