Thats not a bad price how much do you think the courier charges them ?
Very High Shipping from wholesaler, Solution?
Hi Folks,
I started doing business with Bodek and Alpha and came across there high shipping rates which never go below $15 per shipment.
I am not sure whats wrong with them. I called them, spoke thrice but they said this is the final price.
Is there a solution to this problem or should I try some other wholesaler?
I started doing business with Bodek and Alpha and came across there high shipping rates which never go below $15 per shipment.
I am not sure whats wrong with them. I called them, spoke thrice but they said this is the final price.
Is there a solution to this problem or should I try some other wholesaler?
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
Sometimes you can negotiate shipping. Small orders can be killers when it comes to shipping costs. The amount for free shipping keeps going up. I keep expecting another surcharge because of the rising gas costs. You have to do like everybody else and pass the cost along to your customer. Am I happy about this? NO! I think it is called cost of doing business.
Not sure.Thats not a bad price how much do you think the courier charges them ?
But I've seen them offering less than $10 shipping to other companies
I would happily pass the extra cost on customers but most of my competitors don't do that. They also use Bodek and Alpha but dont pay $15 shipping. They pay less than $10 for most of the shippingSometimes you can negotiate shipping. Small orders can be killers when it comes to shipping costs. The amount for free shipping keeps going up. I keep expecting another surcharge because of the rising gas costs. You have to do like everybody else and pass the cost along to your customer. Am I happy about this? NO! I think it is called cost of doing business.
sanmar and tsc will ship for free over $200
Hi Binki,sanmar and tsc will ship for free over $200
Yeah I know about there Free Shipping but it won't do any good to me as all my orders are 3 or 4 pieces.
Have you tried their quick ship option where you go and pick it up from a fedex location for free? I only use Alpha, etc... when I can't find it at Virginia Ts & TSC. They are really high unless you buy the case and add to it ridiculous shipping and they just aren't in the ballpark. I will add that with Virginia Ts & TSC it looks like they are charging you $25 for shipping until you put pay with credit card. Then it upcharges you per piece but puts the shipping down to regular levels. It removes the COD fee which is either $10 or $15.
Have you tried their quick ship option where you go and pick it up from a fedex location for free? I only use Alpha, etc... when I can't find it at Virginia Ts & TSC. They are really high unless you buy the case and add to it ridiculous shipping and they just aren't in the ballpark. I will add that with Virginia Ts & TSC it looks like they are charging you $25 for shipping until you put pay with credit card. Then it upcharges you per piece but puts the shipping down to regular levels. It removes the COD fee which is either $10 or $15.
Yeah, I use my credit card with Alpha but still the lowest shipping rate I get is $15
I was thinking of trying OneStopInc or ImprintsWholesale. Do you have any idea about there shipping?
Since you are using Virginia T's, what about there shipping price?
Then you need to include the cost in your prices. Sanmar runs about $12 for that few shirts.Hi Binki,
Yeah I know about there Free Shipping but it won't do any good to me as all my orders are 3 or 4 pieces.
Yeah but sometimes Sanmar charges me $3.99 handling fee as well which kills all my profit and other stuff.Then you need to include the cost in your prices. Sanmar runs about $12 for that few shirts.
OK I'll come right out and say it. Are you nuts? You are running a "wholesale" site where you are selling blanks at retail and calling it wholesale, you are drop shipping from broder warehouses and you are complaining that they charge you shipping and a handling charge? I personally think they should shut your account down.
This from your web site source code:
Shop Wholesale Blank Apparel - Blank T-Shirts - Blank Clothing | ApparelnFragrances.com
They are pulling orders of three or four pieces, drop shipping likely to a residential address, they have to eat the credit card fees, they have to generate invoices, they have to add a ship to address to every new customer you come up with, they have to buy packing materials for every order. And you think their shipping is too high? I think they should charge you piece prices, plus a handling charge plus shipping, if they are going to sell to you at all.
I'm relieved to see that the SanMar lines are not popping up on your site! Yeah SanMar! If more of the wholesale houses would stick to a "Trade Only" policy, our decorating industry would be much better off...
If I've ruffled feathers, good.
This from your web site source code:
Shop Wholesale Blank Apparel - Blank T-Shirts - Blank Clothing | ApparelnFragrances.com
They are pulling orders of three or four pieces, drop shipping likely to a residential address, they have to eat the credit card fees, they have to generate invoices, they have to add a ship to address to every new customer you come up with, they have to buy packing materials for every order. And you think their shipping is too high? I think they should charge you piece prices, plus a handling charge plus shipping, if they are going to sell to you at all.
I'm relieved to see that the SanMar lines are not popping up on your site! Yeah SanMar! If more of the wholesale houses would stick to a "Trade Only" policy, our decorating industry would be much better off...
If I've ruffled feathers, good.
Try using their Flex Express service.... you can have it shipped to your local Fed Ex store for $6.99. Also, we have used Virginia T's, according to our records, shipping starts at $6.00 for same state shipping (Florida).Hi Folks,
I started doing business with Bodek and Alpha and came across there high shipping rates which never go below $15 per shipment.
I am not sure whats wrong with them. I called them, spoke thrice but they said this is the final price.
Is there a solution to this problem or should I try some other wholesaler?
Thanks lifestar.Try using their Flex Express service.... you can have it shipped to your local Fed Ex store for $6.99. Also, we have used Virginia T's, according to our records, shipping starts at $6.00 for same state shipping (Florida).
I'll try Flex Service.
Liberty, that's a service Alpha does for their customers. They do charge a piece price and it's not 'wholesale'. Now, I don't use their service but they do offer it. Alpha does charge a lot for their shipping and their piece shirts are much higher than a normal wholesaler. Alpha is only a wholesaler for case prices. Other than that they are low retail. The new flex service works great, but only if they are shipping it to you. Liberty does bring out a valid point though... when using Alpha and considering their price/shipping also consider all the 'perks' they 'give' you in return for that higher price. If you are getting money off your site and using their services then it may be worth it.
Doc, no disrespect but you couldn't be more wrong on this one.
Case price is "supposed" to be when you purchase unbroken cases of a style/size/color
Dozen is "supposed" to be even dozens of a style/size/color
And Piece is "supposed" to be for odd pieces of a style/size/color.
All of that is very clearly stated in their "Wholesale" price sheet, second paragraph of the General Information. All three columns are "Wholesale" prices.
"Retail" should be your landed wholesale cost, which is your per item price plus inbound freight, and then a retail markup added.
And to take it even further, it is supposed to be wholesale to the trade, the decorating trade. In fact, several of the manufacturers such as Nike and a few others, contractually state that the garments cannot be sold blank to the public, AKA End User.
There is another entire distribution channel that exists for the retail world where normal sellers of blanks (like WalMart, Michaels etc.) that are intended to be sold as blanks do their trade, much like the sporting goods lines. They place seasonally booked orders with a limited supply system for mid season add-on orders.
Historically, going back to the late 80's and early 90's there was almost no deviation from the three column pricing. And you had to be tightly approved for an account and this usually meant that your shop got a visit from the local rep to confirm you were indeed a decorator.
Then in the early 90's a few wholesalers started offering "Case" pricing to their larger volume customers. That not only stuck but has been expanded these days to where a lot of very small distributors/decorators get case on everything.
Then along came free shipping a few years back, that was originally a spiff for the true volume buyers that was expanded to almost everyone now that buys $150 to $200 on an order.
Nowadays, all that is left for the volume buyers is a small additional discount, sometimes called "4th column pricing" or in the case of Broder/Alpha it is called "Volume Pricing." We also get samples and marketing funds based on sales etc but that is really nominal.
So forgive me but when I see someone running a website selling undecorated blanks and complaining about a very reasonable shipping/handling charge, it bugs me. In fact, at every meeting with my reps from the wholesalers I make it a point to name names of these types of accounts and I know that if the distribution channel were closed back off from the blanks resellers, all decorators both large and small would benefit immensly.
A number of the wholesalers are actively looking to shut these types of accounts off. And I welcome and applaud their efforts!
(And I'm sorry if I keep referring to Broder but for some time now Broder, Alpha and NES have been one in the same)
Case price is "supposed" to be when you purchase unbroken cases of a style/size/color
Dozen is "supposed" to be even dozens of a style/size/color
And Piece is "supposed" to be for odd pieces of a style/size/color.
All of that is very clearly stated in their "Wholesale" price sheet, second paragraph of the General Information. All three columns are "Wholesale" prices.
"Retail" should be your landed wholesale cost, which is your per item price plus inbound freight, and then a retail markup added.
And to take it even further, it is supposed to be wholesale to the trade, the decorating trade. In fact, several of the manufacturers such as Nike and a few others, contractually state that the garments cannot be sold blank to the public, AKA End User.
There is another entire distribution channel that exists for the retail world where normal sellers of blanks (like WalMart, Michaels etc.) that are intended to be sold as blanks do their trade, much like the sporting goods lines. They place seasonally booked orders with a limited supply system for mid season add-on orders.
Historically, going back to the late 80's and early 90's there was almost no deviation from the three column pricing. And you had to be tightly approved for an account and this usually meant that your shop got a visit from the local rep to confirm you were indeed a decorator.
Then in the early 90's a few wholesalers started offering "Case" pricing to their larger volume customers. That not only stuck but has been expanded these days to where a lot of very small distributors/decorators get case on everything.
Then along came free shipping a few years back, that was originally a spiff for the true volume buyers that was expanded to almost everyone now that buys $150 to $200 on an order.
Nowadays, all that is left for the volume buyers is a small additional discount, sometimes called "4th column pricing" or in the case of Broder/Alpha it is called "Volume Pricing." We also get samples and marketing funds based on sales etc but that is really nominal.
So forgive me but when I see someone running a website selling undecorated blanks and complaining about a very reasonable shipping/handling charge, it bugs me. In fact, at every meeting with my reps from the wholesalers I make it a point to name names of these types of accounts and I know that if the distribution channel were closed back off from the blanks resellers, all decorators both large and small would benefit immensly.
A number of the wholesalers are actively looking to shut these types of accounts off. And I welcome and applaud their efforts!
(And I'm sorry if I keep referring to Broder but for some time now Broder, Alpha and NES have been one in the same)
Liberty, that's a service Alpha does for their customers. They do charge a piece price and it's not 'wholesale'. Now, I don't use their service but they do offer it. Alpha does charge a lot for their shipping and their piece shirts are much higher than a normal wholesaler. Alpha is only a wholesaler for case prices. Other than that they are low retail. The new flex service works great, but only if they are shipping it to you. Liberty does bring out a valid point though... when using Alpha and considering their price/shipping also consider all the 'perks' they 'give' you in return for that higher price. If you are getting money off your site and using their services then it may be worth it.
Is this only a price of a piece or a full box ? if its the price of the full box then not more as your saying.
Flex service sounds great but it would cost me the difference to go pick it up. I have no Fedex stores anywhere near me. One is 40 mi and the other one is 50 mi. With gas being right at 4 a gallon in my area, it is more economical for me to have them delivered to me.
No offense taken, but we're never going back to the 80's. Sorry but the game is wide open now and it's Alpha's, Jiffyshirts, etc... that have made it wide open. Not to mention ebay or any other site. All your name taking and vendor complaining won't change it one bit. The whole world is competitive at everything now, it's just the way it is.
Oh no, not the 80's... ;-) White tees were $2.25 in unbroken cases and all but the basics had to be purchsed to scale, so if you ordered a dozen you got 2S, 4M, 4L and 2XL. Talk about a nightmare! At the end of the year we had hundreds of smalls laying around. Nope, don;t want the 80's back.
And yes, I agree it will be nearly impossible to put the Genie back in the bottle at this point.
But don't think a few complaints won't change things, The majors are shutting down accounts all the time for just this reason.
And I guess there's aways the "if you can't beat em, join em" approach... ;-)
Good, thought provoking conversation, thanks!
And yes, I agree it will be nearly impossible to put the Genie back in the bottle at this point.
But don't think a few complaints won't change things, The majors are shutting down accounts all the time for just this reason.
And I guess there's aways the "if you can't beat em, join em" approach... ;-)
Good, thought provoking conversation, thanks!
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