[Jasper994]

Originally Posted by davidw89

Fine talk about quality shipping and stuff BUT shouldn't we the consumer have a choice between crap shipping and high end shipping (some people are prepared to take the risk)?

Absolutely not. This would be nothing but a PR nightmare for any company, let alone the additional costs involved. Regardless of any waivers that people will sign to try and save a buck, it will still reflect negatively on the company any time anything goes wrong with the shipment. On top of the negative PR, costs would go through the roof.

Think about how you would react as a customer. You expect the company to choose reliable shipping methods. Even if you did sign a waiver, you'd be calling the company up when your package didn't arrive or arrives damaged. You'd "rip them an new one" in hopes that they'd send out a new product for you. When the person who initially takes the call can't help you (5 minutes), you demand to speak with a manager and argue with him/her about your package (5 minutes of the manager's time and possibly 5 more minutes of the customer service rep's time). So now they've spent 10-15 minutes of labor on the phone with you and have to make a choice:

1) They could send you a new package (cost of the item + cost of repacking the thing + cost of shipping (probably at a higher rate since they'd probably opt to use a better carrier and faster service so they could get you your product and shut you up).

2) They could point to the waiver you signed and apologize profusely with the understanding that you'll probably get on a forum like this and create a lot of negative PR that could cost them MANY much more valuable sales.

Now do you really think it's worth it for a company to offer "crap shipping"? If you still do for some strange reason let's look at the actual dollars and cents of this thing: Consider that most internet retailers make less than the traditional margin (50% sometimes a bit more but we'll go with 50% for arguments sake) on a product. So let's say the item costs them $30. A traditional markup would put the selling price at $60. So let's just say the internet company sells the item for $50. Let's also use a "crappy shipping" price of $6 and assume the seller doesn't mark up shipping prices but that the materials and labor to pack it are embedded in that $6, unrealistic, but hey we'll go with it. If this is the package that gets lost or damaged let's look at what it might cost the company. The phone call alone could eat up the entire $20 margin but let's say it only eats up $2.91 (5 minutes of manager time based on the manager making $25/hour and 10 minutes of the customer service rep's time assuming he/she makes $10/hr). Let's also say that the manager decides to send you a new product but now chooses to ship it properly and quickly. That's $30 for the original item, another $30 for the new item, $2.91 labor, $5 to package it properly, and $30 (or more; most likely much more) for the shipping. So now the item that the company sold for $50 now cost them $97.91. ...and this pails in comparison to the potential revenue lost from choosing option 2 and telling you to stick it.