Let me start out by saying this is 100% on me and 0% on Blanchards Auctions.
At Blanchards recent Adirondack auction I looked thru the on line catalog for maybe a fish plaque or a nice creel. Finding none, I bid $90 on the small, worn out table shown below. I figured it would be a nice weekend project and I would it put in my fishing cabin.
Well, my bid won and I paid the bid plus commission. I figured shipping would be about $75 (guessing the wicker table weighed about 10 lbs) and I called last week and gave Blanchards my credit card number to ship.
Well, this afternoon I got an email notice of a pending $460 shipping charge on my credit card. I immediately called and cancelled the shipping and told Blanchards to give it to their employee who had packed it. Geez…
The shipping charges have gotten out of control at some of these auction houses. I have a friend who picks up anything that I buy from Blanchards, so I can't speak to their shipping costs. I don't buy from Morphy's much, but every time I do, I am reminded of how badly overcharged the shipping costs feel. In the last couple months, I checked with two different auction houses regarding shipping costs for large lots of lures and reels (no tackle boxes or rods) that they were offering and which I was very interested in buying. In both cases I was quoted between $300 and $400 to ship lots that I know I could ship for $70 or less (including materials). I ended up not even following the auction, much less bidding. At some point this trend is going to knock bid prices down so far that sellers will have to look elsewhere for liquidation options. I am expecting to pay more than the actual shipping cost, because I get that there is labor and materials involved, plus a little profit, but when an auction house ships me fishing reels in a box marked Kohl's that I know they got for free, and the itemized charge for the box alone is $20, something is wrong. There are some on-line auction houses that still offer reasonable in-house shipping rates, but the numbers seem to be dwindling. More and more auctioneers appear to be outsourcing their shipping operations to local shipping firms, which often seem to charge about 2X to 3X the anticipated cost.
Wanted: Horton, Bristol & Meek reels, reel boxes, and catalogs!!!!
I don't have a horse in the race, as they say, but I took a look at the estimated cost to ship using the two major carriers - USPS and UPS. Looking at the size of the table, and the weight you thought it might be, I found that using any packing for the table would eliminate USPS as an option - the box would be too large. The table was listed as 30.5" by 30.5" by 20.5" , and if any packing was used - I'd say to be safe approximately 5" - that brings two of the dimensions to around 35" - too big for USPS. On to UPS, where using the same dimensions and weight, before insurance, etc., the cost from Potsdam to Wheeling, WV (I selected the first city in WV that came to mind), it was over $400 as you can see below:
I'm betting that FedEx would be the same, if not more, than UPS.
Somebody has to pay for those $150K drivers I guess. The shame of it is that the nice table probably could have been knocked down sufficient to ship for $50 if I am guessing right. Some assembly may have been required. I realize that auction houses don't do that.
It makes you wonder how we are moving so many goods for cheap on Amazon and other merchants. We have received several large packages (including an outdoor table probably made in China) for free shipping. It doesn't seem balanced.
Matt Wickham
Collector of Casting Weights, KY Reels and KY Tackle
But seriously, we've all seen this spike in shipping costs and I think the problem, as mentioned, is the outsourcing of shipping labor to another vendor by the auction house. USPS got difficult with the limits on sizes of boxes, which result in big premiums to ship larger things (unless you go with the flat rate boxes, in some cases).
Average pay for UPS drivers in US Is about $27.00 per hour, FexEx $31.00, so the only way these guys are making $150,000.00 annually is if they are working 80+ hours a week . Someone besides the drivers must be in the haul. Buyers premiums at auction sites are also a little high. If you ask me, they should use a graduated scale, lowering fee % as item prices increase. I just keep paying even if they don't listen to me.
UPS employees covered by the contract will receive a $2.75 hourly raise this year and a $7.50 increase over the next five years. Parcel delivery drivers will earn an average of $170,000 in annual pay and benefits by the end of the deal, up from $145,000, UPS chief executive Carol Tomé told investors earlier this month
Matt Wickham
Collector of Casting Weights, KY Reels and KY Tackle
Holy Cow, so where do we sign up! $170,000.00 ! At 80K a year pay that is 90K a year in benefits. What beyond retirement and insurance could be included . This must be one heck of a benefits package !
...a pending $460 shipping charge on my credit card. I immediately called and cancelled the shipping and told Blanchards to give it to their employee who had packed it.
Doesn't that charge include the packing by that fortunate employee, which for a table like that must include a fair amount of time and even materials, if packing is done adequately?
UPS said the average full-time driver would earn about $170,000 (£135,000) annually, including healthcare and other benefits, by the end of the five-year contract. That is up from about $145,000 now. - BBC.com
Media reports don't always provide complete pictures. Which driver classification do they mean here? Some already average $145K-$172K in salary & benefits.
