Thread: Poor Pen making Aussies

Originally Posted by Dorno

Well I suppose I am going to have to think that I am the only who feels this way or am i the only one prepared to speak up. A few of you have me wrong because I am not complaining about the speed in which the delivery gets to you but I am just saying that it seems unfair that you have to spen $200 Austrailian to get the free postage but the US get away with spending $80. I cannot understand how you think it could be cheaper to send to the US than around OZ thats what I was trying to say. I know some disagree and you are all entitled to have a say.With regards to you Peter (Pen pal) I am not looking for a pot of gold at any rainbow jut a fair go for EVERYONE and also I I send something to somebody they always know the price up from and it is the same scale for all.

Cheers Ian

I do understand what you are getting at, and it does seem unfair at the difference in spending between countries, but I think all Timberbits is trying to do is get some of the market share from the larger US retailers.

It would be nice to see some kind of parity in the order costs.

As a very irregular purchaser I still stand by my previous post.

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

Yeah I agree with the feelings of th OP but reality is reality. If you can send cheaper overseas than across Australia your service will likely replicate that costing


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

There is no way you can send goods O/S cheaper than locally, trust me we know.

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

There is no way you can send goods O/S cheaper than locally, trust me we know.

Thanks Jim.

Now that really does open up the why question then. Why of the OP that is. Why do we pay more for the service in the mentioned shop in Australia.


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

There is no way you can send goods O/S cheaper than locally, trust me we know.

1st. Before I get accused of being a liar, you can get cheaper shipping options to Overseas destinations especially the US and UK than within Australia. It is more expensive for me to ship a parcel from my local post office to my house, than it is to ship the same parcel to anywhere in the US or UK. Anyone who has the slightest knowledge of how to run a good business would be able to do the same - half empty planes are flying back to the US and UK everyday. It looks like there are forum members who also can run a good well lubricated businesses that can find the good deals and others that can't can't be bothered to find a better deal / too lazy to find a better deal or just don't know where to look.

2nd. There is no such thing as FREE postage. Anyone know of a Post office or courier company that sells FREE postage, let me know and I will definitely give them a call to see how I can get it. FREE postage is paid for by you as a customer. The threshold at which I can offer FREE postage will depend on 2 things, what margins I make with the products that I sell and what price I have to pay for postage.

Postage is so much more expensive within Australia than sending the same parcel to London, UK or Little Rock, USA - so the threshold is much lower.

3rd. Level of service is not the same to the overseas countries. Orders within Australia are received within a day if not two. Orders overseas can take up to 20 working days because it is sent via registered airmail. Trust me overnight shipping to overseas is very very expensive. TNT is an option, but again that is only for shipments over $200.

At Timberbits, our beliefs (my beliefs) is to offer the lowest prices and the best customer service. Not only are we competitively priced, but I think we are one of the few companies that offer FREE shipping.

If anyone who reads that post and works for a courier company or Australia Post that can do me a better deal with shipping - give me a call. More than happy to get cheaper shipping so I can lower my threshold down from $200.

David

David

I have heard your postage/courier service is pretty outstanding as far as efficiency is concerned. Might have to put you to the test. Need some pepper mills


Dave the turning cowboy

turning wood into art

Even if you don't get to the $200 threshold to get the free shipping, the normal postage costs are no more, if not less than others for the same weight, and the parcel is delivered right to my door in less than 48 hours. Some companies think about it longer than that before even send. No complaints here!!

Originally Posted by Jim Carroll

There is no way you can send goods O/S cheaper than locally, trust me we know.

well that was my whole way of thinking in the first place Jim. what I was getting at in a way was that I could not imagine getting a 2.5kg order delivered to the USA cheaper than it would be to get it delivered here to newcastle also I was not complaining about the service or the cost of the postage I just thought it was unfair that we had to spend the amount we do and as people always do they turn in into something else.

Cheers Ian

until very recently we offered $10 fixed cost postage (under 3kg) to all NSW , ALL orders Australia wide over $100 and under 3kg were also FREE
Those over 3kg and over $100 had the first 3kg removed and freight was calculated at the new weight

Sure we didn't advertise it , and Whilst we are no way near as efficient at TB. And we believe we are priced competitively.. it did exist!! - unfortunately with the increase in postage costs we have had to re- jigged our pricing ( as we still don't charge to send DG)

Volume is the key, the Australian market is small and USA large.
A business needs to make a choice as too the value of each market and then the value of that choice, less profit and more sales is better than large profit and few sales
but no sales=no profit so what can the market sustain .. ? - it's a purely numbers game

Well I used to order small from timberbits so now I look at how I'm going and think about future stock on hand etc and might only do 2 orders a year over the $200.
then if something comes up and need a small order I'll bring it up at our wood club with members and get to the $200 mark that way
that works for me and I think it's a win all around

Not a bad idea Chuck I would do a similar thing but now I fid myself looking at others just on principle and their are some great places to buy stuff when you look around.

Cheers Ian

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POST EDITED BY U-BEAUT
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Dorno

I edited your post above to settle down your ongoing harassment of Timberbits.

If you have a problem with Timberbits or anyone else take it up with them in person. Don't come on here with your harassment of another business. Especially when it appears to be a personal vendetta aimed at trying to get members and others to take their business away from one of the better business operators. Who is actually putting a bit of refreshing competition into an otherwise rigid market.

Neil

Even though I have not ordered lately from anyone, I have in the past ordered from quite a number of our Australian Suppliers, usually, I do try to have a quick telephone chat with each one, and in each case have come up with positives for each of them; for me, it is usually a matter of service and what I actually need at the time; sometimes one supplier has things that the other has not etc.; Often, price does not drive me, I also consider the support of our Aussie suppliers, and the quality. For me, QUALITY, is a driving factor; I would prefer to pay $10 for a Sierra if I knew the plating was actually much better! However, I find that consumers are always chasing "cheaper", it is that mentality, that has provided cheap kits that are indeed cheap! So, it is refreshing when I get quality and service, coupled with straight forward honesty. As far as Timberbits is concerned, always been a pleasure to deal with.(along with Carrolls, Gary Pye). Amos

Originally Posted by Dorno

I am not looking for a pot of gold at any rainbow jut a fair go for EVERYONE

Is Timberbits included in "EVERYONE"? I was told once that a good deal is only good if it's good for both parties. If David says it cost less to ship to the US, and that's why there is a difference, doesn't that make good business sense? There seem to be some comments that sound like they don't believe him. What possible reason would he have for the difference in shipping other than exactly what he said?

I think everyone would agree that he has a good business model. I can't believe that he discounts the shipping to the US because he just wants more market share. The reason I say this is because once he has the market, then he's have to raise the shipping prices. What do you think would happen to his market share then? I believe he's doing what any good business does. He charges a fair price, and backs it up with great service.

I probably buy 1/2 of my pen kits from Timberbits. And yes, I usually make sure that my order is over $80 for the free shipping. But even if I had to pay shipping, I'd still buy from them because of the service & pricing on their products. I guess I'm saying it's a good deal for me, and Timberbits.

To me the solution to this needless argument is simple. There is Timberbits, Pop's Shed, 043 Turning, Perfect Pens and Pencils, GPW, Carrolls and a number of other suppliers for pen kits in Australia and a number overseas including China and the USA.

Every business owner has the right to charge what they like for their products. If they are too expensive then people obviously won't buy from them and ultimately they will suffer financially or go out of business.

Shop around, get the best price and then buy from that business. Stop worrying about whether a business is trying to extend its selling into other countries and is either offering cheaper postage to do so or it is simply cheaper to post the products overseas. It really is irrelevant to anyone other than the business operator who wants to sell to penturners.

I got a contract yesterday to make pens in a very short time for an upcoming conference. I used Timberbits because I knew the order would arrive the next day. I could probably have purchased the kits from China at a cheaper price but I would be waiting a fortnight for the kits to arrive and then I would be paying a premium in postage. Ultimately, it would have cost me more and I would have lost the contract. Also I wouldn't have got the blanks and accessories I needed.

I placed my order yesterday morning with Timberbits and by 3pm today I had the blanks cut, drilled and the tubes glued in. The postage was free because of the amount of product I had to purchase. I could not complain about that service.

Personally, I don't give a bugger who people buy from as each of the businesses supply different products and have specials - so shop around. I don't shop from loyalty; I shop for bargains, unique pen kits and reliability of supply; the same as I do with Costco, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi.

Time for everyone to visit a barber and get rid of the bad blood that has built up over the years as these arguments do more to damage the Forum than promote it.