Biggest rip off - official

[PhilipH]

I can now report having identified the biggest rip off ever and it's not a swindlery.

I needed some 2 amp blade type fuses but couldn't find any in NI, so ordered a packet of 10 on-line at
http://www.autoelectrics.smak.co.uk
The price was £1.25 plus £6 for delivery. Oh well I thought, if they are using a courier/delivery company then whatever, but they arrived through the post and the cost was 32p plus the jiffy bag.

Interestingly there are no phone numbers available for Smak - even when checking out business listings. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[savageseadog]

It would have been an even bigger rip off if they hadn't arrived at all. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Danny Jo]

OK, so how would you feel if they said "Sorry, we don't get off our ***es for less than £10?" (Which is a perfectly reasonable line for an organisation that exists in order to make a living for the people running it.)

Put it another way:

10 fuses - £1.25

Jiffy bag - £0.40

Stamp - £0.35

Labour (finding fuses, putting them in Jiffy bag, printing address label, applying stamp, putting in postbag, etc.) - £1.25

Overheads (bank charges for loan to maintain stock, rental on premises, heat, light, telephone, complying with H&S legislation, PAYE, etc.) - £3.00

A snip!

Edit - the fallacy in this, of course, is that the overheads should be included in the cost of the item, but I guess the basic idea stands.

 

[RivalRedwing]

The one that hacks me off is when the wrong item is supplied by mail order, the sender is 100% at fault and they refuse to pay the return postage - Mailspud is an outfit that did that to me recently despite a nice letter from me requesting a reasonable refund of postage - they'll see no more business from me.

 

[CLP]

An even bigger ripoff is when you send your not very old furling genoa and mainsail by BUSINESS POST to the sailmaker for an annual check and BUSINESS POST loose the lot and then have the audacity to deny any responsibilty whatsover. That happened to me and I never got a bean from the lousy lot at BUSINESS POST.. Be warned

 

[Sixpence]

Not a great lover of Business Post I take it ?

Seriously though , try buying goods from China where they charge extremely exhorbitant postage , then the goods go wrong and you have to pay postage back , they then admit that after inspection the goods were faulty , but you will have to pay the postage again , at the same exhorbitant figure , but you need it so you pay , then it goes wrong again . Buying British starts to make sense then

 

[Steve Clayton]

Next time you want some small items like fuses PM me - I'll source and post at no charge and when we meet up some time you can buy me a beer.

(This is a one-off offer to Phillip and not an opportunity for all and sundry to use me as a free source and postal service)

 

[LadyInBed]

Damn! I need some coloured sand, low temperature cement and some triangular bricks, I am having the devil of a job getting them here in Greenland /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[PhilipH]

Thanks Steve - you are a gentleman.

I wouldn't have minded if they had said there was minimum charge but when it was presented as a delivery charge but then sent through the post it seems like sharp practice.

 

[SolentWight]

If you think that's the biggest rip-off ever, I can only assume you've never used a Wightlink ferry! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[PhilipH]

True - never have.

 

[bilbobaggins]

Peeps might care to download a copy of the Distance Selling Regulations and Guidance to Traders from Here


/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[photodog]

Sorry, missing out on how this is a rip off....

You got a pack of fuses posted to you for £7.25

You didnt have to spend an hour down the shops (My hourly rate is £100) you didnt spend any petrol, (figure a average cost of £0.40 per mile for the car) No parking, (Figure £1.20 for a hour in Nottm).

You didnt even have to move from your chair!

The charges were very clearly stated, £6.00. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. You got the fuses? Wots the fuss?

I think that its perfectly reasonable for a business to make a profit, and I dont think that this is unreasonable.

These guys seem to me to be pretty honest, hey the fuses only cost £1.25, but we charge £6 for delivery! If you want to go into town and get them at Bandq or halfords, feel free! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Last time I was in the motor factors I bought 3 packs of ten blade fuses out of the bargain bin for

£1.00 a pack

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[GMac]

Yeap, I'm also struggling to find any rip off here. All sounds fair and reasonable to me.

You 'needed' them, none in NI, ferry ride 20 each way plus the time and mucking around.

Actually they sound bloody cheap /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ThereAndBack]

I can't agree with many of the posters here. This IS a rip-off. To charge £6.00 p&p and make £5+ profit is not right.

The 'business costs' argument about overheads doesn't hold water - these costs would be much the same if you collected the goods.

10 fuses at £1.25 still makes a several hundred percent mark-up.

As for the argument about 'hourly rates of £100 per hour': I wonder if the poster would pay £15 for a cup of tea and still thank it fair. Or £10,000 for a new sail.

Yes, it is a rip-off and all credit to you for bringing it to other people's attention.

Alan

 

[dickh]

Yes the P&P was expensive but you knew about it and should have done more research. For instance I've just looked on eBay - you can get 50 fuses, your choice of sizes for £4 including P&P.

 

[tangofour]

Caveat emptor.

Your research was a bit slim! Ebay has much better bargains!

 

[Richard10002]

I think Orange Broadband was a bigger rip off at £17.99 per month for mostly Sweet FA.

and dont get me started on banks......

 

[kevinmorgan]

Having read this forum thread with great interest and also being involved in the development of the smak website for auto electrical components,which I hasten to add is still in the early development stage a little explaining may help.
http://www.autoelectrics.smak.co.uk sells a wide range of high quality autoelectrical products online.
The products are supplied DIRECTLY from the manufacturer/distributors warehouse. The supplier also distributes goods in bulk to leading chains of motor factors. Some of the goods supplied are identical to those in top name branded packaging.
With this in mind it costs almost the same in labour to pick and process a large order as a small order.

There is a £6 delivery charge on orders up to the value of £50 however small.
Orders over £50 nett in value are delivered to UK addresses free of charge.

I have already queried the below £50 order delivery charge one of the directors of the supply company with respect to very small orders such as that of Philip H. and will take up the subject again on our next development meeting especially with regard to comments made on this forum.

Rather than weigh every item in the product catalogue (of which the range is 100's) the £6 charge was decided to cover not only the cost of a stamp but also picking , packaging, labelling, postage or courier as applicable. A little expensive on one packet of fuses I agree but not so dear when processed against larger orders.

If Philip H had made a larger purchase which may have needed the courier then the delivery charge to his Northern Ireland address would seem very reasonable.

I have personally purchased goods from the www.autoelectrics.smak.co.uk website to check up on delivery times as a quality control and my own order (around £20 value was delivered very promptly next day by courier).

Orders over £50 nett in value are delivered to UK addresses free of charge.

The telephone number has not yet been put on the website but there is a contact email address which is sales@smak.co.uk also displayed the "contact us" heading.

I hope Philip H found the email address ok , as any complaints will certainly be looked into and dealt with fairly.

With regard to Philip H's comments when the order is processed through the shopping cart all charges for delivery are clearly displayed and you can abort the order at any stage if you feel delivery charge is in any way excessive.

I noted the comment about the 50 or so fuses available for around £4.00 from an ebay seller. Check out the quality...
There are various grades of automotive fuses available from different manufacturers.
As an auto electrician by trade I personally would not use the cheap and cheerful ones because in some cases the actual metal blade is thinner and can cause contact problems at the fuse holder leading to high resistance
and circuit failure or fire ! Not such a bargain when the cheap fuse that is supposed to be providing circuit protection heats up the fuse holder and causes a fire.

The fuses and other components sold on the http://ww.autoelectrics.smak.co.uk website are of top quality only.

We really welcome your views as it helps to improve the website and service. Thank you for your comments.