Outrageous shipping costs from 4uconnector.com?

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matthewbeckler
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:27 am

Outrageous shipping costs from 4uconnector.com?

Post by matthewbeckler »

Hello everyone! I'm trying to order some connectors from 4uconnector.com, and while the minimum order quantity and unit price are very reasonable, the shipping prices seem to be killer. Ordering 2000 36pin breakaway headers totals up to $112, but the standard DHL shipping comes to $81!!!! Am I doing something wrong here, or is this really the situation with 4uconnector.com?

They do have the option of using a customer's FedEx account number, but the total order weight isn't listed anywhere I can see, so I'm wary about letting them charge FedEx on my behalf, just in case it turns out to be very expensive.

Has anyone ordered from 4uconnector.com in the past? How did your shipping costs compare to total order cost?

Thanks much!

--
Matthew "Layne" Beckler
http://wayneandlayne.com/

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mctaylor
 
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:49 am

Re: Outrageous shipping costs from 4uconnector.com?

Post by mctaylor »

matthewbeckler wrote:Hello everyone! I'm trying to order some connectors from 4uconnector.com, and while the minimum order quantity and unit price are very reasonable, the shipping prices seem to be killer. Ordering 2000 36pin breakaway headers totals up to $112, but the standard DHL shipping comes to $81!!!! Am I doing something wrong here, or is this really the situation with 4uconnector.com?
Disclaimer: I have no experience with 4uconnector.com.

Some companies don't have the best shipping cost estimators. This varies on the couriers, and the shopping cart integration. Many try to estimate high, and if the actual cost is lower, they charge you the lower actual amount. Sorry, many good companies will do this.

Additionally they may not a good weight estimate for a small part in single quantities, which when multiplied by 2000 units, becomes a silly large value (e.g. if the minimum weight is 0.1 ounces for a single 36-pin breakaway header, then 2000 units becomes 200 ounces or 12.5 pounds (nearly 6 kg), which of course is wildly wrong.

The other issues are where are they shipping from, China, California USA, or Thailand? And how are they shipping? Many businesses ship overnight by default for domestic orders, assuming that the business customer wants the part right now.

So, if possible, simply phone or email them and see if you can get some more details from them, including a better shipping estimate.

adafruit
 
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Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: Outrageous shipping costs from 4uconnector.com?

Post by adafruit »

$81 for shipping a box from China to the US by DHL air is not 'outrageous'. You can compare the prices to ship a -say 5 lb- box using UPS or Fedex on the respective websites using your account, and you will find the prices are pretty much the same.

matthewbeckler
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 10:27 am

Re: Outrageous shipping costs from 4uconnector.com?

Post by matthewbeckler »

I was hoping it was an inaccurate weight estimator, but I do realize how expensive it can be to ship actual poundage around the world.

The quote I received just now says "gross weight 7kg" which is about 15.4 pounds, so I suppose I should stop complaining and pay up, as $81 seems like a quite a deal compared to FedEx. :- )

Thanks for your help!

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chuckm
 
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Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 3:31 am

Re: Outrageous shipping costs from 4uconnector.com?

Post by chuckm »

I was going to say its still a lot cheaper than the $2600 that Digikey wants for 2000 36 pin breakaway headers.
--Chuck

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ktownsend
 
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Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:18 am

Re: Outrageous shipping costs from 4uconnector.com?

Post by ktownsend »

I guess it depends on what you consider outrageous. $100 to get me a box in 48 hours from the middle of China is pretty reasonable to me, especially when I'm paying pennies per connector versus Digikey (even in large quantities). If you're only ordering a reel of $20 connectors I can see that seeming expensive, but if you really need more than 100 items you almost always end out ahead with 4U (at least that's my experience many thousands of dollars later).

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