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In lugnet.market.shipping, Shiri Dori writes:
> I just went to eToys.com to check out the lego-SW sale they have. I was
> really excited over the prices, some really good sets are 50% off, and I
> rushed to order them - seemed like a *great* deal.
It depends on what you buy, and how many.
> That is, until I reached the checkout and saw the shipping prices. Sheesh!
> The shipping added about 25% to my total cost. They tack on a base cost of
> $3, plus $0.95 for *each* item. And that's *standard* shipping. Man. There
> goes my excitement...
I assume you bought either the Lightsaber Duel or the Droid Starfighter?--
regularly $5.99? Well, if you're paying $2.99 + $.95 for shipping, you're
still saving 33% over the retail price. In fact, figure in state sales tax
and you're actually still saving 37% ($3.94 from eToys vs. $6.29 if you paid
full retail price in Massachusetts, for example).
But you know what else? This is the cool part:
1. If you buy a Snowspeeder (a significantly larger set) from eToys, the
shipping on that is still only $.95. So, figure $9.99 + $.95 vs. $19.99 + 5%
($10.94 vs. $20.99) and you're saving 48% in that case -- almost 50%.
2. eToys shipping costs max out at something like $15 or $20. So the more
you buy at once, the less overhead you pay in shipping, relative to the total
cost.
> I might still buy those sets, but I wish they'd at least let you know
> upfront what the shipping rates were.
Ahh, but they DO! On the page where you view the LEGO set you want to buy,
it says clearly, "This item ships as a Little Thing." Then you can click the
link that says "See our shipping page for more information" and it tells you
that a Little Thing incurs a $.95 per item shipping charge in the U.S.
> Maybe I wouldn't have bought them if I
> knew the actual price. I hate those marketing tricks.
I don't think it's a trick. You just have to read carefully. And buy a lot
at once. :-)
--Todd
p.s. Full disclosure: I make a small increment of money whenever someone
buys LEGO from eToys using a link from a LUGNET webpage (for example, the
Brickwise listings). It's therefore in my interest to convince you to buy
LEGO from eToys. But I also happen to think that eToys offers pretty good
service and excellent values from time to time. I've bought quite a bit of
LEGO from eToys in the past 2 years and have never been disappointed.
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