Hot Rods Summitt extra ordering fees

Attempted to order a replacement 33-1/2" front reversed eye main leaf spring $36 plus $10 shipping plus $12 handling fee, seems everyone is jumping on the hike it up band wagon, might just re-arch what I have on hand.

 

Let them know you would have bought the part, except for the handling fee. Thats the only way we can make them go away.

 

Summit has been charging those for years, you need to spend more than a 100 for free shipping.

 

Truth be known can you box that leaf up and ship it to any of us for 22 bucks? Can you drive to Lincoln and pick it up yourself for 22 bucks?
That may be their way of dealing with the raised labor costs without jacking prices up.
I don't like shipping and handling charges either but having sent similar size packages cross country in the past few months that doesn't sound outrageous. Shipping is one thing I watch seriously close when comparison shopping though. Some outfits that show a great price beat you up on shipping to make up for it.

Just thinking, is that a dropped ship item from the outfit that made it? They may not have the same deals with shippers that Speedway does and the cost will be higher.

 

these days, if the part is in stock and you need it, you buy it and don't worry about shipping costs

 

Speedway is in my area but only stock a complete spring, at my age trying to use up what I'm stumbling over & only replace the main leaf, certainly not a so called oversize item as they reference it, nor is a single leaf by any means a heavy item. Strange as I had a pair of 32 subrails shipped from the north west, of course on a promotion with free shipping & no over size fees.

 

But it's not a shipping fee. It's a handling fee. WTF are they handling? Getting the part out of stock and to the shipping department should be covered by the cost of the item. So WTF is a handling fee for except for more profit.

 

I've been using Summit for years. I generally wait until I need $99 worth of stuff and get free shipping (no handling fee). Their west coast warehouse is one state over so its basically overnight delivery....for free! Can't beat it!

 

Always wait until you reach the free shipping threshold.

They aren’t making anything selling you a $36 spring.

It’s not 1965 anymore.

 

Them no good son's a bitches! So who pays the shipping when you order $100 worth? I've always wondered that. Seems like somebody is losing money doesn't it? I can order something from speedway that's $90, and I have to pay shipping, but if I add something that's $10 to the order, the shipping goes away? They have to ship an extra item, but now it's free

 

I'm 66. I remember when you had to cruise around and look for a part. If your buddy didn't have it. Now they are available new and your bitching about 12 bucks.

 

Not bitchin just sayin ! I guess Speedway Motors has me spoiled as it's just a 45 min drive & yes I do on occassion pickup what is needed & spend the bucks that way as Mr48chev alluded to, but with all the race & street rodders in Lincoln it's always a conjunction kind of function stopping in on anyone having the time to put up with me. Conditions permitting I drive the 32 it gets a respectable 20 mpg...... Oh yeah, at ease guys, might need to get that leaf anyway as in need of the odd 33-1/2," to go spring over on my 37 tube

 

At ease disease there's a fungus among us. (courtesy of U.S. Army) lol

 

"Free shipping" is just marketing. You pay for shipping, it's cooked into the "free" price. They want you to buy more stuff.

Cabelas, I think it was, got its start by one guy selling fishing lures in the back of sporting goods magazines. He was advertising them for $1 and wasn't selling hardly any.

Then he advertised them for "Free", with $1 postage & handling, and eventually became one of the biggest retailers ever.

 

$22 is CHEAP shipping! I mail stuff off weekly, happy if it comes in under 30 even tho the buyer is paying.

 

It's Shipping and Handling, just separated. Someone had to order it, unpack it, assign stock numbers , put it into inventory, get your order, take it out of stock, maybe reorder, pack it, weigh it, get it to shipping. That is called handling.. Shipping is then just postage. No one's forcing you to buy it. If the fees are upfront, you either want it for the total price, or you don't. Either way, just stop complaining about it. Buy it or don't buy it. Good grief.

 

Order a t-shirt to make the free shipping total. Done.

 

That implies that Summit has a t-shirt selling for $64 by my math.

 

Man that's a cheap T-shirt. Plus you get to advertise for them too! What a deal!

 

Why do you even care if they call it a handling fee? It's part of the price of the part. They could just add it to the part price or the shipping price. They could call it a "beer fund" fee. Doesn't matter. The only number that matters is the final amount you pay.

 

When you purchase something with a credit card, the card issuer charges percentage of the sales price. Generally, the seller eats the fee (builds it into the price (oooh, hidden fees!). Some retailers charge a different, greater price when you use a credit card instead of cash. I have no problem with that. Welcome to the latter half of the 20th century.

 

I buy a metric crap ton of stuff thru Summit. I've never had a "Handling Fee", ever. I've ordered stuff from Summit for well over 20 years. I typically order over $100 to get the free shipping, but every now and then, I need (or want is more like it) a piece right away, so I'll pay the $11.99 shipping.
Sometimes, Summit will have your stuff shipped directly from the vendor, so maybe that's the case here?
Most times, when I order through Amazon, I can get free shipping, even not being a prime member. It just takes longer. I prefer Summit because it usually gets delivered within a day or two. And I've been screwed by an Amazon seller or three. Amazon's customer service doesn't always help out if the seller is a lying dirtbag. Not to mention any names, but I wouldn't buy from Amazon seller, Cleveland Chassis if they were the last tie rod supplier on earth. (Oops!). Sometimes, there very little choice but to buy on Amazon.
So with Summit, I pay the part price, sales tax and for small orders, shipping. I've had some pretty heavy stuff shipped too. A transmission, a set of wheels...never a handling fee.
I also get the "Pro Shop" discount for being an NHRA member. In some years, that has saved me a bunch more than the NHRA membership costs.

 

Don't be a "Gold-chainer"
Try the good ol' hot rodder approach of re-arching it yourself.

Most of the work is in removing and re-installing the spring [which you need to do anyway]

Make a simple Jig [with a stopper] that uses a bottle jack.

The holes ^^^ are to slip a Philip's screwdriver through the spring eyes when getting close to the ends [so it won't slip out of the jig]




It took 4 hours to re-arch 4 springs on a tandem trailer to "tune" the ride height equally on 4 corners.
This included dismantling and reassembly of the springs

You need to measure carefully that's all

 

The term gold chainer now applies if you don't do your own springs. I'd better get a zales catalog. I'm not really a jewelry guy. Damnit....

 

You are correct there!
Re-arching springs and reversing eyes etc has always been the domain of DIYers [not a credit card catalog]

One spring should take about an hour to re-arch [2 if you're learning] vs 1 week waiting with todays supply chain issues.

All hot rodders should learn to do this [the first modification that is usually done on their toys is the wheels and ride height]

 

Now if anything deserved a handling fee, that would be it.

 

besides being the parts guy, i do the shipping. ups et all have been raising their prices. fyi, we are a small business so our output is minimal compared to summit. i had to buy a part from atlanta. their nda was $50, ours was $100. they have multitude of shipping programs for little stuff and ltl who ship a lot. our main supplier from texas to ct for say a 300lb pallet ltl to us is about $100. can't beat with a stick.
ups business to business is ok. business to homeowner adds over $5 to sale.
i guess we all have to get over it.

 

I looked this spring up on Summit's site and got the following, just to pick nits:

Additional Shipping Charge:
$9.99
Shipping and Handling Charge:
$11.99

So no separate Handling Charge, for what it's worth.

https://www.summitracing.com/search...&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=reverse eye 33,5

 

So, don't buy the spring from Summit, buy it from someone else. Problem solved.
I compare the total price, including shipping charges, handling charges, and sales tax along with the part price, then shop for a better comparative price.

These days, a part that is in stock has a much higher value to me.