My letter to Natchez -- displeased with their shipping costs

[Ohio Rusty]

Natchez has some 125 J-word remington boolits I wanted. Their shipping costs are waaaay over the top. Some people say that this is the cost of doing business. Just like Cheaper than Dirt gouging prices for ammo ... Natchez is doing the same but using shipping to make massive profits in my personal opinion.
I sent them a letter of displeasure .. a nice letter ... but I felt the need to voice my opinion as a consumer and shooter. People on here will say if you don't like it, don't buy. So I will look elsewhere. The best way to voice our opinions is with out wallet. ...........

No one on here sells a single bullet mould on Swappin' and Sellin' then charges the list member buyer $25.00 to ship the mould ...... They ship it reasonably ...companies should do the same. Just one mans opinion.


My Letter to Natchez:
I'd love to purchase some things I need from your company, but your shipping costs are way too expensive.
I wanted the remington 125 grain hollowpoint bullets to reload. Your cost is $17.99 for 100. I have no problem
with the bullet price but with shipping they come to almost $40.00 !!! That is crazy !!
I know that this same bag of bullets can be put in a USPS small flat rate box and shipped for $5.80. That is so much more reasonable.
Consumers believe extremely high and unreasonable shipping costs are nothing but greed and gouging to make more profit from shipping.

Consequently, because of your extremely high shipping costs ... that just adds way to much expense to the price of your
products. So consequently, Natchez will not be getting any of my hard earned money and I'll need to purchase
my bullets from another seller/vendor.

Rusty N
S.E. Ohio

[buckwheatpaul]

Well spoken.....I have encountered the same problem......You did a great job with the letter.....Paul

[Riverpigusmc]

I agree. I was going to order a cheap digital scale and check weights just for averaging bullet weights..shipping came to more than the purchase..I declined. Ordered from Midway, their shipping isn't the greatest, but they beat Natchez. Graff's has the best shipping rates, IMHO, if they have the items in stock

[500MAG]

I normally wait until I have to order several items from them and then it kind of evens out with the shipping.

[rockrat]

Yep, I think I have ordered my last stuff from them, because of the high shipping cost.

[jcwit]

Number of years ago I ordered from them, since their shipping went thru the roof I shop elsewhere. They no longer send me their catalogs either.

[shooterg]

Natchez has in stock the Fed Automatch .22 at $18.99, but with a limit of 2 and the outrageous shipping, who needs it ?

[DHurtig]

I would be interested in seeing their response, if you get one.

[Skipper]

If you really want to get mad, I saw an article from a large shipper (several million packages/year). Their discount with UPS is 70%-80%.

[Gliden07]

I've called other suppliers and asked them why they don't do flat rate box's especially for smaller items. Most of the time the answer is "Were not set up to do that", "what does that mean" I ask, never really have gotten a clear answer? Most of the time now I wait till I have a larger order so the shipping doesn't kill me. Somethings, I wait till I can find them elsewhere either locally online here or Ebay etc...

[alrighty]

Natchez has in stock the Fed Automatch .22 at $18.99, but with a limit of 2 and the outrageous shipping, who needs it ?
I agree they are making huge profits off of the shipping.I also ordered the limit of 2 boxes of Automatch .22 , shipping was listed at $22.99.
I was also needing a new trigger pull gauge and they had the Lyman on sale for 48.99 , almost ten dollars less than anywhere else.When I added it to the cart the shipping was still the same at $22.99.I then remembered I was needing to upgrade three of my cleaning rods to one pc. Dewey.Added those three items and the shipping price was still $22.99 , it arrived in two days and in two boxes.
It is almost like the old days when companies would put a minimum order charge of $20.00 to get you to buy more.
I hope your letter does good as their shipping price is costing them lots of sales.For now I will just wait longer until I can get a larger order up.

[fryboy]

spot on alrighty ! i've posted it numerous times - if you're going to buy one or two lil cheap things natchez's shipping is indeed high so i often buddy up , odd that for that one lil thing shipping is high but it seems to not go up as fast when things are added to the cart like most other places , i once got a new lyman master caster setup , 5 lee molds , a lyman mold and a whole bunch of misc. stuff - shipping was less than half the price of the same stuff shipped at midway , but small orders will kill you there but IF i couldnt find it anywhere else in these trying times ....

[waksupi]

You can find a lot of the stuff on Amazon.com from small jobbers, for better prices.

[RobsTV]

Most of the time still cheaper than anyone else. They do offer DHL shipping at a lower cost than UPS. They also have things in stock that others do not. But your results may vary.

Product ID Product Title Price Qty. Ext. Price
MTP5032 PISTOL AMO CASES(32SW LNG & .25 $1.49 5 $7.45
60N NATCHEZ CATALOG $0.00 1 $0.00
LEE90311 LEE MOLD D/C TL 314-90 SWC $16.49 1 $16.49
LEE90067 32S&W LONG-32H&R CARB FAC CR DIE $14.49 1 $14.49
Subtotal Items: $38.43
Shipping: $11.90
Hazmat: $0.00
Total Order: $50.33

And another order:
Subtotal Items: $102.87
Shipping: $14.69
Insurance: $1.50
Hazmat: $0.00
Total Order: $119.06
Order Discount: -$10.00 (coupon they sometime have)
New Order Total: $109.06

[RobsTV]

While not knowing the exact item the original poster was ordering, I just did a quick check and found Hornady 125gr HP/XTP priced at $16.79 per 100. Shipping comes to $10.66, total 27.45. Increased quantity to 4 and total was $67.16 + $13.72 shipping, total $80.88.

And to compare with a typical Grafs order I made:
BERRY 380/9MM HINGED-TOP BOX 50-ROUND BLUE 50/cs (BY401B)
2 in cart -- $x.xx each

BORE STORE 4" BBL LARGE FRAME AUTOS & REVOLVERS (BEP3)
3 in cart -- $x.xx each

LEE 380 ACP CARBIDE 3 DIE SET, S/H #4 (LEE90625)
1 in cart -- $x.xx each

LEE MOULD 356-102-1R DBL CAVITY (LEE90305)
1 in cart -- $xx.xx each

LEE TURRET 4-HOLE FOR TURRET PRESS (LEE90269)
1 in cart -- $x.xx each

Subtotal: $65.74
Order total does not include the price of freight. Please see our terms and conditions for details.
Unearned Cash Discount: $1.97
Small Order Fee: $5.00
Total: $72.71

And credit card was charged an additional $13.20 shipping.

EDIT: Just used one of the site sponsers listed at top as a test. Added 100 115gr jacketed bullets, came to $17.49, and shipping ranged from $13.55 UPS to $9.50 USPS. Sorry but I'm not seeing much difference between what Natchez charges and what most others charge. Swappin' and Sellin' occasionally will have members selling used Lee molds for around $25 shipped, which works out to be about the same as Natchez charges for the same mold brand new including shipping.

Don't let prices get to you. They are no surprise. Put item in cart, calculate shipping, see total price delivered, compare with others, pick the one that best meets your needs at that moment (sometimes pay more for closer or quicker, sometimes pay less when in no hurry), move on, repeat next time.

[Recluse]

Your letter is a LOT nicer than the one I sent them. After two orders in the previous five to seven years, I--against my better judgment--was prepared to do a third order, and then got the shipping cost. Blew a gasket, fired off an ugly letter and haven't looked back.

Haven't missed them a bit.

:coffee:

[Riverpigusmc]

DHL doesn't deliver to the North Florida scrub where I live...and I don't need 50 items at a time to make shipping worth it. Perhaps if they would bother to " set up" for USPS flat rate shipping (you can pick up the boxes at the post office for free) then we wouldn't have to subsidize the post office every year with tax money. Just a thought

[oldgeezershooter]

I was going to order some nickel plated 45-70 brass a while back but the shipping was ridiculous. So ordered regular brass from Midway with free shipping.

[fryboy]

i have a fairly recent invoice ( buddy'd up of course and top one in the file ) for 20 items ordered from natchez , the items totaled $310.10 , any guesses what the shipping was ? ( 20 items and came in a box much bigger than a LFR ) freight and insurance was a grand total of $22.73 ,the same items shipped at midway ( if they was in stock and according to my cart they were not ) was $39+ but whatever ...( and nevermind that natchez is perhaps about or the closest to cheapest on lee molds and tools )
currently that i'm aware of graf's has the best prices on shipping , the real question is who has in stock what i need ??

[RobsTV]

DHL doesn't deliver to the North Florida scrub where I live...and I don't need 50 items at a time to make shipping worth it. Perhaps if they would bother to " set up" for USPS flat rate shipping (you can pick up the boxes at the post office for free) then we wouldn't have to subsidize the post office every year with tax money. Just a thought

This is not normal DHL. Some DHL special saver thing. Many companies ship this way now. It is slow though. DHL delivers to USPS then USPS delivers to your door. On the orders I've placed, DHL hands off the package to USPS in Orlando, which then goes to USPS in Tampa, and a day later it arrives in my mailbox here in NPR. We actually do get DHL shipping here, but this type of shipping is different. USPS delivers. Enter zipcode, click calculate shipping, then look at the column on the right to see DHL, or the left to see UPS (Using IE, not sure how other browsers will show data).

No need to have a 50 item order, as you can see from my last order at Natchez there were only 3 small items ordered.

[dragon813gt]

I have to laugh at guys wanting a company to use USPS flat rate boxes. As a business they are the worse option. No real time tracking and an insurance claims policy that is not going to pay you the money owed. USPS will stamp a package "package delivered w/out contents". That is completely unacceptable. The flat rate boxes are fine for a casual shipper but not for a company that's shipping hundreds/thousands a week. Ever wonder why UPS didn't jump on the flat rate bandwagon? I'm betting it's because it's not profitable.

And while I do agree that their shipping is exorbitant. There are handling charges included in the shipping fee. They have to pay someone to pack it along w/ all the shipping materials. Neither of which are cheap. If you don't like the total cost then purchase elsewhere. I personally won't order from a company that charges extra for using a credit card. That's my personal line.

[Recluse]

I personally won't order from a company that charges extra for using a credit card. That's my personal line.

Got news for you: ALL companies charge extra for using a credit card--already built into their prices, which means cash-paying customers (no such thing for online businesses) pay that extra fee whether they know it or not, like it or not.

From the corner convenience store to the big-box retailers, all prices are set and factored for the percentage points M/C, Visa, Disc, AmEx charge.

:coffee:

[dragon813gt]

I am aware of that. I'm talking about online ordering. When I can't physically go to the store then what options are there? It's 2013, just wait until physical money is a thing of the past.

[Riverpigusmc]

This is not normal DHL. Some DHL special saver thing. Many companies ship this way now. It is slow though. DHL delivers to USPS then USPS delivers to your door. On the orders I've placed, DHL hands off the package to USPS in Orlando, which then goes to USPS in Tampa, and a day later it arrives in my mailbox here in NPR. We actually do get DHL shipping here, but this type of shipping is different. USPS delivers. Enter zipcode, click calculate shipping, then look at the column on the right to see DHL, or the left to see UPS (Using IE, not sure how other browsers will show data).

No need to have a 50 item order, as you can see from my last order at Natchez there were only 3 small items ordered.

Last three orders from Midway, they did the same thing...delivered it to my local post office, mailman stuck it in my mailbox by the dirt road (dies in a padded envelope) SoI paid premium shipping for the mail guy to end up stuffing it in my mailbox anyway

[jaysouth]

DHL doesn't deliver to the North Florida scrub where I live...and I don't need 50 items at a time to make shipping worth it. Perhaps if they would bother to " set up" for USPS flat rate shipping (you can pick up the boxes at the post office for free) then we wouldn't have to subsidize the post office every year with tax money. Just a thought

The post office will also deliver for free flat rate boxes to anyone that requests them. I refuse to deal with anyone that uses shipping for a profit center. However,I do not have the choice of dealing with Natchez because the a**holes will not deliver to any address in Tennessee, Alabama or Georgia. That might be a good model to protect their retail customers a hundred years ago, but the internet and flat rate shipping changed all that.

[popper]

Midway is about the same. Just realize that per the latest news release, the fed just devalued your $ 11% this year. Nixon had to take us off the gold standard because of all the dumb spending by the Dems. He could have just declared bankruptcy for the US, as there was no gold or silver left to back the $. We're in the same shape now, Cypress announced the hair cut publicly, the Fed is doing it 'secretly', of course the bankers know. We got the Louisiana Purchase cheap to bail out the French King that did the same thing. Hang on to your hats, it's going to show up everywhere. Actually, most sellers have tried to keep prices down, just can't do it anymore.

[Recluse]

It's 2013, just wait until physical money is a thing of the past.

I know. . . I'm not liking that picture either, especially given who controls the electronic purse strings and sets the exchange rate.

:coffee:

[Ohio Rusty]

Here is the letter back from Natchez:
We charge the actual shipping rate from the carrier plus a $3.99 handling charge on each order. Unlike other companies we do not hide our shipping costs into the price of the product. You will notice that is costs almost the same to ship 1 box of bullets as it costs to ship 2 boxes of bullets. It is best to order bullets and ammo in bulk not one box at a time.

Thank you,
Brian F.
Natchez Shooters Supply

They need to find a cheaper carrier. I'm still not ordering anything from them as the shipping is more than the product. Just my personal problem with them .......... I don't order from Cheaper than Dirt either ...
Ohio Rusty ><>