Originally Posted by TXBRILL
I've written Midway off and any new shooters I run into, I urge them to stay away while explaining why.
Rising fuel costs? Hey, they're the SAME for every single one of the other gun-businesses out there, but they aren't screwing us the way Midway is on shipping.
I think that Midway has become a large enough company by now that they could implement a shipping program using their own shipping trucks and forgo any third party shippers.
It may be expensive for them at first but, if managed correctly, in the long run it would make them the king-of-the-hill. None of their competitors would be able to touch them. In time their profit margins would return and even increase if done properly.
It's not likely to ever happen though. They're making to much money with their existing shipping policies.
HollowPoint
Just like with anything, you have to shop around and compare prices. No matter where you buy from it pays to order lots of stuff at once to lower the shipping charges.
MidwayUSA for sure has the largest selection out of anybody. I needed some Mini 14 factory magazines. They are now on sale at MidwayUSA, but even prior to that their price beat everyone else even with shipping. So I ordered from Midway.
Like many people I only do Cabela's and Basspro Shops in person. Then in most cases don't buy anything. They are too expensive. Not only that, but ordering stuff online doesn't save tax money as their are physical stores everywhere now.
It's getting that way on many of the companies. I had ordered two RCBS top punches from an e-bay dealer. They arrived in Two separate boxes, two shipping charges of about $6 each. I emailed him and they did refund my Pay-Pal for one of the shipping charges. the top punches would have fit in a small padded envelope for a shipping fee of $3.50.
Come on guys, Midway is abusiness just like any other business. They are there to make money, a proffit. That's the American way unless you subscribe to Obama's vising of a changed US with all business needing government subsidy. How much proffit is there in a $3 transaction to enable them to ship for free? Have you been to the post office lately to mail anything? I'm betting there's not enough proffit in that $3 transaction to even pay for a stamp, envelope and the time to for the order to be filled and put into a mail box. Do we think that Midway has any real control over shipping costs?
Do we really expect Midway, regardles of whether you like Larry's commercials or the quality of people he hires, to lose money because the OP lost a couple bits and wants new ones? Pretty unreasonable IMHO.
Larry Gibson
I don't order much from Midway, so I can't say that I have 'kept track' of any changes in their shipping rates.
But, it's tough to find any IMI or PP M193 ammo on the net right now. Midway doesn't have any, either, but at least they have an estimation of when they will get some.
So, I went through the checkout process to see how shipping worked out.
A 200-round battle pack cost about $17 to ship. 2 packs needed a little over $19. And 600 rounds cost $23.
I consider the low end to be kinda steep, but the twenty-three bucks is about right for the package.
If their estimate is right, I should see it around the end of May.
CM
Retired...TWICE. Now just raisin' cows and livin' on borrowed time.
Only order from them when I have a good promo code. Makes it like free shipping again.
There is a difference between making a profit and profiteering (aka gouging). Easy enough to do a minimum order (price-wise) which last time I checked, Midway ALSO did--ostensibly to keep shipping costs reasonable.
The overwhelming majority of customers realize that a small $3 part could just as easily run $2/$3 for shipping--but if Midway stopped there, that would be one thing.
But charging their base minimum of $12 for a part that weighs less than four ounces and is less than an inch long??? That is gouging, plain and simple.
For some reason, Brownell's is able to make a profit on shipping small one-off parts and pieces but a giant like Midway can't? I'm not buying it.
Most retail operations work off of a minimum 33% profit, with the average being around 50% for hardline items (ie not clothes or soft goods). I used to have to figure the costs of our mailroom for a 1600 employee ad agency against what we shipped and received, then justify that in billback charges to our clients.
If I'd tried charging Pepsi or Pizza Hut or Snickers or Sears or Penneys or any of our huge clients the ridiculous rates Midway charges their baseline customers, I would've lost those accounts.
We ran our mailroom to be revenue-neutral. That is, we didn't lose money and we didn't make money--it paid for itself which included the hourly wages of our employees, costs of materials and a small budget for emergencies or unforseen circumstances.
I have no problem with a company making a profit--I WANT them to make a profit. To that end, Midway does just fine because they're the largest--and the most expensive--of the mail-order houses for gun-owners. But when their shipping is so far over the top compared to the other mail-order houses, profit becomes gouging--and I refuse to be gouged.
But, no big deal--I just choose not to do business with them (Midway) and explain to other shooters who are unaware as to why I choose not to do business with them. I appreciate their pioneering spirit and ways for firearms related supplies in the mail-order world (I also remember when shipping was free with them; or more accurately, figured in with the final sales price of merchandise like Grafs) and I certainly appreciate their support of the NRA and shooting sports.
What I don't appreciate is being gouged and then blatantly lied to when I inquire as to why in regards to shipping. Fuel costs, again, are the same for everyone. My shipping charges from Midsouth are always 12% - 15% less than Midways. Always--and that's for the SAME service by the SAME carriers!
That's the difference.
I reckon MidWay's policies will keep them in business long after the free shippers have turned into peat or coal. If the postage costs them X, then that expense to them needs to be marked-up to give them a profit on that expendature. If the wharehouse depreciation factor per shippment is Y then they need to mark that up for profit too, if the gal picking the order out of bins and packaging it is getting paid Z per that parcel, then that has to be marked-up too. If you do it for cost you will have no profits. Worse, if you absorb all those costs and ship "free", then the profits you planned to recover from the actual goods will be lost. At least they let you know what you are in for and like the OP you can use your brain to opt out and get what you need local. But the local guy will go broke too if he does not mark-up all his costs in providing the goods. "Back in the day" we thought handling to be free, but those old boys were not nuts, the fee was part of the price. Modern pricing makes the goods look cheap, but the handling look high. In the end, the consumer pays all the tab.
prs
I believe that it pays to shop around and had gone to using other sources than Midway. Then earlier this year they had something I needed that no one else had and I noticed that apparently their shipping rate had dropped for small orders.
I've since made a few more purchases and the shipping rate seems lower.
Maybe someone listened?
I was all set to order 3 packages of their shoot and see stick on targets (they have blem sales on them on occasion). They wanted over $11 to ship 3 packages that could have easily fit in a USPS flat rate envelope.
Their extra shipping costs cost them my business on that particular day.
Wayfair is also guilty about ripping off people for shipping.
I bought a fine adjuster for a Malcolm scope that weighs less than an ounce and they would only send it by UPS which cost me almost $9.
Great post, you were posting as I was keyboarding. Revenue neutral is doing it for free. Your agency needed profits from somewhere to pay bills and salaries, and perks and and and... so the profits you "should have/could have/ might have" made by marking up mailroom costs were paid by clients in some other way. It all worked out in the end, but the piper was paid.
prs
There is a difference between making a profit and profiteering (aka gouging). Easy enough to do a minimum order (price-wise) which last time I checked, Midway ALSO did--ostensibly to keep shipping costs reasonable.
The overwhelming majority of customers realize that a small $3 part could just as easily run $2/$3 for shipping--but if Midway stopped there, that would be one thing.
But charging their base minimum of $12 for a part that weighs less than four ounces and is less than an inch long??? That is gouging, plain and simple.
For some reason, Brownell's is able to make a profit on shipping small one-off parts and pieces but a giant like Midway can't? I'm not buying it.
Most retail operations work off of a minimum 33% profit, with the average being around 50% for hardline items (ie not clothes or soft goods). I used to have to figure the costs of our mailroom for a 1600 employee ad agency against what we shipped and received, then justify that in billback charges to our clients.
If I'd tried charging Pepsi or Pizza Hut or Snickers or Sears or Penneys or any of our huge clients the ridiculous rates Midway charges their baseline customers, I would've lost those accounts.
We ran our mailroom to be revenue-neutral. That is, we didn't lose money and we didn't make money--it paid for itself which included the hourly wages of our employees, costs of materials and a small budget for emergencies or unforseen circumstances.
I have no problem with a company making a profit--I WANT them to make a profit. To that end, Midway does just fine because they're the largest--and the most expensive--of the mail-order houses for gun-owners. But when their shipping is so far over the top compared to the other mail-order houses, profit becomes gouging--and I refuse to be gouged.
But, no big deal--I just choose not to do business with them (Midway) and explain to other shooters who are unaware as to why I choose not to do business with them. I appreciate their pioneering spirit and ways for firearms related supplies in the mail-order world (I also remember when shipping was free with them; or more accurately, figured in with the final sales price of merchandise like Grafs) and I certainly appreciate their support of the NRA and shooting sports.
What I don't appreciate is being gouged and then blatantly lied to when I inquire as to why in regards to shipping. Fuel costs, again, are the same for everyone. My shipping charges from Midsouth are always 12% - 15% less than Midways. Always--and that's for the SAME service by the SAME carriers!
That's the difference.
Just go online and type” Midway USA coupons 2012”. Normally I can find 10% off or free shipping or both. Same for Brownell’s
ya, shop around. that's what the internet is for!!
they don't want small orders. OK, I will look elsewhere.
dont have to go far to get better prices!
bill boy
I'm sure there's alot of us folk that remember back in the day when shipping was actually free. I did alot of business with them back then even though it was the same price at the local sporting goods store. I didn't have to drive to get it or pay the tax on it either so I figured it worked in my favor, so they got alot of my business.
The next thing I knew was the announcement that Larry's daughter just got out of college and she was going to be running things within the company. Next thing I knew I was getting a notice that my personal information was going to be distributed to god only knows and if I objected I had to send them a note basically to complain about it. At that point they also mentioned that they would now charge for shipping, which for me defeated the sole reason why I shopped at Midway in the first place.
If they want to charge so much for so little, so be it. But I don't think I'll be funding there vacation get away either. Now if I order from them once a year it's a small miracle only because the other on-line suppliers are out of what it is I need.
Needless to say what once was favorable to them back then, seems to be more of there down fall now.
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It is not price gouging when you have alternative places to shop and get what you want.
Place a large enough order and most times the prices will be comparable to other online sellers. But what MidwayUSA has is a large selection and therefore one-stop shopping.
Midway also has sales and promo codes going quite a bit. It’s funny how often this topic comes up.
OK so I live in Orygun, and I want to save some on shipping, are there any places to order that don't have to ship halfway across the country?
WOW, I really hit a nerve with this one. I didnt say I would never order from them again, I'll watch the sales and when its convenient and cost worthy for me I'll buy from them. That said I ordered almost $200 from Grafs yesterday because of the free shipping deal I got in an email. I wasnt going to order that much but the free shipping prompted me to do it. From now on I'll watch for those deals, whoever has them.
By the way, no word from Smiling Larry yet.
Swamprat
WE DONT RENT PIGS!!!
I agree regardless of who I'm thinking about ordering from. Look for the selling price + Shipping as well as if tax or handling charges are also added. Then and only then is when and where I decide to buy something. Now with that said I agree Midway USA has some of the highest shipping charges though I still do order from them however. I will hold off till I have enough to order at one time so I'm not spending as much to ship as the item. I often spend more for an item + local sales tax and still save money in some cases when all cost factors are including in the cost.
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