UPS announced new ‘peak’ shipping rates this week, scheduled for Black Friday and Christmas.
http://www.rates.ups.com/pdfs/peak_surcharge_pdf_final.pdf
They raising rates for INDIVIDUAL packages, LARGE or HEAVY packages. Like, $249 more. Extra-large packages will be charged an additional fee between Nov. 19 and Dec. 23.
Fun fun fun!
I can just hear @rita screaming now…
Interesting. When I used them from the UK the prices didn’t hike at peak times.
No, this is a new and exciting fee that they’re trying … as if their international rates (and just constantly spiking domestic rates) aren’t annoying enough 
Makes sense, both for net profit and productivity. If it can drive more customers to get their packages out earlier for Christmas, or defer shipping several days until after the Black you cut down on temporary workforce costs and overtime expenses. If people/businesses don’t want to plan around it, you just increased your gross profit. Hopefully we’ll have our Forges in enough time to plan ourselves.
I’m kinda thinking maybe FLEX leveraged contract shipping and it wouldn’t affect Glowforge’s bottoms line?
Whenever I buy something from the US I always try for the USPS shipping option. I find it gets to me much cheaper and where it passes over to Canada Post at the border I still have good tracking!
And fuel surcharges that were instituted with $100 bbl oil never going away even with $40 bbl oil…shipping costs haven’t gone down.
Yeah. I remember they started that. Called it back then too.
Yep, and if fuel prices go back up they jack those ‘fuel surcharges’ even higher, every time it becomes the new baseline because people demonstrate they’re willing to pay it - and if everybody’s willing to pay the higher price why would they ever lower it? Doesn’t matter if their costs drop - if they don’t think they’ll do just as much business at the higher price they’re going to keep it there - no matter how much their costs drop.
Yep, I know why they do it and get away with it. Just irritates me that they pretend - just be honest and don’t insult my intelligence.
Gas is $1.99 in Missouri at the moment. I can’t complain!
I paid 1.75 in Eastern Oklahoma today. It’s sad how happy I was to give away my money 