Brownells has a fee that it appears if you don't pay it and your order is lost or damaged, you are on your own. PSA has an additional charge available, but FAQ doesn't say what happens if your order is lost and you haven't paid it. BKings has a fee for shipping insurance but don't know result if you haven't paid it.

What's up with this why is this the only industry that adds a shipping security fee that I'm aware of?

Don't know, but it bugs me. But they must be "making" more money from it than it's costing them in charge backs.

The whole "ordering" world is a bit bizarre in how it works and what we accept from companies. This is sort of a "you didn't pay the $3, so it shipped, now it's your problem." Yeah, uh.. I paid for the item, I didn't pay just to have you ship it to lord knows where." Same with my old argument of Amazon (and everyone else) just leaving things on the front steps. "Sorry, my front steps didn't order and pay for the item, I did."



Speaking of Brownells, I ordered something relatively small the other day and the shipping was $17! I was about to cancel the order when I saw that some promo had kicked in on its own and the shipping was free.(?) Almost as if they knew "Yeah, that's nuts." lol

I don’t pay for those, if it’s lost and I do not get it and they will not refund me, I will do a chargeback with my credit card company. I am not paying for shipping plus the stupid “it got lost” fee.

^^^ Totally agree. Typical "fear mongering" fee, and they squeeze some more money out of the folks who fall for it. They can count on those who say, "Eh, just a couple of extra bucks for peace of mind".

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
I don’t pay for those, if it’s lost and I do not get it and they will not refund me, I will do a chargeback with my credit card company. I am not paying for shipping plus the stupid “it got lost” fee.

Exactly

My guess is they are probably taking advantage of the optional insurance offered by shippers and taking credit for it. If it gets lost or stolen, they file the claim and have the appearance of doing right by the buyer when the reality is the shipper is making good on their contractual agreement. I’d be interested in what the shipper of choice charges for the same insurance. Even if it’s only a dollar different, the seller is still making a profit.

Many shippers (USPS, UPS and others) give an included $100 insurance amount in their shipping.

The only one of these that makes sense is the two-day delivery charge "option" for my annual order of Hatch Chiles. Without that, you are on your own for spoilage while they make their way from NM to MS, for example.

Yummmmmm, should be soon!

Not just gun stuff. That is popping up on a lot of online shopping things.
Ordered from a few soccer places that had that.

My guess it is being pushed/added by the credit card processors just like the tip addition option on nearly all food related transactions regardless of the amount of service.

The credit card processor gets a portion of those fees too.

Just like tips for counter order/self service stuff. I decline that garbage fee.

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
I don’t pay for those, if it’s lost and I do not get it and they will not refund me, I will do a chargeback with my credit card company. I am not paying for shipping plus the stupid “it got lost” fee.

This is the way.

Years ago, I had a relative who worked for a company that bought truckloads of overstocked/returned items and would sell them on fleebay. Often these items would sell for under a buck, but they had an option for shipping insurance for $3-5. He was astounded by how many people would add the insurance. They weren’t insuring with the shipper, all that money went to the bottom line. In the off chance someone would say they didn’t get an item, they just shipped another or refunded the purchase price.

Actually not an unknown phenomena.
F.O.B. has a been standard regarding shipping forever.
Many shippers however, will assume to burden due to promoting good will with their customers.
Adding a small charge to mitigate expenses while possibly annoying to some is just a business decision.
Free Shipping is not really free, btw.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fob.asp