I have a real problem with shipping charges...
among technical duties I am mainly the parts guy for pianos for the north American and sometimes south American continents
we use fedex, we have a fairly basic plan, we get 40% discount on our shipments
if its under ~ 15-20 lbs and under a foot cubed we get flat rated 5.11 anywhere in the main USA
cripes, I sent a 80 lb lid measuring 63x53x4 to a residential address yesterday for less than 40 us dollars from Tennessee to "country" New York yesterday fedex ground
now tell me that 5 IC's from allied or Jameco cost 10 dollars US
BULL .. I mean hogwash
that is 2-3$ first class mail, 5.11 fedex with 3-5 day delivery, people who price otherwise are either
A) taking advantage of you, assuming it took more than X hours for a < 8$ an hour box monkey to process it
B) taking advantage of you cause that is what it would cost "joe six pack" to ship it though pony express
C) just flat out screwing you
anyway its a joke, if they dont use USPS or charge you more than 5 bucks for a 12x6x9 package weighing under 20 lbs you are getting screwed
coming from someone that deals with both UPS and FEDEX dozens of times a DAY for the last 2 years
I run a piano parts shop, guess how much our quantity per month is and compare it to anyone who sells retail, its flat out bullshit :
digikey < 3$ unless you order a meter long tube of something, takes 3 days in the USA
mouser < 5$ unless your order a meter long tube of something, takes less than 2 days in the USA
anyone else that does not offer USPS or is not worth enough to afford a piddle squat once every 2 month fedex / ups rep , piss on them and let them die