Actually, we do, through our business shipping partner, Pack & Send.

Let me explain how this works using a real example of equipment sold through our store.

Example

I recently sold a piece of equipment and asked the customer for $150 to cover packing and shipping from Perth to Sydney, explaining that if it were more, I’d let them know and they would need to make up the difference. The quote from Pack and Send was $231, for packing and shipping.

I should have charged the customer as I said I would, but he’d already indicated that $150 felt high, so, instead, I did something I stopped doing a decade ago: tried to save a customer who probably makes far more than I do, money, at my expense. Here’s what that cost me, and why I’ll not do it again. Remember: shipping costs have absolutely nothing to do with me, and if you want something professionally packed and shipped, you must pay for it, it’s that simple.

I drove to AusPost to try to find a box, but they didn’t have the right size, so I drove home and looked for packaging materials. Nothing. Next stop, Bunnings, where I bought a box and some bubble wrap. Because I don’t pack and ship things, I don’t keep packing and shipping materials. All that took over 60 minutes.

It took me 30+ minutes to carefully wrap and pack the equipment, but the box felt flimsy, so back to Bunnings for another box, to double-box it, and another 30+ minutes and some more packing time, on a hot Perth day. By now, AusPost was closed, and my dehydration headache was fully formed. I had to wait until the next morning to take the box to AusPost, another 30+ minutes round trip.

False Economy

The total cost for shipping and insurance with AusPost was $97 vs $231 for packing, shipping and insurance via Pack & Send. You’re thinking: Mike, Mike, that’s great, you ‘saved’ the customer $53, or $134, depending on how you look at it! If the equipment packed and drove itself, sure, but it doesn’t, does it. That was all done on my time and that time is valuable.

Here’s the real equation: my costs were $15 for materials, $10 for fuel and a conservative 150+ minutes of billable time, coming to $400. The bottom line: saving the customer $134, or $53, cost me $400. No money was saved here; I paid for it, and it was much more expensive doing things this way.

Time & Motion

This is why I don’t do packing or shipping; I take equipment to people who do it, like Pack & Send. For those who don’t run businesses or charge for their time, the idea of time and motion costs, billable hours, etc., might not mean much, but when you are the business, time is everything.

I can’t afford to lose $400 on a small sale, I’m not responsible for shipping costs, and whilst this was my mistake, it was made because of I sensed an unreasonable expectation on the part of the customer. That is not my problem. Strangely, this probably needed to happen to remind me of why I don’t do this. I’m more annoyed at myself because this was my fault, despite the good intentions.

So, the next time you’re wondering if we offer a packing service or use Australia Post, you’ll know why the answer to those questions is no. Whilst the up-front costs of using a logistics specialist are a little higher, the total cost is much less, the process is streamlined, and probably safer.