Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold. In the meantime I often buy the items
from somewhere else." Quite a few people posted that they did the
same. I copied and pasted my post to CPC using their usual sales@
address.

They sent me a reply saying it would be uneconomical for them to offer
free delivery on all orders. I don't think anyone disputes that but I
do think they could make a profit and generate more orders if they
offered free delivery on orders over say £30 rather than £53.

I just thought I'd mention that they do listen to emails and will
reply, so may be if enough of us email them, they might be persuaded
to change their minds?

Stephen.

Stephen wrote:
Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got to
checkout or bugger about registering.


In the meantime I often buy the items
from somewhere else." Quite a few people posted that they did the
same. I copied and pasted my post to CPC using their usual sales@
address.

They sent me a reply saying it would be uneconomical for them to offer
free delivery on all orders. I don't think anyone disputes that but I
do think they could make a profit and generate more orders if they
offered free delivery on orders over say £30 rather than £53.

Toolstation offer free delivery over £10. I get regular 'plaes take part in
our survey' e mails from Screwfix & I always mention this. No change yet.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:24:30 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got
to checkout or bugger about registering.

You do know them. It's in the help on the website, under 'Online
Ordering'. Clearly states the threshold is £45.

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:24:30 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got
to checkout or bugger about registering.

You do know them. It's in the help on the website, under 'Online
Ordering'. Clearly states the threshold is £45.

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor


If it was "free" on smaller orders than someone has to pay - the prices will
have to rise to reflect the cost of P&P. It is not just P&P it is also the
cost of processing the transaction - raising the invoice - accepting the
payment, etc.

On Nov 19, 12:24*am, "The Medway Handyman" davidno-spam-
wrote:
Stephen wrote:
Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. *

Easily done, it seems.

I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got to
checkout or bugger about registering.

Read the terms on the website.

MBQ

Bob Eager :
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:24:30 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got
to checkout or bugger about registering.

You do know them. It's in the help on the website, under 'Online
Ordering'. Clearly states the threshold is £45.

It would be even clearer if the additional charges were put into your
basket at the outset. Not so much for a site you use often, but when
going to an unfamiliar site - especially when just comparing prices -
having the charges displayed clearly in the basket would be a Good
Thing.

1 Handling charge for orders up to £29.99 (ex VAT) £5.95

(and click on the description for chapter and verse)

On many sites you can't see the invoice total until you've identified
yourself. At that point I go elsewhere.

--
Mike Barnes

On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:08:57 -0000, "John"
wrote:

If it was "free" on smaller orders than someone has to pay - the prices will
have to rise to reflect the cost of P&P. It is not just P&P it is also the
cost of processing the transaction

That's what they said and there's no argument there but no-one is
asking fro free delivery on all orders, just to lower it from orders
over £53. As TMH has said, other companies can make a profit with free
delivery on orders £10, why can't CPC.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:36:15 +0000, Stephen wrote:

Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold. In the meantime I often buy the items
from somewhere else." Quite a few people posted that they did the
same. I copied and pasted my post to CPC using their usual sales@
address.

They sent me a reply saying it would be uneconomical for them to offer
free delivery on all orders. I don't think anyone disputes that but I
do think they could make a profit and generate more orders if they
offered free delivery on orders over say £30 rather than £53.

I just thought I'd mention that they do listen to emails and will
reply, so may be if enough of us email them, they might be persuaded
to change their minds?

Stephen.

Low prices
Free delivery
Pick one....

On Nov 19, 10:20*am, Stephen wrote:
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:08:57 -0000, "John"
wrote:

If it was "free" on smaller orders than someone has to pay - the prices will
have to rise to reflect the cost of P&P. It is not just P&P it is also the
cost of processing the transaction

That's what they said and there's no argument there but no-one is
asking fro free delivery on all orders, just to lower it from orders
over 53. As TMH has said, other companies can make a profit with free
delivery on orders 10, why can't CPC.

Different businesses (e.g. TS v CPC) will have diiferent typical order
profiles. TS probably worked out they can tempt extra customer with a
low threshold without swamping their system with small orders as a
result.

MBQ

In message , Stephen
writes
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:08:57 -0000, "John"
wrote:

If it was "free" on smaller orders than someone has to pay - the prices will
have to rise to reflect the cost of P&P. It is not just P&P it is also the
cost of processing the transaction

That's what they said and there's no argument there but no-one is
asking fro free delivery on all orders, just to lower it from orders
over £53. As TMH has said, other companies can make a profit with free
delivery on orders £10, why can't CPC.

Maybe they have decided that it isn't worth them playing that game?

And just because a company offers free delivery for a £10 order, doesn't
mean they are making a profit on it, it might even be they make a loss
on that. It might be they use it to draw customers in, knowing that most
will put in a bigger order, or it will encourage them to come back etc.
--
Chris French

In message
, Man
at B&Q writes
On Nov 19, 12:24*am, "The Medway Handyman" davidno-spam-
wrote:
Stephen wrote:
Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. *

Easily done, it seems.

I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got to
checkout or bugger about registering.

Read the terms on the website.


Delivery charges quite often aren't given anywhere on the site, even in
the T&C.
--
Chris French

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:24:30 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got
to checkout or bugger about registering.

You do know them. It's in the help on the website, under 'Online
Ordering'. Clearly states the threshold is £45.

But you shouldn't have to bugger around reading them either

Dave's right

As a general principle, online shopping sites should show you the whole cost
before they get to the point of asking for your payment details.

tim

On Nov 19, 10:58*am, chris French
wrote:
In message
, Man
at B&Q writes



On Nov 19, 12:24*am, "The Medway Handyman" davidno-spam-
wrote:
Stephen wrote:
Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. *

Easily done, it seems.

I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got to
checkout or bugger about registering.

Read the terms on the website.

Delivery charges quite often aren't given anywhere on the site, even in
the T&C.

They are in the specific case being discussed.

MBQ

chris French wrote:

Delivery charges quite often aren't given anywhere on the site, even in
the T&C.

That seems to be the problem that I have, particularly when the postage
is dependent on the item rather than the order. You need to create an
account, sign-in and provide credit card details before getting the
final cost. Not necessarily with CPC but with a lot of sites that one
makes one-off purchases from.

Andrew

In message
, Man
at B&Q writes
On Nov 19, 10:58*am, chris French
wrote:
In message
, Man
at B&Q writes



On Nov 19, 12:24*am, "The Medway Handyman" davidno-spam-
wrote:
Stephen wrote:
Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until I
reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. *

Easily done, it seems.

I want to know delivery charges 'before' I got to
checkout or bugger about registering.

Read the terms on the website.

Delivery charges quite often aren't given anywhere on the site, even in
the T&C.

They are in the specific case being discussed.

I thought we were discussing things in general, since there didn't seem
to be a question about CPC's delivery charge
--
Chris French

In message , Andrew May
writes
chris French wrote:

Delivery charges quite often aren't given anywhere on the site, even
in the T&C.

That seems to be the problem that I have, particularly when the postage
is dependent on the item rather than the order. You need to create an
account, sign-in and provide credit card details before getting the
final cost. Not necessarily with CPC but with a lot of sites that one
makes one-off purchases from.

I agree, as do most people I imagine. Though I will often just move on
to another site, that is clearer, though sometimes it might be a hard to
find, or especially well priced item you might want to make the effort.

I think it's just sloppy, rather than deliberate obfuscation, but you do
wonder if the owners never go shopping on other sites, do they not
consider they might be losing customers over this?
--
Chris French

On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:56:19 +0000, chris French
wrote:

And just because a company offers free delivery for a £10 order, doesn't
mean they are making a profit on it, it might even be they make a loss
on that. It might be they use it to draw customers in, knowing that most
will put in a bigger order, or it will encourage them to come back etc.

On the last thread everyone agreed with me, this time everyone is
contradicting me! Perhaps all those in agreement are quietly emailing
cpc. This is just imho but to clarify I am not asking for free
delivery on all orders or orders over £10. I am happy for them to set
it at some higher limit but last time we all agreed £53 was too high
for that limit.

One point that no-one seems to have made yet is that if the threshold
was say £30, more people might place orders. In the last thread people
said that they slowly deleted things from their cpc baskets whilst
they shopped elsewhere. I know I have deleted various screws, cables,
junction boxes etc recently having bought them from Screwfix instead.
If free delivery happened at £30 then I might place four £30 orders;
that's £120 for cpc. As it is, I place one £60 order and get free
delivery and the other £60 gets spent at Screwfix. I still feel CPC
would get more business if they set the threshold slightly lower.

That is just imho and ymmv etc, so I'll shut up now.

On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:24:39 +0000, tim.... wrote:

"Bob Eager" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:24:30 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until
I reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. I want to know delivery charges 'before' I
got to checkout or bugger about registering.

You do know them. It's in the help on the website, under 'Online
Ordering'. Clearly states the threshold is £45.

But you shouldn't have to bugger around reading them either

Dave's right

As a general principle, online shopping sites should show you the whole
cost before they get to the point of asking for your payment details.

tim

As CPC do. All charges are shown in the basket once one item is in it.
And it continues to reflect the charges as you add things.

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:20:42 +0000, Stephen wrote:

On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:08:57 -0000, "John"
wrote:

If it was "free" on smaller orders than someone has to pay - the prices
will have to rise to reflect the cost of P&P. It is not just P&P it is
also the cost of processing the transaction

That's what they said and there's no argument there but no-one is asking
fro free delivery on all orders, just to lower it from orders over £53.
As TMH has said, other companies can make a profit with free delivery on
orders £10, why can't CPC.

Charge more to start with?

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

In message , Stephen
writes
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:56:19 +0000, chris French
wrote:

And just because a company offers free delivery for a £10 order, doesn't
mean they are making a profit on it, it might even be they make a loss
on that. It might be they use it to draw customers in, knowing that most
will put in a bigger order, or it will encourage them to come back etc.

On the last thread everyone agreed with me, this time everyone is
contradicting me! Perhaps all those in agreement are quietly emailing
cpc. This is just imho but to clarify I am not asking for free
delivery on all orders or orders over £10. I am happy for them to set
it at some higher limit but last time we all agreed £53 was too high
for that limit.

From our POV as customers yes, maybe it isn't from the POV of the
business?


One point that no-one seems to have made yet is that if the threshold
was say £30, more people might place orders. In the last thread people
said that they slowly deleted things from their cpc baskets whilst
they shopped elsewhere. I know I have deleted various screws, cables,
junction boxes etc recently having bought them from Screwfix instead.
If free delivery happened at £30 then I might place four £30 orders;
that's £120 for cpc. As it is, I place one £60 order and get free
delivery and the other £60 gets spent at Screwfix. I still feel CPC
would get more business if they set the threshold slightly lower.

I don't think anyone would disagree with the principle, what we don't
know is the customer profile, order profile etc. Maybe CPC think it's
not worth their while? Or maybe their business is not quite so
competitive as the SCrewfix/Toolstation type market so they do think
they need to go down that route?

--
Chris French

On 19 Nov,
"John" wrote:

If it was "free" on smaller orders than someone has to pay - the prices
will have to rise to reflect the cost of P&P. It is not just P&P it is also
the cost of processing the transaction - raising the invoice - accepting
the payment, etc.

Their parent company, Farnell, have a £25 minimum order (and a bigger stock
range in some areas). However, their prices generally are higher - presumably
to cover this.

RS have free delivery, but usually even higher prices.

Depends on how much you want as to which to use.

Ebay can be your friend.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

On 19 Nov,
Stephen wrote:

One point that no-one seems to have made yet is that if the threshold
was say £30, more people might place orders. In the last thread people
said that they slowly deleted things from their cpc baskets whilst
they shopped elsewhere. I know I have deleted various screws, cables,
junction boxes etc recently having bought them from Screwfix instead.
If free delivery happened at £30 then I might place four £30 orders;
that's £120 for cpc. As it is, I place one £60 order and get free
delivery and the other £60 gets spent at Screwfix. I still feel CPC
would get more business if they set the threshold slightly lower.

My current basket is about £30. Several items I've got on Ebay and deleted
from the basket.

At least they retain the basket so that you can add other items that are more
expensive elsewhere, as well as deleting those obtained otherwise.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

On 19 Nov,
Mike Barnes wrote:

On many sites you can't see the invoice total until you've identified
yourself. At that point I go elsewhere.

Unless I can see the total before identifying myself I shop elsewhere. Sharp
practice and they get an address to spam.


--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

In message , writes
On 19 Nov,
"John" wrote:

If it was "free" on smaller orders than someone has to pay - the prices
will have to rise to reflect the cost of P&P. It is not just P&P it is also
the cost of processing the transaction - raising the invoice - accepting
the payment, etc.

Their parent company, Farnell, have a £25 minimum order (and a bigger stock
range in some areas). However, their prices generally are higher - presumably
to cover this.

RS have free delivery, but usually even higher prices.

Not any more - unless you pick up from a depot


Depends on how much you want as to which to use.

Ebay can be your friend.


--
geoff

Bob Eager wrote:
On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:24:30 +0000, The Medway Handyman wrote:

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout
until I reach the £45 ex vat threshold.

That annoys me intensly. I want to know delivery charges 'before' I
got to checkout or bugger about registering.

You do know them. It's in the help on the website, under 'Online
Ordering'. Clearly states the threshold is £45.

Sorry, me not being clear. On many sites, not specifically CPC, the actual
cost of delivery (if under their free delivery threshold) isn't revealed
until the last minute. Finding the threshold is easy, the actual cost
isn't.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Mike Harrison wrote:
On Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:36:15 +0000, Stephen
wrote:

Hello,

There was a recent thread about CPC's free delivery promotion and I
said: " I often add things to my cpc basket but never checkout until
I reach the £45 ex vat threshold. In the meantime I often buy the
items from somewhere else." Quite a few people posted that they did
the same. I copied and pasted my post to CPC using their usual sales@
address.

They sent me a reply saying it would be uneconomical for them to
offer free delivery on all orders. I don't think anyone disputes
that but I do think they could make a profit and generate more
orders if they offered free delivery on orders over say £30 rather
than £53.

I just thought I'd mention that they do listen to emails and will
reply, so may be if enough of us email them, they might be persuaded
to change their minds?

Stephen.

Low prices
Free delivery
Pick one....

I pick Toolstation & get both :-)

Well, free over £10 anyway - & I find TS cheaper than SF nowadays.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

wrote:
Their parent company, Farnell, have a £25 minimum order (and a bigger
stock range in some areas). However, their prices generally are higher -
presumably to cover this.

RS have free delivery, but usually even higher prices.

If you have a trade account (on a cash basis, not a credit account), do you
still pay the same charges? Farnell say they 'may' apply, but it's unclear
if they actually do apply them.

Theo