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Message |
    
Oppsgal (oppsgal)
Member
Username: oppsgal
Post Number: 555
Registered: 7-2008
| | Posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 - 7:00 pm: | 
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Most Overseas BP have the 2nd payment for shipping. How buyers know how much to pay and is within the budget? What if the organizer ask for $100 as shipping cost for 2nd payment and buyers are unable to afford? Does the organizer take the items and keep?
I think if there is a capping to shipping costs it will be better. For example buyers can ask for refund if the shipping cost exceed the amount that they can afford. It also prevent organizer from overcharging buyers. |
Catz (catz)
Senior Member
Username: catz
Post Number: 12997
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 - 7:07 pm: |
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Oppsgal, are you referring to Bulk Purchase or Overseas Sprees? |
Oppsgal (oppsgal)
Member
Username: oppsgal
Post Number: 556
Registered: 7-2008
| | Posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 - 7:13 pm: |
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Spree (Overseas sites only). Usually those have to pre-order from overseas have this - "2nd payment includes shipping charges + local postage". |
Oppsgal (oppsgal)
Member
Username: oppsgal
Post Number: 557
Registered: 7-2008
| | Posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 - 7:35 pm: |
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If can do away the 2nd payment for shipping and add in the shipping with payment for the price of items like those overseas Taiwan BP, that will be great.
Less misleading, as buyers can see the actual price of the items as a Whole rather then only part of the pricing. Alternatively, if can cap the shipping charges that would be great too.
I don't think anyone will want to pay shipping cost that is so many times higher than the actual price of item they would like to purchase.
2nd payment for shipping can be very HIGH if separated from the actual pricing. |
Catz (catz)
Senior Member
Username: catz
Post Number: 12998
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 - 9:11 pm: |
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Oppsgal, but these are sprees.. the purpose of sprees is to share out shipping costs - different from BP threads. Some overseas merchants indeed do ship in very huge boxes and even if you ask them to pack compactly, they are unable to accede to the requests. I've been unfortunate enough to have one item which had $80 shipping because of HUGE box size...Spree organisers are not running a business, in fact, when shipping costs are high, most spree organisers are also upset as their own orders are also subject to those high shipping costs. You must understand hor.. in BP, the organisers are 'sellers' or merchants if you like but in sprees, the organisers are only organisers. Shipping costs are governed by Vpost/CGW/BDL.
BP on the other hand are businesses, would understand if the price of the shipping is already calculated in. But for sprees, it's not really within spree organiser's control unless you suay suay join some dishonest or ultra blur spree organiser lor. |
Oppsgal (oppsgal)
Member
Username: oppsgal
Post Number: 558
Registered: 7-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 9:33 am: |
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Not sure about why some spree for overseas sites can do this:
http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/590029/2603883.html?1246872567
Adding up the shipping costs to the item? I am definitely more comfortable with joining such spree. How to know if have join dishonest spree organizer?
Catz: So you pay for $80 shipping because of huge box size or give up on that item? |
Catz (catz)
Senior Member
Username: catz
Post Number: 13002
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 10:08 am: |
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Oppsgal, wah this spree ah, I never join this kind of TW / HK spree, first time I've actually seen this type of thread but I see there's a 13% agent fee which I suppose is the norm? But honestly, this seems a little more like a BP than a spree.. I only spree from US and UK websites.
Adding up the shipping cost to the item is just not possible for most normal spree organisers who are not making any profit 'cos like I said, it depends on how much CGW/VPost/BDL charges for that shipment.
I've joined some dishonest spree organiser before. She made us pay $3.50 PER ITEM then on top of that collected another$19 top up from me for some small birthday candles and birthday items  That was a very bad experience for me as a new spreeist. After a while, you kind of know which spree organisers you can trust lah..
The cost was PER ITEM. The box cost well over $200 to ship in |
MTDT (mtdt)
Senior Member
Username: mtdt
Post Number: 13192
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 10:29 am: |
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oopsgal - even if the shipping is ex... organiser still hv to accept. the most is request vpost/cgw/bdl for discount.
As organiser "BOUGHT" the item from the usa/uk merchant already. money paid. if u dun accept.. even tat amt is lost. then how?
tw/china sprees are slightly diff. mostly are small items/clothes. and if not wrong, it's direct ship from merchant to sin. if u see her T&C, for bulky items - pls check with her first. so it's still subjected to shipping cost changes. |
tamarind (tamarind)
Advanced Member
Username: tamarind
Post Number: 7193
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 12:17 pm: |
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Some websites like www.gymboree.com, or www.landsend.com charge a fixed shipping rate. For example, for orders up to USD200, the shipping is fixed at USD 37 direct to Singapore. That is why organizers can collect the shipping together with the cost of the items in one single payment.
It is safest to join such sprees if you are not sure how much your items will weigh.
For sprees using CGW/VPOST, it is not possible to know the shipping cost upfront, like Catz wrote.
One mommy ordered some toys from amazon.com in one of my spree. She ended up paying SGD 60 for shipping alone because the toys come in big boxes. Of course she has the option not to pay the shipping, but there is no way I can refund her the cost of the items because I already paid amazon.com ! I kept the box which the toys came in, and gave it to the mommy. She can go back and measure the box and check at comgateway.com to see whether I was honest or not.
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tamarind (tamarind)
Advanced Member
Username: tamarind
Post Number: 7194
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 12:20 pm: |
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Catz,
That organizer is really dishonest ! Did she state all the extra charges right at the beginning ? Or did she make you pay after the items arrived ? |
Catz (catz)
Senior Member
Username: catz
Post Number: 13005
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 12:35 pm: |
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tamarind, that was my first spree.. so blur lor. She did state the extra charges at the onstart but I was shocked when she collected so much after that Lesson learned! Anyway, she doesn't organise sprees very often. |
Oppsgal (oppsgal)
Member
Username: oppsgal
Post Number: 560
Registered: 7-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 2:08 pm: |
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For me, I rather forfeit my upfront 1st payment, if the item is not that important and I can still stay alive without it.
Can't imagine to pay 4-5times of what the 1st payment is. |
Oppsgal (oppsgal)
Member
Username: oppsgal
Post Number: 561
Registered: 7-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 2:10 pm: |
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By the way what's the difference between spree and bulk purchase? So confused. |
Catz (catz)
Senior Member
Username: catz
Post Number: 13007
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 2:50 pm: |
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Oppsgal, I think you are not clear about sprees and bulk purchase lah, that's why. Besides, it's not fair to forfeit your items because the spree organiser was doing you a favour in the first place by organising the spree.
BP - for profit. Sprees - not for profit. See the diff? |
Oppsgal (oppsgal)
Member
Username: oppsgal
Post Number: 562
Registered: 7-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 4:09 pm: |
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Sometimes no choice, cannot afford such high shipping cost. Plus no one inform the buyer how much is going to be charged for shipping cost, so have to forfeit the item in the end if really out of budget. Furthermore, the buyer also going to lose some cash due to forfeiting the item in 1st payment too.
http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/2/517582.html
Like some spree also profiteering. So guess have to open eyes to see before joining. Not so sure about doing favor part. Sometimes organizer is doing the favor for themselves, though most is doing a favor. |
tamarind (tamarind)
Advanced Member
Username: tamarind
Post Number: 7197
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 8:15 pm: |
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Oppsgal,
It is not fair that the spreeist forfeit the item. The organizer still has to pay for the shipping charge which may be a lot. Then she ends up with items that she does not need. The organizer loses money. If you are not comfortable with the terms of any sprees, please do not join them.
As for whether the spree organizer is making a profit, you can tell from the exchange rate. If the exchange rate is very much higher than bank rates, then the organizer is most likely making a profit. So spreeists have to choose carefully.
Catz,
OIC.
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MTDT (mtdt)
Senior Member
Username: mtdt
Post Number: 13206
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 - 9:05 pm: |
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guess if really forfeit the item - must inform before the item being ship back. then the most let vpost "destory" it at usa?
but having said tat... i also wont wan such spreeist in my spree. hahaha... if hv, really headache. |
tamarind (tamarind)
Advanced Member
Username: tamarind
Post Number: 7198
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 08, 2009 - 10:42 am: |
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But a spree always includes items from many spreeists, so we must ship the whole box back. We will not know how much each individual item weighs until the good actually reach our house.
That's why spree organizers are taking a lot risks. If one spreeist refuse to collect and pay the shipping charge or simply MIA, then we got headache ! |
mashy (mashybrainz)
Senior Member
Username: mashybrainz
Post Number: 13097
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 08, 2009 - 4:14 pm: |
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Oppsgal
I also agree that if you're not agreeable to the conditions, then don't join. It's very horrible to just withdraw becoz of unforseen shipping charges. The organiser also won't know how much the shipping charges are until they reach singapore. If everyone do this kind of thing, then who wanna org sprees anymore? |
itsy bitsy (kiddymi)
Advanced Member
Username: kiddymi
Post Number: 5134
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 10:34 am: |
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From a bp organizer point of view:
bp organizers are able to fix a bp price becos we usually bring in the goods at wholesale price, but we mark up lesser in order to offer the product at cheaper price than what is selling in the retail stores. And this bp price is usually inclusive of the international shipping cost.
For spree organisers, they bring in the goods on normal retail price, hence spreeist will need to pay the international shipping cost just like when you buy direct from the oversea merchants. It is not fair to give up your order just because the international shipping is too expensive. The organisers is offering a service by collating all orders with the aim to help save shipping cost for everybody and order the product on your behalf. Spreeist can always ask the organizers for a shipping estimates. I'm sure those who organize sprees frequently are able to give you a rough idea, especially if the oraganizers alway spree from the same merchant sites.
If you feel that the shipping is too expensive to be true after the goods has arrived, you can always ask the organizers for the a copy of the shipping invoice and divide the amount by the number of spreeist. This way you will know if the organizers overcharged you on the shipping.
Re. capping of shipping cost. I don't think that is workable. You cannot expect the spree organizers to the absorb the extras when the organizers is already not earning from the sprees she organizes.
Re. spree organisers not profiting, this I will take with a pinch of salt. There are various ways to get around. Nowadays, merchants send out emails to their frequent buyers with special discounts not reflected on their retail websites. So the spree organizers earn by not giving back the full discount to the spreeist. The spree orgainsers could have special 20% discount code but only give back to spreeist 15% discount, she earns the 5%. Shipping: The spree orgainzers can have special discount too but does not share the full discount when she request for the 2nd payment for shipping charges.
I think it all boils down to doing your homework, joining one that is organized by a trusted organizer with good reputation and most importantly, whether you join bps or sprees, join with your eyes open. Shopping is meant to be enjoyed so ~ have fun  |
itsy bitsy (kiddymi)
Advanced Member
Username: kiddymi
Post Number: 5136
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 10:39 am: |
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delete |
MTDT (mtdt)
Senior Member
Username: mtdt
Post Number: 13216
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 11:44 am: |
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tamarind - ooh ya hor. i assuming tat big item is in 1 box nia :p |
strawberri (smallstrawberryshortcake)
New member
Username: smallstrawberryshortcake
Post Number: 79
Registered: 9-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 12:59 pm: |
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itsy bitsy,
You are right. Besides merchant sending out mails to frequent buyers, there are websites that offer % of cash back link to popular sites like ON, GAP, Vitacost etc etc. So spree organisers can and do earn some small profit when they organize spree. But to me, its ok la since since they do put in effort in coordination & meetups. |
MTDT (mtdt)
Senior Member
Username: mtdt
Post Number: 13220
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 1:12 pm: |
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strawberri - huh? hv websites tat offer % for ON/GAP??? really where? can say boh?
I ordered so many rounds of ON/GAP... lugi big time liao! :p |
itsy bitsy (kiddymi)
Advanced Member
Username: kiddymi
Post Number: 5137
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 1:22 pm: |
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I know Gymboree offers Gumbucks for a minimum spend of US$50, which the buyers can redeem against the next purchase. For an organizer who spree very often from Gymboree, I would think she will have a lot of Gumbucks to offset her purchases. US$25 off US$50 purchase, that works out to be about S$37 discount (base on current exchange rate). I don't check the spree section, does the Gym organisers share the Gumbucks on top of whatever discount that is reflected on Gym retail site? |
MTDT (mtdt)
Senior Member
Username: mtdt
Post Number: 13222
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 1:47 pm: |
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i noe abt gymbucks - and saw a couple organiser wld share it out. in a way i find it a hassle to keep track so dun do gym spree. :p
drugstore also hv right? written on website.
ON/GAP -this is new to me :p |
strawberri (smallstrawberryshortcake)
New member
Username: smallstrawberryshortcake
Post Number: 80
Registered: 9-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 3:27 pm: |
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Hi,
Yup, and lots more. It's free somemore. Definately not a scam as I got my cash back.
PM me if you are keen so that I can send you the invite! |
tamarind (tamarind)
Advanced Member
Username: tamarind
Post Number: 7203
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 5:54 pm: |
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I actually gave up about USD 40 gymbucks(my own) to offer free international shipping to mommies before !
Not everyone is out to make a profit lah.
There are certainly many ways to profit from overseas sprees. Like the organizer may not count her own items when splitting the shipping costs.
There is really no way to control whether an organizer makes a profit or not. So only join those organizers that you trust, or else organize your own spree lor. |
itsy bitsy (kiddymi)
Advanced Member
Username: kiddymi
Post Number: 5138
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 6:12 pm: |
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tamarind,
I agree, only join those that you trust, whether bps or sprees.
At the end of the day, if you think you have gotten a good deal and the organizers get what they want (be it profit or cheaper shipping), every one is happy. As long as the organizers are upfront about everything and did not scheme to cheat. |
xu xiushan (xiushan)
New member
Username: xiushan
Post Number: 5
Registered: 12-2009
| | Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 9:52 am: |
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i also seen organizers hiding the details about total shipment charges , total weight to stop us from calculating. when i asked, how come my items 'close to 1kg' you charge me at $16.72, her husband actually told me that the total spree item weighs 3-4kg, but the Box weigh 6 kg.. thats why shipment is so ex. and then they stop us from asking much which i think is a bad experience for me. they should do a breakdown or explain to us their calculation if we are unsure about it. |
cuclainne (cuclainne)
Member
Username: cuclainne
Post Number: 1313
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 08, 2011 - 3:14 pm: |
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out of curiosity, how does an organiser calculate the amount of shipping to charge to a spreeist - by weight or by number of items?
i have not organised any sprees here but am considering doing so, as a way to occupy my time and also because i like shopping, be it for myself or others.
my main concern is how the spreeist might preceive the final cost of shipping. as an example, recently i bought some items from disneystore for my children and the vpost charge was over $280 (actual weight was 13.5kg but chargeable weight was 35.7kg). a spreeist might say that the shipping cost should be according to the actual weight because that's how much their items weigh but to an organiser, doesn't this mean you are absorbing a cost that was not of your own doing in the first place? i mean, i would love to have it packed just right but again, it was up to disney and not me on how they pack their items.
has anyone had any issues with this? |
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