[imaref]

No....they're probably re-adjusting their shipping/postage rates....AGAIN. (Gas price increases, no doubt, will affect their bottomline!)

(This is Paul Anderson's email response I received when inquiring about recent rate "switches").
__________________________________________________ __________

"....I believe the shipping rates are the same as last week. To answer your question directly we just opened a fulfillment center in Great Falls, MT to service you the consumer better.

This company charges The Official's Choice, Inc. $5.00 per order. Therefore, since our expenses have risen substantially in 2005, the shipping goes up in kind.

Example is if a shoe order is $50.00, the $5.00 center fee, this is a 10% of the order amount, leaving us no choice but to cover it by revenue increases. And we don't make 10% profit on shipping, we have to pay for a box, tape, labels, stuffing paper, electric, gas and on and on and on.

Example 2, if company a sells a shirt for $25.00 and charges $6.95 for the shipping/handling, there shirt is $31.95 and that covers there expenses. Our company right now charges $15.00 for the same shirt, and $10.00 shipping/handling, where do you save more money. Plus, we have a better product. In closing, a few people have voiced displeasure in the exciting world of the officiating "chat rooms", but for the most part the many people who have purchased our fine products have sent us kind thank you notes. One more thing, it won't be long now before we get a notice from FedEx and UPS that due to the price of oil rising this week, their rates will rise again.

I hope this helps you understand where we are coming from on this end. If my business doesn't cover the expenses, then we will fall into the same trap as 90% of small business that closes in the first year of business.

Have a good evening and thanks for the message."

Paul

[Edited by imaref on Mar 11th, 2005 at 09:57 AM]