Natchez shipping, what do think?

I have ordered quite a bit from Natchez over the years and always thought thier shipping was high. This last fall I ordered a couple hundred dollars worth of reloading supplies and the frieght & ins, and handling was $28.30! If they have a super deal on an optic or something it might be worth the high shipping but otherwise its ridiculous.
 
Ooops, overlooked the ejector & spring, so bottom line not the same but hope the explanation as to S&H policies of various companies helps.

I sometimes get in a bind and have to order a small item but usually try to add other often used merchandise to the order to help defray the S&H, but that's just me.

Regards,
hm
 
Natchez has high shipping/handling. They don't hide it until after you pay, so I don't see the big deal.

When I'm going to place any order I do a search on the item name or number and go to a couple of best prices and add it to each cart. I add all my stuff to 2 or 3 shopping carts then plug in my zip code to get shipping quote. Then I compare each cart and see who's offering the best deal on the total for all the merchandise. If it's over a couple hundred lots of times it's Natchez who has the best overall price, other times it's Midsouth Shooter's Supply or MidwayUSA. You never know until you total it all up.
 
Never really noticed Natchez being any higher than anybody else with their shipping chgs. Midway is high also I think! I ordered a x-box from Natchez and shipping was about $28.00, but it was mainly because it was an oversize package. Mid-South probably is best, they have a set ship rate on anything/quanity you buy. Or at least they use to.
 
Their rates are far higher than Midway for example.

The last time I ordered from Natchez (actually was my wife ordering some bullets for Christmas), the shipping charges weren't much less than the price of the slugs. Would have been vastly less expensive to buy locally, not what you expect from on line sources. Won't order from them again. Don
 
Another factor that could be involved is shipping contract prices. My wife used to manage a mail order pharmacy. They shipping 1000 packages a day, they had a special shipping rate from ups because of their large volume of packages. Could be something going on here the same way.
 
Yes, their shipping rates are a little higher than midway and cabelas but their ammo prices are quite a bit lower in most cases and no sales tax.

Basically, they are great for large orders of ammo with whatever else thrown in but they are not the place for small orders.

Just an example- i recently ordered 500rds of .45 blazer alluminum with 7 boxes of .30-06 and 2 boxes of .38 plus some other items. Basically had to add 2 bucks per box/item for the shipping. Price still came out cheaper than cabela's catolog price without shipping or tax that gets added on top of that.

Natchez is also great for Leupolds- free shipping and no tax.
 
Small box priority mail is about $5.05 with hadling its still under $10 and they say 12-18....Id pass also or wait till I had a big order.
 
Originally Posted By: rvbCheck Graff and Sons its usually a toss up between them and midway. Graffs has a flat rate shipping on most items. Never hurts to shop.

+1 for Grafs and their flat rate shipping.
 
The last thing I ordered from them was a scope. 16 shipping and handling and insurance. I just sold 2 scopes and shipped them out through USPS and with insurance and all it cost me about the same for each scope.

Small items always tick me off. Shipping is always more than the part costs so I always try to bundle when ordering.
 
I would imagine part of the high Natchez shipping is for hidden handling charges. I ship some items from my work and we charge a handling charge. Example is yesterday I shipped a scope to a guy in GA via UPS. Including our handling charge the cost was $16. Since I packaged the scope myself the shipping manager deducted the handling charge. Cost went down to $11. USPS wanted $10.55 for the same package with same amount of insurance and their crappy tracking.
 
Originally Posted By: rletts77The last thing I ordered from them was a scope. 16 shipping and handling and insurance. I just sold 2 scopes and shipped them out through USPS and with insurance and all it cost me about the same for each scope.

Small items always tick me off. Shipping is always more than the part costs so I always try to bundle when ordering.

I share the sentiment! Thats why for years, I turn to Natchez (rarely) as a last resort because I too feel like I'm being played and getting ripped off for handling and shipping. SO long as people are willing to pay and knowingly get ripped off, Natchez will keep doing it. I may not be the sharpest pencil in the drawer, but I know when I'm being had.
 
Part of the reason most of these ship with UPS is the tracking capabilities. Let's face it, the USPS postal service tracking just plain sucks.

In todays world, there are more crooks on the lamb and they will "claim" that they never got an item. The company has NO standing when they can't provide a proof of delivery. Thus, the crook will simply file a complaint with the credit card company and get the charge reversed.

This leaves the company without payment and without their product.
 
Brownells has reasonable shipping...if its a small item they charge accordingly...or at least they used to the last time I ordered from them.
 
Heres a tip when comparing prices always calculate shipping you'll be surprised how much of a difference there is.A lot of mail order play the shipping game hoping you'll be lazy enough not to compare prices.
 
What MO1 said. Put them in the shopping cart, click all the BS until it gets to the shipping price, then decide if I want to buy. There are alot of great stores in Texas, but buying from them online makes it difficult.
 
It's not just Natchez. All the retailers are making profit off of shipping charges. It's common knowledge what a USPS Priority Flat rate box costs. The small one is $5.15. I called SWFA to order a set of Seekins 30mm scope rings last week. I purposefully called rather than online ordering. I told the girl what i wanted. The rings were $138. We get to the payment info and she tells me the shipping will be $16.84. Keep in mind they are in Texas, right next door to me in Oklahoma. I asked the girl why the shipping charge was so high. She said, and I quote "it's most likely due to the size & weight of your item"........really? I told the girl it was a set of scope rings that weighted less than a pound and were small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. There was a bit of silence as she just sat there on the phone. After a moment she says "well maybe we can send it USPS Priority". I said yes i think that'd be a better method. Now, keep in mind a small Priority box is only $5.15, the new charge was still $12!!! What the [beeep]?? I then asked why the cheaper option was automatically offered/used in the first place? She tells me that UPS is their "primary" shipping service and that's who they use unless asked otherwise. So this tells me they are getting volume breaks on rates via UPS. So im getting charged a shipping cost plus a profit, and they aren't even having to pay a standard rate for the UPS service, it's discounted.

I understand that everything costs these days, nothing is free, but in some ways retailers have taken advantage of the times. Id rather the total cost be figured into the item, then charge me a true shipping rate based on the actual cost of the shipping service alone.....no added or hidden $$$ disguised as "shipping".
 
exactly! sell the item for whatever you need to to make your profit and be competitive. shipping rates should be actual.Anything else is just insulting to say the least.
 
Best thing I've found about Natchez is the cheap paper they make their catalog's out of.
It's excellent for starting fires in my wood stove.

I never buy from Natchez for all of the reasons stated above.
 
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