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Aircraft Spruce rant....not a good one.

25 posts in this topic

Posted

Does anyone have another place to purchase building supplies such as metal (4130) and drill bits? I'm building away on my Sonerai IIL and needed to order some supplies. With only $190 worth of merchandise (almost all small items) Aircraft Spruce wanted $74 in shipping. Yes I'm in the USA and only about 1,000 miles from their east warehouse. I can't see paying that much. Any suggestions?

I would order with Wicks but they didn't have the supplies I needed. I also figured maybe it was because I had two pieces of .025 and .022 that were 3x4 and 2x4', but took them out of the cart. I kept taking everything bulky out of the cart until I only had drill bits and a one pound container of safety wire. Down to $58 worth of merchandise. They still wanted $28 in shipping costs....So they want me to purchase from them but my shipping is over 50% of what I'm spending on parts?? NO WAY!!!

If you know of some where that doesn't rob you to ship item, please let me know. My business will not be going to ACS again.

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Posted

I've ordered stuff from them, kept the tubing under 8' which is the longest UPS will carry, and never got charged that much.  I'm up in Mn. so that's further than you.  I also order from Wag Aero in Wi.  Leading Edge Airfoils is now part of the same company, and you can make orders from both catalogs and they will arrive in the same box if you tell them to do it that way.  JImChuk

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Posted (edited)

I bought all of my steel and aluminum supplies for my build locally at substantial savings.  I could buy 10, 12 and even 20' pieces without shipping charges.

I'm sure there must be a steel supplier in New Jersey near you that carries domestic made 4130 and the aluminum you need.  Now you are only needing to order small parts that will ship cheaply from ACS.

Drill bits and safety wire can also come from places like Amazon with little or no shipping cost.  Again, I got mine locally (Fastenall) for convenience.  A little more expensive, but no shipping so at an overall savings.

 

 

(Wag and LEAF have alway been the same company, under the same roof.)

Edited by Av8r3400

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Posted

Shipping costs on everything from everywhere have gone up a lot in the last year.  While they were all getting the local stores closed with their online sales, they subsidized shipping to keep it cheaper than buying local.  Now that local stores have mostly dried up, they aren't subsidizing the shipping any more.  That, plus the increased demand for shipping all the online sales generates has raised shipping prices for everyone, especially if you aren't Amazon, etc. and have special pricing that all the other shippers end up paying for.  Companies like ACS, and Wicks, that have always been a phone/online sales company are just as much victims as the rest of us.

Go take a package and ship it via the post office the cheapest way you can - the 12"x12"x5"  box is $19.  If you package isn't a 'standard' size, you will pay through the nose.

Mark

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Posted

Here was my favorite (not really) example of shipping from ACS.  I ordered some small parts from them plus 2 yards of ultralight fabric.  I ended up getting two boxes from them cause they cut the fabric in a different area (supposedly)  The fabric was folded up, and was about the size of a wash cloth folded up.  Shipping cost was $9.60 for the fabric which cost about $8.  When I called them and complained, they ended up giving me back the $9.60.  Now I aways question them about shipping.  Wag aero will use USPS in an envelope for smaller items if you ask for it.  Be nice, but ask "what is the cheapest way to ship this".  I'll laugh a bit and tell how I've had a few tiny parts shipped and the shipping was more than the part.  (true) They are helpful if they can be, I've found.  Wag aero will let you order from them and LEAF and ship it together.   JImChuk

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Posted

I just made a $400 order. $300 of it was some Whelen LEDs. So far it's been broken into 3 boxes and it cost me $37 in shipping. Wondering how much the qt of polyfill hazmat shipping was. I am only a few hundred miles from the West Coast store. Not impressed.

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Posted

Just opened the box I got today. Out of the 6 items I ordered the roll of 1/8" soundproofing foam was the first to arrive. I dumped out the foamies thinking that for sure there was more in the bottom. Nope just foam packed with gobs more foam. Check out this packing! No damn wonder their shipping is so expensive. If this one order comes in 5 different boxes that explains some of the shipping costs. 

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Posted

I'd send this thread to Jim Irwin at ACS.  He is generally very responsive, and may not be aware this has gotten out of hand.

Mark

 

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Posted

Shipping charges can just leave you scratching your head sometimes, like there is a total disconnect from reality somehow. But I especially dislike it when sellers force you into more expensive (or multiple) shipping option(s) regardless of cost because it may be more convenient for them. Shows what little value they have for their customers perhaps. In any event, I try to buy most supplies at AirVenture for just this reason, particularly the big and/or heavy stuff. Well, that and because there are usually some really good deals to be had. :)

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Posted

I took my own advice, printed this thread to a PDF and sent it to Jim Irwin (I have his email address from some past issues, but try not to abuse it).  I got an almost immediate response from him that he was unaware and will be looking in to it.  Don't know if it will get fixed, but they can't say they don't know about it now.

Mark

 

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Posted

Jim Irwin asked me to post his latest response.  He is reaching out to Kenneth to try to resolve his issue as well.  If anyone wants his email address, PM me and I'll send it to you.  I don't like posting email addresses on public forums.  To many 'Russian' hackers out there :-)

Jim Irwin

1:49 PM (27 minutes ago)
 
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to me
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Mark,
 
If you want to post something on the forum that you have been in contact with me and that I welcome comments from anyone who has had any concerns with freight costs, that would be great. The other option is for me to post something saying the same thing. Either way, we would like them to let us address their concerns and make any changes that are necessary in our packing of orders or the way our system quotes freight.
 
Thanks,
 
Jim

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Posted

He needs to read the 30 replies I got on my Facebook post from fellow pilots. Lots of people have quit using spruce because of their shipping. 

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Posted (edited)

I can understand all of the complaints about Spruce shipping, but I can honestly say that I have not had any complaints about them and I have bought lots of orders from them - guess I was just lucky - maybe things have changed?  EDMO

Edited by EDMO

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Posted

Seems like it's gotten worse since they bought out CPS.

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Posted (edited)

Mark, if you would please let me know how I can contact Jim, PM me if needed. 

What everyone has to realize is that I took everything out of my order down to six different sizes of drill bits. It left a total of I think 10 bits (approximately). My total merchandise was around $28 and the shipping was still $24. For drill bits??

I gave up and deleted everything from my cart. I really needed some of the items as I don't have a local steel/metal supplier at all and can't find the aluminum block I need as a spacer for the gear. At this point my entire project is back on hold due to the shipping costs at ACS. 

I'm not trying to be ignorant or hurtful, just laying out the facts as they stand. Keep in mind the largest piece I was trying to order was a 36" long piece of 5/8"x040 4130 strap, when the shipping was quoted at $78 for the cheapest method. Once I added a 4x8' roll of .025 aluminum it didn't change. I tried multiple things in my cart and finally found that when I took out a 3 foot long piece of firewall blanket that was a total of 1/8" thick and only $5.90, the shipping dropped by $20. This was when all I had was it and the drill bits in the cart. So the total then was something around $35 of merchandise and $45 in shipping. That was the worst ratio I found. Either way the cheapest shipping I found with any given combination of merchandise was 50% more than the just the product I was trying to order. I don't need $500 worth of product to get the free shipping. 

With the free shipping set so high (for us little guys), I feel like I'm excluded from even a reasonable deal on shipping. I know years ago they had flat rate shipping based on amount of purchase, unless it was oversized, which I understand. That has gone. I do realize that shipping companies are charging an all time high, even though fuel prices are much lower than they were a couple years ago. However, as Joey pointed out, my last order from ACS was sent in something like 5 boxes. Most of them padded to no end when they didn't need to be. I believe almost all of it would have fit in one of the larger boxes I received and still not been heavy. 

Trust me, I'm looking for a solution, not just to rant. 

EDIT: Thank Mark for stepping up to the plate to try to help with this. I got your PM. 

Edited by lostman

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Posted

I'm with ED on this one, I have never had high shipping costs like that, I place an order almost every week, the only thing that bugs me is half my order comes from the east and half from the west and it always says in stock both stores,  I guess some times its good to be right in the middle.

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Posted

Here is an example of shipping costs..  I recently sent a Warp Drive 2 blade prop and hub back to their factory with USPS.  The package was about 5" X 7" X 38" and weighed about 10 lbs.  It cost Just under $15.  I was expecting more to tell the truth.  I thought that was very reasonable, and with USPS, it doesn't cost any more to ship across the country, one price does all.  The priority mail if it fits it ships boxes can be a real deal if you are shipping small but heavy items.  I sold a couple of sets of large truck brakes a few years ago.  I had a real hard time getting them into the larger sized  box, but did.  The box must have weighed near 50 lbs, and it still shipped for the regular price which I think then was about $16.50  JImChuk

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Posted

Here are some more quotes Jim may want to read. There are a lot more people frustrated than our little community. 

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Posted

Ah I don't believe that crap, sounds like people that just want to bitch, I have had multiple orders that were back ordered, never once got charged twice,

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Posted

It sounds like Jim should join the forum, if for nothing else than to see this thread. I'll email him and let him know as well. I honestly haven't talked to anyone lately that isn't a little fed up with their shipping. I hadn't had any bad issues with it until this last order, which I haven't even made yet due to the mentioned issues.

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Posted

Jim personally reached out to me and I was credited some shipping back. He seemed open to feedback. I was pretty impressed that he took the time to email me. That says a lot in my book. Hopefully they can rectify it because I cant afford those kinds of shipping costs. 

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Posted

I wanted to update everyone with the response from Jim today. I was happy to get a personal response from him but it didn't really solve any issues. I basically took it that we could take the time to hand calculate each item I had in my cart if I were to give him a complete list of what I had in it at the time of the issue. But that he didn't think it would change the costs of the shipping at all.  I will past his email response below: 

"

Kenneth,
 
Thanks for your email regarding your concerns with shipping charges. Let me first assure you that it is and has always been our goal to get orders to our customers at the least possible cost. That being said, it is important to remember that the value of the order has nothing to do with the shipping costs, which are based only on size and weight of the packages and where they have to go. It is very possible that the items you described could cost $78 via UPS because large items are rated by UPS by dimensions as well as weight, and it is expensive to ship large items. $200 of material can cost $78 to ship because of it's size, weight, number of boxes,etc, whereas $4000 of product could cost less than $78 if they are small items that can ship in one box.
 
If you can give me the exact list of part numbers and quantities you had in your cart I can check to see if the $78 that the computer calculated was correct for UPS ground. On the drill bits and the safety wire we show a UPS cost of $14, not $25, so I would like to verify the shipping on those items as well.
 
Our $500 free shipping policy does not include large, oversize or heavy products like alumimum sheet, tubving, wood, 5 gallon cans, etc. as explained in our catalog and website.
 
I certainly agree that packaging must be done efficiently and orders packed in the least amount of boxes possible and without excessive shipping peanuts. We will certainly remind our shippers to be as efficient as possible in their packing to reduce shipping costs as much as possible.
 
I wish there was an easy answer on how to ship larger products at lower cost, but UPS and FedEx do charge premiums to ship larger boxes, and we simply have to charge accordingly based on what we are paying these carriers for these shipments. We appreciate all of the orders you have placed with Aircraft Spruce and hope that we have the opportunity to continue to serve you. If there is ever any concern with pricing, shipping costs, or any other issue we are here and eager to help if you contact us directly.
 
I look forward to your reply and to the exact list of what you need to order so we can manually verify the shipping cost.
 
Best Regards,
 
Jim Irwin
President
Aircraft Spruce"
 

Jim personally reached out to me and I was credited some shipping back. He seemed open to feedback. I was pretty impressed that he took the time to email me. That says a lot in my book. Hopefully they can rectify it because I cant afford those kinds of shipping costs. 

Joey, I'm glad that you got somewhere with it. While I'm happy about him taking the time to respond I don't feel it really did any good. I will email him back with the items I had in the cart and see what he says. I still stand by what I said about taking every large item out of my cart until I had only things that would fit in a small box and the shipping was still around $55. Either way, $14 for drill bits and 1 pound of safety wire that will fit in the smallest flat rate box and ship for less than $8 is too much. 

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Posted

Ah I don't believe that crap, sounds like people that just want to bitch, I have had multiple orders that were back ordered, never once got charged twice,

Tjay, I do agree that some people just like to complain. I am looking for solutions though. I have long held the belief that if you just wine about something it is just complaining, however if you state facts and look for solutions it's not complaining. 

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Posted

Ya'll should deal with shipping to AK.. half the damn suppliers will shit to other countries but not AK.  It cost the exact same to use Priority mail and ship it 1 town away or anywhere else in the US but they wont ship here.  Lots of times I have to pay twice for shipping as I will have it shipped to a buddies then have him forward it to me. 

I agree on the spruce shipping.  I understand purchasing standard size boxes to ship items in but holy hell, you would think they could get the sizes a little closer.  The amount of shipping peanuts is stupid.  perhaps if I have a box full of expensive electronic items yeah, pack them well.  If I order AN hardware and some metal.. It down not need peanuts.  or maybe just a few not 90% of the box..

All in all, I don't have any major bitches about spruce.  If there was a supplier I could drive 2 or 3 hours and get all the parts I needed I wouldn't mind taking a drive.  Its nice to get out once in awhile and a 2 hour drive is nothing to me.  Hell an 8 hour drive for something I want is nothing. Take the wife with ya and find a nice hotel and make it a weekend getaway and you score points with her as well :lol:

:BC:

 

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Posted

I must say that AC spruce does care about the customer... I am betting the next post comes straight from our newest member :)  Welcome aboard here on the dark side!

 

:BC:

 

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