Shipping to Alaska and Hawaii

Ecommerce - Does anybody not ship to these states?

[keno]

I would still consider myself fairly new at Ecommerce...One of my widget sites is on a bare bones margin, but I have set it up so that I don't lose money atleast.

As a vendor, I think I am better off not shipping to Alaska and Hawaii, because:
1. I advertise a low cost fixed shipping rate that works for the lower 48.
2. Exceptions cost me more time than I want to deal with.
3. If I ever get a return due to warranty issue, I'm scr*wed. It will cost me $30 to get the product back here.

Do you folks have the same issues?
Is there any law that says I have to ship there no matter what?
Is it bad business to refuse business?

I did a search before I posted but I didn't see this subject addressed recently.

[grandmf]

We do a fair amount of business to both states. Just have a flat rate which is a little more than 2 day air (least expensive shipping for both) to those states. You will make a little more for shipping so if you do have a warranty issue, your not losing money in the long run. Im assuming you dont run into warranty issues very much?

[keno]

GrandMF
Eventhough I sell the most expensive line of these widgets and exclude other lines to cut down my exposure, warranties are an issue.

"At th-s time, delivery is limited to street addresses in the 48 cont-guous st-tes. You will see the actual arr-val date in ch-ckout after you choose a sh-pping address."

This huge retailer in the USA says the above about large items, so I guess I don't have to ship to Alaska and Hawaii if it is not profitable.

[jwolthuis]

The USPS flat-rate boxes work very well for shipments to AK and HI, as well as Puerto Rico.

[LisaWeber]

I live in Hawaii. I shop extensively on the Internet because you just can't get stuff here. I will pay the outrageous shipping fees of up to $30 depending on the item. I do however, scour the Internet for the lowest shipping prices. Someone who wanted to MAKE some money could cater to Alaska and Hawaii and get lots of repeat buyers.

So, as a shoppers viewpoint, it's not bad business to not ship to Hawaii. Plenty of people do it. It is mildly irritating to me, and you of course lose a sale, just please, make it OBVIOUS you don't before we fill in our contact details. That makes me mad.

[grandmf]

Exactly as Lisa says. People in Hawaii dont just sit on the beach, they want the items out on the net just like anyone else. People there already know they are going to pay a premium for shipping. They pay higher prices for everything over there because it costs so much to ship it in. An average order for us to either state is about $28.00. If you just find out what the average is, then add $3.00 to it or whatever. If you have 1 in 10 orders go bad and have to be warrantied, you paid for the shipping already (we have customers pay shipping back to us, and we pay shipping to them. Splitting the difference).

[keno]

Someone who wanted to MAKE some money could cater to Alaska and Hawaii and get lots of repeat buyers.

Yes, I agree, and I have been thinking about that this morning. I did a search on "Alaska Widgets" and there wasn't alot available. This was my first Alaskan order!

make it OBVIOUS you don't before we fill in our contact details. That makes me mad.

Well, I just shipped the guy in Alsaka his goodies, because I did not make that message clear, although it was in the fine print. Thanks for the first hand view point.

The USPS flat-rate boxes work very well for shipments to AK and HI, as well as Puerto Rico.

Thanks for the tip Jwol. I need to research that one further with regard to Alaska and Hawaii.

[keno]

If you have 1 in 10 orders go bad and have to be warrantied, you paid for the shipping already

Nice idea there!Thanks

[lgn1]

Just jack up the flat rate shipping a few percent for the lower 48 states, to cover the cost of HI and AK orders.

[DrDoc]

Or, make the AK/HI people pay for it. ;)

No, seriously ... I think that doing a little bit of both might work. Increase shipping a tad for everyone to help pay for AK/HI. Then, if that's not sufficient (or on heavier orders) add a smaller amount to make up for the difference.

[Rugles]

>>>Just jack up the flat rate shipping a few percent for the lower 48 states, to cover the cost of HI and AK orders.

Might be more than a few per cent, it is expensive to ship more than a couple pounds to those states. Be careful, some parts of AK are extremely remote.

We get lots of orders from HI and AK, people who live there are used to paying extra for shipping, so dont be afraid to cover your costs.

No, there is no law forcing you to ship everywhere.

[otnot]

Hi:
I live in Alaska and have to ship to the lower 48 and Hawaii. I don't charge extra for priority or Hawaii orders. I have built into my standard overnight shipping costs enough profit to cover the priority shipping. It is amazing to me how many area's in the lower 48 are priority. I have to use overnight service because what I ship is frozen perishables.