lickton's gets no more business from me!

i ordered a single campy lock-ring from lickton's. shipping was $6.
alot, but whatever.

receive the lock-ring a week or so later, strapped to the back of a
turtle...and the envelope indicated shipping cost was an actual $0.82.

i understand shipping has labour costs, material costs, etc. but a
631% markup is ludicrous, so wrote an unpleasant email to their
customer-support address saying i thought it was ludicrous and that if
they charge a premium for shipping, they should at least use some sort
of premium class of expedited shipping (i.e., postal priority, fedex
ground, ups). also told them that i'd share my experiences on the
online forums i frequent. clearly not the best tack to take, but i was
tired and grumpy after a +3hr ride as i hadnt eaten yet. but whatever.

their reply was, ahem, perhaps even more unkind with a load of
rationalization and justification. and further try to justify that
because they need to subsidize the shipping costs on kryptonite locks.

hmmm...lemme seee he shipping a 20gram lockring...walk over to the
bin, pick it out, stuff envelope, print out invoice/label, stick to
envelop, print out postage, drop in mailbox. i do that all the time
and it takes me a minute or two.

clearly, these guys are running a crappy shop and in over their heads
if they seriously believe a they can justify such a huge markup on the
basis of time and materials. and this douchebag "curt" is a jackass
who knows nothing at all about customer service.

walter

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: We love you, too, Walter.
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:46:04 -0500
From: Robert Lickton

Get a grip, Walter. Did you know shipping is about more than the
actual
cost. It's about the time and materials, also? Did you know it
actually takes more time to process a small item than a large item?

Shipping is not a profit center, at least it's not in this store. If
you compare our shipping rates you will find out we're pretty darn
competitive. Try this: buy a Kryptonite New York U-Lock from us. You
won't hear us crying that it costs us more to ship than we charge for
shipping. Sorry to offend you, but your rant was far more offensive
than my reply. --Curt at Lickton's