$450.00 for shipping 3 kegs of Sodasorb to Ecuador!

[teksimple]

I ordered three 37 pound kegs of Sodasorb from Divers Supply online, and gave them an address in Ecuador so that it could be loaded on board the M/V SkyDancer for my two week expedition in August. I assumed that mailing it would be more expensive than in the States, like maybe mailing it to Mexico? Not a chance.

Their web site lists the kegs for $65.00 a piece

They charged $645.00 to my credit card. That would mean Divers Supply charged me $450.000 just to mail those three kegs USPS to Ecuador. WoW. Now to add insult to injury, excess baggage charges are $3 a pound flying in and out of the Galapagos from Quito. That doesn’t include excess baggage charges on my flight from Houston. So with my rebreather (Mk15.5 BEAST), cameras, lights, tools and Sodasorb, I will be paying THOUSANDS in excess baggage charges and shipping. Just an FYI to those who might consider bringing a rebreather to the Galapagos. It is an exotic place, with an exotic price. Makes me REALLY wish I would have gone with a Sport KISS, Prism or Mini-Meg.

If anyone else has gotten away cheap on a Galapagos trip, please share your tips!!!!

 

[Scubaroo]

Well, according to this link:

http://ircalc.usps.gov/intl_speed.asp?CID=10093&MailType=package&Pounds=37&Ounces=0

37 pound parcel to Ecuador is about $132 USD, plus the weight of whatever the packing is. Pays to check these things first

That said, you're getting to dive a rebreather in the Galapagos - it's probably worth every penny spent to make it happen.

 

[teksimple]

Now I am really pissed. Surface mail should have cost only $75 for a 40 pound package. I told those guys I did not need it for another 6 months, and they took it upon themselves to send it airmail instead surface.

shipping Economy (Surface) Parcel Post 4 - 6 Weeks:$75.30x3=$225.90

I figure they owe me at least $200. See my email to the VP below...


_________________________
Kent,

Do you know what quantity you will need? Do you want indicating or

non-indicating? We stock either in 37 lb. pails (5-Gallon buckets) Price is the same.

Robbie


Robbie Mistretta
Vice President
Tel: 504-392-2800
Fax: 504-392-3920
rmistretta@diverssupplyinc.com


>>> "Kent <removed>" <removed> 1/17/2005 9:46:09 AM >>>
Excellent.

I will place an order with an Ecuadorian shipping address shortly. I take it you can send it via surface reasonably inexpensively? I have got six months before it needs to be there.

Thanks again

- Kent

 

[caveseeker7]

Kent,

they bend you over and ******* you royally!

Rusty Berry of Scuba Schools of America ('VoodooGas' here on the board) shipped 320 lbs. of absorbant to Micronesia for around $100 / 2 months lead time with an outfit called CTSI Logistics here in CA. Even though that was in 2003, I doubt prices have gone up that much, considering the difference in weight.

Stefan

 

[schford]

Lol Stefan - That will make him feel much better to know! ;-)

 

[caveseeker7]

That wasn't my intent, Stuart, nor do I think it takes more than his credit card bill to make him feel bad. The reason I made the post is that I believe he got fleeced by Divers Supply Online and should make a major stink about it.
Since Rusty posted here on the board, and offered help/info, asking around beforehand might well have avoided the situation. Contacting CTSI (through him if necessary) to get a quote might help argue the ridicilous charges that he has occured.

Kent, please let us know of the outcome of this, and thanks for the post.
If that outfit doesn't budge on the charges at least we'll know who to avoid.
Good luck.

 

[hoopa]

have you called them and talked to them about the bill amount?-- my god i think you can ship the stuff fedex(overnight) for less then the amount they are charging!!... Im wondering if they billed you the wrong amount by accedent. The other thing you can always do if you feel your being ripped off is call your credit card company and recharge the amount( but that is only if you feel what they did was fraud).. I would call them and talk to the owner and just state your case__ "hey i only needed it there i in 6 months and from what i can see there are many ways to get it there for less then a 100$... What is the problem here?".. If there was a mistake then im sure for the sake of keeping a good customer he will figure something out.....

 

[teksimple]

have you called them and talked to them about the bill amount?--

Here is their reply:
_________________________________
Sir,

As a rule, we don't use US Mail surface delivery because it is NOT trackable. We have had many, many packages lost because the US Mail simply cannot find them. To insure a package with the US Mail, you have to use the service that they specify. Your packages went the most cost effective, insurable way. Again, I apologize for the misunderstanding but since you requested US Mail as your transportation means, This is the way we shipped it for you.

I will speak with Robbie about this in the morning.

Eric Johnsen
Purchasing & IT Manager
Tel (504) 392-2800
Fax (504) 392-3920
ejohnsen@diverssupplyinc.com
_________________________________

What? I have insured surface mail many times! Is there something different about insuring international surface mail? This is so messed up!!

FYI, Stefan, I spoke to that logistics company in length, and they said they do not have any way of delivering to Ecuador. Otherwise, that would have been the way to go.

 

[crpntr133]

I think they forgot to lube you up first. One way to find out for sure about the USPS issue is to go to USPS.com. The web site will allow you to figure what it will cost.

 

[teksimple]

I find it hard to believe that so few CCR divers go to the Galapagos that no one has thought to distribute Sodasorb out of Ecuador.
_____________________________________

MessageFrom: Kent Backman [<removed>]
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 6:55 PM
To: 'Eric Johnsen'
Subject: RE: your recent order with Divers Supply

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

First, let us all agree that $450 is a lot to pay to mail something that costs less than $200.

Assuming a few kegs of Sodasorb were lost in the mail, a 75% surface mail delivery rate would still put the customer out ahead, given the 6 month shipping window.

I have nothing in particular against your customer service, other than the fact that $450 dollars in shipping fees did not warrant you e-mailing me first to make sure that it was OK. I am not a commercial diving business. I can't write stuff off like this. So frankly in the future I will go with another dealer later who may charge $20 dollars more a keg. I would hope that they might have the common sense to communicate to the customer before passing off what is commonly agreed to be enormous shipping charges, without a courtesy email. I would think that the latter is standard service for a retail customer. This is a significant enough mistake--for me anyway--to lose yourself my patronage. Since I have posted this entire e-mail exchange on Scubaboard.com, only time will tell if I am the only one who's patronage you have lost.

Sincerely,

- Kent

ps. If tracking was so important to Divers Supply, wouldn't giving a tracking number to the customer who just paid $645 also be good standard policy?


-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Johnsen [mailto:EJohnsen@diverssupplyinc.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 6:25 PM
To: kent@<removed>
Cc: Robbie Mistretta
Subject: your recent order with Divers Supply


Good Morning Mr. Backman,

Robbie has returned from the ADC Show this morning and I brought your emails to him as I said I would do. We reviewed your order, the post office policy's and your emails and he has asked me to email back to you.

The post office again, advised us that we used the cheapest "trackable" method of transport. Over the past 17 years of business we have had the post office loose many, many items and without the ability to track the packages, we are just out of luck. 3 years ago, Robbie changed company policy to stop this. We only use the post office service that is trackable. In your case, this is what was done. 3 pails of sodasorb were sent the cheapest way trackable via post office as requested. This service happened to deliver the product to you faster than you wanted but that was not the reason for the price. Trackability was.

We apologize for any misunderstandings but the fee was their fee not ours. We only followed your directions from your order. We have noted your account so that from now on, nothing ships until you receive a freight quote and that it must be approved by you before any shipping can happen. Hopefully, that will ensure that this won't happen again.

Again, we apologize for any inconvenience that this caused.


Eric Johnsen
Purchasing & IT Manager
Tel (504) 392-2800
Fax (504) 392-3920
ejohnsen@diverssupplyinc.com