https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/need-to-buy-a-slingshot-spring

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/10-128

And that label on the package makes it easy to reorder because the part number is on the label.

Yea - I've always had good luck with MAD as well....just thought I'd stir the Pinside pot a little...

Did this thread go the way you thought it would go?

Overreaction.jpg

$5 to ship is a problem?

It takes a person to pull and pack parts. It takes a box or an envelope to put the parts in. Tape to seal it. A label, etc.

Order some more stuff and stop being a cheapskate, James. You've got a lot of pins, you'll need *something* soon....

What I would do is wait about 8 months and spend $80 in gas to go to the next pinball show and get the spring for probably 35 cents. Now that's a deal. In your face Marco!

Yes, but this is pinball.

The first rule of pinball is that no one should make a profit from pinball.

You need to pay employees? Tough Schlitz
You need to pay rent? Tough Schlitz
Your kid wants to eat tonight? Tough Schlitz

I appreciate all the vendors that support the hobby.
Each vendor has its strengths.
I spread my orders around -- no one vendor gets all my business.

Marco's strengths are:

1. Fast email support
2. Big selection
3. Best web site for doing searches (amongst the pin vendors)
4. HYPER FAST DEAL-WITH-THE-DEVIL SHIPPING SPEEDS
5. Big discounts when you order in quantity

-mof

Well this thread is going well for the OP...

Everything has pretty much been said already. OP if you don't like it they do not force you to order. Shipping costs what it costs, if you don't like it drive there and pick it up. I still find it amazing that companies can take an item, deliver it across the country for what it costs me to buy a cup of coffee.

And that aint all.

Marco burned me once by shipping to an old address instead of the new address I had updated before the order. They refused to give me a refund, and I ended up having to file a complaint with Paypal. I ended up getting my money back, but it wasn't easy.

I will only order from them if I cannot find the part anywhere else.

They should have sent you an email confirmation of your order which includes the shipping address. I am surprised that any company selling online would not provide this.

I'm not sure what pbr has done. But shipping with them really went up. For some reason no last two shipments came through ups instead of USPS. Yesterday I got my order for a small 1.5 pound box was 28.15. It would have fit in a USPS flat rate for 13.00

Yep. Marco and PBL *ALWAYS* send me confirmation emails when I order. Now I'll make an effort to always double check the addresses.
-mof

O-din - "And that aint all."
That's beautiful. For some reason I find myself laughing out loud at this. Maybe I'm just tired.

They did not burn you, you did not pay attention when you processed the order. I have made the same mistake before and sent the parts to my old address. There are times in life where the finger should be pointed at your chest and not pointed at the other party involved. This is one of those times.

The springs are only .80 cents from Marco right?

"If you're ever gonna cry about the price of pinball parts, be sure and bring a towel!"
-mof

Towelie.jpg

Yeah, you're an expert with my particular situation. You missed the part where I said I updated the address BEFORE I made the purchase. I did receive an email that had the wrong address in it, and I did contact them before it was ever delivered. I double checked the profile on my account and it did have my new address listed.

I received a reply later that stated the best they could do was they could resend the parts once whoever was living at the old address sent them back, but I was out of luck if they didn't.

Just because you're a moron doesn't mean I am.

Couldn't agree more.

When I first got into the hobby there was a fair amount of bashing of Marco. Even back then, I have had nothing but positive experiences with them. Their prices may not be the best, but their customer service is.

And they ship faster than any other vendor I use bar none.

I love Marco.

Wow, that is pretty darn pathetic if that is what actually took place.

Why would anyone whine over their own mistake?

I've had good luck overall with Pinball Life, Marco, and Bay Area Amusements. Marcos isn't always the cheapest on each item, but they often have stuff I can't find anywhere else. If I only need or or two items, I try to wait until I need more parts. But because of shipping costs, I can always find more to buy need like flipper and rubber rings, pinballs, switches, or other common items that will get used.

LOLLL
ty for posting that.
-mof

Cheapskates. If $22 has you so riled up that you have to post about it then pinball is the wrong hubby for you. Another post to drain and get off my home page view.

Shipping from Marco to Norway is 61$ for 100$ of screws and other small parts.
But they are the only shop I can find that actually have the parts, not only listed, but also in stock.
Just saying...

So if there is a pinsider that wants to have a part time job as a postoffice, please shout out!

Axl

Most places have a minimum shipping cost regardless of what you order. Some base it on size, others base it on the dollar amount.

As mentioned previously, the best way to avoid this is to add items you anticipate you will need in the future.

I've never had a problem with Marco. A while back I placed an order that included 2 pieces of playfield glass (one a bally wide body) and the shipping was about $10. Most places won't even ship glass.

Yeah , but the OP went through god.

I like Marco, but I think they could do better on shipping. Company's like them (that do alot of shipping) get discounts that they dont pass on to the customer. Another method of income! But to be fair SHIPPING has gone through the roof for anything you're shipping yourself! I have my wife ship through her employer who gets a huge discount! freight and packages! I shipped a 60 machine 1000 miles away for $30 ! special handling in a crate. I saw shocked how cheap! plus they just took it our of her check lol!

Actually I updated my address before the purchase as well. There is a drop down that you should have double checked prior to shipment. You did not. You contacted them after they shipped the item but before it was delivered, so did I. We had the exact same situation occur, I can accept that I did not verify the correct address during check out, you clearly can not. So because you did not check the shipping, YOU my friend are the idiot just as much as I. Stop blaming other people for your mistakes, its obnoxious.

my instance also took place just after their computer system update. It should default to the most recent address, but after their update it did not. As frustrating as it was, ultimately, you and I both should have checked the actual shipment address during check out rather than just click place order.

Wish I had them, I would have dropped them off to you. I just drove from downtown Houston to Intercontenintal Airport. Waiting in security line...

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I agree on the costs but that's also built into the prices.

If people think that shipping departments are not a revenue stream for a company they are wrong. There is a cost to the materials, warehouse and employees that package those items. That is why companies, pretty much every real company out there charges you shipping fees that are more than the actual cost of the shipping label. Its a reality, its the way it should be, and it will continue to be.

If you cannot see a glaring flaw in their system where you make an update to your address, and the system does not honor it and sends to your old address anyway then you're hopeless.

You could always drive there yourself and pick it up. Wow $5 doesnt sound that bad anymore.

Dont forget the cost of doing Business.

Rent
Employees
Cost of Inventory and the cost of capital.
Cost of shipping and packing.
Taxes
.....and on

Even if they picked up the springs for Zero, The cost of doing business is pretty Damn Expensive today.

Marco is awesome and a life saver keeps me playin always top notch service.

Here's how I look at it, I'm thankful that companies like Marco exist.......if they didn't, we wouldn't be enjoying this hobby. Quit your whining and be greatful. It costs a lot of money to ship products.

Part of the problem here is that most businesses today just reference "shipping" rather than "shipping & handling", which used to be the norm years ago. And because they just reference "shipping", people tend to look at the shipping cost printed on the outside of the package and complain that they're being ripped off.

As Art suggests, the reality of the situation is that there are a bunch of overhead costs associated with running a business, and to cover those overhead costs, you have to amortize them over either the product or the service. If you amortize the overhead costs over the products, then the products will appear too expensive relative to the competition when potential customers are doing quick price comparisons over the Internet. So to keep product prices comparable vis-a-vis the competition, most vendors amortize overhead costs over the service itself (i.e., shipping & handling).

Since it often takes the same amount of time to pick & pack small orders as it does large orders, the "shipping and handling costs" are typically allocated in two parts: (1) a fixed minimum cost per order to help cover overhead, and (2) a variable cost that is highly dependent on the distance and actual freight cost from the carrier to deliver the order to the customer.

The main problem is that most average customers don't understand the costs of running a business, and they tend to focus on the data that is immediately available to them (i.e., "shipping" cost).

Marco has great shipping rates.

They only charge $9.99 on playfields; probably the best rate in the business.

Not all that strange.

USPS is about $6.

It's not like they can just put a stamp on an envelope and drop them in a mail box.

If you bill it, it's a revenue source. I think you meant to say "profit center", but that's an understandable mistake. Most average customers don't understand the difference between revenue and profit, but most business owners do.

Did the post office pick and pack the product too? Packing materials? Shipping costs are not just the postal cost... they call it "shipping & handling" for a reason

There is a minimal shipping cost for a good reason. It takes time to process an order, put it together, put it in a package, and mail it out. The same amount of time as a more expensive order. They can't make money filling $3 orders all day long.

Be happy these parts suppliers exist.