Larger inventory = larger overhead. If you want a part no one else is willing to pay to keep in stock, you pay more. If they pay $100 for 100 springs and only sell 10 a year at $3/each, then they're still out $70 for the year even with the markup.

That's too much man!

maybe it includes tax?

Might I point out that boxes,tape,and tiny envelopes cost money. And I really wouldn't want any part shipped in an envelope (padded mailers excluded) since small parts get lost when the envelope tears, or gets smashed in the "Postal Press".

The $2 difference is probably "handling". The cost of tape, boxes, packing materials, labels, padded envelopes should be taken into consideration.

its not a cute idea, its how it works. All costs are built into every item selling price. If you run a company are are not considering all your costs you are a fool who will be bankrupt. and as I said I have no issue with them charging shipping to cover the rest of the costs, its normal. How do you think places do free shipping do you really think they eat that cost, its i the buying price. if you don't hit the magic free shipping level they get to charge the "hidden" shipping cost in the price plus the formal shipping.

I sure get my moneys worth!

So when you buy a 5 cent screw from them, they should charge you their exact shipping price?

Minimum shipping charges are a standard in business. Handling charges are also a standard.

Think of it this way. If they were to build that cost into every item they sell, you would be hugely overpaying for shipping costs. If you place an order for 50 items or 10 items and they all have shipping costs built into their price you would definitely be loosing as the consumer. Now if they just have a minimum shipping charge or a standard handling fee, you come out ahead.

I'm going to add to this, just how many pinball part suppliers are willing to go the distance to get parts that are no longer manufactured, made? other than PPS, I can only think of one, and that's marco's

I've personally worked with them and their fantastic staff, and because of that the pinball community now has access to over a dozen parts which were no longer being produced until the guys (and gals) at marco "got it done" (or helped out)

Steve Young's Pinball Resource?

YA GOTTA PAY TO PLAY... (literally!)

I'm not sure how much manufacturing they actually do any more. When a part goes out of stock, it seems to stay that way.

I have a whole handful of stuff I'd like to buy to replace worn out parts, but they aren't in stock, and they have no plans to re-make them (I've asked), so I'm SOL.

But, I am thankful for what they still do have in stock--and at very reasonable prices.

I can only speak from my experience, but building shipping into a product is getting more and more antiquated. My company is now moving away from that because it was a nice sales technique 10 years ago, but it's financially a bad move for both the customer and the company. The only way it works well is if your prices auto-adjust based on the shipping zones of the customer shopping (not even sure how that would work). Otherwise, a portion of your customers get an incredible deal and a portion get a terrible deal depending on how close they are to your shipping center. Especially if you are in a competitive field, shoppers tend to compare the bottom line (the unit price). If shipping is rolled in, that makes you look over-priced.

Again, just my experience

My cheapest machine is still worth several hundred bucks. I'm not going to complain about a few bucks for shipping. Pinball is an expensive hobby and I've come to terms with that. I don't order everything from Marco but I do order a lot of stuff and the shipping is always fast and the orders are always correct. I am a fan of the company.

did you not read the entire comment? "I have no problem with them charging shipping to cover the rest of the costs". This was clearly stated. But when a company buys at wholesale and resells at retail they do not charge the same price as they bought it. They charge more, that "more" includes the costs of doing business. Those costs include profit of course, business expenses such as personnel, buildings, computers, utilities, insurance, personnel benefits, etc. part of those costs is the cost of moving the item on. Amortizing the costs over everything spreads the costs, its like insurance. It does not increase the costs dramatically. If you have 20000 screws in inventory that to ship is expected to cost $100 (10000 cents) to move the entire lot (made up number, I have no idea what 20K screw will weigh). That amounts to 2 cents per screw to ship. That 2 cents is going to be included in the margin cost the company maintains, along with the other business costs mentioned earlier. Of course they can't ship a single screw for 2 cents. the shipping charge will be 3-4 bucks in reality. this is profit. but at the same time there are things that cost more to ship than what winds up being charged, this is offset by the costs that are built into the margin on the front end. I do know how this works I have direct family who does this stuff daily (not in pinball).

My bad, I misinterpreted what you were saying. Apologies.

I thought Marco had pretty much added different shipping options and weren't as bad as they used to be.

Regarding customer service. You don't really experience it until you have a problem, and if you read my previous posts you can see they didn't deal with my problems as one would expect.

Bay Area on the other hand not only gave me a full refund, but also a $50 store credit.!
Stuff that up your ass Marco!

_{Post edited by BobC: spelling eror}

Regardless of price. You do expect items not to get broken due to poor packing.
Their failure to pack fragile things correctly even when asked and after multiple incident have been brought to their attention is mind boggling.

Their sending me the wrong item due to incorrect picture and description per their own admission, is one thing. But still expecting me to eat the cost of shipping both ways when the admit is was their fault? What's up with that?

I'd gladly pay more for shipping if it would prevent the above problems.

I have to say. Marco is one of my favorite vendors. My sales rep knows the sound of my voice and is very very accommodating. They are my favorite vendor for general parts atm. They answer the phone and are very friendly. PBR being a close second. Steve is my go to guy at both places which also makes it ez!
The only way they could be better is if they came to help put the parts in! I don't see that happening.
Actually, I would not be surprised if Steve wants to stop and play with the crap he sold me over the years!
Jim

Just went home for lunch and when I opened the front door to take the dogs for a walk, the parts I order from Marco at around 9am on Monday were sitting on the welcome mat. That is why I order from Marco!

Although OP's gripe about Marco isn't reasonable, there's a lot of stories in this thread that are.

I'll certainly only use PayPal there from now on, thank goodness for buyer protection.

PBR

Wow!!! 34 thumbs down just for voicing an opinion. That's more than than I received on my last thread. Good job! I salute you!

STFU idiot

Hope this helps.

Gosh, that's a lot of downvotes.

Nah, the site record is like 120+. Can't remember the thread though.

"Please show me on the doll where the Marco shipping bill touched you, jimmy."

If I could have rolled on the floor laughing I would have, damn public spaces...

This officially gets my post of the week!

203 thumbs down...
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/yall-aint-gonna-believe-this

That was a fun read.

LMAO!!!!

Thank you Sir, may I have another!?!

image.jpg

207 now

Marco rocks! Big thank you to them!

207 now, no doubt due to you linking it here.

Yea that post was so bad he probably gave himself a thumbs down.

zr11990 ,, 39 Thumb's Down on an Opening Thread , I do believe that Is a Record Breaker ...

Marco might B just a bit More Expensive than other's , but they have Soo Much More Product 2 choose From .. I miss my Friend ( Andrew ) Former Sales Manager of Marco ..

Each tyme the Auction would come 2 Winston Salem , he would bring up $ 20.00 sheets of p/f glass

I miss That ... Marco Specialty's is GoOd People !!

ive been running a successful company shipping products for 20 years but you made it personal so you dont get any further conversation on the issue. im going to let you disagree and leave you too it. bye

I'm ignoring him so... Sorry no contribution from me.

It's cheaper to get Pinball Pro speakers from Marco than it is to get them direct from Greg (cheaper shipping)!

I just ordered a whole set of WPT plastics and they showed up in perfect condition.......and Macro was the ONLY one who had them. I love Marco.

As an international buyer my experience with Marco has been terrific. Product range, availability, service, response all first class.

x 2 ----Maximize your shipping dollars by ordering more stuff. Very simple.

No problems with Marcos, BA, PBR* or Pinball Life. Sometime PL is a bit cheaper, but Marco's just has stuff the others dont. I am happy that we have options, and will glady pay the premium for doing so.

I spent $9 on some stupid Fin-Twist screws for my 5 pop bumpers. But I'm certainly not going to open up a thread. Pinball isn't cheap. Plus we have to remember that the target audience for Pinball is not that big. The suppliers dont have millions of customers. To make their business model work, they need to charge a bit more.

*Note on PBR: Steve may give you grief if you dont know your part or customer number. Patience does not seem to be his thing. Part of the charm of dealing with PBR. But, there is no doubt the guy knows his stuff.....

Good friend of mine gave me the rundown on dealing with PBR when I first got into the hobby. I always get my part numbers before calling him!

Please change title of thread to:

"My God, why is this thread about ordering from a reputable company still active?"

Very reasonable, but tell me if I order spot targets. Just the spot and not the whole assembly, how is it 6 dollars to ship? I need 5, heck I even put 10 in the order just to bulk it up.

I also needed about 130 dollars worth of parts from pinball life. Loaded up both carts, and still cheaper to order from pinball life and eat the extra shipping from marco rather than just ordering from marco in the first place. That hurts them. I will eventually get those spots from Marco, but they are losing out on potential sales when they fail to be competitive.

that all depends on what exactly it is that you're ordering. I just placed orders with both because both didn't have everything that I needed, however I did manage to swap out a few things from both baskets and add them to the other company where specific part(s) were cheaper

marco's used to have a 1st class mail option which was $4 or 5 (where an order containing small parts were popped in a jiffy and posted out), but that doesn't appear to be an option any more or it only is only an available option when your total order meets certain criteria (based on part dimensions and weight)

Residing in Canada, I not only have to pay 14% of the total order (Cdn. $ = 0.87 US) but the UPS charge for parts enclosed in a small envelope cost me $21 US. As many have stated, Marco has the parts you need & it provides excellent service

You spend thousands of dollars on machines and you're complaining about $21 in parts? LMAO You sound like the guy who buys a $100,000 car but complains cause he's gotta run it on premium.

For the record, Marco Specialties does more great things for this hobby than you could ever hope to realize.