Agreed. It’s also NEVER “free”. The customer paid for it in the sales price. (and those outside the 1000-mile range pays even MORE…subsidizing their other (inside-the-1000-mile) customers. . I don‘t buy from EA for those reasons.)
I agree…Shipping is never free to the consumer. You’re either charged for it, or it’s embedded in the item’s final price to the consumer. I think most of us always look at the final “out of pocket” cost when purchasing an item along with whether that cost is the best value for the type of item we’re looking at purchasing. That choice is up to the consumer.
I have to respectfully disagree with your statement, “
(and those outside the 1000-mile range pays even MORE…subsidizing their other (inside-the-1000-mile) customers. . I don‘t buy from EA for those reasons.)”
I consider it to be the opposite: The consumers closer to the manufacturer inside that 1000 mile radius are paying the average 1000 mile shipping cost whether they’re next door, 100 miles away or anywhere within the 1000 mile radius. When I bought my EA grapple, the add on shipping cost was very minimal for the extra mileage. Who actually paid more for actual shipping costs: the person 100 miles away that paid the full purchase price? Or me, by only paying a minimal additional surcharge to ship the item some 1460+ miles?
I agree with others: EA is very upfront with their shipping charges and all it takes is an email/phone call to find out what the extra charge will be if you fall outside the 1000 mile radius of their free shipping range. Rather than the man hours to calculate the exact shipping charges, logistics, different carrier possibilities for every customer’s inquiry for their individual location (whether they actually purchase an item or not)……they’ve obviously figured out an average cost for the 1000 mile radius (for their.... and to their.... carrier’s locations) and included that in each item’s price. Outside that 1000 mile range…..a small (or it used to be small, anyway) surcharge was added for the additional mileage.
In the end, the consumer is in the driver’s seat making the decision that works best for him. You can purchase from them or not. All the info you need is onsite and/or available just for the asking. The consumer has to figure out his best way to retrieve the item from the carrier. Nothing wrong with that plan. IMHO
