[robz]

I guess this is more of a rant than a question. MANY retailers who do business both online and in-store offer reasonable shipping for large furniture items. Why does Ikea have to charge so much. I just wanted a Malm bed and two malm nightstands and they want to charge me 300 just to ship them . I live 6 hrs away from the nearest Ikea in Tempe. I also had long term plans to redo my bathroom and kitchen with their products but it seems as that's not going to happen either with those inflated shipping costs . Anyone have any insight as to why they charge so much?

[DulcineaK]

One might argue that these are actually quite "real" shipping charges. Many retailers can give the appearance of lower shipping charges because they've embedded so many of the costs into the price structure of their products.

There are more in depth discussions and explanations of how shipping is determined, but i can't go into that as i'm running out the door. i will leave one pearl of experience. i once bought an item in store and shipped it to a friend to save her the shipping.... wound up costing exactly the same, except i had to spend time going to the store and she had to wait since i lollygagged a bit....

many have had ikea direct shipping and they can speak more to that... but i thought i'd give my 2c coming from a background of internet commerce.

[torrus]

Originally Posted by DulcineaK

One might argue that these are actually quite "real" shipping charges. Many retailers can give the appearance of lower shipping charges because they've embedded so many of the costs into the price structure of their products.

Dulci is right on - IKEA shipping charges are based on the actual cost...there is no allowance for shipping built into IKEA item pricing as the whole concept focusses on self-serve and store pick-up.

[Gloria]

Hi robz,
I don't have any more insight as to why, but I share your frustration. I'm 5+ hours away from the nearest IKEA store. The IKEA Direct shipping charge seems worthwhile for a very large order but not when it's only a few items. I wish IKEA would find some way to serve customers who are not near a store, but it's not part of their business plan. Better yet, they should build a store closer to me!
Gloria

[laurie]

I second that, Gloria!!!

[marthamary]

When you order via the Internet or through Home Shopping/IKEA Direct (catalog), items don't come from the stores directly (they come from distribution warehouses). That's why not everything is available and why the shipping charges can be so high.

[alemap2008]

I feel your pain; I just ordered the Anes bed and some small storage pieces. I'm paying $300 in shipping on a $570 order. I'm 4 1/2 hours from the nearest Ikea store.

[dalbrough]

HI - just have to pop in and through my $.02 in this thread and also let you know I am in the transportation industry and work with moving freight all day long all across Canada and USA.

I have to give an example - today we had to call cartage companies to get a rate quote moving one pallet of dry goods from point A to point B - the pallet only weighed 200 lbs total - it is only going 5 hours away from point A to point B - I had to find a straight truck with power tail gate (meaning the tailgate of the straight truck goes to the ground) so the item can be removed without a loading dock - very similar to what I am assuming Ikea's transportation company of choice would use.

You know what carrier wanted to do this order? close to three hundred dollars.

Over the last year the fuel surcharge has increased tremendously due to rising fuel prices. The price to operate a truck has continuously increased over the years - a few years ago it was insurance rates that increased dramatically and now the fuel is forcing many smaller trucking companies to file for bankruptcy. There are many huge transportation companies that charge and arm and leg to move freight - why - because they can and have to.

It is hard to compare shipping a bed or kitchen items to shipping any other item such as a book order from Amazon or the like due to the sheer weight of the product and size / dimensions of the boxes to that of a small package that can be sent via postal service or the likes of UPS. They have to standardize their rates in order to cover costs and make a bit of money.

Depending on how they rate the cost of shipping whether it is weight or package size there will always be a minimum charge to cover the cost of the truck going to where ever it is going.

For example - We can charge $300 to move one pallet of goods - but when you increase the order to ten pallets the cost per pallet decreases to $220 a pallet. The cost of the going from point A to point B is amortized over 10 pallets vs just the one.

I have to assume the ikea items would be shipped from a central distribution center and the put together with other LTL (less than truck load) orders and then delivered by a transport truck most likely to a smaller distribution warehouse where the order is organized and the logistic coordinator will figure out what ships with what on a smaller truck eventually making it to your driveway.

The entire process has to be enormously expensive and a logistical nightmare. I can tell you from those two points there are not many big distribution centers. The cost of the warehousing, order pickers, sorters, loaders, shippers, inventory control personal etc has to be enormous and even more expensive to ship out one of this and one of another item vs. picking a stock order for a store delivery/order (merchandise going to an actual store). Can you imagine what actually goes into the process of you placing an order on line - received at a warehouse - picked - sorted - verified - logistics personal who organize what order goes on what truck with what other orders ~ delivered to a more local warehouse or cross-docked at another terminal of the transportation company and getting it to you in a timely and secure manner?

Robz - you indicated there are "MANY retailers who do business both on-line and in-store offer reasonable shipping for large furniture items. Why does Ikea have to charge so much. I just wanted a Malm bed and two malm nightstands and they want to charge me 300 just to ship them"

I am not sure of another company that ships from a centralized location that could charge less? To be honest with you I would be asking where it is coming from and how much would it cost to rent a truck, pay the insurance and fuel and get it yourself.

There are many Mom and Pop stores that offer free shipping or free delivery which is built into the unit cost of the item you are purchasing and usually is local (within the same city). Sears for example will offer cheaper delivery charges but the purchase price of the items is considerably higher than that of Ikea.

Just my .02 but to be honest with you from a logistical point of view I am surprised that it is that low $300 and that they still continue to offer Ikea Direct shipping.

[yummybarfaroni]

I dunno, but I was going to order 3 rolls of NIVA floor liner to go under my TUNDRA flooring that the store I went to was out of, and the shipping charge would have been $100 for 3 rolls of foam that aren't too large, and weigh less than 1.5 lbs. I ended up buying a similar product online from a mid-sized hardware store and the shipping was $6