Cutting Edge: Cabinet door shipping costs
How will your cabinet doors get to you? How much does shipping cost? What factors influence shipping costs? We answer these questions and more in this article.
If you have decided what cabinet doors you want to order, congratulations! That isn’t the end of your journey though…
Once you place an order, how will the doors get to you? Do you need to look after arranging the shipping? How much will shipping cost? Are there extra fees that might apply?
If you don’t work with shipping companies already, the sheer number of options, variables, and fees is crazy. Where do you even start? Will the company you order the doors from look after shipping for you?
At Cutting Edge Doors & Woodworking, we look after shipping your cabinet doors. We ship hundreds of cabinet doors every day to many destinations.
From our shop in Maple Creek SK, we can ship to Western BC, Ontario, and even into the United States. Our customer service and order processing teams are familiar with shipping and can quickly determine how much a shipment will cost.
In this article, you will learn some of the background information for shipping. For example, what can increase or decrease shipping costs and when additional fees may apply. You will also learn about our shipping policy, and why having us look after the shipping costs will benefit you.
Factors that increase or decrease shipping costs
Why can’t all companies charge a flat rate for shipping? Why do shipping costs vary so much?
There are a lot of factors that can increase or decrease shipping costs. The size and weight of a parcel affect how much it will cost to ship, as does the shipping service used.
Shipping Service:
There are two common types of shipping services: LTL (less than truckload) and courier. The type of shipping service a company offers will impact the shipping costs they can offer.
LTL shipping companies will accept a wide range of shipments, from a single box to an entire trailer load of pallets.
Couriers limit the shipments they accept, usually by weight or size. They prefer to focus on small parcels that can be handled by people.
Purolator is a courier company. They focus on shipping small parcels, often directly to the end customer. Most people they work with don’t ship or receive large items like crates or pallets. Focusing on small parcels allows Purolator to keep freight costs low.
Manitoulin is an LTL company. They accept a wide variety of shipments (boxes to pallets to crates and more). However, they have to charge more to ensure each shipment is profitable. They must have all the equipment needed to handle any possible shipment at delivery, which increases their operating expenses.
Shipments sent by courier cost less than shipments sent by an LTL company.
Shipment Weight:
Shipment weight has a major impact on shipping costs. All shipping companies increase the cost as the weight increases.
In addition, many shipping companies have a minimum cost per shipment up to a certain weight. For example, a box that weighs 20 lbs might cost the same to ship as a box that weighs 80 lbs.
Other shipping companies, like Canada Post, won’t accept shipments over a certain weight. For Canada Post, the maximum shipment weight is 66 lbs. A policy like this is used when the company has people handling the parcels. Limiting the weight of the parcels helps prevent injuries.
Parcel/Package Size:
The size of an individual parcel or package doesn’t have as much effect on shipping costs, but it can make a difference.
As mentioned above, shipping companies like Purolator prefer to work with small parcels. Because of this preference, they won’t accept packages over a certain length. If a shipment is over-length it can’t be priced using courier shipping rates. Instead, it will be priced with LTL shipping rates. Shipping via an LTL company is at least $50 more expensive on average.
Fees that might be added to a shipment
Accessorial charges are fees added to a shipment by the shipping company while it is still in transit. Some of the most common charges are power tailgate fees, redelivery fees, and delivery detention fees. We will go over these and more below, including the minimum cost from our preferred shipping companies and when they will be charged.
Delivery by Appointment - $42.00+
A delivery by appointment charge is applied when a shipment has a specific delivery date and time requested.
Call Before Delivery - $8.40+
A call before delivery fee is applied when the company is requested to notify the receiver when a shipment will be delivered. The company will provide an estimated time range. The shipping company will charge you a Delivery by Appointment fee if you request a specific delivery time during this notification call.
Carry-In Delivery - $58.80+
This fee is applied when the delivery driver has to carry a shipment from the truck to the building. The cost will increase depending on the weight of the shipment.
Delivery Detention (With Power) - $32.55+ per 15 minutes
All deliveries are allotted an average amount of time for unloading – usually 15 minutes. The shipping company will charge you this fee if you take longer than 15 minutes to unload the shipment. The charge will increase every additional 15-minute period the driver has to wait. For example, if it takes 45 minutes to unload a shipment, the fee will be at least $65.10.
Power Tailgate - $56.70+
This charge is applied when the delivery driver uses the liftgate at the back of the truck to deliver a shipment.
Private Residence/Rural Route - $88.52+
This charge is applied when the delivery location is either a private residence or is outside the nearest town limits.
Residential Delivery - $88.52+
This charge is applied when the delivery location is in a residential zoning area.
Re-consignment - $59.85+
A re-consignment fee is applied when an address change or delivery location is changed once the shipment is in transit.
Re-delivery - $59.85+
A redelivery fee is applied if:
- there is no answer at the delivery location
- the receiver asks the driver to deliver the shipment at another time
- the driver is unable to reach the delivery location.
While some of these charges may seem ridiculously expensive (which they are, we agree), they are non-negotiable. Once a fee has been added to a shipment, it is very difficult to get it removed or reduced.
If you think some of these fees may apply to your shipment, it would be worth considering having the shipment held at the nearest depot for pickup. Shipments held at a depot for pickup rarely have accessorial charges added.
How does shipping work with Cutting Edge Doors & Woodworking?
We do our best to ensure shipping is hassle-free for you. If you would like us to arrange shipping, we will allow the necessary standard shipping (excluding accessorial charges) costs on your quote or order.
If your order is over $1000 subtotal and your location is one of our standard destinations, we cover the shipping costs. You can combine multiple orders to get over the $1000 threshold.
It is important to note that the shipping calculator on our online ordering system is not 100% accurate. There are so many variables that affect shipping costs that we can’t allow for them all in an automatic calculation. However, when an order is placed, our team will review the shipping costs to ensure they are accurate. You can also request our team review the shipping charges when you place a quote.
What about accessorial charges?
Good question! These charges are difficult to estimate as the amounts vary from company to company. As well, accessorial charges don’t get applied consistently. Some delivery companies will charge a fee every time the service is used, while others may only charge the fee some of the time.
For these reasons, we only add accessorial charges to an order if:
- You have ordered from us before, and all of your shipments have had the same charge applied
- You requested we add a fee because you think it might apply
Otherwise, we wait until we have received the shipping invoice from the company we used. If any accessorial charges are applied to your shipment, we will create a separate invoice for that amount.
As well, we only charge the actual cost of the accessorial charge plus GST. We never add a mark-up or a service fee to accessorial charges invoices.
If damage occurs to your shipment, notify our team and we will look after submitting a freight claim or replacing the damaged items. Whenever possible, our team will ship replacement doors without waiting for a freight claim to be approved. If a shipment is delayed, we will work with the shipping company on your behalf to get it back on track.
Our goal is to make shipping as easy as possible for you.
How much will shipping cost on your order?
When you started reading this article, you were concerned about how much shipping would cost. You were looking for options and potential solutions and feeling overwhelmed by the options out there.
Now, you understand what affects shipping costs and what additional fees can apply. As well, you know that we are here for you. When you place your order, you can be confident that we will look after you. Any shipping charges will be visible on the order paperwork, and accessorial charges that might apply will be discussed. We will take the stress of handling shipping off your shoulders.
Now, it’s time to get a quote on your preferred door style and see what the shipping costs are!
