This is something we should have done at the beginning of this year but we have procrastinated in doing it mainly because I love you guys and I don't really want to do it!
But as of today we are at a substantial deficit in shipping costs. In other words over-all we are paying much more to Fedex and the US Post office than we are charging you our customers for shipping.
Part of the reason that this has become such a problem is because a couple of years ago Fedex and UPS started charging for the girth of each package as well as weight. With us being charged for the size of the package, in some cases substantially higher than simply by the weight, it has become much more difficult for us to continue without increasing what we charge for shipping. In addition we have not been charging for handling and supplies which can be very expensive on it's own.
I don't think we have had an increase in our s&h charges for at least 3 years. Realistically our rates should go up each year as Fedex increases theirs but we have not in trying to be nice to you our customers.
We have not finalized the new rates as of this writing, but they will be finalized hopefully by the the 2nd. I know this doesn't give you much notice and I apologize for that.
At any rate I hope you understand we have to cover our costs in order to stay in business. Our net profit each year is razor thin, so this is a big deal.
If you have any questions about this please feel free to email us at shipping@traincity.com.
