Unclear shipping fee

Hello, I tried to purchase an xEm today, but noticed that the website won’t tell me how much the shipping will cost. Once I proceed to paypal it only tells me the full value of the purchase. Of course the shipping cost could be deduced by subtracting the price of the kit, but still, the costumer should know it as soon in the purchase process as possible. Also, I found the shipping costs rather high. Over 30 dollars to ship to Brazil? Ok, it’s far, but I buy stuff from the US all the time and it hardly gets close to that price (also, aparently there is only one shipping option). I would love to hear back about alternative shipping methods or a clarification about the values and delivery date estimates.

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Hello AleAvz,

I’m sorry about the aggravation you are experiencing with shipping costs and being limited to a single shipping option only to discover the cost at check out.

This situation literally is the bane of our existence and we’ve been working within and outside our e-commerce system constraints to optimize the user experience. Our goal is to minimize the shipping costs besides providing a bevy of shipping options for our customers. Frankly it’s been a nightmare for two reasons:

  1. Although we can offer different shipping options, our goal is for our products to actually make it to our customers. This may sound trite, but we seriously run into loads of problems when attempting to ship our products to different countries. Our biohacking products are frankly controversial and cause customs’ agents pause unless they are asleep at the wheel; and our name “Dangerous Things LLC” does nothing to assuage doubt :slight_smile:

So depending on the country in which you are domiciled, what you see on the shipping screen is a “vetted” shipping option, one that we know has the best chance of getting the product to you.

You are from Brazil and I have loads of experience with shipping into Brazil. Here’s the fine line we walk: if I send a customer’s package via the cheapest option, which is USPS First Class Mail it will take approximately 21 days and there is only a 50/50 shot it will make it to our customer at all. The average weight of our shipments is 9 oz., and this costs $22.33; this is the actual commercial charge we incur, we pass this cost through to the customer. USPS First Class International Mail improves the chances of the package actually reaching our Brazilian customers to 90% for $47.26, a little over twice the price with a transit time of approximately 10 days contingent on customs’ deciding to hold the shipment or not for inspection, but less likely. Currently, we are offering this as the only choice for all countries with similar statistics.

Okay, but what about premium freight forwarders?
Well, Brazil includes the shipping cost in their custom’s value determination as does most other countries, so if we offer FED EX or DHL, which is at least twice the price of USPS Priority International, duties and taxes are figured on the cost of the product plus these freight costs, eclipsing the original cost of our products, which is generally regarded as a slap in the face to our customers who weren’t expecting such a hardship in the form of paying more than the product cost just to retrieve it from their local post office.

Hence the reason for our one shipping option, at a static price. Please note, we cover any additional shipping costs that may be incurred in excess of 9 oz.

  1. We have zero desire to profit from shipping costs and have been on the hunt for the most optimal shipping strategy for our customers, so everyone, regardless of where they are located can order biohacking products without all the pain.

Our e-commerce system is limited, and providing accurate, multiple shipping options is really buggy—this is the case with all shipping platforms we’ve tested to date. We’ve tested many out there and have been thoroughly unimpressed.

Okay, so this plainly sucks in general. But we will never give up, never surrender! :smile:

So we hate high shipping costs but hate more duties and taxes on shipping costs. We are in the process of negotiating a contract with DHL who has demonstrated the best ability navigating shipments through customs in every country and is willing to work with us to get a premium shipping price that doesn’t cause so much pain for all of us.

We are also on the eve of rolling out a shipping platform that is being customized to our needs, and provides accurate shipping rates among acceptable carriers–those that can actually get our products to our customers. That is often not the cheapest carrier; therefore, we will continue to limit shipping options to those that have proven to be legitimate options for getting products to our customers.

Your concern about being commited to the shipping cost before knowing what it is at the point of checkout
This is an awful “feature” of our system we are trying to eradicate it. This issue is right up there with the shipping costs in general. We will endeavor this week to disclose the shipping cost before check-out. We are specifically, and rigorously, testing our new shipping platform to have access to the shipping information early in the check-out process.

I appreciate that this has blossomed into a shipping news letter; but it is the number one issue I’ve been focused on for the past year, and to again rip off the movie…
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My best,

MDanger

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Thank you for the amazing response! This is true customer support you should be proud! I just concluded my order and will be sure to recommend Dangerous Things to anyone who gets curious about my implant. Again, thank for the response and I hope to buy more of your products in the future!
PS: Good luck in the DHL deal

Alexandre Alvarez

Alexandre,

You are most welcome. Thank you for your kind words. Shipping is a sensitive subject for Amal and I. Until we get dependable, and affordable, shipping options, Amal has temporarily authorized subsidized shipping rates.

So that everyone interested can take advantage of this, Amal has asked that I extend the Cyborg Monday Deal week by another week, or until 12/09/2018. What this means is we will share the shipping costs with our customers for the Cyborg Monday Week deals. Furthermore, we will use a dependable method of shipping that is expected to get products to our customers before Christmas for $15 on orders > $50 for all of Central and South America, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Hong Kong.

I’m so glad you were able to take advantage of this Alexandre. Please forgive my hi-jacking your post to make this announcement to the community here :slight_smile:

My best,

MDanger