Shipping costs and other expenses

[Mike Jackson]

I just shipped a 15 lb cardboard box by UPS to Florida from Jackson Hole. Back in 1994, the box was shipped to me from Hermann, MO and it cost $8 for shipping. This box cost me $59.15 which included $6 insurance. For reference, the box was about the size of a laundry basket. Zowie! He said prices had gone up drastically in the past week or two.

I saw a couple of ads on TV from the Post Office stating they don't have shipping surcharges, but that come on the heels of a big shipping price increase. No telling how much the ads cost to tell me there were no shipping surcharges....

On a slightly related note. I used to buy 50lb bags of sunflower seeds to feed my back yard birds for $23. This year, the same size bags were $37 at the same place, $40 at another, and I ended up buying a bag at another shop for $32 plus $2 tax. My little birdies may have to find some of their own food this summer. One of the places blamed it on shipping and another said seeds were sold as a commodity like gold. The news said gold hit a record high yesterday, too. I haven't needed to buy a pack of gold in a while, but am not looking forward to doing it.

So, I guess many of the supplies I have shipped to here will now be much more expensive—both the paint and supplies plus the shipping to get it here.

Gas here in JH is currently $3.58 for unleaded. The last jump was from $3.42 and it sounds like were about to get another one soon. News reports say the national average now is just over $3.80 and several states are over $4 per gallon now.

The four of us in the family all have cell phones, as I am sure most people hear have them, too. That costs us roughly $200 per month or $2400 to have phones each year. Darla recently got an iPhone which adds the data package of $30 per month, or another $360 per year. Tyler and Corey both want smart phones, but I can't see how we can add another $720 per year so they can surf the web more than they already do.

Between the things mentioned above, skyrocketing health insurance, and slower business, it sure feels like things are getting pinched around here. That's made even tougher by the way customers are asking for deals or taking lesser products if they do buy.

This thread is not intended to be a buzz kill, but more just an observation of how fast things are changing around us, most of which have almost no control over. My surprise at the UPS Store prompted the post, as we will probably all get some sticker shock on or shipping bills now.

Cheers,
Mike Jackson

[Mark Summers]

The one wild card you mentioned was health care. I don't think people that are
sitting pretty with their group insurance know what it is like to have to fend for
yourself in the private health insurance market. I hear the numbers that families
have to pay and it really is a jaw dropper.

Mark