Thursday, June 04, 2020

The Lengths We go to Avoid Practicing, or: Straining at a Gnat.

Dear [music dealer],

I was about to make my first purchase from you of a volume of Durufle organ works, as your price was seemingly competitive and I like to patronize traditional retailers whenever possible.

Unfortunately, when I got to the check-out page, in addition to the shipping charge (which was reasonable) there was an additional one-dollar charge for "handling." Isn't "handling" part of the shipping process? Is it possible to have an item shipped without "handling" and if not, wouldn't it be more ethical to include it in the shipping charge?

In any event, that small one-dollar charge irked me enough to buy the book on Amazon instead. My reason for writing is to give you a "heads-up" that slipping in extra fees, no matter how small, appears underhanded and you will lose customers over them, as you have lost me. I urge you to quit the practice. 

Sincerely, 
[The Bovina Bloviator] 

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