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Supplies KBC shipping

Supplies
Larry_C9

Larry_C9

Super User
Premium Member
I have noticed there has been some discussion on the price of shipping from KBC tools. When they changed their policy and only gave you the option of shipping via courier I was talking to one of the sales people in Delta and asked him about it and why they dropped the flat rate Canada Post shipping that was quite reasonable. He said it came from head office and they didn't have any input into it. But he told me if you requested it they would still ship Canada Post but the flat rate was not available any longer. So that is what I have been doing. It is more expensive than before but not as bad as using the couriers. If you are ordering on line you need to select the pick up / will call under ship via then in the shipping instruction put something like - Hold until complete then ship Canada Post. That way they will bring everything into your local KBC location and ship from there. I have had two shipping charges if some of the order is coming from a different location and is shipped separately.
 
That's a great tip Larry. I stopped buying from KBC when they changed their shipping rates.
 
I usually keep a list and then order when it reaches around $100 to make it worth while. My recent order which is not too heavy cost $23.60 via Canada Post.
 
I inquired about the same thing with them, but things can still fall apart.
- Canada Post parcels get disproportionately expensive as things get heavier. So lightweight things might be OK, but a chuck or any heavier tooling could work against you. I'm not even sure they publish the weight on the order so bit of guessing game?
- if your order is originating from other warehouses or parts not fully in stock (as can often be the case with them) then I don't think they cut you any deal the way it worked on the flat fee courier based system. It arrives when it arrives but its all under the flat shipping charge. I'm not sure they would subsidize >1 Canada pots shipment, but maybe you could say 'hold' till everything.

I'm disappointed with their new policy. Generally speaking their prices aren't fantastic & sale flyers is always the same old stuff, so I order from them much less frequently.
If you are going to place $100 orders, Travers looks better from shipping & broader selection, but you have to watch their prices too.
 
I've had that discussion with KBC (Delta) too. Don't know whether it was a KBC or Canada Post decision to end the flat rate shipping. That used to be a good deal. The alternate is Purolator but don't get me going on their awful service!
 
It was a KBC decision all the way. They used to ship low flat fee via UPS back in the day. It was of no consequence because all deliveries were inside Canada. Then they flipped to was it Fedex for a while & now Purolator? I cant recall anymore & it may have been coincidental to early pandemic. The CanPost was either always there but rarely used, or came up as an option. I get it, they are passing on costs that come off their margin. Lots of companies work the same way & have never offered a break on shipping. The service/delivery itself is great, just comes at a higher cost.
 
I've also noticed that there is often a BIG discrepancy in the prices on KBC.com vs KBC.ca. Way more than the exchange difference would justify. Also, discounts advertised in KBC ads in Model Engineering Workshop are not valid in Canada. Although I've complained to KBC about this, they say the decisions are made in head office. So, I've found it sometimes pays to order via KBC.com and ship to my mail drop in Sumas then personally pick it up from there. Yes, it is a pain to have to do it that way, but sometimes can save hundreds. Unfortunate not to support a local distributor, but when they take us for "stupid canucks" it is hard to feel sorry about finding work-arounds or using other suppliers.
 
I haven't ordered from them since the shipping policy changed. They've probably lost a bunch of the small timers/DIY business but if they're supplying machine shops, the $500 threshold or whatever it is, is probably no big deal. Just another situation of the small guy getting screwed (don't get me started on different rates for walk in vs account at some places).
 
Well, not defending them in particular but you can see that same price effect on a multitude of sellers & stores. Even with customs & transportation & FX, there seems to be a healthy margin within Stupid Kanuck Overhead. I remember I was in a Home Depot in Calgary double checking my phone for inventory. For some reason their website always diverts me to 'closest store' in Montana. Price was $3.99 USD, not on sale. I'm staring at the product on the shelf for $12.99 CAD pesos. WTF. Similarly I've ordered items on Amazon.com that were cheaper landed to my door than .ca Not always & not all items, but it pays to check.
 
hhshermit said:
Unfortunate not to support a local distributor, but when they take us for "stupid canucks" it is hard to feel sorry about finding work-arounds or using other suppliers.
Click to expand...

Wanna know something really surprising?

KBC was started in Detroit Michigan by Karel Bass. His daughter Paula Bass started his Canadian business wing in Old castle near Windsor Ontario. She worked there for many years starting several other stores all across Canada.

In days long gone by, I knew Paula personally. They were good people back then.

Paula is now President of KBC Tools Globally. It is sad that she seems to have forgotten her roots.
 
Susquatch said:
Wanna know something really surprising?
In days long gone by, I knew Paula personally. They were good people back then.

Paula is now President of KBC Tools Globally. It is sad that she seems to have forgotten her roots.
Click to expand...
OOOH Maybe send her a Happy Easter card and a WTF letter.
8E62061C-5D66-4533-AF15-FDCD90B67A42.gif
 
I have always given businesses the benefit of the doubt about their Canadian pricing being different than the US pricing. Different wages and costs, payroll taxes, holiday pay, mandatory benefits, different unions, different tax system, shipping costs, minimum wages here vs there, tariffs, exchange rates, etc. As a former business owner of a business that dealt with a lot of other business owners, large and small, as clients, I can honestly say that none of them were anything but nice, easy to deal with people who seemed pretty down to earth and honest. Maybe it is different for you guys but if I see widget A in Canada for 50 or 70% more than in the US, my first thought is not that it is some rich prick lining his pockets at our expense. Maybe just colour me naive. I am ok with that.
 
Last edited:
Tom O said:
OOOH Maybe send her a Happy Easter card and a WTF letter. View attachment 33363
Click to expand...
Hey, thanks for the Easter greetings and thanks for the past, present, and future business.

It’s Paula here, President of KBC Tools & Machinery. I am still involved in the business and at my desk daily in Mississauga, ON - 34 years this July and KBC celebrates 58 years this month. That’s a ton of tools and machinery over the years and a lot of satisfied clients.

I hear you and hear that you are not so happy with our decision to change from a flat rate shipping charge to a weight and location based system for orders under our free shipping offer of $449 and under 50 lbs.. With astronomical changes in freight rates from all of our couriers, plus fuel surcharges on top of it all, we bit the bullet and went away from our flat rate shipping options. While some clients are paying more, it is what the couriers are charging to get the goods to your door, and believe me, we are not getting rich on freight charges. Plus, it seemed unfair to charge clients who lived in accessible areas additional fees to cover those clients who lived in remote and hard to access areas – YES, we can still ship via Canada Post per your request. I am sorry if that upsets you, and I stand by your decision to buy where you get the best bang for your tooling buck.

At KBC we work hard to source high quality tooling for industrial metalworking. We choose quality goods for our import and Brand KBC offerings and top brand names sourced globally so that our clients can do what they do so well - Keep North America Working. At KBC we ship over 98% of all orders same day from our 3 Canadian locations – yes, we have brick and mortar in Mississauga, Oldcastle, and Delta filled with inventory and team members to help you with your tooling needs, and we have an extremely low return rate.

We hope that you choose KBC Tools & Machinery, and we look forward to helping you with all your tooling needs.

Paula and Team KBC

p.s. Check out our weekly eblasts and quarterly sales flyers with specials on tooling and freight – we do work to make your tooling dollars go further.

p.p.s. Watch for even more discounts on tooling in our Inventory Clearance section online coming soon. (We’ve marked down thousands of items with a VERY sharp pencil.)
 
KBCTOOLS said:
Hey, thanks for the Easter greetings and thanks for the past, present, and future business.

It’s Paula here, President of KBC Tools & Machinery. I am still involved in the business and at my desk daily in Mississauga, ON - 34 years this July and KBC celebrates 58 years this month. That’s a ton of tools and machinery over the years and a lot of satisfied clients.

I hear you and hear that you are not so happy with our decision to change from a flat rate shipping charge to a weight and location based system for orders under our free shipping offer of $449 and under 50 lbs.. With astronomical changes in freight rates from all of our couriers, plus fuel surcharges on top of it all, we bit the bullet and went away from our flat rate shipping options. While some clients are paying more, it is what the couriers are charging to get the goods to your door, and believe me, we are not getting rich on freight charges. Plus, it seemed unfair to charge clients who lived in accessible areas additional fees to cover those clients who lived in remote and hard to access areas – YES, we can still ship via Canada Post per your request. I am sorry if that upsets you, and I stand by your decision to buy where you get the best bang for your tooling buck.

At KBC we work hard to source high quality tooling for industrial metalworking. We choose quality goods for our import and Brand KBC offerings and top brand names sourced globally so that our clients can do what they do so well - Keep North America Working. At KBC we ship over 98% of all orders same day from our 3 Canadian locations – yes, we have brick and mortar in Mississauga, Oldcastle, and Delta filled with inventory and team members to help you with your tooling needs, and we have an extremely low return rate.

We hope that you choose KBC Tools & Machinery, and we look forward to helping you with all your tooling needs.

Paula and Team KBC

p.s. Check out our weekly eblasts and quarterly sales flyers with specials on tooling and freight – we do work to make your tooling dollars go further.

p.p.s. Watch for even more discounts on tooling in our Inventory Clearance section online coming soon. (We’ve marked down thousands of items with a VERY sharp pencil.)
Click to expand...

I am one of the lucky ones who lives within the proximity to a KBC tools physical location so I can just visit quarterly and buy in person and I have done so in the past.

I appreciate that the President of a corporation would come here to respond to member's concerns regarding shipping.

However, I also appreciate changing trends and markets. I've seen shifts bury once titans of industry. As a amateur photographer all my life, the foremost in my mind is Kodak... they actually had the first digital camera but failed to invest properly in the future.

KBC and other tool distributors risk losing out to the likes of Accusize who started as mostly a hobby machinist supplier and are now transitioning to serve the small shops with free amazon prime delivery and a growing selection of tooling, and more frequent influx of containerloads of tooling so as to have fewer back orders.

I use distributors like KBC less and less and Accusize more and more.
 
Morning Paula,

TorontoBuilder said:
I appreciate that the President of a corporation would come here to respond to member's concerns regarding shipping.
Click to expand...
+1

From a business perspective I couldn't see how you could break even on the flat rate for shipping so I wasn't surprised when it was dropped. Mind you everybody pays the same for shipping on a new car whether you live beside the plant or 1,000 miles away.
I'm not that far mileage wise from KBC in Delta but living on the Island makes it an expensive all day trip, so I guess from that perspective the shipping is almost acceptable, almost.

I understand the cost of shipping plus there is the cost of labour to prepare the parts but when I look to order a $20 part that can be taped to a card and put in an envelope, $30 for shipping is a hard pill to swallow.

As a hobbiest there is very little that I need asap so I will just wait until there is a bunch of stuff before placing an order from where ever I get the best deal.

Again, thank you for replying in person to the concerns addressed here.

Mike
 
I agree with @YotaBota
I've purchased a fair amount of tooling from KBC in the past but stopped when the shipping changed.
If there were more shipping options when checking out I'd be more likely to come back. But when a small item is $20 to ship it's pretty unattractive.
I'd also love to see an option to use our own carriers if that's a possibility.
 
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