Opinions - Harveys Furniture charging extortionate amounts for delivery?

[HEXUS]

On a recent trip to Harveys Furniture store, we were left aghast at the quoted delivery charges. Is this unreasonable?

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[Lucio]

Working for a company that's primarily mail order, I know what a PITA it is to work out delivery charges that a) are simple and b) covers your costs adaquately.

I'd imagine that Harvey's have gone down the route of averaging out their delivery costs across their product range, added a bit on to cover price rises and then put a figure on. I also imagine it's not advertised because I don't know any company that tells you the delivery charge before you reach that stage in the transaction.

Dell AFAIK got rapped because they didn't included the standard "and delivery = blah" in the fine print of the ad...

[DR]

Would you prefer them to whack it in the price?

Do you not think that you are used to IT and Gaming pricing which means you get postage for nearly nothing since the items are so small

[nichomach]

Firstly, yes, the price labels should include a statement about delivery cost or there should be clearly posted notices detailing that around the store. Yes, they're pulling a fast one, and yes, report them to the ASA or Trading Standards. That said, I realise that Hexus is a hardware site, but isn't it stretching the definition of "hardware" a bit to include furniture...?

[aidanjt]

£50 is a complete joke for a small table set slapped into a flatpack. I've had a bulky 50kg contingent delivered to Ireland for less.

[pollaxe]

I think it's a pee take, to be honest. I've had a couple of similar things with PCs I've bought (Evesham - God rest 'em - for one) charging £50 delivery and not letting you collect even though you're down the road. Mind you, maybe there are weird health and safety laws affecting this kind of thing now which prevent you from collecting yourself...? (I was told I wasn't allowed to enter the yard of a Parcelforce depot for that reason, fairly recently.)

It does seem a bit steep to me though... JMHO..

[Gunbuster]

Just checked John Lewis sell a similar set for a similar price £195 (lintel) with delivery included.

If you have a standard charge for postage and all items require postage why not just add it to the cost?

[Saracen]

Just checked John Lewis sell a similar set for a similar price £195 (lintel) with delivery included.

If you have a standard charge for postage and all items require postage why not just add it to the cost?

The last TV I bought (admittedly a few years ago) came from John Lewis.

They were about £15 dearer than the best price I could get from mainstream local shops but .... those cheaper shops charged £20 to £30 for delivery, and JL gave free (next day, in that case) delivery leaving JL a smidgeon ahead. The killer blow was the warranty. JL included a 5 year extended warranty at no cost. The closest (price-wise) competitor wanted £180 for their 5-year warranty. And that was on a £420 telly!

I always check out John Lewis before buying, and more often than not, end up buying there. They aren't necessarily cheap, but at least in large part, that's because of the quality of the range of goods they seem to choose to stock. But both JL and Waitrose have offered service that, in my experience, has been both first-rate and second to none. Personally, I'd be prepared to pay a premium to buy many things from JL, simply because I trust them to bend over backwards if I have problems.

And no, I don't and never have worked there. Nor do I have shares.

[Gunbuster]

Agreed. I just ordered a 42" Samsung Plasma from JL for £500 inc delivery and a 5 year warranty.