Back in May we reported that Staples inconspicuously raised the minimum order size to over $75 in order to qualify for free shipping.
In the second week of August, barely three months later, the company did an about-face, just as inconspciously:
*MOUSE PRINT:
The new trigger point to get free shipping is for orders over $45, and that is even $5 lower than their original “over $50” order rule.
So why did Staples abandon the $75 order minimum to qualify for free shipping:
“After hearing customer feedback, we decided that the $45 level is best for our customers looking for fast and free delivery.” –Staples spokesperson.
MrConsumer suspects the $75 minimum to qualify for free shipping must have really negatively affected sales considering the other two office superstores kept their free shipping offer at orders of $50 or more.
Thanks to Clarence C’s eagle eyes for spotting this change.
Amazing what competition can do.
The truth is that the powers to be at Staples are dedicated readers of mouseprint! Perhaps they perceived the site as the Mike Wallace of consumer affairs once the target was them. Of course this is tongue in check, however it’s nice to finally see a business reversing an earlier decision – all for the better for both them and consumer.
Edgar replies: Power to the mouse!
I think a really nice deal that Staples also does, which only a few brick-and-mortar stores do these days, is offer free shipping, with no minimum, to any of their stores. So if you see something in their website catalog that you’d like to get, or if they’re out of something, you can have it in just a few days with no shipping charge. I’m not a high volume Staples patron, so this service is really convenient for me.
I used to work for a small independent office supply dealer. Their prices were better than the big three on MOST items. Unfortunately consumer greed caused them to go belly up since the free delivery was near impossible to do…that’s why it’s rare to see any small office supply stores anymore. Greed will get you in the end though. Notice the second sentence of this post. Now you primarily have the big three (staples, office max, and office depot) and that also means you are really paying higher prices for office supplies than ever before. It’s the same consumer greed story as the walmart syndrome. Well guess what, I used to work for them too once upon a time. Remember the commercials with the smiley face slashing prices. Well there’s just as much if not more price INCREASES that happen every week at walmart.
From a consumer standpoint, the absolute best office supply company ever had to be Viking Office Products, which was bought out years ago. They offered free shipping on $25 or more and had a one full year return guarantee on all their products.