I started shipping my eBay sales with DHL express several months ago. Their rates were lower than UPS and the service at first was O.K. For a long time I brought my packages to my local Office Max store that was a DHL drop off location, they calculated the cost, and I paid, and the item was shipped. This worked OK for a while. Then I went to DHL's own website, and found I could ship from home and save even more. Wow! I thought, this will be handy, so I signed up and started shipping that way, after a few months, I began checking my billing statements against my log of what THEIR software program said I woul be charged and found some of my shipments were charged what I was quoted, but MOST were more, as much as 25% more. I called to inquire why, I was told, "If you want a more accurate quote, call in and request it." I replied, "why won't your software give me an accurate quote?" They did not know, this is what they were trained to say.
After several more billing issues I again asked via email why the price differences? In a reply, I was told, "the price quoted is based on the information provided by the customer and the actual charges may vary." I asked, "If the ship to and from addresses don't change, and the size and weight of the packages don't change, and the shipping dates don't change, what then are the variables???" They simply stopped responding to my emails. Their own people have admitted that using their online software will not produce an accurate quote. But if you ask why, they ignore you. When I shipped at Office Max, surely they were not getting hosed like I was or certainly they would stop providing the service. All I wanted was access to the same pricing system so I could accurately manage my shipping costs. DHL is a UPS wannabe. But I don't think UPS has anything to worry about anytime soon.
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