Is "Free Shipping" really free? Be careful!
Many labs get "free shipping" from certain suppliers. But is it really free? Think about it.
Is UPS or Fedex providing free shipping to the supplier?
Probably not.
Therefore, the supplier pays shipping costs, and suppliers are not NON-profit enterprises. They are for-profit. Remember that.
So where does this cost go?
Into the cost of supplies.
Make sure you evaluate the cost of the product versus other brands' similar product. For example, we recently analyzed 384-well plates. Here are the list prices for 6 companies who sell the EXACT same plate:
- $903.22 from Fisher Scientific
- $821.90 from VWR
- $785.00 from Sigma (recently acquired by Merck for $17 billion)
- $781.00 from Dot Scientific (a women-owned company)
- $781.00 from the manufacturer, BrandTech
- $565.20 from Pipette.com
Our #LabShopping advice is simple:
Do not assume "free shipping" will save you money. Always analyze the price of competing distributors.