"Hello, I would like to buy an item but not pay the shipping costs."
We regularly receive messages asking for a promo code to get free shipping. It's true that we'd all like to be able to buy products online without paying extra for shipping when we check out.
But is this desire realistic and is it justifiable?
We have looked into this thorny but vital issue for all e-commerce businesses.
WHAT ARE THE SHIPPING COSTS?
The first step in addressing this topic is to clearly define what shipping costs are. A hasty judgment might lead one to believe that they are simply the costs associated with the carrier.
Here are all the elements that make up the shipping costs : 👩🦰 Order preparation : print your order, retrieve the products from the stockroom, prepare a box (a box costs approximately €1), fill it, then print the label and affix it to the package. At Cosy Club, Marion handles this with great care and incredible efficiency. She's also responsible for correcting shipping addresses, incorrect phone numbers, delivery method errors, etc. 🚚 Collection : every day, a transport company collects the day's packages, which are loaded into metal containers. This service is contracted and has a significant annual cost. Momo loads the full containers into his truck and unloads the empty ones for the next day. He then heads to the sorting center. In our case, it's about 12 km from our workshop. 📦 Your package will then be taken to a Colissimo platform to be weighed, measured, and routed. From there, it will be transported by truck to the processing platform closest to its final destination. Colissimo's pricing for e-commerce businesses is negotiated based on volume, but you should know that the rate is very close to what you pay to ship a package from your local post office ! 🎁 The final step: your package arrives at the post office nearest to your home. It is picked up by a mail carrier who can either place it in your mailbox or deliver it to you personally. In addition to all these actions, there are also the notifications you receive by email or SMS to keep you informed about the status of your order. Although this is automated, it's not magic and requires IT development work and daily maintenance to ensure the services function properly. So, as you can see, "shipping costs" are much more than the term might suggest!
For your information, at Cosy Club, splitting the cost in half: the fees representing this entire logistics chain cost us approximately 10 euros per package. We cover about half of that. 
WHY IS IT NORMAL TO PAY SHIPPING FEES?
After listing all the elements involved in the lengthy process of receiving your package at home , you admit that it all comes at a cost. How could we justify Marion, our order manager, not being paid for the work she does every day? How could we justify the truck that picks up our packages from our workshop coming to us free of charge? How could we justify the free services provided by sorting centers or postal workers? Order online and receive your package without having to leave your home.
Without going into the details of the different steps, how could one justify not paying to receive the product of one's choice without having to travel? Buying online is, in fact, the main benefit we have: ordering comfortably from home and receiving our package at home without having to go anywhere .
The most surprising thing is that when we go into a physical store, it wouldn't occur to us to ask the shopkeeper to reimburse us for the gas, metro, or bus ticket that got us there. And yet, it's the same thing!
In fact, buying online but not wanting to pay shipping costs is a bit like wanting to have your cake and eat it too :-) Having the best service for free. In real life, that doesn't exist.
TO CONCLUDE
You could say that every service deserves compensation, and it's perfectly normal to contribute financially to the delivery of a product that comes to us without us having to go anywhere . It's a matter of common sense, and when you take the time to think about it, you can't really see how it could be any other way! 😺
