There is a lot of sweat making that "mark up". I would question if there is much of any profit. ( money after expenses )
I don't want to pay anymore than I have to, or can afford, but every retailer should make some profit if they intend to stick around. I'm paying what I consider to be a fair price from my pellet dealer. I can't help feeling that he losses whatever he made when he pays for the "free" delivery. I would hope we keep our local business woman and men in mind when we make our purchases and repair needs.
agreed, Save$, as to the profits after expenses, thats why I said "gross", not net. I dont want to get into yet another discussion of what it costs to run a business, because it usually falls on deaf ears.....insurance, brick and mortar store, employees, infrastructure, yadayadayada, THAT argument is a lost cause because frankly, other than the businessowner, noone cares. You summed it up very well when you stated that you pay what you consider to be a fair price from your pellet dealer. Thats the essence of the transaction. The dealer charges what they think is "fair" (and that value can differ greatly), and you, in purchasing the pellet agree that his asking price is fair. if you dont agree, you go somewhere else where the price is "fairer" to you.
As for "free" delivery, we dont do it. Cant make it pay. A truck and moffet, one way to deliver, and they way we deliver, will run you $150-$200k, actually closer to $200k when you add in sales tax, registration fees, heavy highway use taxes, etc. A driver will cost between $15-$25/hr. And insurance, both vehicular and the Inland Marine policy needed for the forklift. You have to sell ALOT of pellets to offset these costs. How many tons can a driver deliver per day on average....oh, depending on the truck and delivery area, but about 28 or so, in an 8 hour day, so, about 3-1/2 tons per hour. Thats about $140 in GROSS profit. Now we need to deduct insurance, what the driver makes per hour, fuel, maintenance, maybe some damage from time to time on the pellets, tolls, and dont forget the purchase cost of the truck and lift factored in, as well as other carrying costs.....yea, agree, cant see how you cant charge for delivery. Of course, one can circumvent delivery charges if you pick up yourself!