Cyber Monday - Buyer Beware

Cyber Monday has many people looking for a good deal and a chance to escape the other holiday shoppers at the mall, but beware of the hidden costs of online shopping.

I just saved myself from a costly mistake and wanted to relate this story to anyone doing any cyber shopping.

I placed an online order with LTD Commodities about 1 week ago. Their prices were good and they had some unusual items. The order total did not include shipping. The site stated that shipping and handling would be added at the time of shipping. I went ahead and processed the order.

Later, when checking the order status, I noticed that several small items were on back order and would be shipped later. I was concerned that I would have to pay shipping twice, so I contacted the company. After waiting on hold for about 12 minutes, I talked to a friendly and polite gentleman, who told me that shipping for each item is figured separately. So, a photo album that I had ordered that cost $6.00 would have a shipping charge of $5.33 and a handling charge of $.40.

Now, the shipping cost is per item that I had ordered. So each individual salt and pepper shaker set, each jewelry set and each candle has a separate shipping and handling charge.

So the S/H would make the cost of each item, that I thought I was getting a good deal on, almost double. Needless to say, I canceled my order. I realized that my “good deal” was not such a good deal.

So, the bottom line is: Check Out The Shipping Cost.