Okay, I'm on vacation right now so I'll try and keep this short
1 - Shipping prices
FedEx rates we charge are EXACT prices from FedEx, with direct signature service, and full insurance. There is then a $0.75 "surcharge" to pay for shipping materials. Bottom line, we make NO MONEY on FedEx shipping. Yes, our rates are more expensive than other places, so they either get better deals from FedEx, or pad the item prices instead.
For USPS, yes, those prices are padded by like $5 I think. Why? We primarily use USPS to ship to Canada and other international places, and our shipping estimator does not always give the correct price. Often, it actually costs us more to ship than what we charge, so we have to make up for that. Furthermore, we've had fraud issues with international orders, and USPS is a pain to deal with sometimes, so it's an insurance policy, so to speak. In the long run, we don't make any extra money off USPS either - but yes, the prices we charge will seem high, I don't deny that.
2 - Conroe Chip Prices
As I said a million times with the Opterons/X2's, many of you are confusing the prices from Intel, and thinking they are MSRP for retail chips. They are NOT. They are for 1,000 minimum quantities of OEM chips.
My COST on the E6600, for example, is $330-$333 depending where I buy. I'm charging you guys $339. By the time I pay credit card processing fees, I'm barely making a dollar or two on each chip. So please, don't get upset with us and think we're price gouging, I'm making next to nothing on this stuff.
In any case, I'm still on vacation, and I won't be back until Sunday night... so I won't respond again until then. In the meantime, just please realize we're not an evil empire trying to take all your money
1 - Shipping prices
FedEx rates we charge are EXACT prices from FedEx, with direct signature service, and full insurance. There is then a $0.75 "surcharge" to pay for shipping materials. Bottom line, we make NO MONEY on FedEx shipping. Yes, our rates are more expensive than other places, so they either get better deals from FedEx, or pad the item prices instead.
For USPS, yes, those prices are padded by like $5 I think. Why? We primarily use USPS to ship to Canada and other international places, and our shipping estimator does not always give the correct price. Often, it actually costs us more to ship than what we charge, so we have to make up for that. Furthermore, we've had fraud issues with international orders, and USPS is a pain to deal with sometimes, so it's an insurance policy, so to speak. In the long run, we don't make any extra money off USPS either - but yes, the prices we charge will seem high, I don't deny that.
2 - Conroe Chip Prices
As I said a million times with the Opterons/X2's, many of you are confusing the prices from Intel, and thinking they are MSRP for retail chips. They are NOT. They are for 1,000 minimum quantities of OEM chips.
My COST on the E6600, for example, is $330-$333 depending where I buy. I'm charging you guys $339. By the time I pay credit card processing fees, I'm barely making a dollar or two on each chip. So please, don't get upset with us and think we're price gouging, I'm making next to nothing on this stuff.
In any case, I'm still on vacation, and I won't be back until Sunday night... so I won't respond again until then. In the meantime, just please realize we're not an evil empire trying to take all your money