It is important to check the shipping policies of the company you are dealing with when purchasing furniture online. The delivery, sometimes touted as “free”, actually means that the file or desk you have ordered is shipped by common carrier only to your location. The product is then moved from the front of the truck to the back of the truck. This is commonly called "dock to dock". There are some insulated file companies that will not even move the items from their position inside the truck to the tail end of the truck. “Free” delivery can thus be tricky. No help will necessarily be provided in taking that product off the truck. This can be a problem when your secretary opens the door for the trucker to move the item into its location, only to be told she is on her own! Drop ship is another common term, and usually refers to a trucker removing the product from the truck, placing it either on a dock or on street level. Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably. When a vendor automatically adds a delivery charge to your order, you must find out what you are getting. If it is not otherwise clearly stated, you can be reasonably certain it is drop ship at best. One of the largest and most respected office supply superstores has this to say for common carrier deliveries of furniture when a loading dock is not available:
“…delivery personnel will bring your order to the tailgate of the truck and you are responsible for unloading the items and bringing them into your building”. That is certainly a lot of fun for you or your employees!
It is surprising how difficult it can be to find the shipping policy information on an office supply vendor's site. A call to the vendor may actually be necessary. Be prepared for additional charges for tailgate delivery (using the moveable platform at the end of the truck to place the product in the street); threshold delivery (trucker will move the product only into the first doorway of your home or place of business); white glove or inside delivery (delivering the item to your location inside your premises, in the place desired, with cartons removed). Unusual access problems, as sharply cornered stairways, multiple landings with no elevator, steps, difficult truck access can add substantial costs to your delivery. Always be up front with the vendor concerning delivery issues. You will be charged extra anyway.
A clear elucidation of shipping policies [http://officesalesusa.com/ShippingPolicy.php] can be viewed at http://www.OfficeSalesUSA.com. Here you will find dock to dock delivery free in certain cases, with the clearly stated caveat that not much is going to be done by the trucker to help you bring that product into your office or home environment. However, also at http://www.OfficeSalesUSA.com, the company delivers inside your premises automatically for a preset charge of $68.50 for the first item, and $18.50ea for additional items delivered at the same time. For example, two 4-drawer lateral files would be delivered inside your premises, to any requested location (via dock and elevator access, or from street level with up to 3 steps) for only $87.00. Even for deliveries of their palletized cubicles, you can expect the same inside delivery costs just mentioned, delivered but not assembled. The only requirement is that your place of business or residence be within 20 miles of any of their approximately 80 warehouses in the contiguous United States. They offer inside delivery, not assembled, as a special service to their customers which avoids the substantial costs of white glove delivery yet provides for the most important element of any delivery- putting the furniture item in place, to the customer’s satisfaction.
“…delivery personnel will bring your order to the tailgate of the truck and you are responsible for unloading the items and bringing them into your building”. That is certainly a lot of fun for you or your employees!
It is surprising how difficult it can be to find the shipping policy information on an office supply vendor's site. A call to the vendor may actually be necessary. Be prepared for additional charges for tailgate delivery (using the moveable platform at the end of the truck to place the product in the street); threshold delivery (trucker will move the product only into the first doorway of your home or place of business); white glove or inside delivery (delivering the item to your location inside your premises, in the place desired, with cartons removed). Unusual access problems, as sharply cornered stairways, multiple landings with no elevator, steps, difficult truck access can add substantial costs to your delivery. Always be up front with the vendor concerning delivery issues. You will be charged extra anyway.
A clear elucidation of shipping policies [http://officesalesusa.com/ShippingPolicy.php] can be viewed at http://www.OfficeSalesUSA.com. Here you will find dock to dock delivery free in certain cases, with the clearly stated caveat that not much is going to be done by the trucker to help you bring that product into your office or home environment. However, also at http://www.OfficeSalesUSA.com, the company delivers inside your premises automatically for a preset charge of $68.50 for the first item, and $18.50ea for additional items delivered at the same time. For example, two 4-drawer lateral files would be delivered inside your premises, to any requested location (via dock and elevator access, or from street level with up to 3 steps) for only $87.00. Even for deliveries of their palletized cubicles, you can expect the same inside delivery costs just mentioned, delivered but not assembled. The only requirement is that your place of business or residence be within 20 miles of any of their approximately 80 warehouses in the contiguous United States. They offer inside delivery, not assembled, as a special service to their customers which avoids the substantial costs of white glove delivery yet provides for the most important element of any delivery- putting the furniture item in place, to the customer’s satisfaction.
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