Target halves drop-ship charge

Yorkshire-based distributor unveils new £4.95 flat-rate fee for all orders shipped direct to end users

Distributor Target Components has halved its fee for drop-ship deliveries in a move designed to give its resellers more headroom.

The new £4.95 flat rate charge for orders shipped directly to end users is available to the 150 or so resellers that use Target's TC Freenet and Ready-Built WebShop e-commerce solutions.

Paul Cubbage, managing director of the Yorkshire-based distributor, predicted the price slash would lead to an influx of new recruits for both platforms.

"We are recovering far less on carriage charges than before," he said. "But we believe the increase in direct ships will more than offset the cut in carriage costs."

Cubbage said Target's decision was driven partly by feedback from the 50 resellers that have signed up to the £20-a-month Ready-Built Webshop since its launch last summer. It is the successor to the £5-a-month TC Freenet service, which was launched in 2004.

"They said it was great, but can you do anything on shipping costs? With eBay and Amazon the expectation is it will be about £5."

Cubbage also pointed out that drop shipping was rapidly becoming the norm, even for partners with the capabilities to re-box products.

Finally, Cubbage said the move would come as a boost for partners feeling the effect of rising inflation and fuel costs.

"We have a bit of scope to give something back as we trebled profits last year," he said. "With fuel prices and inflation going up, this gives our partners another boost."

The £4.95 flat-rate fee replaces the previous charge of £9.95 and covers Target's entire stable of products.