Screw you Fluke!

[Randall]

The tilt back stand on my Fluke 77 series 4 meter broke loose. After quite a bit of time and effort tracking down the part number, and at least 4 attempts to order it (I kept getting disconnected), I finally got through. I was told the part was $8.59. I thought that was reasonable so I ordered it. Today I look at my credit card account, and they charged me nearly $25! I called back, and I was told the UPS on it was $15.55. For a piece of plastic!

I was livid. I told them I am going to refuse delivery, and want my money back, because that is simply ridiculous. The meter is resting with a bead of Gorilla Glue to hold the stand in permanent open position. If that does not work, I will make something myself. I will live with that rather than be robbed like that. Screw you Fluke.

[The Dude]

The tilt back stand part of my meter has been broken/missing for probably 30 years. I just lean it against something if needed. Never bothered to fix it. But yes, 15 bucks to ship a little plastic part is ridiculous.

[Enzo]

I just went to UPS and looked up rates from Fluke's zip code to one in your city. Ground delivery in a week. Chart said $13.50 Three day was $20.50. Just an opinion, but blaming Fluke for that?

[big_teee]

If it is a small piece plastic, wouldn't you use the post office?

USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Options
Type Size Price
Legal Envelopes 15" x 9 1/2" $7.45
Small Box 8 11/16" x 5 7/16" x 1 3/4" $7.65
Medium Boxes 11 1/4" x 8 3/4" x 6" or 14" x 12" x 3 1/2" $13.20
Large Box 12-1/4" x 12-1/4" x 6" or 24-1/16" x 11-7/8" x 3-1/8" $18.30

[Enzo]

Sure the post office is cheaper for your item. Look I appreciate your concern and hassle. But a company the size of FLuke doesn't have guys sitting there deciding each package. They just ship them all the same way. When Technitool and Jensen order mutliple cases of meters, they use a real shipper. And that is their typical customer. You and I are not.

But you found the answer, don't buy from them. Ask a high school kid to make one for you on a 3D printer. Those are everywhere these days.


Not that it matters here, but I used a meter with one of those a few times and I found the thing flapping around back there to be annoying. I always managed to prop it up where I could see it .

[nevetslab]

If it is a small piece plastic, wouldn't you use the post office?

USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Options
Type Size Price
Legal Envelopes 15" x 9 1/2" $7.45
Small Box 8 11/16" x 5 7/16" x 1 3/4" $7.65
Medium Boxes 11 1/4" x 8 3/4" x 6" or 14" x 12" x 3 1/2" $13.20
Large Box 12-1/4" x 12-1/4" x 6" or 24-1/16" x 11-7/8" x 3-1/8" $18.30

Trouble is, Fluke (or most any other mfgr/company shipping product to customers), THEY have selected the commercial carrier and packaging format to contain the part/item the customer has requested, and add their small handling fee to the resultant shipping fee. Doesn't matter if we've found and even requested a different shipping carrier. They use the means the company has determined for their shipping.....end of discussion. I hate it as much as the rest of you. All is affordable until you get to shipping.

My Fluke 8060A's all have broken plastic screw mounting bosses from the repeated disassemblies req'd over the years in servicing, and they self-destruct. I'd love to have new top/bottom cases, but....fat chance that will ever happen. My tilt stands are still intact, but no longer remain snapped in for hand-held use. My Neutrik NL-1 is taped together to keep it running. Sad state of affairs, but, that's reality as time marches on.

[The Dude]

UPS has a flat rate padded envelope for around 8 bucks, also- similar to USPS. Regardless of carrier, there are cheaper ways to ship small parts. I guess Fluke thought the part wasn't safe in an envelope. Lots of companies also have a handling fee. I don't think that's horribly unreasonable. The person who boxes up the part, sticks a label on it, and loads in in the truck needs to get paid too. However, I am still surprised they couldn't find a more economical way to ship. Most of my online vendors let you chose your shipping method and show you costs. At the very least, Fluke should have told you the shipping cost up front.

[Enzo]

Again, that assumes someone sits there deciding how each package would be sent the cheapest.


If we had ordered ten of those things I bet the shipping would have been the same.

[Randall]

I'm sorry, but I do blame Fluke and their one size fits all, nothing we can do about it shipping policy. I paid good money for that meter, and it broke. It was never abused or mishandled, it spent it's entire life on my bench. The plastic part simply failed. And now, the only way to get it replaced is to be hosed on a rigid shipping policy because it is convenient for Fluke? If they have a guy boxing it up, how much more difficult is it to send a small and light part the more sensible way? I don't care that I am not a bulk buyer, I am still a paying customer, albeit a disgruntled one.

Had I been told, and I did not ask, what the cost would be I would have declined on the spot. I'm not paying $25 for a small piece of plastic.

[The Dude]

......that assumes someone sits there deciding how each package would be sent the cheapest......

Agreed. But, I don't think that's asking too much. I've worked in shipping departments. It's not a difficult or time consuming task to decide how big of a box or envelope something will fit in.

[Jazz P Bass]

This guy drilled the case & inserted pins.
http://mrmodemhead.com/blog/fluke-17...kstand-repair/
It does look like a cheesy design.

[Randall]

That's a great work around, wish I'd have thought of it before I glued it in place.

[Chuck H]

Edcor is changing things now, but for a long while they had a flat shipping rate for any order up to three pounds through their chosen carrier. So if you were ordering one small transformer the cost of shipping was almost as much as the part. In fact I once paid MORE than the cost of the part for the shipping on a small SE transformer from them. Since they make a good a product and the item cost is really reasonable it was actually really damn close to what I would have paid for an equivalent unit from anyone else at a lower shipping charge, but that's not the point. They have their policy and I looked at it and accepted it. Maybe in some cases I wouldn't. But it was there to see and I looked at it before I ordered.

[Chuck H]

Following up, Mouser was a smaller company when I started shopping with them. I was only doing mods at the time so a project order for me would be maybe twenty or thirty bucks in parts. They'd stick it in a bubble pack and send it to me USPS ground for a few bucks. Then, at some point after they expanded their services and moved their warehouse I had cause to place a small order with them and it cost me something like twelve bucks for shipping!?! I was kind of upset that a twenty dollar order was going to cost so much more and I couldn't understand that they didn't have the ability to just stick the parts in a bubble pack and send them USPS ground like before. I think I grumped about it here when it happened too. They've since fixed that and are now offering USPS ground again (they did actually try going with a single chosen shipping company for a short time). Their rates for smaller orders are acceptable again and all is right in my world. But there was a short time when they were transitioning and you might have paid ten dollars shipping for ten dollars in parts. If you needed something for a repair that you don't normally keep in stock that's a prohibitive cost. But Mouser has always been excellent at helping the small order guy, and it seems they wanted to remain that way

Sometimes there's a time lag for when a company will report the shipping charge. If you're in a hurry that's your @$$. Otherwise, if it's available immediately or if you can wait because it's not a rush they will report on the shipping charge before billing.

[Enzo]

That is the problem with ordering ONE part. If I order a 5 cent diode, and they mail it to me with a 50 cent stamp, the shipping is still TEN TIMES the cost of the part.


I support local guys wanting to learn and build their own stuff. And if they walk in and say they need a 100k resistor, I just give them one. The three-part NCR sales slip costs more than the resistor. It would cost me money to sell them the part.