How much more can we take?

[woodhick]

I went to get some welding rod the other day and my normal supplier didn't have what I wanted, so I ended up going to a different welding supply.  The price of the rods were more which  I expected, but I needed them. So I get them and on the bottom of the bill they had charged me a $2.50 hazardous material charge for a 5lb box of rods. >:(   I am getting tired of all these "hidden" charges that everybody is tacking on.  Today I needed to send some blades to my saw guy to have them sharpened.  No big deal I do it all the time.  I usally use the "standard" carboard box to ship in, but they never hold up well so I've been looking for some type of tote or container that better suited for this.  Well I found an ideal container, its a cardboard or fiber drum with a metal lid sized perfect for my blades.  19" diameter by 23" tall, and very sturdy.  Ok I know that it weighs about 6# more than a cardboard box and I'm ok with that.  But when I take it in to ship by UPS they tell me that there will be a $7.50 handling fee because it's not a box.   I argued that it was much stouter and safer than a cardboard box, but they said that since it was round and not square I had to pay $7.50 more.  When will it end. :-[ :'(

[Don_Papenburg]

Yep vote in more do gooders  >:( :(   We pay a road use fee for tires that never touch a road. then there is the tire disposal fee even if you don't have one to dispose.

[Ianab]

SO.... if you pack the Round box inside an extra sacrifical square box...... ??? :

[ohsoloco]

That's what I was thinking Ianab, gotta be able to get a box for less than $7.50  ;)