The blame is on MattyCollector and Digital River. Even though it is more than likely 100% Digital Rivers doing… I’m sure MattyCollector is aware of it and approved it as a way to make some more money on shipping.
I decided to also take a look at a 6" GB Action figure.
They actually approrpiately calculated the weight on the action figure to be approx 1lb. (It is really 13 ounces, but with the shipping box ~1lb is appropriate).
On this graph you can see the price they charge for shipping. The UPS rate for Zone 8, and for Zone 2. If you live in Zone 2, that’s the price you SHOULD have been charged… but instead were charged the rate to ship it across the whole country.
You can see once again the handling charges, a couple of bucks.
Around 30 items, the Matty system breaks down and begins charging some crazy rate. No explaination for that.
I can subtract the differenes in rates and come to the approximate amount Mattel should charge people in Zone 2, even factoring in the original handling cost. Everyone in Zone 2 overpays by 16% for 1 figure shipped UPS Ground, upwards of 32% for 4 or 5, 34%+ for above 11, and as high as 58% for 20 figures.
The damage isn’t as bad on these figures, because they didn’t assume they weighed more than they actually did. However the point still stands that everyone is charged UPS Zone 8 rates (plus handling charges), regardless of where you live in the US. If you live in California for example, you’ve probably overpaid by $30 - $40 just from purchasing one of each GB action figure that has come out. If you bought more than one, you possibly have overpaid by $60-$100 (if you purchased every figure, and had every figure shipped by UPS ground).
And remember. None of these numbers factor in a UPS discount that DigitalRiver / MattyCollector get. So we’re all likely being overcharged by much more.