The US division of Buy.com charges a flat-rate of $1.95 for any
orders of CDs, tapes or DVDs.
According to a report by the Miami Daily Business Review, Scott
Maravilla of Florida was angered because his purchase of the CD
“Everyday” by the Dave Matthews Band was subjected to Buy.com’s
standard shipping charge when, in his opinion, the shipping cost to
Buy.com was much less – although the Miami daily notes that he does
not say how much it should have cost.
Maravilla’s lawsuit is being brought under Florida’s Deceptive
and Unfair Trade Practices Act. He hopes that other Buy.com
customers in Florida will join his action against the company.
The case takes to court an issue raised in a report published
last year by research firm Jupiter Media Metrix. Although not
looking at the issue from a legal perspective, Jupiter found that
shipping and handling charges have dissuaded 63% of US consumers
from completing on-line purchases while 45% of retailers say they
are losing money on these costs. The report concluded that
retailers should charge for delivery, but base the charge on order
weight, not a flat rate.
