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.