Explaining the Relationship Between Freight Costs and Upholstery Grade

Have you ever noticed that when your upholstery grade gets higher, so does your freight cost? Why is that...?

Consider this.

You receive 2 quotes for 2x Jr. Tub, Armchairs. Both have freight lines. But one is with grade 1 upholstery, the other is with grade 4 upholstery. Like the photos below: (Please note this pricing is not the actual price, contact your local dealer, or sales rep, or check out our price list for real pricing.)

In doing a comparison you will notice. Not only did the price of the chairs go up with grade 4 upholstery, but the freight price also went up.

????

Same exact pieces. Same frames. The only change is the upholstery, which doesn’t take up more space in the back of a truck. And yet, the freight cost decreased with grade 1 upholstery.

Are you questioning the logic here?

Our freight program isn’t perfect. We know that. Nobody will ever get freight perfect.

But we have come up with a system to make it easier for you to quote your customers. A percentage of net. That percentage of the net covers customs, damage, processing, fuel charges, and basically anything the freight company decides to throw at us. But in regard to the question you have from reading the first half of this blog, the main factor is damage.

But think about this...

Your grade 4 Jr. Tub chair was damaged on its way down to Arizona. We get the chair back, put in a freight claim, and fix the chair.

Another of your Jr. Tub chairs, this time with grade 1 upholstery, is damaged on its way to the same location. We get the chair back, put in a freight claim, and fix the chair.

Grade 4 upholstery is more expensive than grade 1 upholstery. So, although this is the exact same chair, taking up the exact same square footage, and has the exact same weight, our freight claim submission for the chair with grade 4 is a higher price than the chair with grade 1. Simply because it cost us more to replace the upholstery. Therefore, and whereas (just had to add those to sound intelligent), it costs us more to insure the higher-priced grade 4 upholstered chair and the duties cost more.

And for this reason, even if it is just the upholstery going up a grade, you will see an increase in your freight cost.