Why is Weverse shipping so expensive?

This is me asking a genuine question, wanting a real discussion, and not just me ranting:

Why is Weverse shipping so darn expensive?!

I purchase from the Global Shop.

First off, I know that costs went up with the pandemic/post-pandemic; however, Hybe/Weverse is a huge company/subdivision that, based on the size of the BTS fandom alone (but also, let's not forget that they now have multiple other artists on there, as well), one can assume they most likely move thousands of products/units to fans, daily. Typically, as a company grows they're able to negotiate better shipping rates, so I genuinely do not understand how Hybe/Weverse has not been able to provide that for their customers? Currently, shipping is SO expensive that it constantly (genuinely) detracts me from making purchases because the shipping costs are so outlandish. There are other Korean companies/websites that I purchase from that have MUCH lower shipping rates or free shipping after X amount of dollars spent.

Now let's discuss the specific example that finally pushed me to write this post on here:

Today, I thought of purchasing the piano sheet music sets. These are literal pieces of paper that weigh almost nothing and the shipping came up to $37.77 for a set of 3 songs. I was shocked. I then selected the sheet music for Life Goes On on its own (one song) and not the set, and the shipping still comes to $37.77. The individual sheet music costs $4.64 and they expect me to pay $37.77 for shipping?! It is one elongated piece of paper for the one, or a few pieces of paper for one or both sets, currently offered on Weverse! This doesn't even include the additional high duties/custom fees that DHL always charges on top of everything else.

I personally believe Hybe/Weverse should seriously address this issue with DHL and re-negotiate their rates, or look into changing how/who they ship with/completely re-haul their entire shipping service. I shouldn't have to pay $40 in shipping + duties, to receive a few pieces of paper. This is why I stopped making purchases from Weverse.

What do all of you think?

I still can't get over the fact that it is a ~$40 shipping fee for sheet music.

It's always the same thing: 1. they finally come out with products/merchandise that I'm actually interested in after a long time, 2. I then look at the shipping cost, plus, 3. the total dollar amount once I convert from US dollars, and then, 4. I close the app in frustration because the costs are ridiculous.

Quote from Yinye

It’s been the biggest peeve of mine too and in a why it’s a blessing to help me limit merch to just those I really want. Also the inability to combine items across types and suppliers so that we don’t have to pay for multiple shippings!

I think in addition to the pandemic, Weverse and DHL deal, it is the way their supply chain is set-up. I don’t think they have central Weverse ‘stock’ storage but that items are with the different suppliers so the high shipping is also covering this cost too.

All ARMYs need to collaborate to email to Weverse/HYBE to lower the shipping price.

Yes, that is another frustration when is comes to their shipping services - the fact that often items cannot be combined into one package and then you're stuck paying high shipping and duties multiple times, but I left it out of my original post to keep the topic streamlined. However, I do believe that is another aspect that should be addressed, as well.

You are correct, the shipping costs keep me from buying, too. Although I don't like to admit this, if the shipping was more favourable, I'd be spending a lot of money on the app per year. I could have easily spent quite a lot of money last year, but instead, I've restrained myself and only purchased one album over the past ~1.5 years. I'd like to point out that this is not about being a 'Rich ARMY', I'm just someone who freely admits that I could see myself most likely using my disposable income to purchase various merchandise that catches my eye (impulse purchases or FOMO?). I could see the same thing happening with younger ARMYs pocket money, because I could easily see younger ARMY making multiple smaller purchases and it all adds up very quickly. I guess I should thank Hybe/Weverse for saving me a lot of money.

When I went to write this post, I also did some research online and found some related discussion on Reddit. People on there also mentioned that Weverse might not have a central warehouse that they ship from. Again, I hope they do a complete re-haul of their entire shipping service.

I would love for ARMY to unite and ask Hybe/Weverse to re-evaluate their shipping services, but I don't know how it would go to organize that within the fandom. I personally believe it needs to be addressed and I hope Hybe/Weverse will focus on that for the rest of 2022 and 2023. Fingers crossed.

Quote from AyanEva

Prices are determined by EMS and they're the ones who raised shipping prices. Weverse Shop can either absorb the cost or pass it onto customers. If they try to absorb it, that's a lot of money and probably not a sustainable solution. The prices will go down when EMS drops the price.

What you said if very true; that being said, I still hope that Hybe/Weverse re-evaluate their shipping services, so that it is more favourable for their customers. I do believe it would be worth it to examine the topic. They are a large, billion dollar corporation at this point, so it would be great to see what they could do to lower the costs. They might have to absorb some costs, but I could also see that being counter-balanced by the number of people and/or number of purchases being made going up once shipping costs are lower.

Anyway, it's interesting and I'm eager to see what happens with shipping over the next 1-2 years.