Why Some Prices Are Marked Up

We have a general rule here at Laboratory Supply Network. It's something that we try to ingrain in the company culture and keep in mind whenever we make a decision that affects our customers, our employees, or the suppliers that we work with. It's a pretty simple rule (and pardon my language, but it's how we express it):

"Don't be shitty."

In no small part because of that rule, we try to be very transparent. Therefore, if we mark up a price we're going to tell you that we did, and there are a number of laboratory refrigerators and freezers which we do mark up. We're not going to try to hide it and pretend that it's the list price when it isn't. We'll be dead honest with you and tell you exactly how much we're marking it up as well.

That begs the question: Why are we marking up prices from the recommended list price?

It's a relatively simple combination of three things:

Refrigerators and freezers are large and very heavy. A small refrigerator may cost $75 to ship across the country. A large ULT freezer would need to ship frieght and cost over $500 to ship. It's pricey.
We offer flat-rate shipping based on order price. Our rates for standard ground shipping within the US are $19.70 for orders under $1000, $12.15 for orders from $1000 - $1999, and free for orders $2000 and up.
We actually have pretty low margins on some products - sometimes less than 15%. Considering that we need to factor in other costs as well, such as credit card transaction fees, the cost of actually getting the sale in the first place - something known as the "cost of customer acquisition" in marketing speak, and a little bit of fixed overhead costs, we simply would lose money if we sold some products at their list price.

We're very strongly committed to offering the widest and best selection of cold storage for your lab, so if we don't have a great profit margin and can't sell something at list price that doesn't mean we're not going to offer it to you. We're just going to mark it up - and tell you that we did.

Even though we're marking up some products, however, we strongly believe that you're still getting a great value on marked up products because you're saving a ton of money on shipping.

So that's that. If you ever have any questions about any of Laboratory Supply Network's policies, you're welcome to contact us and ask. Don't be a stranger!