Shipping 2009 Blog

Archive for February, 2012

Molly is feverish and won’t wake up. Mo is more than a little pissed at Matt for making her look for her dad, the Nightmare Man. Matt’s afraid to go see his father since he hasn’t seen him in 25 years. Gee, Matt, gotta say, I don’t feel sorry for ya. Buck up and confront your dad! Mo gives him a piece of his mind, but Matt decides to go ask Ma P about her dad before he goes on the hunt.

Monica is being questioned by the cops. She doesn’t really own up to anything and she won’t ID the guy that tried to rob the Burger Bonanza.

Moving on to Ireland, Caitlin closes the pub up early for a little afternoon delight with Peter. Caitlin wants him to open the box and face his past. Instead, Peter distracts her with a kiss and they move on to the back room. Bow-chicka-wow-wow.

Over at the docks, Will (Dominic Keating) tells Elle (Kristen Bell) that Peter is over at the pub as she inspects the shipping container he was found in. As she leaves, we see her run her hand near one of the shipping containers, lightning shooting from her tips like one of those plasma storm balls from the 80s. If I touch her will my hair start floating?

Ricky comes back to the pub with a guy from the docks for his own afternoon delight. Nah, just kidding. The guy has some info to tell Peter about Elle looking for him. Ricky sees how Peter cares for his sister so he sends Peter up the hill with Caitlin to her flat. Turns out Caitlin is a painter in her spare time. They open the box and there’s not much in there. A passport, an open-ended ticket from New York to Montreal, a couple dollars, a picture of Peter and Nathan though Peter doesn’t recognize his brother. Peter eyes a blank canvas and he starts to see a picture in it. He grabs a palette and brush and goes all milky-eyed as he starts to paint. Caitlin is… surprised, but doesn’t seemed to be all that freaked. After all, her boyfriend throws electric shock balls at people. Why not paint without seeing? Maybe he can shoot lasers out his ass, too. Personally, I’d run for the hills.

Nathan, angered that Matt is questioning his mother again, tells Matt that he’s not going to let his mom sit in jail for a crime she didn’t commit. Matt tells Nathan he doesn’t want her to either. That’s why he’s off to Philly to see his dad and he tells Nathan about Molly. Nathan offers to go with him since he hates to see anyone travel alone. Matt decides to let him come since Nathan can get them there faster. “I’m not

Along for the Ride

The coffee in the cup in front of me is a creamy, caramel-colored lifesaver. A waitress, (Jan, by the name printed on her tag) tilted the carafe towards my cup as if to ask if I needed a refill. I covered my cup with my hand. I had it just the way I liked it and topping it off would make the combination of coffee, creamer, and sugar off balance. I don’t know about the other diners in this mellow, out-of-the way coffee shop, but I don’t like coffee straight out of the pot, a bitter black concoction more apt to strip paint than provide warmth and that little jolt of energy, a jolt that I so desperately needed this morning. Last night had been the longest night of my lifebut strangely enough, it was possibly the best night of my life.

I work for a package delivery service. It doesn’t pay much and the work sometimes is harder than what the pay is worth. It gets especially busy this time of year, with all our clients almost tripling their demand for on-time shipping. Why must they wait until December to finally get their act together? It really would help if we knew ahead of time what we were shipping and where we were delivering it to. It would really help if we had the shipping order in our hands at least by October, but because of others’ procrastinations, our boss doesn’t give us our orders until it is almost too late. And it would really help if we didn’t try to ship all our orders in one night.

At the root of it all, we like to blame it on the list of customers itself. I can always depend on having a job to do, but you can never tell how the list is going to change. There are always some clients who, for one reason or another, choose not to ship this year. Some are taken off of the list for non-compliance with the shipping agent’s stringent rules. Yet, others are put on the list when they make an order for the first time. Our boss, who is the main person in charge of the list, has a team of helpers who help with the ongoing task of maintaining the list, gleaning information from customers’ wishes in order to fulfill their shipping requests in a timely manner. Even with that team, the upkeep is overwhelming.

The end of this year was particularly hard for me. I have worked for the same company for let’s seewell, as long as I can remember I’ve held the same job. My parents worked for this same company until their retirement. I was still a few years away from employment at the time, but I was already being taught the

1) Price

Always decide the lowest possible amount you will accept for each object and set that price as the reserve. Make your opening bid as low as possible. If you foolishly start the bid at the price of the object, there is no doubt that you will lose customers. Keep in mind that people shop on eBay because that is where they want to get items very cheap. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand this method. That is just how business is done on eBay.

2) Shipping

In order to keep everyone protected, you should insist that the potential buyer purchases shipping insurance. Try very hard not to make this a simple little option to be brushed off. You do not want to be held responsible if there is a problem getting a high priced item to the buyer. Stop and look everything over twice if the buyer does not want insurance.

3) Item Packing

Use a significant amount of space on your auction listing that explains how you will pack your item and send it. This is of major importance because the potential buyer wants to make sure that they will receive the item in excellent condition. If you say in your listing that it will be delivered in excellent condition, then they expect it that way. A buyer who wants a high priced item will always be thinking of the problems in case they receive a damaged item. You need to ensure them that they will get the item the same way it is presented on eBay.

4) Quality

Do everything in your power to prove that your item is of the best quality, or in other words, genuine. This one aspect could mean the difference between a sale and a dead item. A few questions to ask yourself as the seller are, is the object in the original package?, is it labeled correctly?, and are there any markings on the item? Be sure to take pictures of the item at all angles in and out of the package to ensure it is genuine.

5) Satisfaction Guarantee

This tip is another one of all time importance. Be sure to give the buyer a “satisfaction guarantee” type notice. Any buyer that is bidding on a high priced item will want to be able to send it back in the event that that they are unsatisfied or if the item is defective in any way. If someone is not satisfied and sends your item back, there is a high probability that it will be broken. This step will build credibility to you as the seller and will hopefully result in more future sales.

6) International Shipping

If you are planning on shipping worldwide, you will need to take special steps to protect yourself. Many countries outside the United States are full of fraudulent buyers. Be sure that you have insurance for yourself and do some research on the area you will be shipping to. If you need help with this part, eBay will provide services to help you out.

7) Escrow Service

With a high priced item, you should always offer the option of an escrow service. Charge the buyer the extra fee in case they want it. Even if they do not want it, keep it available as an option. As the seller, you already know the item is legitimate; however, the potential buyer is not so sure.

There are only two time boating insurance is a waste of money.

1) If you don’t own a boat.

2) If you don’t buy the right coverage for YOU and YOUR boat. There are a lot of different coverages that you can put on your boat; but, that doesn’t mean you need them ALL.

Everyone needs liability coverage on their boat. This is a very inexpensive coverage to get and it protects you from legal action if something happens and a court says it was your fault or your boat’s fault.

Property damage – well, this is up to you; unless, there is a loan on the boat and then the bank will normally require it. Use common sense and don’t insure an old boat that is not worth much. Like an old car, unless it is an special antique boat, the insurance company won’t pay you very much is anything happens and a minor accident will “total” your boat.

Uninsured/Underinsured boaters – this pays your medical bills, disability income, and if you die a death benefit; if someone hits you and they don’t have boating insurance or enough to cover the bills. This is up to you again. Do you already have health insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance? If you have all three of these already, adding it to your boating insurance is a waste of money.

Medical – this pays toward your medical bills and the medical expenses of any passengers you have with you IF you are at fault in a boating accident. If you have good health insurance and so does all of your passengers, this is also a waste of money. Why pay two insurance companies for the same coverage?

On water towing – handy to have unless you carry a load of cash with you when you go boating. This is inexpensive and a lot better than trying to explain to the tow boat owner why you don’t have $450 in cash in your pocket when you break down in the middle of a lake of on a river.

Personal Effects – this may be covered by your renters or homeowners insurance. Those policies normally cover a portion of your personal effects when they are outside of your home (traveling in a car or on a boat). Check and find out before you waste money duplicating the coverage.

Now that you have read this, go check your boating insurance policy and see if you are wasting money or not. If you have been, contact your insurance company and make a few changes. Just be sure you keep liability coverage on your boat; because, that is the ONE coverage that is NEVER a waste of money. That coverage lets you sleep well at night knowing that if the unexpected happens; the insurance company is the one “on the hook”, not you.

What is Drop Shipping? Drop shipping can be a very effective and simple way to get involved in ecommerce. Many established online merchants are now turning to drop shipping as a method for minimizing stock on hand, decreasing overall shipping costs.

Drop shipping allows web site owners to send single/low quantity unit orders gathered on their web sites to manufacturers, or major warehouses, who in turn “drop ship” the items directly to the customers.

What are the Advantages of Drop Shipping?

- Because a warehousing company can buy in huge volumes, they will also be able to offer you the best prices on products and shipping, which will return a greater profit to you.
- There’s no capital investment and no need to invest in inventory.
- Using drop shipping allows you great flexibility in terms of product range – promote a dozen items or promote a thousand!
- Instead of worrying about inventory and delivery, you get to focus on listening to the market and discovering the products your visitors you want.

What Do I Need to Know to Select a Drop Shipper?

Many companies will have an interest in teaming up with you in a drop shipping arrangement as it’s an easy way for them to generate extra revenue, but there’s a number of points to consider and things to look out for:

Pricing Points

Don’t accept that the first drop shipper you come across unless they are willing to provide you a “Best Price Guarantee.”

Drop Ship Fees and Charges

Some companies will have a handling fee over and above freight costs – it’s important to know all the costs involved so you can calculate your profit margins accurately.

Shipping

Are they using small private shipping companies or UPS? Will they ship internationally? You’ll want to be sure that their shipping methods will ensure your clients recieve their orders in one piece.

Also, keep in mind that you may need a specific type of shopping cart in order to handle drop shipping. Many shopping carts only allow for one “ship from” zip code in the configuration for freight calculations. If you are dealing with a number of drop-shippers you may have dozens of point-of-origin zip codes – and this can be a real headache if freight is based on distance.

Accounts

Will the drop shipping company automatically debit your credit card on each order you submit, or can you get monthly payment terms? When you are starting out with a company, they are unlikely to offer credit, but it’s good to check if this will be possible once you’ve established credibility.

Support, Returns, and Refunds

The last thing you’ll want is to be caught up in a nasty situation where you have a number of returns – and have to cover the bill. Ask the drop shipping company about their return policy, what kind of support they’ll offer you for their products and about any guarantees associated with their products – and get it in writing.

Credibility

How long has the company been around for? Do they respond to your requests for information rapidly and professionally? Young companies have the habit of going belly up quickly, or growing too rapidly and as a consequence basic good customer service suffers.

How Do I Get Started in Drop Shipping?

It’s fairly simple:

- Set up a web site that includes a Shopping Cart and credit card processing facilities, or setup an eBay or other auction account.
- Find suppliers of products you wish to sell that incorporate drop shipping as a business method.
- Open an account with them.
- Gather content and images relating to the products you’ve chosen, incorporate them on your site and shopping cart.
- Collect the order and payment from your site.
- Provide the supplier with the customer details.
- The supplier then bills you at the special price you have agreed upon; fulfills the order and sends it to your client – in most cases with labels referring to your business/web site instead of the company.

To Your Wholesale Drop Shipping Success!