Ok, I tried UPS and learned lots, but am returning to the good old Postal System for shipping most orders by Priority Mail. The difference in price and delivery time is the deciding factor, and when some of my good steady customers began to complain of delayed delivery, I was pushed to make a decision.
One thing I did learn is that shipping to Canada is so very much easier with UPS than with the US Postal System. In the future, I'll ship all orders to Canadian customers by UPS Standard service.
For US customers, I am back to Priority Mail. It's a good service, but I had been avoiding the bad mood of my pickup man and was loading and unloading each day's orders. The business has grown so much in the past year that shipping had begun to take up most of the day, and that loading and unloading became a chore.
Begining tomorrow, I will steel myself for any bad moods with my local pickup man, and return to shipping by USPS Priority Mail.
PS on May 11, 2007
A few Canadian customers have emailed me and one responded below (see comments) that UPS is not a good option for them because of the duty they must pay. I have always felt a flush of guilt roll over me when I have to charge Canadian clients the postage. It is outrageous! Your emails and comments help so much as I try to serve this customer base efficiently. This is how we learn. Thank you for letting me know.
I was looking for a way to avoid a trip to the Post Office to stand in line. I have just signed up for Carrier PickUp and will ask if I can just hand over Canadian packages in the future.
2 comments:
I can relate to you shipping woes. When I am shipping out my packages to my customers, I'd get such an attitude from the guy at the counter because I had 20-30 parcels to ship. Hey, THAT'S what he's there for! After encountering his attitude, and not being able to brighten his outlook myself, I spoke to the postmaster about it. He took care of things, and now I get the service without the back talk or attitude. It might help for you, too. Just because they are govt workers is no reason to take that. He just needs to do his job. period.
End of postal rant.
Hi Sheila,
please, please do not ship with UPS to Canada. UPS charges an insane amount in brokerage fees. I once paid $50 brokerage fee plus taxes for something with a value of $300. If you ship USPS the fee is only $5 per shipment.
Thanks, Ellen
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