Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
@call_me_raoul: My mistake.
When we are shipping our items, we have many packages that are similar. 90% of our sales are in either 9×12 Poly Mailers, Padded Flat Rate Envelopes, Regional A Boxes, or Priority Shoe Boxes. When everything is packed up and ready to have labels printed, it takes extra time to label each package with which item is in the package, then match up the bulk printed labels with each package.
By printing the labels as we go, it goes much faster. Since we have done this both ways for years, we know we are faster when printing the labels as we go.
And since the SCAN sheet is only useful if we have postal pickup, and we are getting to the point that just about every day, one of our 15+ daily shipments will be at the warehouse. So since we have to go to the warehouse anyway, looks like dropping off the packages at the post office makes the most sense.
@call_me_raoul: Yes, I followed the instructions that you gave, but the only way to get a scan sheet is to print the labels via Bulk Shipping. If you print labels one at a time, you cannot get a scan sheet for those labels.
We could go back to bulk printing (we did this a couple of years ago), but it added 5-10 minutes each day to our shipping process, writing the sku/last name/zip code on the package and then matching up the bulk printed labels with the package.
Even at that, we might consider going back to that process, but since we are going to our outside warehouse to pick up package almost daily (in fact, 3 for 3 so far this week), we are thinking we will just drop off the packages then. The route to the warehouse to the post office to home is only 6 miles, and then we know for a fact that the items are scanned and getting shipped. Many times in Q4 we are sweating the post office picking up, since they will arrive at 7 or 8 pm, hours after the post office is closed.
@Mike: Absolutely! And that was why I threw myself under the bus. I check and do so many things, and I just completely overlooked it because it was there.
I know a few years ago (before I went full time), it came to mind that we are paying for email that could be free, but I knew that I wanted to keep my email address, so I just let it go. Then I just put it away again until a few months ago and we killed it.
Just cracks me up that it was for DIAL UP. Good lord…what century is this?! 🙂
Oh yeah…I did. Wow…
05/22/2019 at 11:20 am in reply to: Winchester38's Journal – A Journey To Full-time Reselling #62256Good luck on the move!!!
@Sharyn: Oh yeah, I get it. Veronica and I were talking about it and we remembered that we had to get that set up in our first house so that we had dial-up access. The email just came along with it. Since then, we just never thought about it until a few months ago. I just thought “why are we paying for email?”
Well, it was for dial-up access.
Wow…what a brain fart….
@Mike: That is an interesting thought. I love the process.
Two downsides are cost of the labels (I’m a miser!) and we still have the time involved with playing deal the cards to the right player. We did this a few years ago, and Q4 Mondays would SUCK! Took us forever to get everything laid out right.
With the post office so close to the house, and the warehouse right there as well, and we are going almost daily anyway, I think dropping off by hand may just be the ticket. Even thinking about redoing my Mountain Bike with the Kid Cart in the back to load up with packages and save the gas and the the mass off my @$$…. 🙂
@Mike: Yeah, we got our drivers used to the fact that the numbers wouldn’t match. Primarily, we just added the Poshmark to the bin so we had more. They didn’t care.
I think we are lucky that we have good people, but we also try to do a lot to make them our friends, partners, and keep good will. Why I don’t want them picking up 50+ items and having to scan them one at a time. Why we feed them treats during the holidays and water in the summer.
Pays off in the long run…
@Simon: I followed your instructions but it wouldn’t work for us. You still have to bulk print your labels to add them to a SCAN form. So when we shipped today, we printed the labels as we went. When we followed these instructions, we didn’t have any labels available to add to a SCAN form.
Thanks though! Good to know this option is out there!
@ Inglewood: Yeah, I’m looking at a couple of options now, but the timeframe is suspect. One is Roadie…
@Almasty: Wow! That sucks.
Our post office has 3 large rolling bins right at the front to drop off prelabeled packages. Easy peasy. Then they scan them when they move to the back. In and out in 30 seconds
Thought I would throw myself under the bus this week.
So, we have had an Earthlink account for FOREVER (exactly since 1/28/00 I found out today) that we used for our email. I really hadn’t thought much about it, as the subscription fee for it automatically hit our credit card each month. $21.95. Every. Single. Month.
So, a couple of months ago, I realized we still had this charge and we decided to move all email over to Yahoo so that it would be free.
I mean, who pays for email in 2019? Well…us. Cause I’m stupid…
When I call today to kill the subscription (which took turning down 4 lower offers they kept throwing at me), the guy says “So, why are you cancelling your Dial Up service with us”.
Holy crap. DIAL UP. In 2019!!! D-I-A-L U-P!!!!!
I laughed and said: “Cause I don’t need DIAL UP”
So, just make sure when you have any service that is auto paid…give it a look see and make sure you still need it!
@Call_me_raoul: Ok, now you are talking! I called eBay, they said only on the bulk shipping process.
Can you show me where to get the scan sheet? We are shipping today on just eBay, so I would love to give it a try.
@Jay: During the week, yeah, we are about 15 or so a day. But on most Mondays, we are around 40-50 due to the weekend sales. I can see this being 60+ in Q4. I don’t want our drivers standing in cold and snow to scan 60+ packages. The office folks can do that while it is warm.
Added benefit is that we KNOW that they have them. During Q4, our drivers get later and later picking up, many times at 7pm or later. Post office closes at 6pm. I have driven to the post office and around to the back entrance at 6:30pm more than once when they are really late or have missed us on the route.
Plus, with the inventory moving more and more to the warehouse, which is close to the post office anyway, I can see us in Q4 having to go to the warehouse daily. Since we are already going there, we may just as well take everything. For a 6 mile round trip (home-warehouse-post office-home), it isn’t too bad.
@Almasty: Ok, thanks for checking.
Yeah, I can’t get that far. I like the convenience, but I’m not sure I can pay that much for it. For ShipRush, it is $29/mo plus the higher shipping rates. They looked to be around $0.20 higher per item shipped. At that rate, we are losing some good money.
We shipped out 3,872 items last year. If we lose an average of $0.20/package, that cost is $774 for the year. For our forecast of 4,191 items sold this year, that would be $838. And a $348 annual cost from the monthly fee on top of that.
At this point, we would rather put that into a second storage unit for inventory. Right now, we are having to go to the warehouse 2-3 times a week, and the post office is right on the way. So, with more inventory at the warehouse, we will probably have to start going close to everyday anyway. So I think we may just save money on a subscription and use that to help pay for the second unit.
In our case, unless I can find something that gives us the same rates that eBay does, we will probably just go back to dropping off every day. From our house to the post office and back is only 4.4 miles as it is, so not too bad.
-
AuthorPosts