I decided to write this up because there might be some confusion out there for people who noticed the fluctuation in postal fees on my etsy listings.
Oh, side note, this has nothing to do with my Magic Vial Pendants, I never have problems mailing them.
So, I have an item, I weigh item, I go to the USPS.com website and I calculate domestic postage. I see the price charged, add $1.00 for packing supplies like bubble wrap, tape, etc., and that's my S&H fee for my listing.
Except, with the heavier/larger bath items, my post office has been giving me fits. Now, I've talked on the etsy forums, and read the USPS.com website information, and all I can figure is, my local P.O. is being a dick just to be a dick. Go to post office, hand over package, they weigh it, and determine that they will not send it any other way other than priority shipping, too heavy for first class and they flatly refuse to ever let me send parcel post - no reason why - just won't. So I end up paying over double in S&H what I charged.
So what do I do now? I feel horrible trying to charge $10 in S&H for a $15 or less item! On the other hand, I just can't keep getting screwed by my ghetto P.O.
I dropped my S&H charges back down to the original prediction today, and I'm going to have to result to either one of two options. 1) I will attempt to argue and fight with the window people at my Post Office into letting me send a box parcel post instead of priority, or 2) I will take my happy-little-butt into Manhattan where the clerks actually do their jobs right without attitude and grief.
There, I feel a bit better for having ranted. It's just insane. I shouldn't have to eat 60% of the shipping charges, nor should my customers, just because some clerks at a post office in Brooklyn are in a perpetual bad mood.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So, what do we plug on etsy after a post like that? Well, I'm searching "stress relief!"
And what did I find, but the most interesting The Dammit Doll Store. I had never heard of a "Dammit Doll" before, they look a little like poppets, or "voodoo dolls," and while it seems they might have some similar history, the intent seems a bit different. The owner has this to say about "what is a dammit doll?"
"Do you get angry, get into arguments or just need to relieve some stress? A Dammit Doll is what you need! These dolls take on a personality of their own and certainly do reliev
e stress. You can confide in them, yell at them and beat them up. They never argue and are very forgiving and best of all; they never tell anyone your secrets."
Sounds quite friendly, actually! And they are adorably cute and she has over 100 entries in her shop as well as being open to custom works. Since there was no "Postal Worker Dammit Doll" on her shop, I've picked the "Tax Preparer Dammit Doll" as I'm sure a lot of us are dealing with that right about now. Dammit dolls range from $6.99 to $12.99 and makes them a much cheaper alternative to therapy!
2 comments:
Can you print the postage at home, and then just schedule a package pick up? That is what I have always done with many of my packages in the past. You should be able to schedule a pick up even with only one package.
I have the same issues, sort of, with my rural redneck post office. Mine is with international shipping though, and have had to completely stop doing it. So I called around to some other post offices in the area, it seems not all postal workers get the same training, and not all post offices can handle the same work. I even tried printing online and doing a pick up but the mail carrier was completely clueless when she got here what to do, as if it wasn't already done for her. Then if you ask them a question forget it. Finally I gave up on international shipping. I lose a lot of sales that way.
Post a Comment