Sunday, June 05, 2005
eBay business is booming at local post offices
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, June 5, 2005
Postmaster Ginette Simpson sees a lot of transient faces at her small post office in Hostetter, Unity Township.
"They come in with a lot of packages at any given time," she said.
They are part of the growing number of eBayers who have increased the volume of parcels in post offices all over the country, from tiny rural sites to metropolitan offices.
According to eWeek Enterprise News & Reviews, the popularity of Internet communication put a dent in first-class mail handled by the U.S. Postal Service.
However, the rise in eBay commerce picked up that decline in volume. The Postal Service handled 90.1 billion pieces of mail in 2000, then only 87.2 billion pieces in 2002. In 2004, the volume dramatically increased, to 95.6 billion pieces, eWeek reported.
"According to eBay officials, at any given time, there are more than 25 million items for sale on eBay," said Diana Svoboda, a communications specialist with the Postal Service in Pittsburgh.
That includes the ordinary to the strange, items that a decade ago would have been sold at flea markets or yard sales, or even thrown away. Now eBayers are shipping it all across the country and around the world.
Linda Noel, postmaster at Forbes Road for 12 years, has about a dozen eBay customers who come in once every week or two.
"I love the stories they tell," she said. "One woman mailed a pair of nylon stockings -- not pantyhose -- with seams, and got $25 for them. Another customer paid $5 for an old Bundt pan at a flea market and sold it for $300. Another bought a vintage pink canister set for 50 cents and sold it for $80."
Then there was an old high school varsity jacket that was purchased for 50 cents and sold for $60.
Someone even unloaded a mint-green polyester suit with pearl buttons. The local hawker advertised it on eBay as perfect for a Texas oil tycoon, and sold it to an oil company executive who collected oil memorabilia.
Some of Noel's customers ship old books and used CDs, but more recently, she sees fewer of them as they opt for more convenient USPS services.
"I used to have a customer who shipped out glassware on a regular basis, but now she uses home pickup," said Simpson, who has been at Hostetter since 1993.
They started working with eBay in September 2003, and shipping is now easier for people who don't want to stand in line or wait while their parcels are being processed.
"They have teamed up to offer sellers one-stop shipping that currently includes fully integrated shipping solutions on the eBay Web site," Svoboda said.
Sellers can calculate rates on their own scales or use one of the Postal Service's priority flat-rate envelopes or boxes. Then they print out mailing labels and charge the postage to their credit cards, or pay through the PayPal, an online payment service. The service also includes free tracking.
Sellers can take their readied parcels to any post office, drop them into mailboxes if they fit, or contact their local post office for next-day pickup.
"Carrier pickup has become quite a big thing," Greensburg assistant postmaster Jeff Gogets said. "And it gets bigger and bigger every day. One local business that advertises on eBay has 20 to 25 packages picked up daily, and we're seeing more and more of this throughout the county."
Priority boxes and envelopes are free at local offices, and customers can order certain other free supplies that are shipped directly to their homes. There are even boxes that carry both the Postal Service and eBay logos.
"People can get free priority boxes, free delivery confirmation, and combine that with carrier pickup, and that's hard to beat," Gogets said. "We are helping customers, and they are helping us."
American Express is finally here!
We've finally worked out an agreement directly with American Express to begin accepting their cards for orders. American Express cards are processed directly, eliminating any 3rd party processors making it acceptable to government card users and large corporations who forbid the 3rd party handling of their account information.
LOWER PRICES ON ZIP LOCK BAGS!!!!!!!
In a continuing effort to bring you the most bang for your packaging supplies buck, Pac-n-Seal has been able to reduce prices on most of our zip lock reclosable bags. Some of the Clear Zip brand bags have been reduced by as much as $15 per case. We are currently working on the Minigrip zip bags to get those prices reduced as well.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Pac-n-Seal Now Accepts
American Express Credit Cards
In a continuing effort to better serve our corporate and small business customers, Pac-n-Seal has now added American Express to the list of credit cards we now accept.
Not only do we now take American Express, but the added benefit is that the processing goes directly through American Express and not through a third party service provider thereby making it acceptable to government and large corporations who do not allow the use of third party credit card processors.
The Pac-n-Seal secure shopping cart has been updated to include the choice of American Express cards in addition to the Visa, Master Card and Discover cards we've always taken as well as mail in payments such as checks and money orders.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Don't forget to hold your mail
Thursday, June 2, 2005
You spent months planning the perfect vacation and the time has finally come. The bags are packed, the car is loaded and the dog's in the kennel.
At the last minute you remember you haven't asked the Post Office to hold your mail while you're away. The Postal Service now offers customers the option of requesting that their mail be held from three to 30 days quickly and easily online at www.usps.com.
"When you go on vacation, the last thing you need is to be concerned about the safety of your mail while you're away," said David B. McDonald, officer-in-charge of the Winchester Post Office. "Our Hold Mail Service makes it easy."
Customers simply go to www.usps.com, click "Receive Mail and Packages" in the blue bar at the top of the page. Select "Delivery Services," click on "Put Your Mail on Hold," and enter the zip code at the prompt. Then enter the address information and the dates the mail should be held. At the end of the process, customers are given a confirmation number to modify the request if they come back early or if they decide they want to stay on vacation a little bit longer.
The online service electronically notifies the local Post Office, which holds all mail for the time specified. Delivery resumes on the requested date.
Nearly 650,000 customers have taken advantage of this convenient feature since its 2003 launch. Another 700,000 customers have used the Postal Service's toll-free number, 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777), to have their mail held. And customers can always stop by their local Post Office and fill out a simple from there.
