… and shipping stuff out in general have become so much easier since I realized I could open accounts through UPS and FedEx‘s websites, create and print shipping labels and hand the label and package off to my company’s shipping department, who will promptly hand over the parcel to the shipping company. (And if I don’t have tape or packing material, they’ll take care of that, too.) This works especially well for warranty returns of stuff bought online, because the original packing slip will list the weight so I don’t have to weigh the package.
Over the past month I’ve warranty-exchanged three items in this manner:
- A not-nearly-refurbished-enough Onkyo DVD changer bought from OneCall.
- A stick of Crucial DDR memory that unexpectedly went bad after two years of reliable service.
- A two-bulb lighting fixture upgrade I purchased last year for the Eclipse1 aquarium hood on my office aquarium.
What held me back before was my perception that shipping stuff through the US Postal Service was cheaper. In fact, I’ve found that FedEx and UPS shipping rates have come down, while USPS rates have gone up, to the point where USPS is no longer competitive—especially considering the added inconvenience of going to the post office and waiting in line for 10-20 minutes.