the ob
all good in the hood.
Hello all.
This is the ob, the person who offered to start helping Rick ship out of the country. He already listed my info earlier so I probably do not need to do it again.
I want to start by letting the mods know that I truly hope I am not violating any rules in this post, and if so, please pm me. I already spoke to Rick about this and if need be, we can discuss my setting up my own thread for the purposes of what I am about to say. Please let me know if you would like me to do so, and the specifics of what is involved.
I am a long time zap fan and also have my own brick and mortar business. I first approached Rick some time ago about selling his devices in my store. My primary business is clothing, but the shop has morphed into more of a lifestyle store over time. I have been in business over 8 1/2 years and like to think we have a excellent reputation for carrying unique well-crafted products while providing excellent service. Sounds kind of like Rick, or so I hope.
We recently began carrying the zaps in the shop. Over the last couple of years I have noticed a number of people inquire about Rick selling outside of the US. Being a business owner, I know how difficult these seemingly easy tasks can be because of the many responsibilities that come with running a business. I asked Rick several days ago if he would let me take a stab at helping him with this as we already do ship a number of things internationally. We have unique lines that are not widely available and have learned to do this.
Rick was excited that I was interested in taking on this seemingly annoying task and suggested starting with our neighbors to the north. This was suggested because you are on the same electric system as the US is, and the adapters would work the same way. I am possibly going to look into what it would take to ship to other countries at some point, but I am starting with the Canadians. Plus I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Canadians.
I do not yet have all the information, but wanted to start to get some information to you so you know what we could be dealing with.
First, please know that the initial pricing may be somewhat different than what Rick offers on the site. There are a couple of reasons for this. Rick is going to start making some of these devices just for us, and at least a majority might be primo. Also, we are discussing adding some touches that will be specific to the ones we carry. Rick is selling these to us at a wholesale price. This means two things. He is making less on the units than the ones he gets to sell himself. To be able to afford to do this and pay my expenses, I have to charge a bit more. I have a tremendous amount of overhead and it will take time for one of my employees to take pictures, pack and ship. Also, there are the credit card fees and all the yucky stuff that I have to pay for.
I want you to know I am going to work on getting the initial pricing to a reasonable level and am certainly not trying to gouge you or retire off selling these to you. I truly just want to try to help out and see if I can help supply what I think is a life changing product to people outside the country. Once again, the initial figure is just a figure I have thrown out to do the examples. I have not settled on that number.
Second, there are the costs associated with shipping these units. I have done some initial research and have some figures I want to share. I am still exploring all of this and none of it is set in stone, so before you all bombard me with questions, please let me get all my ducks in a row. I am just offering some initial information because I figured some of you were curious.
We have several shipping options. We are fortunate enough to be across the street from a Postal Annex. The good news is that we will be able to offer different options based on what you would like. The bad news is that the shipping is generally about 20% higher than if we were to physically take these packages to fex ex, or usps individually. I can tell you that making daily trips to these places would not be possible and would add to the expenses. Getting these picked up would also add expense as well. I just want to be transparent with all of you so you know I am being above board.
I have also calculated duties and fees for each option (a guesstimate) so you know what that will mean in the final equation.
Option 1. USPS. There are three options here. First is First Class. This is the cheapest. From what I can gather so far it would be a initial fee of around 20.00. This is based on package size and weight. Based on a initial price of say 225.00 (please do not freak out yet, this is not finalized) Here is what you are looking at (using vancouver bc as the example)
First Class
225.00 zap
20.00 shipping
tax 14.70
conversion 6.13
brokerage 5.65
total of 271.48.
I cannot control the duties and fees. This is based on stuff I do not understand. It is what it is. This is the cheapest option, but no tracking or insurance is provided.
USPS Option #2 Priority
225.00 zap
48.00 shipping
tax same
conversion same
brokerage same
I was told this is not a great option as it may hit the border faster, but still get the same delays at customs. I think this is not a great one.
USPS Option #3 express
225.00 zap
64.00 shipping
all other fees the same.
The only advantage here is that you get a tracking number. Once again not my favorite option and I will explain why in the next set of options.
Fed Ex. I will use them as I was told UPS is not good about shipping out of the country. There is basically one good option here and that is economy.
225.00 zap
84.00 shipping
18.54 tax
7.73 conversion
40.68 brokerage
6.61 disbursement
total of 382.56
This one is a doozy. Here is the good news. First, you are guaranteed to get it in 2 days. They have their own duty/custom area. Second, you get a tracking number. It is 111.08 dollars more. Please be aware none of this goes to me, it is all to fex ex and the canadian government. Once again, I do not love this option because of the price, but I will offer it for those who want it.
You have two other options not mentioned. One, come get one personally. Two, ship to a relative in the US and it will be way cheaper (shipping wise) and have them bring it to you.
This is all from initial research. If I can possible get Fex Ex to come get them, or USPS to come get them and it saves you money, I will do that. I was not able to get this info today (saturday). Trust me, I am not trying to gouge any of you in any way and if I can find a cheaper method to get them to you I will.
I just wanted to get this all out there and start to get feedback from those interested and see how you are feeling. I will be creating a new email address specifically for this and will also assign a specific employee to this task so you know you will have someone specific to talk to. I will have access to the email as well so I will be able to help in case I either fire said employee (kidding) or he is lucky enough to ever get a day off. I know I don't. seriously, I just took my first day off in about three months......
Let me know if you have any comments or questions. Please remember that I am typing this after a long day of work, and have to work tomorrow too. I will try to check here as much as I can to help out.
This is the ob, the person who offered to start helping Rick ship out of the country. He already listed my info earlier so I probably do not need to do it again.
I want to start by letting the mods know that I truly hope I am not violating any rules in this post, and if so, please pm me. I already spoke to Rick about this and if need be, we can discuss my setting up my own thread for the purposes of what I am about to say. Please let me know if you would like me to do so, and the specifics of what is involved.
I am a long time zap fan and also have my own brick and mortar business. I first approached Rick some time ago about selling his devices in my store. My primary business is clothing, but the shop has morphed into more of a lifestyle store over time. I have been in business over 8 1/2 years and like to think we have a excellent reputation for carrying unique well-crafted products while providing excellent service. Sounds kind of like Rick, or so I hope.
We recently began carrying the zaps in the shop. Over the last couple of years I have noticed a number of people inquire about Rick selling outside of the US. Being a business owner, I know how difficult these seemingly easy tasks can be because of the many responsibilities that come with running a business. I asked Rick several days ago if he would let me take a stab at helping him with this as we already do ship a number of things internationally. We have unique lines that are not widely available and have learned to do this.
Rick was excited that I was interested in taking on this seemingly annoying task and suggested starting with our neighbors to the north. This was suggested because you are on the same electric system as the US is, and the adapters would work the same way. I am possibly going to look into what it would take to ship to other countries at some point, but I am starting with the Canadians. Plus I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Canadians.
I do not yet have all the information, but wanted to start to get some information to you so you know what we could be dealing with.
First, please know that the initial pricing may be somewhat different than what Rick offers on the site. There are a couple of reasons for this. Rick is going to start making some of these devices just for us, and at least a majority might be primo. Also, we are discussing adding some touches that will be specific to the ones we carry. Rick is selling these to us at a wholesale price. This means two things. He is making less on the units than the ones he gets to sell himself. To be able to afford to do this and pay my expenses, I have to charge a bit more. I have a tremendous amount of overhead and it will take time for one of my employees to take pictures, pack and ship. Also, there are the credit card fees and all the yucky stuff that I have to pay for.
I want you to know I am going to work on getting the initial pricing to a reasonable level and am certainly not trying to gouge you or retire off selling these to you. I truly just want to try to help out and see if I can help supply what I think is a life changing product to people outside the country. Once again, the initial figure is just a figure I have thrown out to do the examples. I have not settled on that number.
Second, there are the costs associated with shipping these units. I have done some initial research and have some figures I want to share. I am still exploring all of this and none of it is set in stone, so before you all bombard me with questions, please let me get all my ducks in a row. I am just offering some initial information because I figured some of you were curious.
We have several shipping options. We are fortunate enough to be across the street from a Postal Annex. The good news is that we will be able to offer different options based on what you would like. The bad news is that the shipping is generally about 20% higher than if we were to physically take these packages to fex ex, or usps individually. I can tell you that making daily trips to these places would not be possible and would add to the expenses. Getting these picked up would also add expense as well. I just want to be transparent with all of you so you know I am being above board.
I have also calculated duties and fees for each option (a guesstimate) so you know what that will mean in the final equation.
Option 1. USPS. There are three options here. First is First Class. This is the cheapest. From what I can gather so far it would be a initial fee of around 20.00. This is based on package size and weight. Based on a initial price of say 225.00 (please do not freak out yet, this is not finalized) Here is what you are looking at (using vancouver bc as the example)
First Class
225.00 zap
20.00 shipping
tax 14.70
conversion 6.13
brokerage 5.65
total of 271.48.
I cannot control the duties and fees. This is based on stuff I do not understand. It is what it is. This is the cheapest option, but no tracking or insurance is provided.
USPS Option #2 Priority
225.00 zap
48.00 shipping
tax same
conversion same
brokerage same
I was told this is not a great option as it may hit the border faster, but still get the same delays at customs. I think this is not a great one.
USPS Option #3 express
225.00 zap
64.00 shipping
all other fees the same.
The only advantage here is that you get a tracking number. Once again not my favorite option and I will explain why in the next set of options.
Fed Ex. I will use them as I was told UPS is not good about shipping out of the country. There is basically one good option here and that is economy.
225.00 zap
84.00 shipping
18.54 tax
7.73 conversion
40.68 brokerage
6.61 disbursement
total of 382.56
This one is a doozy. Here is the good news. First, you are guaranteed to get it in 2 days. They have their own duty/custom area. Second, you get a tracking number. It is 111.08 dollars more. Please be aware none of this goes to me, it is all to fex ex and the canadian government. Once again, I do not love this option because of the price, but I will offer it for those who want it.
You have two other options not mentioned. One, come get one personally. Two, ship to a relative in the US and it will be way cheaper (shipping wise) and have them bring it to you.
This is all from initial research. If I can possible get Fex Ex to come get them, or USPS to come get them and it saves you money, I will do that. I was not able to get this info today (saturday). Trust me, I am not trying to gouge any of you in any way and if I can find a cheaper method to get them to you I will.
I just wanted to get this all out there and start to get feedback from those interested and see how you are feeling. I will be creating a new email address specifically for this and will also assign a specific employee to this task so you know you will have someone specific to talk to. I will have access to the email as well so I will be able to help in case I either fire said employee (kidding) or he is lucky enough to ever get a day off. I know I don't. seriously, I just took my first day off in about three months......
Let me know if you have any comments or questions. Please remember that I am typing this after a long day of work, and have to work tomorrow too. I will try to check here as much as I can to help out.
