How is this Possible?!? (fast international delivery)

[mystang52]

Off topic to a large extent, I have this old childhood memory: I taped a dime to the order form on the back of the Frosted Flakes box, and my Dad mailed it away for my toy covered wagon. I think it was 6 weeks before the thing got to me.
And wow it was small. I remember it fit in palm of my (8 year old) hand, nothing at all like the picture on the box. I guess I'm still emotionally scarred from that.
By the way, the flimsy thing broke the same day.

[travelover]

What blows me away is delivery from China. I bought a small electronic component for $1 with free shipping, on eBay. It took about 3 weeks to come, but it came registered mail. I asked the clerk if I could send the same package back to China registered mail for $1 and she just laughed.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Richmond BC is the site of YVR (Vancouver airport). I'm sure they design their distribution system to take advantage of proximity to a major hub. Most people will purchase small quantities of tea, which are easy to ship by air. Enjoy the tea!

I recall about 20 years ago ordering some software about 11pm at night Eastern time and received it about 10:30am the next morning. The software vendor had their distribution warehouse located near to FedEx in Memphis so they could pull it off. Pretty impressive.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski I recall about 20 years ago ordering some software about 11pm at night Eastern time and received it about 10:30am the next morning. The software vendor had their distribution warehouse located near to FedEx in Memphis so they could pull it off. Pretty impressive.

Canada Posts's facility in Winnipeg is located right on the airport campus for exactly this reason.

Canada Post Opens New State-of-the-Art Mail Processing Plant | Blog | Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

And they are planning to do the same in Vancouver.

YVR > Business at YVR > Land Development > Canada Post Site

Eliminating wasteful movement of goods is an integral part of Lean.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover What blows me away is delivery from China. I bought a small electronic component for $1 with free shipping, on eBay. It took about 3 weeks to come, but it came registered mail. I asked the clerk if I could send the same package back to China registered mail for $1 and she just laughed.

Yep - we've had several things shipped from China - custom configured Apple laptops. Once it leaves the factory near Shanghai, it hops over to Anchorage then Memphis, then here sometimes in just 25 hours!

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski I recall about 20 years ago ordering some software about 11pm at night Eastern time and received it about 10:30am the next morning. The software vendor had their distribution warehouse located near to FedEx in Memphis so they could pull it off. Pretty impressive.

Yeah, but today you get it in 20 mins or however long the download takes, LOL!

[tulak]

I had a similar experience with Zappos. I put in an order Tuesday night at around 7pm PST. The package was delivered the next morning at 9:23am, using UPS.

Looking at the tracking details, it arrived at Louisville, KT at 1:46am EST, which is UPS's distribution center.

It looks like Zappos had the package ready for UPS at 1am, which means they processed the order in 3 hours.

All this with free shipping. Overall, pretty impressive.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Now there's an idea that really sucks - or does it really blow? (Sorry, couldn't resist...)

I believe it is all a matter of your reference point, as has been covered in the lesser known "Hoover's Theory of Relativity".

(OK, I apologize as well. That was every bit as lame as yours )



-ERD50

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Yeah, but today you get it in 20 mins or however long the download takes, LOL!

We've come a long way, baby....




-ERD50

[akck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Yep - we've had several things shipped from China - custom configured Apple laptops. Once it leaves the factory near Shanghai, it hops over to Anchorage then Memphis, then here sometimes in just 25 hours!

I ordered a HP computer that went the same way. I don't recall if it went back to Anchorage or through Seattle before coming back to Alaska.

The funniest shipment traveled from California, to Memphis, back to California (different city), up to Anchorage and then to here.

[ls99]

DW buys a lot of stuff online. Am always amazed at the speed of delivery.

I was guessing that there is a lot of excess capacity in the delivery system, of all modes. Well except maybe for USPS.

[MikeD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Some places are just efficient, I think. I often order from an industrial supplier that is over 200 road miles from me, and I always get it delivered by UPS in less than 24 hours. I agree that it's kind of amazing.

McMaster Carr? They are known for that!

Mike D.

[Maenad]

I've had good experience with Zappos, too. Free next-day shipping, it's great! I suppose it would be even better if I really liked frou-frou shoes...

Of course, I've gotten spoiled. I recently ordered a book from Amazon that they apparently don't keep stocked. It took a whole 10 days for it to be shipped! I've been obsessively checking my orders to see when it shipped out.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I ordered some tea from our favorite tea merchant yesterday. This is a tea company based near Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Some friends took us by one of their stores in Victoria, BC when we visited. If you're a tea connoisseur, you'll probably really appreciate their offerings. Buy Tea Online - Murchie's Tea & Coffee | Loose Tea & Teabags So, I place my order late morning yesterday. It's an international order, but they have a flat rate shipping fee for the US - I didn't upgrade to expedited shipping. Today, at about 1pm, DSL drives up and delivers the order. It really was sent out of Richmond BC. That was like 26 hours, and it came from over 2500 miles away and crossed an international order! For a flat fee of $9.95? My mouth is still hanging open. They also threw in a larger box of one of the teas I ordered - a bonus. Dang, talk about service!

This is excellent service and a great way to build customer loyalty. Contrast that to the biggest store in the US, WalMart, where it might take a week and a half for them to deliver an out of stock item to their local store for pickup.

[meekie]

Ordered an iPhone case from Amazon yesterday afternoon, and it was in my mailbox delivered by USPS before noon today. It only went from Chino to San Diego, but I wasn't expecting it until Friday. Pretty cool.

[audreyh1]

Wow - sounds like a number of people are getting great shipping service! [Well, except for grasshopper]

Clearly the North American distribution system has made great strides over the past several years. I'm still in awe - really.

[FIREd]

I often receive my amazon packages the next day (mostly from their fulfillment center in North Las Vegas). I've heard on Bloomberg that Amazon was building a fulfillment center just west of San Francisco for even faster delivery to the city.

I ordered some tea from Murchie's last night. We'll see how long it takes for the package to arrive.

[M Paquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREd I've heard on Bloomberg that Amazon was building a fulfillment center just west of San Francisco for even faster delivery to the city.

That'll be neat! "Speedy delivery from the SS Amazon via our fleet of ocean-going hovercraft!" They can transfer the cargo onto delivery trucks in one of the parking areas on the Great Highway. ;-)

(Just kidding. FIREd just had an east/west typo there. The Amazon fulfillment center he's referring to is in beautiful Tracy, California, scenically located atop Interstates 5, 205, and 580, along with some earthquake fault or other, about 40 miles east of San Francisco.)

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette That'll be neat! "Speedy delivery from the SS Amazon via our fleet of ocean-going hovercraft!" They can transfer the cargo onto delivery trucks in one of the parking areas on the Great Highway. ;-) (Just kidding. FIREd just had an east/west typo there. The Amazon fulfillment center he's referring to is in beautiful Tracy, California, scenically located atop Interstates 5, 205, and 580, along with some earthquake fault or other, about 40 miles east of San Francisco.)

Oops, yes I meant east of SF...

[BOBOT]

Last year I ordered (on ebay, I think) a little digital gizmo for $3.99 . It arrived the second day.....from Shanghai !. Postage included !