Packages And Returns

It seems as though there is one package or another that arrives at the office on a daily basis. All different shapes, sizes, and weights. Some business and others personal (especially around the holidays). Also a common sights is the occasional box that is put aside to be picked up and returned to where it came from. I have heard all the reasons for send something back even though I rarely do so myself from wrong size or color to poor quality, wrong item all together, or arriving too late and everything in between.

Every time I see one of those packages heading out the door I can’t help but think about the cost of those returns and how the “free returns” policy isn’t really a free service as those anticipated costs are factored into the price of the object. When I looked into the data behind returns (focusing on the online side of things) I was taken aback by the percentage… in 2013, The Wall Street Journal found that nearly a third (33%) of all online purchases were returned for one reason or another. That is a lot of money spend on “free returns”.

Beyond the money it just seems like a pain in the what to have to go through that process and I tried finding some more information on what impact it has on the retailer. From a recent survey I found the following statistics:

• 54% of respondents stated that the reason for returning an item purchased online or by phone is because the item is the incorrect size or color
• 97% of respondents stated that the return process is important to their future intentions to shop with a retailer
• 73% of respondents who receive an incorrect item after already returning it once stated that they are much less likely to shop with that retailer online or by phone again for future purchases
• 45% of respondents who have experienced continuous return process issues with particular retailers stated that they have limited shopping with that retailer altogether (both online and in-store)
• 26% of respondents expect the correct item to be shipped to them within one to two days after returning the incorrect item

While I rely more on the end cost of the item and tend to put up with these errors, it seems as though I am among the minority. But it makes me think more about the disconnect that many people have from the products they buy while maintaining the “I see it now and I want it now” mentality. While I prefer going into a store and buying the items that I want or need, online is an inexpensive alternative to get the same thing at a much better price. I wonder how many of those in the above survey could have avoided the return had they seen the color in person and determined if something ran large or small while trying it on in the store.

We have to remember that while online shopping is convenience and cheaper, the in-store experience is sometimes worth the ten minutes out of your day and ten cents out of your pocket. Heck, sometimes it is cheaper to buy in the store if you simply talk to the sales person, manager, or owner. That little bit of time can end up saving you a lot of aggravation if not money and if people stop returning so much stuff online it might even drive down some of those “low prices” even further.

Black Friday Turning Grey

Every year the same pattern persists as Thanksgiving all too quickly gives way to the consumer holiday shopping spree also known as Black Friday. More so than any other year, the emails came heavy and soon filled my inbox with deals. Actually, the digital deluge began on Monday as pre-sales and teasers streamed across the screen. However, the fact of the matter is that the deals are not nearly as good this year as they have been in the past.

A few years ago I was one of those people who, eager to fill a few holes in what we needed for our new apartment, ventured out on Thanksgiving night to try and stretch our money as far as I could go. That trip was a success as lower prices combined with a few coupons I had on hand allowed us to completely furnish our place as well as check off most of the people on our gift list for the season. With the economy still recovering the discounts were deep especially for those of us who took the time to put a game plan together and leverage every discount available to us. This allowed me to get everything done all while not waiting in a single line.

This year was almost the exact opposite as there was nothing being sold that offered the same kind of bargain. Don’t get me wrong, we still spent a few dollars but not like the flurry of activity from just a few years ago. Everything has pointed to a resurgence in the retail environment and the lack of discounts reflects that change… although that fact didn’t seem to stop people from filling the stores and clogging the roads.

So this year my wife and I did exactly what the stores didn’t want us to do… we stayed home and kept our money in our pockets. The few things that we were keeping an eye on just in case didn’t seem to change much in price so why would we buy now? There is plenty of time for us to look for those things at a later date and there are definitely other things on which we can focus our attention. Maybe part of the equation is that we have changed and our priorities have shifted but at the same time if the deals aren’t there it is not worth the time or the money.

In Need Of A Deep Cleaning

One of the things that always seems to be put off for another day is cleaning. It is safe to say that it is our least favorite thing to do so naturally we keep saying tomorrow or next weekend. It is that pattern that has gotten us to where we are now… living in a bit of a mess.

It really isn’t the dust or dirt that is the issue as that can be remedied with a Swiffer and a vacuum. What really gets me is when I can’t find the things that I am looking for because everything is laying in disorganized piles cluttering up my desk or crammed in the draw so tight that I am unable to flip through the files. When I can’t find things I tend to leave them in the land of lost and forgotten papers… only when something is truly important do I continue searching until I find it. However, that brings an important question to the forefront… is it worth keeping if it isn’t important enough to keep searching?

More often than not, this simple question leads to an overdue sifting when I toss those former trees into the shred box. Ah, the shred box, there is hours of work that I really don’t have the time of patience to deal with which is why, every so often, I wind up throwing everything into a trash bag and heading off to Staples with a coupon in hand. I think it might be time to look for another one of those coupons.

If you couldn’t tell, when my work space becomes disorganized my thoughts and my free writing tends to become very loose and sometimes completely disorganized in and of itself. Even now, if you couldn’t tell, my mind seems a bit jumbled and I am finding it hard to stay focused on the task at hand. With every passing word of this post I am thinking about the fifty other things that I have to get done, the things that I need to organize, and the question as to when I am going to have the time to do them.

Maybe it is a little OCD of me to be having these thoughts and these issues with my focus. I don’t know. But, needless to say, there are a lot of things that are going through my mind at this moment some of which I have already written about and others that have yet to make it into the blog. Maybe if I can get organized and put everything in an order that makes some semblance of sense, I will get everything in my mind written in posts and up on this blog. I guess time will only tell.

Sometimes The Dollar Store Is Too Expensive

I am a person who is always looking for the best deal. Many times that requires comparing products, price shopping, and adding coupons into the mix. Sometimes I can only employ one or two of these factors and sometimes it requires all three. However, sometimes it just takes a little luck and a smidge of effort in order to get the best price possible… FREE!

As of late, I have been picking up a few items here and there at job fairs which have demonstrated varying degrees of quality and usefulness. This is a great way to collect a mismatched set of plastic cups, travel mugs, and random memory foam stress relievers (best used when you hear the words “we’re not looking for someone with your background at the moment”). All in all, nothing is really worth bragging about (both the item and where you got it).

My wife has also been picking up a few free items lately. She came home yesterday with a grab bag of literature from an all day conference she attended at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia (the conference was also free which is a find in itself). I was going to attend the event with her but Mr. Sandman was being a particularly persistent bastard yesterday. Anyway, while the information may not be helpful to many it was useful to her and, therefore, a great free find.

My latest two acquisitions are of a completely different free breed. High quality useful items are something I am always looking for and getting them for free is just a bonus. The two items pictured will be used and used a lot… one right away and one in the future.

I came across the free Siddur while browsing through my Facebook feed. A few friends had shared the link for the giveaway and when I saw it I had to claim my copy. This was not a contest; it was on a first come first serve basis. Simply click on the link and fill in the shipping information.

I knew the company, Koren Publishers Jerusalem, and have other Siddurim from them so I had no qualms about sharing my information. A few weeks later and the book was waiting for me at the front desk. Now I just have the simple task of learning Hebrew and this will be a heavily used addition to our library. Like I said earlier, this is the item that will be used in the future.

An item doesn’t have to be fancy to be a great freebie. Sometimes it’s the simple items that prove to be the most useful. A perfect example of this is the map I received from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The arrival of this envelop was met with some trepidation because usually when you have an envelope in your mailbox with that return address and your registration isn’t due it means bad news. So, when this parcel arrived, I was ready to break out the check book and survey the bank account. I find it both impressive and disturbing the pucker power an envelope can have when the return address it related to a government agency. It was a pleasant surprise to find something useful enclosed in the PennDOT stationary.

With all of the traveling that we have been doing lately and all the trips that are planned over the next several months, this map is something that will be used over and over again. For me, old school maps are a much better way to find those out of the way places that the Maps App on my iPhone can’t pronounce. We often forget that technology has its limits and sometimes the best way to find something or someplace that you didn’t know you were looking for is by flipping through the pages of a book or unfolding a map on the table.

It just goes to show that free stuff (and clichés) can be found all over the place. All you need to do is pay attention and be willing to commit about 30 seconds in filling out your mailing information. Note that some of you may have to take off the tin foil from your noggin to accomplish this. Some of the items are going to be more useful than others but, who cares, it's free. If you really don’t want it I’m sure someone you know will or you can donate to charity (which would, in turn, make it free for them).  

What are some of the items you have gotten for free? What are some of the items you wish you didn’t get for free?