The Zingers

[threemonkeys]

I love dealing with Mark & Cindy Ziesing. Now that the local booksellers have lifted their game I don't have the need to get books in from the States so often these days but despite their unreliable web site (that also does not like Firefox all that much) and the long postage times I still get a buzz out of dealing with them when the need arises. It is just the warm feeling you get from knowing you are dealing with a couple of real people working out of their basement rather than a big corporation like Amazon. The fact that they charge actual postage rather than a highly inflated flat rate like Amazon also helps - it cancels out the Amazon price discounts.

Obviously I received a package from them today, hence my eulogising. It even came with a hand written thank you note from Cindy. The mail packaging was very interesting though. The books were all wrapped individually and packed in a standard shipping box. Nothing strange there. But then the box was delivered in what looks like a canvas mailbag used for shipping bulk mail loads between towns - i.e. a big white canvas bag. But it only had my one box in it and the bag was clearly labelled on an outside tag for a single recipient - me. The strangest thing is that it is clearly a multi-use bag, designed to be used over and over again. This one indeed has clearly seen better days. So why send it to a private individual who is unlikely to ever use it for its intended purpose? One final twist, it is clearly labelled "Domestic mail United States Postal Service". Again - why send it all the way across the Pacific to me.

Comments

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

I get books that way from time to time, too. It is M class postage or something. It is a business postage and they seem to use any postage bag they have. I got one from the UK the other day, so it isn't just the States. I find that when I get them and look at how much postage I have been charged, it is something like 20% of what those books would have cost posted any other way. They take forever to arrive, but I never complain because the cost is wondrous and makes books affordable, and I have become really good at distetangling those strange threads they use to make sure no-one runs off with said books.

Sometimes I get a cloth sack. Sometimes the post ofice wants the bag back. I give the unreturnable cloth bags to friends with kids - very handy round Christmas. And apparently the non-cloth bags are super useful for horsefeed. (I knew I wasn't popular cos of my sparkling personality - it is my usefulness in providing horsefeed bags as does it!!)

I really don't understand why they don't have some sort of arrangement with our postal people to return the backs or have an international bag or something - maybe they use the ones they would otherwise throw out? I hope so, because it seems very wasteful. I have to admit though, every time the postie gives me one of those bags I immediately find my happy booksmile on my face.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Don't you just love this blogging thing. I was positive that if I put a description of the postage bag up, somebody would be able to give me the good oil. I am much obliged to you. I even know horse owning people to offer the bag to - it really is too good a quality item to throw away.

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

It is. I guess it would cost more to collect them than to replace them though.