Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sunday, May 06, 2012 - ,,,, No comments

Sending a Package using 택배.

Sending small items to the US is pretty easy using 택배. The nearest location for the shipping service is at Family Mart.  Most of the larger size Family Mart stores have these touch screen shipping registers on the counter near the checkout.  Some of them will have movie or product advertisements on the screen making it difficult for a foreigner to figure out that it's actually a shipping scale. ^^  The good news is that 24 hour stores can accept items anytime!

I told them that I needed "International Take-Bay".  They found a box for me, but their first choice had a lot of printing and pictures on it.  I know that USPS doesn't look kindly upon getting packages like that, so I requested a regular brown box.  Minor addition to the KAF, but only a minute. ^^ It wasn't a problem.  They taped it up for me and went back to the machine.
They slid the display back to reveal the shipping scale. When they weighed it up, it was about 2kg.  When choosing a service, I was told EMS was the cheapest and that it would ship out of Ansan on Monday and arrive in my hometown in Wisconsin by Friday.  That sounded nothing short of amazing.

There is a key at the top indicating what happens on each screen.  The weight screen is straight forward and I expect that the clerk enters the information for everyone to ensure that the store doesn't get ripped off.  The description of items screen is similar to the customs forms I filled out when sending stuff from the USA.  The main things that it asks for are the descriptions and the value.

The recipient info screen asks all the standard questions.  The keyboard is a little funky.  The left yellow button is for "space".  The dark bar at the bottom does nothing. ^^  The sender info screen is similar.

The next screen is for payment details.  By paying cash at the store, there really wasn't much to do but confirm the price.

This confirmation screen shows all the important info.  ^^ Click through that and you are finished.

I think the price is based totally upon weight.  No one measured the box.
They also offer insurance, but I imagine it must be a huge hassle if a foreigner had to collect on it. 

Score another point for Family Mart!
* 24 hours
* clean store
* best Samgat Kimbap selection
* owner speaks English
* friendly service
* easy shipping services

Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan-si, Danwon-gu, Choji-dong, 699-9

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