Notes of a Native-Speaking English Teacher: mailing / shipping

Showing posts with label mailing / shipping. Show all posts

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Sunday, July 07, 2013 -

Sending Large Articles Overseas

The next part of my day was to send home two large, framed photographs taken by one of my adult students. On both pictures, there was some unique part of the frame that made it difficult to remove without ruining the photo. I had to ship them in the frames.

I was going to do it myself armed with this note from a Korean:

" 이 그림들을 미국에 보나고 싶어요.
(I need to send these two pictures to the USA)

저는 000x000x000 사이즈 의 상자가 필요합니다.
(I need packing materials to fit a 000x000x000cm size item)

도와주시겠어요?
(Can you help me with this please?) "

I asked my taxi driving friend to take me to the main post office. He thought I could do well by going to a nearby branch near my apartment. We went inside and he did all the talking. They wouldn't ship them because they looked fragile (which they were). They suggested to him that I go to a special packing place. They gave him the phone number. I felt like this was getting pretty complicated and had a hard time with the amount of effort this might take.

My friend called the number and they talked for a few minutes. I guess he couldn't pin down exactly how much it would cost, so we decided to go visit. I was really grateful to have this help.

We took a drive and ended up at ... the main post office! haha. Apparently they have a packing service right inside.

If you are facing the main counter, this room is to the left. It's called the 포장실 (the packing room).

All the rates are listed on the desk.

This is 90% of the battle. I was a little surprised that my two pictures would cost 50,000w to pack, but he was a packing ninja. After it was all finished, and seeing how much material he used, I thought it was justified.

When I took the box to the counter, they charged another 90,000 for air shipment (under 10kg). Their logic was that the longer it was in transit, the more likely there would be damage. My Korean friend was having trouble with the price, but I told him that it was almost exactly what I budgeted.

Again, it's another case where if I had to do it again, I could do it in half the time. But, all's well that ends well! This is definitely the place to go with big, awkward things. It arrived at my home in the USA in just a few days, in good shape!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Sunday, July 01, 2012 -

* Gojan il-dong - Ansan,KAF,mailing / shipping,survival tips

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A trip to the Ansan Post Office

The rainy season has started. I celebrated this by walking to the post office in the rain Saturday morning. Many sources online say that it's open from 9-1pm. This was true until June 2nd. Now, it's closed (휴무) on Saturdays. ;;;

Translation: The nearest post office with Saturday hours is in Suwon.

This picture from the Korea Post website shows that there is a closer post office. Since there isn't a Saturday post office anymore, the one just south of the park looks to be the most convenient. There is a post office, mailbox, and 365 Corner ATM. They boast about having great overseas remittance rates...hmmm

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sunday, May 06, 2012 -

** Ansan,convenience stores,KAF,mailing / shipping,survival tips

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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