Foreign Shipping Update
almost 4 years ago
– Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 07:34:56 AM
So, after EXTENSIVE negotiations, a lot of begging, and a little arm twisting, we've FINALLY got permission from our fulfillment house to get in to prepare two pallets (one for the UK and one for Canada). They will let us in on July 1st. Once we get everything "boxed up" they will have to do some other things (shrink wrapping them), putting some protective corners on, adding a "do not stack" cone, and strapping everything down. I don't think that will take more than a day or so. But here is how things will go.
1. July 1st, Sarah and I will come in to pull all the books/bags that need to be shipped and double-box and stack them on the appropriate pallets.
2. As soon as we get the report that they are "ready for shipping" we'll engage a LTL (less than load shipper).
3. One pallet will be shipped to Buffalo New York (Canada) the other to New Jersey.
4. A freight forwarder will combine the shipment with other shipments. In the case of Canada, those will go through customs and arrive at a shipping center in Ontario. For the international shipments those will go on a freighter and start sailing across the ocean.
5. Once the pallets make it through customs, they can be picked up by local shippers to go to the warehouses of the local fulfillment companies.
6. They will unpack and inspect all products (last time we didn't have a single book damaged - but that was due to the extra precaution we took in step #1 above (and why we needed to get into the fulfillment house to do some preliminary work.
7. Once all items have been inventoried, they will start shipping.
Doing this kind of overseas shipment isn't easy even in ideal times. Doing it during a COVID-19 pandemic is even more challenging. We are doing our best to make sure you get your orders as soon as you can! Please bear with us.
A recap of day 1 of book signing
almost 4 years ago
– Mon, Jun 01, 2020 at 05:22:36 PM
So, the fulfillment house we use for shipping is called BoxInBoxOut. Signing there, while not perfect (usually really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter), was at least "charming" in its own way. What do I mean by that? Well, it's a "medium-sized" building in the middle of a field with 3 - 4 people working inside. They usually make a place for us next to their "lunch area" where they set up a standard folding table with plastic chairs (like you would use outside). For the most part, we have a large area all to ourselves.
Sometimes Brad comes by. He's the person who has packaged and shipped most of our products. He's an avid fisherman, loves his truck, and an all-around great guy. We've had many conversations with him as we sign ranging from what vehicle we should buy to pull our teardrop, how happy he was with the work a local guy did on his kitchen, how he was able to make some extra money by harvesting the trees on a piece of land he recently bought, and, of course, what he caught since the last time we saw him.
Signing there is hard work but it's also fun because we (Robin, Sarah, and I -- and in the past, my brother Pat), bring in a little Bose speaker, kick on the jams, and spend a lot of time joking around. About halfway through, we get "loopy. Dyslexic Sarah is famous for putting the wrong book in the wrong box (only discovered after we are nearly done and then we have to go find which one we have to swap). Running jokes arise: "So this is the glamorous life of a New York Times Bestseller" or "I bet Stephen King is doing exactly this today!"
When it is over, signings always become events of great myth, remembered much differently with the passage of time than when they occurred. In other words, when it's happening it's grueling, when it's over, we feel like we accomplished something.
Which brings us to yesterday. Two important changes occurred with regard to our signing. The first, is that BoxInBox out is no longer in their cute little building in the middle of nowhere. They are in the process of transitioning from that building to a portion of the Plow and Hearth warehouse and my books have already "made the switchover." They told Robin about this months ago, but I only found out about it yesterday when we started driving. From a distance standpoint, it's about the same. The two buildings are only a few miles from each other, but they are worlds apart.
For those not familiar with Plow and Hearth it's a nationwide retailer of hearth and fireplace accessories; furniture and home furnishings; and lawn and garden accessories. They have a robust catalog business and also stores throughout the country. Robin has always been a big fan, and we have bought many things from them over the years. As it turns out, Peter (who is the owner of BoxInBoxOut) was the founder of Plow and Hearth (although he sold it many years ago).
As to the differences...when you walk into the old BoxInBoxOut warehouse a metal door that scrapes each time it is opened and closed cries out. You shout "Hello?" and usually won't get a response, so you make your way to Sarah's office (who is generally not there because she is the boss and worker bee) so you wander until you see "someone" and tell them - "we are here for the signing, and we know our way." Then we carry various boxes and supplies from the car (bookmarks, speaker, water bottles, etc) and we set in.
In contrast, when you get to the Plow and Hearth warehouse you enter the reception area which is as plush as any office building I've ever seen. It has a kiosk playing a video of the companies history, oversized leather furniture, a huge stone fireplace, a massive quilt hanging on the wall, and plenty of knick-nacks from the P&H catalog, including a big iron sculpture of birds in a tree that Robin has in one of our spare bedrooms. You have to be buzzed in, and you can't enter the warehouse without badges, proper footwear (Robin was in sandals yesterday which isn't allowed due to needing closed-toe shoes, but they were able to provide her with a "loaner pair" much like the sport's jackets at high-end restaurants who give out suit coats and ties), and an escort. Because of Coronavirus, there were additional restrictions, including medical forms we had to fill out the day before, temperature checks, masks, and confirming that we would not remove the masks anytime during our visit.
It took a good 20 minutes for Robyn, our escort, to arrive. Before coming, they informed us that we would have to bring our own table and chairs. Luckily Robin had bought a portable table that folds in half (all our other tables are full-sized and would require using the truck (which isn't a comfortable ride). We stole a chair from one fo the bedroom's desks and brought a "camp" chair (recently purchased for our teardrop travel which we have not been able to do) for Robin. I stayed behind to drive the Jeep to "Loading Dock #16 where we offloaded all our stuff in a big-orange cart (The types used by the USPS). While I drove, Robin, Robyn, and Sarah took the 10-15 minute trek from the reception area to our "signing area." They passed an employee lunch area (with all types of vending machines and really high-end tables and chairs (which was blocked off due to Coronavirus), automated conveyor belts, pedestrian-only walk areas, and racks which went to the top of a 50' or 60' ceiling. While Sarah and I set up Robin took the Jeep back to the visitor parking area and went back through the reception area and talked her way into getting to us by "knowing the way." Arriving, yes, another 10-15 minutes later. This place is massive!
The BoxInBoxOut warehouse doesn't have a single forklift (they do have pallet jacks to pull things from place to place and a number of rickety carts). P&H not only has forklifts, but they have machines that can go up to get stock off the highest shelves. The air is filled with the "meep-meep" of dozens of heavy-lifting vehicles and people don't have time to talk about fishing or their trucks.
When Robin arrived back to us, she knew exactly what I was thinking. The music wasn't on, we had already completed the first row of the first pallet, and I was working at a break-neck pace she had never seen before. "You want to get all 4 pallets done today so we don't have to ever return here, right?" I responded with, "You, think?" She knew I wasn't pleased. Signing is never easy, but I had been looking forward to it. It's "different" and it was the first time I've been out of the house since mid-March. I wanted to hear if Brad got any good catches. I wanted to have Robin go out to get a sandwich from Yoders that we could eat at the break table next door. I didn't get that, and I wanted to get this done and over with as soon as humanly possible.
Robin and Sarah were on the same page. The first 1/2 of the first pallet was finished in record time. The most we've ever done in a single day was a pallet and a half, but it looked like if we REALLY pushed, we could get all four done. The plan was to do skip lunch and power through to 3:30 when we would be forced to leave. Things slowed significantly at the pallet and a half mark. Our tape dispenser (which Sarah and Robin has called "Jaws" for the two years they have used it) cut Robin and she left some blood on a few boxes. She also had to "towel down" a few times because sweat from her hair dripped onto a book (and yes it was moved to the reject pile). Sarah actually got overheated and nauseous and had to sit down, put her feet up, and apply a cold cloth to the back of her neck.
As we started the last row of the 2nd pallet, it became clear 4 was out of the question. Plans changed to doing 2 pallets, go out and grab a quick bite, come back and do another pallet, so that next time we could do the single pallet in a more relaxed based.
Another hour went by and that plan needed to be revised. Robin's breaks were becoming more frequent and longer. Sarah got overheated again. I think at least in her case the mask and breathing in so much CO2 was a factor. She was doing the vast majority of the heavy lifting and was switching between unloading books and reboxing and stacking finished boxes. With Sarah down for the count, Robin and I finished out the first row of pallet 3 and decided we wouldn't be able to return after lunch. We cleaned up our area, walked back to the plush reception area, and headed out. Passing a Tastee-Freeze, we stopped for burgers, fries, shakes, and some chicken. We ate in the Jeep by the side of the road and spun tales to Sarah about how this was what "going out to eat" was like when Robin and I were young. The only difference being that you had speakers and the servers brought your food to you. When Robin arrived home she drank about 1/2 a gallon of water and then crawled into the teardrop and passed out. I finally roused her for a late dinner or she would have been there all night.
So, we have 2,620 pounds of books signed and 2,038 to go. Nowhere near where we wanted to be, but further than we've done before. The good news is what Robin thought would be a 3-day job will only be two. Maybe I'll break out the toons next time. In any case, we will be going at a more moderated pace as we won't be delusional enough to think we can do 4 pallets in one day. It's just not possible. Oh, and we were working so fast, we didn't take any pictures, but we'll try on Monday.
When will they start to ship? I don't know. I hope on Monday, but we are faced with COVID-19 and Brad and Sarah (who are familiar with the shipping process of our books) are still at the old warehouse, and they are still moving from one place to another. The only thing I can say for sure is they will be able to do it faster than we could. And you know Robin will be pushing to get them working on them.
