Desert Bus 5 Crafters, Start Your Engines!

[TheRocket]

What have people found to be the best shipping method for their projects? When I UPS'd a small folder of booty shorts to the moonbase a couple years ago, it was over 100$. I have a much larger/heavier package this year and am debating actually doing it if I can't get decent shipping costs.

[Bad Ideas Bear]

I know a guy called Olaf who moves things in a cargo ship.

He smells like vodka and loves to help.

[Elomin Sha]

If I can I'll hand deliver when I visit Victoria.

[TheRocket]

Neither of you are helping me. I hate you both.

[Bad Ideas Bear]

Why not channel your hate into something creative, such as painting hundreds of pictures of the object of your hatred, or carving their name into your flesh?

[TheRocket]

Because that is ssssssssoooooooooooooo 2009!!

[Bad Ideas Bear]

It is important to keep up with the latest trends.

You might like to log on to a website such as TMZ.com or PerezHilton.com, to make a note of what celebrities are currently doing, and then copy them.

What kind of postal solution would Lady Gaga or Rhianna come up with?

[Metcarfre]

Seriously, Canada Post isn't that bad. When they're not striking.

As for commercial shippers, IMO DHL>FedEx>Purolater>>>UPS. But I'm biased 'cuz my DHL is awesome.

[TheRocket]

Seriously, Canada Post isn't that bad. When they're not striking.

As for commercial shippers, IMO DHL>FedEx>Purolater>>>UPS. But I'm biased 'cuz my DHL is awesome.

I have not much experience sending packages through regular postal service esp USA -> Canada. How long in advance would you estimate I should send my package?

[Metcarfre]

Oh, that's a whole other kettle of fish... PM Van, he did OK sending to me for the Christmas gift exchange (which we HAVE TO DO AGAIN BTW), even though there was a knife in the package. I think he did USPS. Make sure you label it as a GIFT to avoid customs junk.

I do ship a bunch back and forth across the border for my job but we have two separate customs brokers to smooth things over... YMMV. I alternatively use DHL or FedEx... FedEx is more common, but like I said the DHL service is great (normally my suppliers choose what carrier to use).

In this case, I think one of the commercial carriers is probably a better bet, but it will cost you.

ALTERNATIVELY, if you come to PAX you can give it to the crew in person (or mail to someone who's going to PAX from the US).

[TheRocket]

Oh, that's a whole other kettle of fish... PM Van, he did OK sending to me for the Christmas gift exchange (which we HAVE TO DO AGAIN BTW), even though there was a knife in the package. I think he did USPS. Make sure you label it as a GIFT to avoid customs junk.

I do ship a bunch back and forth across the border for my job but we have two separate customs brokers to smooth things over... YMMV. I alternatively use DHL or FedEx... FedEx is more common, but like I said the DHL service is great (normally my suppliers choose what carrier to use).

In this case, I think one of the commercial carriers is probably a better bet, but it will cost you.

ALTERNATIVELY, if you come to PAX you can give it to the crew in person (or mail to someone who's going to PAX from the US).

We will be doing the gift exchange again! I have all my stuff organized for it, and sign ups will START at the begining of NOV and end the first friday of DEC to avoid the mess we had last year. It will not just be a card exchange this time, but a real gift exchange, so people will have time to sign up, get a small gift and have money and time for shipping. I'm muchos excited.


I think I'm just really nervous about postal cost with this db craft. I have 3 really awesome things I got cleared, but I'm not sure I'll have enough $$ for the shipping. I'll have to do some scoping out, but the people at the post office are really rude and they won't even give you an estimate of a standard letter to send. Inother words I don't want to go to deliver my stuff and find out it's going to be 130$ shipping again.

[Vanguard]

Here, let me save you the trouble, Rocket. The package I fired off to Met for Christmas, which consisted mainly of a box of software and an omni-knife and was in a standard-sized envelope, was shipped via USPS from Kansas City to Vancouver for roughly $15 if I'm remembering correctly. I remember the shipping cost being over our ten-dollar limit but not breaking twenty.

I'm not sure what, exactly, you're sending to Victoria, but I'm pretty sure price-wise it's going to hurt.

[TheRocket]

I think I'm going to have to cut out the heavy object I wanted to send. SIGH. It went so perfect with the other things. Maybe I'll use it for my Secret Santa instead.

[Chemistring]

Rocket, you're actually in the better of two countries for this situation. It's a blanket generalization, but the cost of shipping a parcel to a Canadian address from the US (via the US postal system) is usually equal or less than the cost of sending the same parcel to the same address within Canada via Canada Post. The delivery time is usually fairly quick, too, unless it gets caught up in customs at the border.

Check this out. If you get a medium or large flat rate priority mail box, you can load up to 20 lbs for a cost of up to ~$36 USD. Depending on the size, it could cost less. The USPS has a lot more options for shipping than Canada Post. Hope that makes things look brighter!

[JustAName]

Could you send it to 2stepz or Fiend before PAX?

[TheRocket]

Check this out. If you get a medium or large flat rate priority mail box, you can load up to 20 lbs for a cost of up to ~$36 USD. Depending on the size, it could cost less. The USPS has a lot more options for shipping than Canada Post. Hope that makes things look brighter!

Cool! I was told last year that Flat rate was USA only. I am happy to hear this.

[Elomin Sha]

For those not following my inane Twitter, that's @Elomin_Sha not @FoxNewsTOTD, here's an update. Book 2 should be finished tomorrow. And Book 3, that's right I overruled the vote should be done at the end of the week.
Depending on what happens with the printers there will be either 3 or 4 copies available at Desert Bus out of the 5 printed.

[illuviel]

This may not be the best place to mention this, but I got the absolute coolest Thank You card in the history of thank you cards, made by Tally and signed by fairlymuch all of LLRdom. I am a very, very happy 'lluvi. :>

I need a jacket upon which to sew the patch enclosed with the card (well, not *now*; with heat index, it's been over 40C here for weeks.)

***
More on topic: Hi everybody, and go, crafty people, go!

I've been silent on the craftalong mostly because, even though I thought (and still think) it was a good idea, it may not be a good idea for me to put anything I've made into it. :> (Some year I'll brave up; this I pledge.)

(edited to turn on notifications)

I think I'll do my original idea for the auxiliary part of the Craftalong this year, and play with string while watching the 'thon ... and attempting to use up Tuscon--->Las Vegas distance thread knitting and/or crocheting afghans for hospital-bound kids this year (should have started soooooner.)

[King Kool]

I snapped a sewing machine needle yesterday (luckily I have a spare). And now the machine is doing fuck-if-I-know. Could it really just be the thread? I'll try to sort this out tomorrow during the day.

With this project, I cycle between "Sure, I can get this done." and "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?!"

[TheRocket]

I can't do my project anymore I was told I'd be able to get a job by June and now it's August with the likelyhood it will be 10 more weeks before I can even think about applying. F UUUUUUUU

[epocalypse]

I'm so bummed that I'm almost definitely not going to find a way to do it this year. I'll try to get something though, I promise, and if I can swing it, new posters based off my old sketches.

[Juliamon]

None of my emails ever got a response, but in the end I guess that's for the best because I ended up with pretty much zero time for them anyway. I didn't expect this year to turn into such a mess... but eh, at least I'll be able to donate a good chunk of cash this year (hopefully)!

[Tally]

Juliamon, I feel terrible to hear that! I've looked through the emails twice and haven't found anything from you, so there must be some kind of problem on your end or mine. I don't want that to stop you being involved if you want to be! You could pm me your idea, or try emailing it to my personal design@nheilke address. If you really don't have time and don't want to do something that's fine, of course, but I wouldn't want it to be because of an email glitch or possible screw up on my end.

[Juliamon]

I'm feeling like it's a problem on my (Comcast's) end, as I haven't been getting responses from other people I've emailed either. But yeah, I don't even feel like I have time to make things that I need to actually sell for money, so maybe next year!

[King Kool]

My post gets followed by two people saying they can't do their crafts... the pressure is on for me. I need to not be lazy.