Monthly Archives: June 2011

I am currently reading my way through a Berkley Prime Crime Mystery series by Lorna Barrett. The heroine in all the stories is the owner of a bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue.  If you like books, bookstores, and easy read mysteries you will will enjoy these books.

The three that I have read so far are:

MURDER IS BINDING

BOOKMARKED FOR DEATH

BOOKPLATE SPECIAL

I am looking forward to the next one, CHAPTER AND HEARSE and then the newest title is SENTENCED TO DEATH.  Even the titles are fun!

I do not have any of these books for sale, but I did find some on eBay by other sellers.

It took several clicks to find the most recent update on usps.com, but I did find it. If you have been holding packages for Canada then you probably already know that our U.S. postal service began accepting regular packages to Canada again today. I already have an order for a cookbook. I am glad that I can ship it right away. Postal strikes hinder customer service – and make me appreciate the mail service even more than before.

Here is a copy of what I found online:

Canadian Postal Employees Return-To- Work Tonight – USPS To Begin Accepting Mail Destined For Canada Tomorrow

The Canadian government passed back-to-work legislation Sunday night. Canadian Postal employees will return to work beginning June 27 at 8:30 p.m. USPS will begin accepting mail for Canada starting June 28. Mail held in the USPS network since the work stoppage began is being released and transported into Canada.

Due to the large volumes of mail held by countries, customers may experience slightly longer transit times. USPS is working closely with the Canadian Postal Service to hold delays to a minimum.

Wolves Jigsaw Puzzle Wildlife Aspen Wolf New Open Box

This is one of my favorite puzzle images. I posted it as a penny auction last night.

It’s my way of offering a good deal to my customers – and drawing attention to my eBay store, too.

My penny auctions are often for items that I have plenty of. I give my item extra visibility by listing with a penny opening bid and hopefully sell some of the buy it now listings while the auction is running.

Sometimes my penny auctions are for items that are one of a kind or less than perfect. This puzzle is new, but the box has been opened. The inside puzzle bag is sealed, so the puzzle is new and unused. Someone will get a good deal on a great puzzle!

Print this Staples coupon for savings on items that fit in the free eco bag. I plan to shop for things that I use in my home office, like ink and tape.

Details are on the coupon that expires June 25th. Happy shopping!

Thank you LivingRichWithCoupons!

I was a little surprised to receive an inquiry about a Canadian First Class International shipment that was shipped less than 2 weeks ago.  I politely reminded my customer of the postal worker strike going on in their country. The package isn’t late, even if all things were flowing as normal it would almost always take much longer than 10 days.

It was a friendly communication, but I didn’t expect to be explaining the strike delay to anyone in Canada. Am I naive to think everyone in Canada will be expecting package delays? What are you hearing from your customers? We all want to help our buyers as much as possible, so please, share any suggestions you might have.

The postal strike in Canada is sure to effect businesses in the United States. I know I won’t be able to ship to Canada at all because our postal service is not accepting regular packages.

This announcement was in our local newspaper today and on the USPS site:

Due to the expectation by Canada Post officials that the strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will last until at least sometime next week, the U.S. Postal Service will suspend accepting mail destined to Canada on Saturday, June 18, 2011, 11:59 p.m. CDT — with the exception of Global Express Guaranteed shipments.

I have many puzzle customers in Canada. I assume they will not be buying from me while the strike is in effect. I am concerned about our Canadian eBay selling counterparts.  They must be feeling the pinch this week.  They cannot sell because they cannot ship. Let’s hope the postal service works through problems quickly so the strike ends soon.

My friend Yvonne has been making flowers out of all sorts of things. She has turned some old wool blankets into flower pins with button centers.  Adding this one to my purse prompted several people to ask me if I made my purse.  Of course I didn’t, but the flower sure adds a fun touch.