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When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

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Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#241

Post by tallanvor »

gambiting wrote: post #184
stordoff wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just don't try this trick if sending things overseas. The recipient won't appreciate the customs bill (20% in the UK).

You can put any value on the parcel and it won't matter in the slightest. You can declare the value to be $1M and it has no bearing on the final customs charge paid. Chinese shops have been sending everything declared as "gift" with $1 value and customs officials don't give a shit - the parcel is opened and the official makes an assessment on the worth of the item - if it roughly matches what the shipping document sa…

Completely untrue.

Customs officials in Norway will generally charge the customs fee on the declared value, but if something looks off - a huge, heavy box with a $1 declaration, for example, they can and do open it to verify the contents.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#242

Post by rootusrootus »

newnewpdro wrote: post #108
reaperducer wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the drivers are basically incentivized to break the law When a delivery company has a line item in its budget to cover parking tickets as a cost of doing business, it's already decided at the corporate level to disregard the law in favor of making a profit.

What successful company doesn't disregard relevant laws when the returns outweigh the penalties? It's obvious, this is how businesses operate.

That's how people operate, not just businesses.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#243

Post by matz1 »

wanderfowl wrote: post #157
coygui wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar story happened in school as ta, if a student did something bad or annoyed the TAs, they would Target the student and give a bad or zero grade on problems that can not give a back/white answer. This is usually on marking final exams because few students will review the marking and thus few if any consequences will happen.

Much like UPS targeting boxes, this is 100% not OK, and as a professor, if I found out my TAs were doing this, they would quickly find themselves someplace between "disciplined" and "fired".

Right，If you can found it.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#244

Post by rootusrootus »

mcv wrote: post #54
denim_chicken wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go work as a package handler at UPS/Fedex/etc for a few weeks and then you'll understand.

Makes me wonder whether it might actually save money to pay those people better.

I'm willing to bet UPS has calculated this.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#245

Post by sutterbomb »

btrettel wrote: post #223
danilocesar wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I think the truck drivers are also a victim of this system. They have to deliver what's handled to them in a tight schedule. Often breaking some rules and sometimes being rude on trafic is the way they found to meet the requirements and don't get punished. I'm shure they could avoid doing a lot of those things, but blaming and punishing the truck driver is not fair.

I recognize this and am sympathetic. Ultimately changes need to come from management. But parking in the bike lane is not necessary a large fraction of the time. I always point out a convenient alternative parking spot when talking to drivers parked in the bike lane. It's not uncommon that the alternative spot is really no worse than the bike lane for the delivery driver. The problem seems to be that many drivers don…

I can’t imagine a world where I’ve spoken with dozens of delivery drivers.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#246

Post by [deleted] »

chrisseaton wrote: post #152
closeparen wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a crowded urban neighborhood, there is not going to be anywhere for a delivery vehicle to legally stop. Unless the delivery company refuses to service the area, it’s going to do some double parking. Downtowns address this problem with yellow commercial loading zones but those don’t really exist in residential neighborhoods.

> there is not going to be anywhere for a delivery vehicle to legally stop So they shouldn’t stop there then. Deliver the last mile on foot or using a cart. If it’s too large for that I guess you can get some kind of permit like they do for construction.

[deleted]

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#247

Post by closeparen »

komali2 wrote: post #151
closeparen wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a crowded urban neighborhood, there is not going to be anywhere for a delivery vehicle to legally stop. Unless the delivery company refuses to service the area, it’s going to do some double parking. Downtowns address this problem with yellow commercial loading zones but those don’t really exist in residential neighborhoods.

Then, the delivery trucks shouldn't be parking there. Clear a spot and turn it into commercial parking only, i say. They're doing this right now on Polk street and it's so much safer for bicyclists on the portions that have this now.

Would you do this to every block in the Sunset?

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#248

Post by sho »

gambiting wrote: post #222
toweringgoat wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are completely wrong. Customs officials in most countries do not open packages, they use the customs sticker declared value. (Source: I actually receive international packages regularly. I've had one opened package.) The courier/post office will generally validate that that sticker matches the value you told them for insurance purposes either way.

Well, clearly your custom officials are different than mine then. I've received thousands of international parcels(mostly from asia) and yes, parcels are definitely opened(I know this because many times I had to personally drive to the nearest customs office and they would bring out the stuff they took out of my parcels for inspection). Of course you can choose to not believe me, but I was explicitly told that the "v…

If your packages are really being opened as often as you say then you are likely on some sort of list. Having received "thousands" (!) of packages from Asia might have something to do with it - that is well into what most people would consider commercial quantities and they have possibly flagged you as potentially running some sort of unlicensed import operation.

I can confirm that in my country (Australia) packages are rarely opened and if they are, it's seldom for duty assessment but checking for contraband of whatever nature. Even if they do flag you for a duty check they don't need to open the package - they do have x-rays, you know. Try and declare a $10,000 drone as a package of t-shirts worth $5 and the officer doesn't need to open the box to reject your "estimate". That said, most sites of any repute worth upholding will print the real value on the declaration, non-negotiable.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#249

Post by closeparen »

gpm wrote: post #238
closeparen wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a crowded urban neighborhood, there is not going to be anywhere for a delivery vehicle to legally stop. Unless the delivery company refuses to service the area, it’s going to do some double parking. Downtowns address this problem with yellow commercial loading zones but those don’t really exist in residential neighborhoods.

If you can't operate legally, that doesn't mean you get to break the law, that means you stop operating.

So start having internet retailers and takeout restaurants say “we don’t serve your street because it has a bike lane” and see how the long the bike lane lasts.

Re: When a Bike Company Put a TV on Its Box, Shipping Damages Went Down (2017)

#250

Post by closeparen »

pofilat wrote: post #227
rightbyte wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ye. Service vehicles usually are exempted from the actual parking rules in practice. A sewage utility vehicle wont get ticketed if it has a pipe going down a adjacent drain and has the wheels on the sidewalk etc. Walking from a free parking spot to the delivery location is not included in the price. Unless all delivery companies are forced to follow the parking laws (for real) at the same time they will just go out o…

Surely that sewage pump operator obtained a permit to block the street that day?

A permit doesn’t change the level of inconvenience for other road users.
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