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synecdochic_decants2016-01-24 08:37 am
synecdochic) wrote in synecdochic_decants2016-01-24 08:37 am
:(
1) ahahahahaha guess who got a tax form from PayPal for the 2015 decanting. /o\ (Yes, that means I took in over $20k of payments last year, between the decants and the shipping.)
I'm so fucking glad I keep receipts for everything; it might actually wind up saving me money on my taxes, since I am positive that I paid more than I took in, but oi.
2) I got the last of the Blue Carbuncle invoices sent and the labels made this morning. I'm hoping I'll be able to do the decanting tonight. We're not going to have pickup/delivery tomorrow -- we are under two feet of snow right now -- but they should be ready to go out by Tuesday.
3) The USPS raised their rates again on Jan 1, thus neatly undoing my carefully constructed new shipping prices. I'm sorry to say that first class rates overseas have gone up considerably -- they've pretty much doubled. (3 ounces first class to Australia, for instance, has gone from $6.55 to $13.75; 3 ounces to the UK has gone from $6.55 to $13.50. 12 ounces to the UK has gone up to a whopping $22.50.) They've also eliminated the discount for printing postage at home/online. The only good thing is that they seem to have flattened a lot of the lower weights -- anything from 1 to 9 ounces is that price, and we very rarely have packages that hit 10 ounces or more. (That's not 100% a good thing, as otherwise I could save you some money by offering to not include frimps/treats, but...)
If it were just a little price hike I'd make it work (and I will go ahead and ship the international Blue Carbuncles without asking for more for shipping), but with prices doubling, I'm going to have to pass that on, I'm afraid. What this means is that international packages are probably going to go to a $15 flat rate, with option to combine multiple circles if you want me to hold shipping (unless I'm not expecting another major release within the next few months). If people in a single country want to band together and split shipping -- have me ship to one point of contact and then have that person send it out to everybody -- we can do that, too: depending on how many people from a single country are in a circle, it might be cheaper to ship in a priority box and then have someone parcel it out when it gets there. (If you do decide to do that, it'll have to be at your own risk -- I can't be responsible if the person who volunteers as shipping mule doesn't reship them -- but that's entirely up to you.)
I'll post the actual numbers once I finish fucking around with the USPS website to get prices.
THIS IS JUST A CHEERY POST FULL OF GOOD NEWS, ISN'T IT.
(The actual, non-sarcastic good news is that my dad came through his bypass surgery with flying colors and is already home and chafing at the bit to be done with recovery.)
I'm so fucking glad I keep receipts for everything; it might actually wind up saving me money on my taxes, since I am positive that I paid more than I took in, but oi.
2) I got the last of the Blue Carbuncle invoices sent and the labels made this morning. I'm hoping I'll be able to do the decanting tonight. We're not going to have pickup/delivery tomorrow -- we are under two feet of snow right now -- but they should be ready to go out by Tuesday.
3) The USPS raised their rates again on Jan 1, thus neatly undoing my carefully constructed new shipping prices. I'm sorry to say that first class rates overseas have gone up considerably -- they've pretty much doubled. (3 ounces first class to Australia, for instance, has gone from $6.55 to $13.75; 3 ounces to the UK has gone from $6.55 to $13.50. 12 ounces to the UK has gone up to a whopping $22.50.) They've also eliminated the discount for printing postage at home/online. The only good thing is that they seem to have flattened a lot of the lower weights -- anything from 1 to 9 ounces is that price, and we very rarely have packages that hit 10 ounces or more. (That's not 100% a good thing, as otherwise I could save you some money by offering to not include frimps/treats, but...)
If it were just a little price hike I'd make it work (and I will go ahead and ship the international Blue Carbuncles without asking for more for shipping), but with prices doubling, I'm going to have to pass that on, I'm afraid. What this means is that international packages are probably going to go to a $15 flat rate, with option to combine multiple circles if you want me to hold shipping (unless I'm not expecting another major release within the next few months). If people in a single country want to band together and split shipping -- have me ship to one point of contact and then have that person send it out to everybody -- we can do that, too: depending on how many people from a single country are in a circle, it might be cheaper to ship in a priority box and then have someone parcel it out when it gets there. (If you do decide to do that, it'll have to be at your own risk -- I can't be responsible if the person who volunteers as shipping mule doesn't reship them -- but that's entirely up to you.)
I'll post the actual numbers once I finish fucking around with the USPS website to get prices.
THIS IS JUST A CHEERY POST FULL OF GOOD NEWS, ISN'T IT.
(The actual, non-sarcastic good news is that my dad came through his bypass surgery with flying colors and is already home and chafing at the bit to be done with recovery.)
no subject
Noooooooo. /o\
But that's great news about your dad!
no subject
Unfortunately, decanting often gets stuck with the hobby provisions for taxes, which suck. If you don't have a tax professional, it'd probably be worth talking to one just so you have your ducks in a row if an audit happens.
*takes off CPA hat*
I'm so glad your dad is doing well!
no subject
no subject
I am probably at least 1k of that. SORRY!!!!!
Dare I ask how much the Priority Mail/Express Priority went up by? Please do not tell me it is $150~ as it would be if the doubling holds true, I will lie down under the couch and think about my life.
no subject
no subject
Thank fuck. The floor under the couch is FILTHY as I discovered when I checked after I made that comment. :P I'm sorry about First Class -- that was such a great option for such a long time.
no subject
It really was, but our post office's costs have been a Big Political Issue for a while. (Long story short: a while back (and mostly due to political shenanigans involving lobbying by private carriers such as FedEx/UPS/DHL/etc), Congress required the USPS to pre-fund 100% of its pension commitments, which means they start every year something like 2-3 billion dollars in the hole. If they were allowed to handle pensions like everyone else in the universe, they'd be making a profit, but as is, they are seriously fucked.)
Understanding why these things happen is not, of course, an anodyne for the sticker shock, but I feel the need to pass it on anyway. :)
(Even with the price hike, it's still way cheaper to use USPS than any of the private carriers. FedEx wants $110 to transport an average decanting package, for instance.)
no subject
International postage in general has gone up significantly in the time I've been living abroad. Ridiculous.