Trials and Tribulations

Touching back on the issue of how much myself and my fellow website owners charge for postage, I thought I'd mention something today that it is unlikely to have been thought of by the scrapshopping fraternity out there ... as all of our Scrapbook Mad customers will know, we use a franking machine for our postage - for us it was the best solution at the time as it meant no queuing up at the Post Office for hours with armfuls of parcels, and also that we could charge EXACT postage on each order (which in my opinion is the fairest way).

The thing about having a franking machine is that it is effectively a printer. However, it is a printer that uses a specific type of ink, namely a special ink that is endorsed and approved by the Royal Mail for franking with ... which means that the only place you can buy the cartridge is from the supplier of the franking machine.

I knew the ink in my existing cartridge was getting low, but I had put off ordering a new one for a few days because there was so much going on here and it wasn't really at the top of my list of priorities. Until, that is, I realised that once the ink runs out you can't even use the weighing facility on the machine ... cue a frantic trip to the franking machine website to order a new cartridge. The cost for one cartridge (which will probably last for about a year), plus express delivery (I can't hang around, I've got orders to get out) was £132.76 ... yes, you DID read that right. Admittedly I can claim just under £20 of that back on my next VAT return, but that still leaves a hefty whack of dosh paid.

Next time I hear someone complain about how much postage they've got to pay, I shall definitely be drawing their attention to how much it costs me to send them an order. Quite apart from the cost of the cartridge divided by the number of orders that go out in a year, there is the cost of packaging - most commonly for us a board back envelope or a jiffy bag, but we seem to be using boxes far more frequently these days too. Then if the order contains papers we put it in a grip seal bag first. Then there's the cost of invoice paper (I know we don't have to use it, but it gives a better impression than one printed on plain paper in my opinion) and the cost of a document enclosed envelope (it's quicker than writing the address on the front of the package) ... and then the cost of the franking machine label too. It all adds up, that's for sure. It just never ceases to amaze me the number of people out there who think setting up a website is easy, and just requires a minimum of work to make big money - the reality is, it's bloody hard work for very little reward.

Anyway, off my soapbox ... the new cartridge arrived yesterday so I have an afternoon of frantic packing and processing to look forward to so that I can get all the outstanding orders out tomorrow. Relaxing weekend? I wish!