Dim Box Shops - Scenario C (combined threads)

Arrgh.

Damn number dsylexia.

Here I am thinking I have it all dialed in until I once more looked at the box size list I have been carrying around.

There is no 12x12x12 option - it is 12x12x18 ... I keep buying the wrong size boxes and having to return them.

Just found 12x12x12 at CVS bought a few and thought I was home free. Until I actually looked at the list (after the fact naturally).

Guess this isn't going to be worthwhile after all.

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Sure, I'll do them. However, it requires a bit more than the normal fee to be worth it. Why? First, you have to find the required size for the box and they are difficult to find in my area. Next, you need the food to send and that often requires a trip to the store. Lastly, it a significant outlay $35+ dollars. Although I never been rejected on perhaps more than 100 of these shops (all three scenarios), that makes it a bit more risky.

Happily shopping Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut

You can also ship C scenarios to a personal address as long as it is in the zone specified. I have found boxes in the specified sizes at Staples 14x14x14 (which is scored and can be cut down to a 14x14x10) or at Office Max. I prefer to use this size box so have not looked for the other sizes. UPS stores are also a place to check. I try to pick up a few boxes to have on hand so am not frantically searching for them with just a few days to complete my shops.
I have no complaints about Bare and consider the company one of the best in the MS industry.

They are very picky on box sizes and not following guidelines can be cause for non-payment. Not something you want to happen when you have this much $ outlay. I do C scenario's when the shop fee increases or when other scenario's are not available. I would do more of these if they paid a little more.
I have done over 300 shops for this company and have only had a few rejected. Those shops had timing issues and it was totally my fault. A shop that was wrongly rejected was paid when I brought it to the attention of the scheduler. The reviewer did not read the narrative which explained that I was entering the line (after the allowable time) for a second time.
I would strongly suggest that any issues that you have with the company be brought to someone's attention so they can be resolved.

Get the 14x14x14 box at Staples and cut it down to 14x14x10 (it's scored to make it easy to cut) and keep the weight to the minimum for the least amount of shipping charges. Be sure to include your box weight as the bigger boxes are much heavier. I wrap an item in a plastic bag and tape to the bottom so it doesn't bounce around. Taping it eliminates the need for packaging materials (and the additional weight.)
And if they goof and don't measure...you are better still...
When I do the C scenario, I try to pick them up towards the end of the month so I will be out of the $ for a shorter period of time.
What I find advantageous is the fact that it is a total reimbursement...when I ship a package to a family member using the A or B scenarios, I end up spending a few dollars out of my own pocket. This scenario allows you to ship up to 5 lbs. and is totally reimbursed.
Guidelines have been updated on most of the scenarios so a word of caution...make sure you are using the most recent.

I have never done C. Always done A or B. C is just too time consuming, and the expense of the tools necessary to complete this assignment is too high to make it worth my time. However, I'm interested in something I keep seeing here. Bonuses? I have been doing these for 4 years now, and I've never had a bonus. Average 9/10. What am I doing wrong?

I have done many of all scenarios and have never been rejected until last week. I sent the package to the specified address, but the destination address specifically assigned was only zone 4 from the post office of origin instead of zone 5. The editor said I wrote a strong report but was excluded because of the zone error. I think the error was on their part since that's how the job was designed. I've written the scheduler. We shall see.

On another note, those 14x14x14 boxes are only 0.68 at Walmart.

I won't touch Scenario C shops. Too much risk and too much of a headache for very little profit.

I do sometimes accept Scenario A and B shops and usually use them to provide donations to food banks, thrift shops and the like.

Boutique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Arrgh.
>
> Damn number dsylexia.
>
> Here I am thinking I have it all dialed in until I
> once more looked at the box size list I have been
> carrying around.
>
> There is no 12x12x12 option - it is 12x12x18 ... I
> keep buying the wrong size boxes and having to
> return them.
>
> Just found 12x12x12 at CVS bought a few and
> thought I was home free. Until I actually looked
> at the list (after the fact naturally).
>
> Guess this isn't going to be worthwhile after all.

I have done many of them when they were paying $25 each plus reimbursement in NY. I feel like its my fault thry lowere they price I would try to do 4 in a day lol! Its a bit of a pain in the butt for less because the boxes are big and take a lot of stuffing. I would stick with a, b, or d of the price isn't great.

I order the 14x14x14 boxes on line at Walmart.com and have them shipped to the store with no shipping charge. I order 4 at a time. They cost 72 cents each that way.

Yeah, I did just one Sc C recently and don't think I will repeat it again unless I am pretty flush and the bonus is pretty big (they don't bonus very much anymore - only the remote locations nobody wants to drive to). If I had done both of the ones I had planned for that day, my out of pocket expense would have been $90 - too much cash outlay for just 2 jobs that were not paying all that much each (17.50).

There are tons of them sitting on the board. What do they do when NOBODY will take them?

I actually pitched a bonus scenario to my scheduler to do 4 far flung locations in one day - $20 each - she didn't bite. Said they can't go that high. Really ?

Boutique Wrote:

> I actually pitched a bonus scenario to my
> scheduler to do 4 far flung locations in one day -
> $20 each - she didn't bite. Said they can't go
> that high. Really ?

They will go up. The highest I have seen was $45 per location.

I don't mind Scenario C, but I don't do them unless they're bonused. Too much money on the line. Actually, I don't do any of them unless they're bonused, or if I have something that I have to send anyway that meets the zone requirements. That said, they are super easy and take very little time to do.

I do not do C ones, not worth my time. I like B the best, just bring my stuff in a walmart bag and shove it in a envelope, slap a label on or hand address. Otherwise, I do A/D and use one of their small boxes and wrap it in brown paper so you cant see I used their box. D sucks. I would rather do 4 others in a day than try to get 1 D done. JMHO.

I really wonder how this thread can even exist. The title states the MSC, and the statement of the scenario virtually states the client, which makes this entire thread a violation of the forum's rule not to reveal the clients of the MSC.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei

James Bond 007.5

You are right - it did kind of devolve into a total reveal situation. I should never have started by naming the MS.

I wonder if the title could be changed by Jacob and take the MS name out and put a generic heading?

Jacob - is that possible rather than kill the thread?

I've never done a D shop but I have done lots of A. B and C. What is the D shop and why is it so bad?

I am hesitant to conduct another one of these shops for the following reason. I did a Scenario C shop when I first signed up with this company last month. It did cost me almost $40 for shipping and the items needed to conduct the shop. I bought a 14x14x14 box at my local grocery store and the receipt had a mistake in the description. Instead of saying "box" it said "tape". I didn't even pay attention and now my scheduler is trying to invalidate the shop. The point is, a little mistake like a $1.79 receipt with an inaccurate description is putting a shop I paid $40 up front in jeopardy. Not a great risk/reward matrix.

-G33kn

Nope! Did one, cost me more than I made and was a hassle. No more for me.

siamese5555 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've never done a D shop but I have done lots of
> A. B and C. What is the D shop and why is it so
> bad?

Scenario D is the exact same as Scenario A. It is not bad at all.

Nay! I agree with pretty much everyone here. That's just too much money to put out. I haven't picked up any of these shops yet. Maybe if I sell something on eBay, then I will try A or B. C is too much for me!

********************************--'-,-@************************************
Shopping Hickory NC and surrounding areas
Free food=best food!

After posting you could buy the 14x14x14 boxes at Walmart.com for only 72 cents, I tried to order more and they are out of stock. I have looked at many stores and not found them anywhere else. Tried online but they wanted too much money or had to order 25 of them. While at Menards I just thought to look and--Behold--14x14x14 boxes for only 83 cents. I bought all 6 that they had. LOL

They do have them at the UPS store - but they are over $5 ea. so that is kind of a bust.

I have found the 14x14x14 size at KMart too (if you have any of these stores left in your area) but I returned them as I am no longer going to do the Sc. C - just too much outlay for less than $20 pay.

They really should come up with a better method of conducting these shops, like providing a debit card just for use on PO shops, specifically Sc C (obviously restricted to proven shoppers they could trust with it).

Yikes, I just did 2 of these shops yesterday, now I am afraid they won't get accepted. What a bunch of money to lose if not accepted. I have done one before and got paid. I suppose it doesn't matter if the score of one's report is a ten, it still must be examined by the company. Ugh.

Those scenario C Pony Express shops just aren't worth it. (and NO I did NOT mention the client)

A Pony Express location near me has not been up to snuff the last 5-6 times I've done them, one particular person working there just isn't in the groove and it's getting to be tiresome to write up. I don't want to shell out that much money for a shop to have it rejected because they must defend the pony clerk and his attitude.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain

I like these as fillers. I get my boxes at Staples (14x14x14). I always get each box on a separate receipt, because at one point I was questioned for using the same box receipt on two different shops. I had purchased them together at the time.

I get aggravated with these because about half the time they measure my box wrong and I get overcharged. I wish they could up the reimbursement when the company overcharges.

Any one done these? Are they worth the trouble and expense for a $25 fee?

Thanks!

I would absolutely say the shop is worth a $25 fee, if you don't mind the upfront cost, which can be upwards of $40. Also, you have to track down a box with the right dimensions, which means an extra trip to the store. You can likely find the 14x14x14 cheapest at Walmart, and I usually buy a few at each visit.

*****************************************************
The harder I work, the luckier I get.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2014 01:25AM by JenW.

You must buy a box. Do not make one, and do not reuse one. If the clerk fails to measure the box and undercharges you, you will have to prove you actually presented an oversized box. You prove this by having a receipt from where you bought the box. They reimburse a certain amount for the box (Walmart usually has some of the required sizes for under a dollar).

Time to build a bigger bridge.

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Dim Box Shops - Scenario C (combined threads)

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