Canada Passport vs Citizen vs Visa vs Permanent Resident Photos

Often times folks will come in and ask for a Canada Passport photo or "just a regular passport photo", not knowing that not all country's photos are alike. Some, such as Canada, have different requirements for all of their photos and if any are literally even just a hair off, they can and often do reject photos because they are not perfect, causing unnecessary delays and aggravation. When we ask what specifically your photograph is for, we're just trying to make sure to get you what you need so you won't have any bad surprises down the road, eh? 😀

Post Office Sticker Shock

Yesterday on June 23, the Post Office implemented their new dimensional weight pricing and lowered their volumetric divisor from 194 to 166. What does this mean? It means that now the Post Office will start charging more based on box size and not just by weight. In some cases, shipping via USPS will increase by up to 500%! How can you avoid this price increase? As before, the absolute cheapest way to ship small heavy things would be the Post Office flat rate boxes at the Post Office (though you will probably pay for it in time) The other way to avoid this price increase is to come visit us in downtown Redmond. We had a customer today who went to the Post Office first and got a quote for $62 and change for basic Parcel Post service. She came here and we charged her a bit over $38 for a better faster option that came with real tracking and insurance ***for the exact same package*** because we were able to sort through all of her options at once and choose the one that best fit her needs. Pay us a visit and see for yourself!

How *Not* to Pack a Box

It's happened to all of us - a box will arrive that is mostly open with some token packing material inside and another item rattling inside a cavernous space of cardboard. Occasionally an item will be completely missing. Today we received a taped up box with only some bubble wrap and a large hole on the inside. No item. While some large sell-everything online companies can afford to easily replace these items, it would be much more of a burden for individuals to do so...so, it just makes sense to pack things correctly. No need to go crazy; for the most part just make sure you have a big enough box and enough packing material inside (and of course use extra cushioning for fragile things). 2 rules of thumb:

-Make sure the box doesn't have any "give" no matter where you push on it
-Make sure the box feels like one solid piece - no rattling

If you're uncomfortable packing things yourself or don't have all the materials handy, we are always happy to pack things for you here for a nominal charge.

Where Can I Drop Off My Package?

One of the nice things about not being tied to a single shipping carrier is that we can both ship *and* take drop-offs for any carrier. No need to make multiple trips to drop off your Fedex or UPS or DHL or USPS packages - you can leave them all with us and we will make sure they go out with the right driver. We will never charge you to take your drop-off. Need a shipping label window envelope or some tape? Most of the time we won't charge you for a single length of tape or a label envelope. If we do have to tape up a box, we will probably charge you .50 cents. If you need larger shipping envelopes or boxes we have those available as well.

Need to email and have us print the label? USPS - .50/label. All others - FREE

How Secure is Your Mailbox?

Recently a customer mentioned how ever since marijuana has been legalized in WA, the number of break-ins to residential mailboxes has spiked. This is in addition to thieves breaking into boxes searching for checks, credit cards, packages, and other sensitive information. Locked mailboxes are definitely much more secure, but locks can also be easily defeated in a couple of seconds with just a flat-head screwdriver. According to Identity Theft Journal, mail theft is still the second most common way that ID theft occurs, second only to purse and wallet theft. https://komonews.com/news/local/mail-thieves-aggressively-target-locked-metal-boxes

The most secure way to receive mail is through a secure outside service such as a PO Box or a private mailbox such as the ones we offer here. Having a private mailbox comes with other benefits such as secure packages, piece of mind when you’re away for a few days or months, or not having to change your address when you move locally. If you are in the market for a private mailbox, check us out and make sure you compare our prices and services!

How are your prices? Do you charge more than the Post Office?

That’s a question we get nearly every day. The answer is…it depends. For our shipments going out via Fedex, our prices will be exactly the same or less than if you were to go to a Fedex Office location. For UPS, our prices will be less than the vast majority of other UPS stores. Our DHL prices are also between 8-12% less than regular DHL retail prices. USPS? Well, if you are going to send heavy items across the country in a flat rate box that fits everything, you won’t be able to find a better price than going directly to the Post Office. Since the Post Office doesn’t offer us any discounts, we do have to upcharge USPS services. However, in many instances we would be able to send the exact same item for less using another carrier. UPS will always recommend UPS, Fedex always uses a Fedex-shaped hammer, and the same with DHL but since we are carrier-agnostic, we will always recommend the appropriate carrier best suited to your needs. Even if we can’t always beat Post Office prices, we will always be able to beat their typically long lines.

Canada Passport Photos - Now in 1 Hour!

Now offering a 1-hour turnaround for all Canada Passport, Citizen, and Permanent Resident photos. Our new stamping process dries much more quickly and as a result we are now able to offer all Canadian photos for you to take with you in an hour - sometimes sooner! As always, our photos are always 100% guaranteed. We also provide other difficult photos such as New Zealand, Australia, Schengen Visa, China Visa and of course good ole' USA photos. Mention you saw our post on our website an get 10% off your photos!

Tax Day postmarks

Today is April 15th which means.... tax day! For anyone rushing to get their taxes done and get that all-important postmark today, we can help. Even if the Post Office is closed! Even if the mail has already gone out for the day! As long as we are open we can make sure you get a postmark for that current day on tax day or any other day like month or quarter-end. Even if you can't make it in that day, give us a call at 425-881-2449 and we can probably work with you to get your postmark!