Tuesday, December 11, 2007

High-functioning insomniac, with "high-functioning" in quotation marks

I couldn't sleep at 6 this morning--because who's asleep at 6? CHUMPS!--so I logically got up and finished all my Christmas shopping on the Internets. I'm going to my parents' in Tacoma for Christmas, so I have had no less than 14 parcels shipped there. I'm going to get there, and then I'm going to get to open SO MANY PACKAGES. And wrap them! Sometimes I think my fascination with mail, and the postal system, leads to overspending and bad life choices (example: working at not one but two dumb Canada Post outlets. Although I did develop the awesome ability to hold an envelope in my hand and guess its weight to within 10 grams). Nonetheless, my obsessions are your learning opportunity, so, the Christmas-shopping sum-up:

  • Best shipping rates and speeds: Amazon, as always. Part of the reason they own the internets is that they know how to do this stuff.
  • Worst shipping speed: art.com. I just got a confirmation email from them letting me know that my purchase will ship on Dec. 25th. And of course there was no indication of this when I ordered it. I hope you're happy, art.com! My dad might cry!
  • Weirdest shipping rate/speed combination: thinkgeek. Their shipping is fast like a ninja but costs a small fortune, even within the US. Although to be fair I did buy something big and weird.
  • Best shopping cart interface: etsy. I love a million things about etsy, and of course craft is #1 of those things, but their site is also really well-designed and intuitive. Having different shipping and billing addresses is a hassle with some sites, but etsy handles it in stride. Etsy is like, "oh, what's that? You want to ship your stuff somewhere else? That's totally fine, dude."

Anyone want a Christmas card, or a handmade iPod/cellphone cozy? I will send you one, and I am not even kidding. I need something to keep me occupied between now and Dec. 22nd.

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