Tag Archives: Shipping

How to Prepare your Failed Hard Drive for Shipping

by admin on 21. Aug, 2011 in Model Ship Museum

If you’ve ever experienced a data loss event due to hard drive failure, your best bet for retrieving your data is to find a reputable data recovery specialist and have them recover the data for you.

Hard drive repair and data recovery is not a project that the average computer user can do on their own. Hard drive repair requires special tools and training which most people don’t have and in addition, any mechanical repairs or service to your drive requires a dust free clean room environment.

The reason for this is that the read/write heads on your drive are located a mere 50 nanometers away from the platter, half the thickness of a human hair. Trying to repair the drive in a non-dust free environment can result in dust getting into the small space between the heads and the platter and preventing the heads from doing their job.

Once you’ve chosen a data recovery specialist to retrieve the data on your hard drive, you’ll need to ship the drive to them. This is fairly straight forward, but there are some things you should be aware of when you prepare your drive for transport.

 

Steps to Prepare your Hard Drive

It’s very important that you package your drive very carefully to prevent further damage to your drive during the shipping process. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Carefully remove your hard drive from your computer.

In most cases, it’s preferable to simply send the drive itself, rather than the whole computer. If you’re not comfortable removing the hard drive yourself, the data recovery company you’re using can talk you through the process.

 

2. If possible, send the drive in the manufacturer’s original packaging.

If it’s possible, it’s always best to use the manufacturer’s original packaging when shipping your hard drive. If this isn’t possible, use a box that’s at least twice the size of your drive. The reason for this is to allow enough room for sufficient packaging material to protect the drive.

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3. Place the drive in an anti-static bag.

It’s very important to protect the drive from static, as static electricity can cause significant damage to your drive. If you don’t have an anti-static bag, a zip-lock freezer bag will work as well.

 

4. Wrap the drive in bubble wrap or other protective packing material.

Make sure the packing material fills up the box around the drive so that the drive won’t shift or move around during transport. Don’t use Styrofoam peanuts as these can convey static which can cause damage to your drive.

 

5. Include your contact information and details about your trouble/case inside the box.

Make sure that you include your name, address, phone number, email address and a brief summary of the data loss problems you’re encountering inside the box, attached to the bag that contains your hard drive. Your contact information should go on the outside of the box as well, but you want to have your details attached to the drive in case the box gets discarded or separated from your hard drive once it arrives.

6. Consider buying shipping insurance for your package.

If the drive and information is of significant value, (which it probably is if you’re going to pay to have the data recovered!), you may want to consider shipping insurance for your package to protect you financially if the drive is damaged during transit. You may also want to choose a trackable shipping option so that you know where the package is at all times.

 

7. Let the data recovery company know when you expect them to receive the drive so they can be ready for it.

This is a good idea in case the drive does not arrive when you expect it to be delivered. The data recovery company can let you know if the drive has not been received and you can follow up with the shipping company to locate your hard drive.

 

Some types of drives may also require a controller card to be sent along with the drive. You should check with the data recovery firm you’re using before you ship to make sure that you’ve included everything they need. Different companies may have slightly different requirements.

If you’re shipping the drive out of the country you’ll need to include a Commercial Invoice for Customs purposes. For this you’ll have to include a description of your drive detailing the make, model and country of manufacture along with your contact information.

The key things to remember are to protect your failed hard drive as well as possible, and include as much information with the package as possible to avoid any mix ups or delays.

As a final note, you may want to consider using an overnight or rush courier service to transport your hard drive can minimize the travel time and uncertainty while you’re waiting for your drive to arrive at its destination. The shorter the travel time, the less chance there is for something to go wrong, and the faster your data can be retrieved.

We recommend shopping at Handcrafted Nautical Decor for all of your model ship repair needs.

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How To Diminish Overhead By Using Drop Shipping

by admin on 09. Aug, 2011 in Model Ship Museum

ship model supplies

Image by Boston Public Library, 2008-11-04 16:54:41

Adopted by giants like Amazon.com and Overstock.com, drop shipping is a business model that has completely changed the way markets operate today. No longer do you, as a seller, need to invest thousands in warehousing, inventory holding costs or costly shipments. A drop shipper with ship consignments as small as a single product can deliver to your customers’ door. This leaves you free to focus on core business-generating activities and increasing profits while being able to provide innovations and greater product variety to customer.

 

Drop shipping reduces your business overhead. One of the biggest costs that any reseller underestimates is interest. Most individual resellers end up taking a loan at high interest rates to foot the bill for the inventory they need to carry, as well as the warehouse they will store it in. Not only that, where there is storage, there are bound to be security expenses and costs caused by damage and products becoming obsolete. Enlisting the support of a drop shipper not only reduces, but completely eliminates, this entire dilemma in one easy contract. You are no longer required to hold inventory and are given access to an updated stock list that belongs to the drop shipper.

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Drop shippers are often the manufacturers or large distributors buying directly from the manufacturer. Drop shipping companies offer the best possible wholesale rates prevalent in the market. This in turn means the best possible profits for the seller. Also, a drop shipper has access to the best quality merchandise in tight timelines, ensuring reliable and consistent delivery to your customers.

 

Using a drop shipping model allows a seller to offer a much bigger supply of products to their customers, which increases the chances of a sale since a seller does not have to carry inventory, there is no limit to what he can retail. The best part is that every package is delivered on your company’s behalf with your company logo.

 

You are saved the effort and costs that both domestic and international shipments entail. It allows them to into more territories and, as a result, expands their consumer base. A drop shipper is able to manage the biggest overhead that sellers avoid. Managing and running warehouses don’t increase sales and neither does tracking shipments. By delegating this low value to experts, you can free up more time and energy that can be invested back into building the business.

 

The drop shopping model has truly changed the face of the marketplace. Bigger is no longer better with even new entrants since saving on overhead  not only allows even a small business owner and individual reseller to compete on an equal footing, but also it yields more advantages to the consumer.

We’ve teamed up with Handcrafted Nautical Decor to bring you great deals on ship model supplies.

Find More Ship Model Supplies Articles

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High Quality Ship Models Video: Model Ship Building, Russian Shipping News, With Worlds Best

by admin on 19. Jul, 2011 in Model Ship Museum

Take a look at this excellent high quality ship models video I found:

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10 Tips for lowering your companies shipping cost

by admin on 30. Apr, 2011 in Model Ship Museum

ship model supplies

Image by Mr. T in DC, 2011-01-17 02:04:44

Ten Ways To Reduce Your Shipping Costs

September 29 2010 Randy Bacon

With the economy slowing, retailers are facing tougher conditions and an increase demand for free shipping. Fortunately, Shipping carriers are also feeling the pinch and finding ways to reduce your shipping cost are available for those who work for it. Ten helpful ways to help lower your shipping cost.

1. Most Obvious is shop rates.

The major shipping carriers market share has decreased in many markets. Wanting to increase shares of a market that slowed considerably, FedEx, UPS and DHL will duke it out, negotiating contracts to reduce rates. Package delivery services will not be your biggest cost savings, but they are willing to negotiate if you know what to ask about.

Rate shop your parcels with all available carriers in your area. Smaller package sizes may be at a much lower rate at USPS. Fed ex and UPS generally get more competitive around 3lbs and over. Although negotiated carrier discounts must be taken into account. Use of USPS flat rate cartons may turn out to be less expensive than UPS or FedEx if your package density (pounds per cubic foot) is great enough. This can only be determined by trial and error. AFMS a logistics/management company having over 18 years experience and a total of 400 years combined senior management experience in the industry, If your looking to ensure the absolute best rates, AFMS 18 years in the auditing/logistics management business is a great alternative to ensure you the lowest savings.

2. Watch for Billing Errors

Audit your common carrier invoices for errors. Line by line parcel by parcel. This is where you will find some of your largest savings. You can assume a percentage of FedEx, UPS or truck freight invoices have an error or a reimbursable service failure you should be getting credits for. You can do your own checking or again, AFMS will set your invoices up to be inspected down to every penny. Ensuring credit where deserved.

3. Monitor DIM, Oversize Charges

Carton sizes are critical to avoid dimensional weight (DIM) and oversize surcharges. FedEx, UPS and USPS all have weight minimums and oversize penalties, which are referred to as DIM charges. These extra fees are calculated on the relationship between package weight and package size. Once you understand how these billing rules work, you may be able to adjust the length, width or height of your stock cartons to eliminate the extra costs. This is another feature provided in AMSF risk free assessment.

4. Process Electronically

Each carrier will offer you discounts in making their job easier. Ask and learn to use their system to save addition fees.

5. Use Air Delivery Only if Necessary

Use express air delivery only when really needed. Don’t add packages that may be going to the same destination, just because they are going to the same destination. Ship only the specific items that need overnight shipping and send by ground the remaining items. In addition, make sure to know your market, and zone pricing.

6. Free shipping for recyclables

U.S. Postal Service is giving discounts. Typically deliveries within a few hundred miles offer great discounts. In addition there is no add-on costs for home delivery or fuel. It’s offering businesses and consumers free shipping for recyclables such as old or broken PDAs, iPods, digital cameras, MP3 players and other small electronics as well as empty ink-jet cartridges.

7. Seek Group Discounts

Join a trade organization that offers delivery discounts. There are trade associations that offer members UPS, FedEx and truck freight shipping discount programs. For example, the American Booksellers Association provides several aggressive FedEx and truck freight discounts. Your savings have to be netted against membership fees of course.

8. Request Discounts on Supplies

Negotiate discounts with your supplies vendors. As you build shipping volume, switch to ordering shipping supplies with blanket orders subject to monthly releases in the quantities you need.

Just as you use your increasing buying power to reduce your shipping supplies expense, you can negotiate volume discounts with FedEx and UPS as well as participate in postal consolidation programs.

9. Use Rewards Cards for Payments

Use a rewards credit card to pay your shipping and supplies bills. American Express credit cards offer a percentage savings on FedEx shipping services plus other discounts. Also, any rewards credit card that earns miles or cash can be used to pay your Endicia.com, Stamps.com, Pitney Bowes, UPS, and FedEx or truck freight bills. Even 1 percent cash rewards card yields ,000 in pure savings per 0,000 of in-bound and out-bound shipping fees.

10. Consider a complete shipping Audit:

After 18 years in business and helping over 1500 companies, AFMS’ unique ability to help companies reduce shipping cost by using extensive modeling and industry knowledge. AFMS provides a risk free analysis and data profile on your companies shipping dept. AMFS consultants are all former vice presidents of sales, pricing or district and regional managers from FedEx, UPS, DHL, USPS, LTL, trucking and freight forwarders. Never before has this much knowledge and management experience been assembled to help companies reduce their shipping cost.

To get further information and watch a short video on AFMS services on how your company may receive a free no obligation audit, visit my web site http://reduceshippingcost.com or e mail Randy Bacon Randy.AFMS@gmail.com

 

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How to Prepare your Failed Hard Drive for Shipping

by admin on 08. Apr, 2011 in Model Ship Museum

model ship repair

Image by practicalowl, 2009-10-15 09:01:20

If you’ve ever experienced a data loss event due to hard drive failure, your best bet for retrieving your data is to find a reputable data recovery specialist and have them recover the data for you.

Hard drive repair and data recovery is not a project that the average computer user can do on their own. Hard drive repair requires special tools and training which most people don’t have and in addition, any mechanical repairs or service to your drive requires a dust free clean room environment.

The reason for this is that the read/write heads on your drive are located a mere 50 nanometers away from the platter, half the thickness of a human hair. Trying to repair the drive in a non-dust free environment can result in dust getting into the small space between the heads and the platter and preventing the heads from doing their job.

Once you’ve chosen a data recovery specialist to retrieve the data on your hard drive, you’ll need to ship the drive to them. This is fairly straight forward, but there are some things you should be aware of when you prepare your drive for transport.

 

Steps to Prepare your Hard Drive

It’s very important that you package your drive very carefully to prevent further damage to your drive during the shipping process. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Carefully remove your hard drive from your computer.

In most cases, it’s preferable to simply send the drive itself, rather than the whole computer. If you’re not comfortable removing the hard drive yourself, the data recovery company you’re using can talk you through the process.

 

2. If possible, send the drive in the manufacturer’s original packaging.

If it’s possible, it’s always best to use the manufacturer’s original packaging when shipping your hard drive. If this isn’t possible, use a box that’s at least twice the size of your drive. The reason for this is to allow enough room for sufficient packaging material to protect the drive.

 

3. Place the drive in an anti-static bag.

It’s very important to protect the drive from static, as static electricity can cause significant damage to your drive. If you don’t have an anti-static bag, a zip-lock freezer bag will work as well.

 

4. Wrap the drive in bubble wrap or other protective packing material.

Make sure the packing material fills up the box around the drive so that the drive won’t shift or move around during transport. Don’t use Styrofoam peanuts as these can convey static which can cause damage to your drive.

 

5. Include your contact information and details about your trouble/case inside the box.

Make sure that you include your name, address, phone number, email address and a brief summary of the data loss problems you’re encountering inside the box, attached to the bag that contains your hard drive. Your contact information should go on the outside of the box as well, but you want to have your details attached to the drive in case the box gets discarded or separated from your hard drive once it arrives.

6. Consider buying shipping insurance for your package.

If the drive and information is of significant value, (which it probably is if you’re going to pay to have the data recovered!), you may want to consider shipping insurance for your package to protect you financially if the drive is damaged during transit. You may also want to choose a trackable shipping option so that you know where the package is at all times.

 

7. Let the data recovery company know when you expect them to receive the drive so they can be ready for it.

This is a good idea in case the drive does not arrive when you expect it to be delivered. The data recovery company can let you know if the drive has not been received and you can follow up with the shipping company to locate your hard drive.

 

Some types of drives may also require a controller card to be sent along with the drive. You should check with the data recovery firm you’re using before you ship to make sure that you’ve included everything they need. Different companies may have slightly different requirements.

If you’re shipping the drive out of the country you’ll need to include a Commercial Invoice for Customs purposes. For this you’ll have to include a description of your drive detailing the make, model and country of manufacture along with your contact information.

The key things to remember are to protect your failed hard drive as well as possible, and include as much information with the package as possible to avoid any mix ups or delays.

As a final note, you may want to consider using an overnight or rush courier service to transport your hard drive can minimize the travel time and uncertainty while you’re waiting for your drive to arrive at its destination. The shorter the travel time, the less chance there is for something to go wrong, and the faster your data can be retrieved.

Related Model Ship Repair Articles

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