Every once in a while, we’re fortunate enough to have a person in our lives who challenges many of the assumptions we operate with. These people help us learn and grow by helping us think critically about why we make the choices we make. I rarely mention names on this blog. But, today, I’d like to introduce you all to Ken. Ken not only regularly challenges all these assumptions but also manages to do it in a way that seems non-judgmental. I guess he manages to focus entirely on the idea and makes it a discussion around the concept rather than the person – I’d love to get better at doing that. Many of the ideas on this blog owe their origins to discussions I’ve had with Ken – especially the push over the past few months on process. The “Don’t confuse good results with bad decisions and bad results with good decisions” is a Ken-ism. Thanks Ken, for all you do!
Today, I’d like to share with you all Ken’s new venture – PacMe.
PacMe was created to make the sure you don’t lose out on the amazing benefits of shopping in the US (read: incredible deals and prices via services like Amazon.com) available to people around the world. PacMe does this by giving every member a US address on PacMe.com which is a mailbox at PacMe’s Oregon warehouse. You can order as much as you like to this US address. Once you reach a certain critical mass, PacMe will repack your items, not just your boxes, and ship it overseas to minimize “dimensional weight” surcharges. It also helps that PacMe’s shipping rates are incredibly good – so you get what you want without losing a ton of money So, you’d be interested in PacMe if –
1. If you’re living outside the US – If you have lived in the US for a short while, you need no sales pitch. If you haven’t, then give services like Amazon.com a spin for items you want (XBox’s, baby clothes and diapers, etc., and be amazed!)
2. If you’re living in the US – If you’ve got friends, relatives or siblings living abroad, PacMe is a fantastic way to ship stuff over to them.
So, why is PacMe awesome? (in their words with a few of mine sprinkled)
– Our warehouse and website software was built from scratch by an obsessive, meticulous customer (read: Ken) who receives hundreds of packages per year.
– Every incoming package has its own webpage showing a scan of the invoice, photographs of the contents, carrier tracking number, options for “special requests,” and a chat box to discuss any issues. You might think that is overkill, but when you have 10 packages all from Amazon, and they sent you the wrong item in one of them and back-ordered an item in another, this will help you keep them straight!
– You can even enter “expected packages” and our system will recognize them when they arrive and put them into the correct consolidation.
– You can control all of the consolidation options yourself (e.g. discard shoe boxes), and even fill out your own customs list, or let us take care of everything. One click or ten clicks!
We are expert packers, hence the name PacMe. Most packages sent internationally trigger the “dimensional weight” surcharge. Unless you are only shipping fluffy pink unicorns, we will help you avoid that by repacking your items correctly.
Or skip all the text and just watch this great video –
My requests to you
1. If you consider giving PacMe a spin, please use the discount code “alearningaday” – sign up fee is $100 per year. This will essentially give you a 3 month free trial worth $40.
2. Once you do sign up and try PacMe, please send Ken feedback on feedme@pacme.com – this sort of business spreads best by word-of-mouth business and Ken would appreciate any feedback you will have. PacMe is also present on Facebook and Twitter.
I hope you all find it useful. Here’s wishing Ken and the rest of the PacMe team all the very best on the new venture.
A Learning a Day 