charlesz | 9 years ago | on: Multi-Piece Shipment Support Available in the Shippo API
charlesz's comments
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: Multi-Piece Shipment Support Available in the Shippo API
This is really great for Shippo, and an issue that I've commented on before[0]. It's a pretty obvious feature to have missed in the first place, but taking on the insane complexities of UPS, FedEx, and USPS is a never-ending up-hill battle (I've done it.)
I'm still longing for the day that Shippo is fully fleshed out so I can offload that massive infrastructure headache off to someone else.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: Email Apps Suck
For what it's worth, I have been using Outlook for Mac for about a year now and have really enjoyed it. Categorizing emails by folder is, well, what Outlook has always done well and search is surprisingly good.
Maybe I'm the odd one out, but I don't need any glitz and glam in my email client. I just want it to work and show me the email I want to see when I want to see it.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: Woman wins $10k judgment against Microsoft for forced Windows 10 upgrade
A Windows update broke Quickbooks for our entire org over the weekend. Happens more often than you would think. A few months back a Windows update broke Outlook for half our team.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: Appeals court upholds FCC's net neutrality order
Anyone can apply for T-Mobile's Music Freedom (zero-rated music streaming) and BingeOn (zero-rated video streaming) programs assuming you're providing legal content.
Edit: It's also worth noting that participation in the programs is free both for the provider and end user.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: UberRUSH API – Add on-demand delivery to your app or service
Oh man, oh man. Don't get me started on the utter mess that the UPS and FedEx APIs are. I've gone through the app certification process for both, as well as Stamps.com (USPS), and I think the only other project that rivals that mess is ADP (development took over a year, certification took another 6 months and 10s of thousands in fees.)
As an example, the developer document solely for obtaining shipment rates is 98 pages long.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: UberRUSH API – Add on-demand delivery to your app or service
This was one of the issues we struggled with as well. Ultimately we wrote our own UPS, FedEx, and USPS integrations in-house, but I can say that Shippo was incredibly responsive to our questions and requests, even going so far as to add a few of the features that were imperative to our business (and I'm sure many others.)
I still think Shippo has a long way to go, but they're doing great work and are very responsive to new ideas.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: Ask HN: What small websites do you frequently use/visit?
Wow, you can actually see the exchange rate fluctuate (not by much) when big transactions hit the market. Cool stuff.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: I love my Amazon Workspace
Unless Charter owns the monopoly in your area.. $80/mo for 100/7 copper, or $450/mo for 100 symmetrical fiber.
charlesz | 9 years ago | on: The TSA is a waste of money that doesn't save lives and might actually cost them
It can range anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000 (at the extremely high end) to get your PPL. Ramp fees vary.. Usually free if you buy 10 gallons of gas while you're there, otherwise $5-$15 per day.
Can a Cessna 172 get you to New York? Sure, if you have the time. It'll be a long and monotonous flight though.
Now, with all of that said, your point still stands. GA flying is a hobby and almost always more expensive than hopping on an airline.
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The developer documentation for UPS is thousands of pages long. The document explaining how to quote a domestic shipment is over 600. I don't have them in front of me right now, but FedEx is the same. You can't even integrate directly with USPS anymore. You have to go through someone like Stamps.com, Endicia (which are now one and the same), etc.
We only ship 200-300 packages daily, but there are benefits in using multiple carriers. For one, small lightweight and low-value packages always go USPS. Flat rate boxes are free and easy to use. Between the two big private guys, using multiple carriers gives you a negotiating advantage. Our reps probably visit us twice a month to try and keep on our good side.
Our ERP can calculate the best value and delivery time for a given order. For example, taking advantage of the FedEx Express OneRate program for a given package might a) reduce our net cost because the boxes are provided to us for free and b) get there 2-3 days faster for a buck more versus UPS Ground. And we can pack 50 pounds into that Express box under the OneRate program.
Stocking supplies isn't too terribly hard. We probably have 20 box sizes we use, plus FedEx and UPS small/medium/large vendor-supplied boxes and a few USPS sizes. Takes up a surprisingly small amount of space.