DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

I had occasion to ship a small parcel the other day. Although I should have known better, I took the sealed box to the local “shipping center,” a Mailboxes ETC sort of place although not actually a franchise of that fine corporation. They stiffed me for $12 to ship the package via UPS Ground.

When I returned home, I checked the rate calculator at the UPS website. Turns out I could have had UPS come to my door and pick up the package for less money than it cost me to bring the same package to the shipping center. In other words, I paid a 15% premium, and the benefit to me was, urm, I got to listen to the radio for a few minutes? What’s up with that?

The UPS truck drives through my neighborhood every day anyway, so it actually seems the Earth-friendly approach to shipping is to leave my car in the garage and call UPS for a pickup. This saves time, saves money, and as a bonus I no longer have to slam my head against the doorframe asking why I patronize money-sucking valueless operations like my local “shipping center.”

Not that I’m bitter, or anything.