The SurpriseBox Worldwide Trip 2

User avatar
Halvar

02 Nov 2015, 14:56

I think it's a good offer by Muirium to split the package and send part of it back to MrInterface.

However, let's hear some opinions of people that come after Muirium, especially those who have to send it internationally. Do you prefer a smaller choice and less postage for sending it to the next guy? Or would you prefer to see the whole thing and are willing to spend the postage? I'm pretty sure Muirium can identify some less interesting stuff to send to MrInterface, but OTOH, tastes are quite different on what is interesting.

What would be an acceptable weight? 5 kg? 10 kg? Going back to 3 kg would seriously cripple the choice at this point imo.

User avatar
Muirium
µ

02 Nov 2015, 15:07

I didn't say I'd send anything back to MrInterface. I mean potentially split it up and send the contents domestically to the various UK people on the list. But I'm just guessing out loud for the moment, because all I know is how ludicrously HEAVY it has now become. Once it's here I can begin to figure something out.

Parcelforce (Royal Mail's parcel brand) is pretty much out of the picture. Like I said last page, international shipments with them are laughably expensive. If you fancy getting a handle on the situation, you can try entering some dummy weights and dimensions on these two cheaper carrier's sites:

http://yodel.co.uk/send
https://international.myhermes.co.uk

Last year, I thought £20 to ship the little Surprise Box across the Atlantic was steep. This year, I have a horrible feeling £20 will be what each of us winds up spending on it just domestically, before the poor bastard who must take it back to Europe!

Creative thinking will be required!

User avatar
HzFaq

02 Nov 2015, 15:09

Just for reference, I shipped a 3.78kg box to Germany at the weekend and it was £32 untracked, closer to £50 with tracking. Getting 12kg back to Europe would be pretty bad; £70 with tracking according to this...Might be worth having a whip-round for the finally shipping back to MrI just so that one of us doesn't get super-dicked by that.

Shipping around within the UK might not be so bad (around £10 with myhermes), but its still a fair old whack.

ninja'd by Mu, posting it anyway...

User avatar
Muirium
µ

02 Nov 2015, 15:16

I'm thinking of mixing this with the Secret Santa. If there's full boards in there (my guess is there could be 3…) shipping them individually may be smarter. Without the Surprise Box's (already totally BROKEN!) strings attached.

But I'll only know when I open it. It's a proper Surprise!

User avatar
Halvar

02 Nov 2015, 15:53

Ah, sorry Mu, I misunderstood that.

BTW, I paid about 20 € to send it from Germany to Austria using Hermes (about 11 kgs).

User avatar
Chyros

02 Nov 2015, 21:36

Halvar wrote: Ah, sorry Mu, I misunderstood that.

BTW, I paid about 20 € to send it from Germany to Austria using Hermes (about 11 kgs).
Yeah, that sounds more like normal shipping charges. In the UK however, privatisation hasn't QUITE worked out all that well for the people.

User avatar
Muirium
µ

02 Nov 2015, 21:40

Depends which people. It worked splendidly for those of us who actually count. Hint: neither me nor you!

Hermes is the same carrier over here as in Germany, I think. But everyone follows Parcelforce's lead and charges much higher prices here, because reasons.

User avatar
Chyros

02 Nov 2015, 21:56

Muirium wrote: Depends which people. It worked splendidly for those of us who actually count. Hint: neither me nor you!
Hence why I said "the people" :p . But I agree, it's worked out splendidly for the others. As have many, many other things in UK politics for a while now.

Honestly, when I came to the UK three years ago I was quickly charmed by this country and its people, and have not regretted my stay here for one moment. But I've learned what politics are like here, and it disgusts me to the core of my soul.

User avatar
Madhias
BS TORPE

02 Nov 2015, 22:02

Hey, I had to send it from Austria to Scotland! But it was not internationally though, since we are inside Europe. Last time I sent a keycap (one keycap) in an envelope to the USA and it cost as much as this 12Kg box. Here in Austria all boxes are tracked, so there I did not had to pay more. Also the weight was not important, since there is just a maximum you should not reach (which is about 32Kg). And there is just a size limit, so it was not that expensive! But going outside Europe is for me also always expensive.

To be honest, I don't know who put in the keyboard(s) in but it was not a good idea. It is even horrible when packing the box again, because it/they don't fit and you have to put everything around.

But the weight is not because of the keyboard(s)... Probably 10% of it :)

User avatar
Muirium
µ

02 Nov 2015, 22:18

We bitch and whine about shipping here because it's nothing like that. Shipping just to nearby Ireland costs the same as Russia! All international shipping is mighty costly. Any chance Austria Post can open up post offices here? I'd use them all the time instead!


@Chyros: American politics gets slammed all the time because it's so nakedly filthy, dumb and corrupt. But ours is just as rotten to the core. The media, however, is more friendly with those in charge — old Oxbridge chums — and so we decorate our brutal inner culture of downright theft and murder with pomp and flourish. Rule Britannia!

User avatar
Muirium
µ

04 Nov 2015, 14:35

Good news: The box is here!

Bad news: It's absolutely huge!

Actually, the physical size isn't so bad. Still way too big — about 43x38x35 cm or the size of a large microwave oven in shipping box — and it's chock full of stuff. As in masses of stuff! The outer box itself is enough is enough to give away who increased the size so much. It's a shipping box for Signature Plastics!

I am actually quite amazed, and grateful, for what's inside. A quick delve through the contents easily took me half an hour. There's some gems in there, some of which I'll be snatching for myself, and stuff I know other people will be mad for. But I need to put my thinking hat on and figure out quite what to do with it next.

I really wish you know who had kept himself to Mr. Interface's 3 kg limit by concentrating on the best stuff! What I'm considering right now is asking the other guys in the UK list if they'd be cool with me showing them the bulky bits so we can work out what to do.

User avatar
Muirium
µ

04 Nov 2015, 14:51

Incidentally, here's the cheapest international* shipping I can find for this size of parcel:

https://www.yodeldirect.co.uk/quotes?co ... 5#/results

£21 to get it back to Mr.Interface. Not bad. But no tracking. Which is also against the rules, I know, but going by Parcelforce would be ruinous… <goes to check> … Well, £70 apparently.
Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 1.50.00 p.m..png
Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 1.50.00 p.m..png (134.17 KiB) Viewed 5849 times
http://www.parcelforce.com/price-finder

Hint: It didn't quite cost Madhias 98 Euros to send to me with a tracked service. Sigh.

I'm surprised. They wanted almost that much for a far smaller parcel from me recently. Anyway, it's a good chunk of change either way. I'm still keen to shrink the parcel a bit first.


*Yes, shipping to -any- other country is charged as international here. You lucky bastards!

User avatar
HzFaq

04 Nov 2015, 15:07

Muirium wrote: What I'm considering right now is asking the other guys in the UK list if they'd be cool with me showing them the bulky bits so we can work out what to do.
I nearly suggested something like this a few days ago; get a catalogue going and send that around via PM instead of physically posting loads of heavy stuff around.

User avatar
Madhias
BS TORPE

04 Nov 2015, 16:10

Muirium wrote: Incidentally, here's the cheapest international* shipping I can find for this size of parcel:

https://www.yodeldirect.co.uk/quotes?co ... 5#/results
Anyone knows about country yodeling? That came to my mind when reading the name yodeldirect.co.uk :)
Spoiler:
Image

User avatar
chzel

04 Nov 2015, 20:23

Madhias wrote: But the weight is not because of the keyboard(s)... Probably 10% of it :)
What's so heavy :?: :?: :?: :?: What? What?What?What?

User avatar
Muirium
µ

04 Nov 2015, 20:24

No spoilers! I'll see if we can get it all over to you in the end.

User avatar
7bit

04 Nov 2015, 22:34

Muirium wrote: Good news: The box is here!

Bad news: It's absolutely huge!

Actually, the physical size isn't so bad. Still way too big — about 43x38x35 cm or the size of a large microwave oven in shipping box — and it's chock full of stuff. As in masses of stuff! The outer box itself is enough is enough to give away who increased the size so much. It's a shipping box for Signature Plastics!

I am actually quite amazed, and grateful, for what's inside. A quick delve through the contents easily took me half an hour. There's some gems in there, some of which I'll be snatching for myself, and stuff I know other people will be mad for. But I need to put my thinking hat on and figure out quite what to do with it next.

I really wish you know who had kept himself to Mr. Interface's 3 kg limit by concentrating on the best stuff! What I'm considering right now is asking the other guys in the UK list if they'd be cool with me showing them the bulky bits so we can work out what to do.
A photo of the box would not be against the rules.
;-)

Is it still the big Signature Plastics box. or was it too small already?
:o

User avatar
Muirium
µ

05 Nov 2015, 01:52

Read your post. The answer's in my quote!

User avatar
Halvar

05 Nov 2015, 09:29

So what do the people think who really shall have to send it internationally? Should the weight be reduced, and what weight would be acceptable? Opinion-wise, I hear a lot of Mu and relatively few other voices of people affected by this down the road in this thread so far. Speak out if you don't want to send 12 or more kg across Europe. Or if you "don't want to miss a thing".

wheybags( Ireland ) ( PONGED )
HzFaq ( UK ) ( PONGED )
urbancamo ( UK ) ( PONGED )
Andrewjoy ( UK ) ( PONGED )
Muirium( UK ) (PONGED)
scottc( UK ) ( PONGED )
hoggy ( Isle of Man ) ( Able to ship across atlantic ) ( PONGED )
JotaCe ( Portugal ) ( PONGED ) ( First 3 weeks of november not available )
chzel( Greece) ( PONGED )
flopix ( BE ) ( Can collect in Ireland ) ( PONGED )
GOING HOME ( The Netherlands )

andrewjoy

05 Nov 2015, 10:54

I am in 2 minds about it. More space in the box is handy with me as i plan to put something large in it, but it would spoil it if it did not have its full impact.

I honestly don't know

User avatar
Muirium
µ

05 Nov 2015, 12:15

So you're volunteering to be the last man in Britain? Sounds good to me!
Spoiler:
Image

User avatar
HzFaq

05 Nov 2015, 12:29

I'm not an international shipper but I'm happy to chip in a few quid for final leg shipping if it turns out to be bananas.

I'm also not super bothered by £10+ shipping within the UK; I say keep the thing big and fun. We can enforce strict size/weight rules next time ;).

hoggy

05 Nov 2015, 16:30

Don't worry about shipping to Europe, I can cope. It's my contribution to the community for being relatively quiet of late.

User avatar
chzel

05 Nov 2015, 17:09

I'm OK with it, as long as it doesn't grow too much from now on, or I'll have to keep a bunch of stuff for myself!!

User avatar
Muirium
µ

06 Nov 2015, 18:02

Okay, if everyone after me is cool with the MAX BOX strategy — especially Hoggy who has volunteered himself for the expensive bit — that makes things a bit simpler. I had a mountain of stuff out of the box, all over my desk today, figuring out what to take. I picked my first items, and I had to clear a corner to take these little 60% shots:
Red, Kish and Blue.jpg
Red, Kish and Blue.jpg (410.82 KiB) Viewed 5603 times
What do you think? Red, Kish and Blue, or the full RGB?
The full RGB.jpg
The full RGB.jpg (391.7 KiB) Viewed 5603 times
I like the twin red, white and blue look. Pairs well with my red Escape key. And yes, I checked, I didn't remember to order a set of these for myself in the massive Unicomp GB! So whoever threw this set in the Surprise Box has a thank you from me. Now I need to track down a printed red Escape to go with them…

Oh, incidentally, I'm not typing on my Kish today, but rather one of the keyboards inside the box. I won't keep this one, but it's certainly interesting. Hint: I'm looking down a lot at my fingers as I type all this. It's an unusual physical layout.

User avatar
Madhias
BS TORPE

06 Nov 2015, 20:14

:)

User avatar
HzFaq

06 Nov 2015, 20:30

Full RGB is classic, go full RGB with the red esc.

User avatar
Muirium
µ

06 Nov 2015, 20:57

Oh, you don't want me to leave those green Shifts in the box when it heads down to you?

User avatar
HzFaq

06 Nov 2015, 21:01

I don't have any IBM boards, you keep them ;).

andrewjoy

06 Nov 2015, 22:59

Are they unicomp or genuine IBM ?

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