[Villages Kahuna]

After getting Villages Pack-And-Ship's almost $95 quote to pack and ship my laptop computer to Huntsville, AL, I decided to use the freindly folks at the Oxford Post Office. I packed the laptop in the box they provided, with as much padding as would fit of course, and took it in for shipping. If I had not wanted insurance, the cost would have been $12.95. With the same amount of insurance imbedded in the P-A-S price, USPS shipped it Priority Mail (2-3 day delivery) for $23.80.

But I was still curious. I called the UPS store in Deerfield, IL, which I used frequently when I lived near there. The manager worked up what their price would have been to pack the computer in a computer box and ship it second-day air with $1,000 of insurance. The UPS price was $41.65.

But I furthered my investigation of my options. I set up a FedEx account several years ago, so I checked how I could use their services without going to Villages Pack-And-Ship. Voila! I could have packed my laptop in a box which FedEx would provide, drop the package off at their drop-off location near Laurel Manor, and have it delivered 2nd day air with $1,000 insurance for $25.44. If I really wanted to be lazy, I could have FedEx pick the package up at my house for a total price of $33.63.

So as best I can determine, Mr. Downing would have profited about $50-60 based on the actual cost of packing and shipping the item using either FedEx or UPS. (I believe they were going to ship using FedEx.) That's for just one customer in one of the several stores he owns. I wonder how many "walk outs" they have in those stores after people are told their prices? A worse thought is how many dummies gulp and agree to pay their larcenous prices?

I know I'll never walk out of a Villages Pack-And-Ship store again...because I'm never ever going to go in one again!