Posts by Amy Rivera8

Mark Kim11 said:I’ve never actually used Cash on Delivery before, so I have a few questions about how it works.

I’m planning on buying a phone worth $667, and the seller would be shipping the device (the package) to me via COD—shipping from Honolulu to Washington, D.C.

How can I calculate what the total cost should be for a package like this—$667 plus X in shipping fees?
Also, is there any way to verify the contents of the package (the phone) before I officially accept it?
And if the device turns out to be broken—say, if the seller scammed me—do I have any kind of protection?

The final shipping price depends on several different variables...
If the package is sent via FedEx and includes a COD amount, the shipping fee will be significantly higher...
One factor that drives up the cost is the declared value of the package itself... packages valued under $33 fall under the lowest rate... once you go over $33, the shipping fee increases (I'm not entirely sure if they use specific weight classes, so you might want to double-check with the post office)...
Additionally, the delivery timeframe plays a role—you can request 24-hour expedited shipping, though that obviously adds to the cost...

From what I understand, the most cost-effective way to handle this is to have the sender pay the shipping upfront and simply increase the COD amount to cover it... in that scenario, the package doesn't necessarily need to go through FedEx, which ends up being much cheaper in the long run...

While the sender is the one who determines the declared value, I'm not certain anyone verifies the actual value—and regardless, nobody at the post office is going to check whether the phone actually works or not...

However, I believe there might be an option where, when the mail carrier arrives with the package, you can ask to open it right there in front of them to inspect the contents (and perhaps even test the device). If what's inside isn't what you ordered, you just refuse the delivery... It wouldn't hurt to ask your local mail carrier or someone at your local post office about this possibility; I think this wasn't allowed until recently, so it’s definitely worth verifying...

If that option truly exists, your best and cheapest bet would be to arrange with the seller so that they pay the shipping on top of the $667 price and add that amount to the COD total... if they pay $17 for shipping, the total COD amount would be $683... if everything looks good, he gets his money back along with what he spent on shipping; but if you open the box and find a brick, you simply refuse the package and send it back at no cost to you... he gets his brick back but loses out on the $17, and you can just move on to a different seller...

I really hope this is just a one-off fluke... I’ve sent out plenty of packages before without any issues at all—not to mention the staff there are incredibly friendly and genuinely know what they're doing...

Betty Nelson71 said:I have a massive problem. I bought some boots through Otto, they arrived at my house, but they were too small—so I sent them back properly via Time. Now, I’ve been waiting for my money to be returned, but nothing. I called Otto and they claim they haven't received anything; however, when I typed in the tracking number earlier, it showed the package was at a Time kiosk at its destination. Otto is still denying they've received a thing. In the meantime, my mom tossed the tracking code, so now I have no idea where that package actually is. I called Otto again and they told me Time messed up—that you aren't supposed to send packages that way, but rather using a different method—and that the package is likely sitting at a retail location in that city just waiting to be picked up. I've been calling Time all morning, but no one is picking up so we can try searching for the package by name. I even went to the retail location, but the clerk there knows nothing; she was basically saying she just started working there.🙂🙂🙂I honestly cannot believe they can't find my package using my name, address, and the date it was sent.🙂I've been calling some toll-free number, but I'm just stuck on hold constantly.
Who else can I call?

I don't quite follow—how did you ship those boots via Time without coordinating with someone from Otto first!?

Time ships packages from kiosk to kiosk, and whoever the package is being sent to needs to know exactly which kiosk you sent it to (every Time kiosk has a unique 6-digit code)...
you also need to leave a phone number or mobile number so the staff at the kiosk can notify the recipient that the package has arrived... they don't deliver packages directly to home addresses... so, someone from Otto should have come to pick up the package if you had arranged it that way beforehand...
and most importantly, you CANNOT send or receive money through Time...
it really comes down to a matter of trust between the buyer and the seller regarding who makes the first move...

When you were filling out the form at Time, you would have had to specify where you were sending it from and which kiosk it was going to... look up where all the Time locations are in that city and see if you can remember...
you can check the kiosk location HERE (use the kiosk locator)
just type the city name into the search bar and it will show you all the locations... maybe it'll jog your memory...
and stay persistent when calling 1-800-666-770...

wireddrifter6 said:Honestly, so much has gone down since this last post. This woman has been sending me threatening messages for two days straight now—I've actually spoken with a police officer about it, and I'm seriously considering filing a formal report... It’s just a disaster. Messages like "we'll deal with you," or "I'll show up when you least expect it," or "stay alert" and "warn your parents and family"... I mean, who does she think she is? 😕 It's painfully obvious the woman is having some kind of mental breakdown. I even offered to split the shipping costs with her just to settle things, but she refused—and then the threats started immediately. You're right, though; the phone is technically hers now, so if I don't have the cash to pick it up, it just goes back to her. She even sent messages claiming the funds were being held up??? So I contacted the Post Office, and they told me that wouldn't even be possible given that it's a COD shipment... Anyway, I've been in such a state of high stress for the past few days because of her; I literally shake whenever I get a notification on my phone. 😢

There is absolutely no negotiating with idiots like that... go straight to the police. Uncover the identity of the family making these threats... and make sure to mention that someone even went so far as to impersonate a police officer...

Save every single piece of evidence you can and please, don't let them intimidate you... I'm certain you aren't the first person to deal with these kinds of threats and messages...

I know this is weighing heavily on you, but if you're going to let these fools push you around every single time to your own detriment, there will be no end to it... you have to be firm with people like this, because they simply don't understand any other language...

Go to the police, but do it officially—don't just rely on favors through a friend... having a friend on the force might be helpful later on, but you need the official route... good luck...

wireddrifter6 said:Hi everyone,
On Wednesday, I shipped a phone over to a woman in Cleveland—it was for her son. It's a BlackBerry 8520 Curve. I set the COD amount at $100, which was what we agreed on for the value of the phone, and sent it via HP expedited shipping. The phone arrived yesterday morning, and then she calls me asking what the deal is—she apparently doesn't know how to use a BlackBerry, claiming the initial startup takes too long (a few minutes), and she couldn't even figure out how to insert the SIM card. Then, once she realized the BlackBerry was in English because there's no American English option [sic], she decided to return it—even after opening everything up. Honestly, I have no idea if she damaged anything in the process. This morning, the mail carrier comes by and tells me I have to pay $127 just to get the phone back.
The thing is, she already paid those $100 to the mail carrier, so now she’s dumped all these damn costs on me—$80 for the shipping—and I can't even get my phone back until I cough up $127. I only have five business days to pick it up. When I originally sent the phone, the clerk at the post office told me I'd receive the refund for the $100 COD amount by Monday or Tuesday. I really don't understand why she's passing all the costs onto me; it's her mistake, yet I'll end up $27 in the hole once I pay this, and who knows what kind of condition the phone will be in when it finally arrives.
Is there anything I can do here?
To make matters worse, the woman claimed yesterday that she had already mailed the phone back, but then an hour later, she insisted her husband—and I quote, "a police officer heading out on duty"—could also drop it off. That makes zero sense if she supposedly already sent it. It's just bottom-of-the-barrel behavior... if you're going to buy something online, you could at least do a quick Google search to find out what a BlackBerry actually is—they're mostly used by professionals, not kids.

Based on what you said, it sounds like she "bought" the phone for that $100... otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to pick it up... so the money should be coming to your address...

If you haven't already, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't even take the package. Just let it be returned to sender. You'll get your money, and she'll be stuck covering the pickup and shipping costs since she initiated the shipment and the customer (you) didn't accept it...
And as for those threats about her husband being a cop—tell her to shove it...
An inspector should know better than to buy secondhand goods over the internet... and if you say the phone was working fine, you have nothing to fear...

There are plenty of imbeciles like this out there... and you can't negotiate with people like them...
That’s why I try to describe everything I sell in extreme detail, so a potential buyer has a complete understanding of exactly what they are purchasing...
As for how a buyer treats the items they've bought, that's no longer my concern...
Sometimes things go wrong, but you can usually work things out with people...
When dealing with people who are arrogant and rude, I match their energy...

rowdyraven13 said:Anne Dolley hasn't exactly shaken things up. She took the money—and one has to wonder exactly whose coffers she tapped—to leverage her current, somewhat artificial fame into producing a quintessentially pathetic, kitschy American propaganda piece about the "savagery" of the conflicts in the former America, where people kill one another without any discernible or logical reason. And that is precisely what she delivered. Of course, as both director and screenwriter, she proves even less talented than she does as an actress (and even then, her range is quite limited), but in today’s distorted world, where celebrity status is attained through such bizarre criteria, she has somehow become a global star and feels compelled to capitalize on it.

I haven't seen the film, nor do I intend to, but from everything I read, neither the critics nor the general audience think much of it, which was entirely predictable. Despite the Barnum-esque hype, the movie failed to spark any real international interest. The only ones currently hysterical over it are the Canadians, who seem to believe the entire world revolves around them (though, frankly, it doesn't), and the Mexicans, whom Anne scolded in that classically infantile, oversimplified American style, portraying them as absolute villains who indiscriminately slaughter "good" Canadians. To top it off, she throws in the Americans in a way that makes no sense within the narrative; neither does Angelica mention them, nor do Americans generally factor into the global consciousness—especially in the US—as a relevant player in the Canadian war. Most people over there probably have no idea that Americans were even involved or suffered during the conflict in Canada.

Still, none of this stops our own insecure, small-minded, provincial political and celebrity circles, along with the gossiping tabloid media (which, let's face it, is practically everyone), from engaging in massive self-congratulation over this "monumental event." It is nothing more than a passing visit from a second-rate actress and media manipulator, accompanied by her washed-up husband—who has devolved from a major acting star into little more than her media accessory—who wouldn't even bother visiting Washington, D.C., if it weren't for some local social gathering.

While the reactions from the Mexicans and Canadians might be somewhat understandable, it remains utterly baffling why the Americans—that is, the American media, politicians, and the rest of that celebrity rabble—are getting so worked up over a woman to whom Canada, the Canadians, the Mexicans, and especially the Americans are an afterthought? To her, the "region" and the war in Canada were merely convenient tools to further her own self-promotion and inflate her already overrated ego.

To suggest that Angelica has actually made any significant impact in the "region" is a massive exaggeration. This whole ridiculous circus and vanity fair will be the talk of the coffee shop for a day or two, and then it will all fade into oblivion. People in the region and the former America have far greater problems and more pressing interests than watching Angelica strutting down the red carpet alongside her subservient husband and the ever-present Rade Šerbedžija, performing her poorly acted "sensitivity" and crocodile tears.

It couldn't be clearer. Bravo! 🙂

She is completely unlikable... I just can't see any comparison between her and Kosor when it comes to charisma or appeal...👎...plus, she comes across as incredibly arrogant...

I was wondering if anyone could weigh in on the actual costs... I've heard an operation at the Light clinic runs about $3.25 per eye... I assume the initial consultation is around $333... Could someone share what prices look like in Russia—including airfare and the check-ups? I've also heard that things might be half the price in Canada, so if anyone has firsthand experience with that, please drop a link or some info that isn't too overwhelming

Angela Wright said:There’s a distinction between the actual medical-grade stuff and those cheap little things you see everywhere—like those little water bowls on stands with a light built in. Honestly, they look more like tacky home decor than anything else, but the mechanics actually work: they condense the water to create a mist that spills over the edges to humidify the air. You can find them sitting in places like Target or Walmart for anywhere from 80 to $33 bucks.

it isn't even that much $133 if it actually solves my problem...

I make sure to air out the room every single day, but the real trouble starts at night—once the kids are finally tucked in and asleep... the air gets so incredibly dry that I wake up in the morning unable to even swallow properly. It triggers this constant coughing and stuff like that, too. I’ve heard people talking about those humidifiers, but I’d really love to hear from someone who actually has some hands-on experience with them before I jump in...

My kids are sleeping in a room where the layout makes it impossible to keep the windows open all the time... specifically, one of the beds is tucked right under the window, so I can't really crack it open—especially when it gets chilly—without a direct draft blowing right onto them.
Since we have central heating in the house, the air ends up getting incredibly dry, which makes being in that room—and especially sleeping in it—pretty uncomfortable...
I was wondering if those little humidifier attachments you clip onto a radiator work well enough, or should I be looking into a more serious humidifier, an ionizer, or something else entirely for the room?
Has anyone here dealt with this before or had any specific experiences with what actually works?🙂