A rainy weather system that caused low flight ceilings, combined with an inoperable radar at the local airport traffic control, delayed flight and sort operations at the FedEx Express Memphis Hub overnight. Because of the weather and radar issues, some customers could experience service delays today.

Continue to check fedex.com for service updates as well as span style=color: #1f497d>track

Consistent with the provisions of the FedEx Service Guide, the money-back guarantee is suspended for U.S. packages and shipments inbound into the U.S. from international locations with a delivery commitment of Tuesday,Dec. 06, 2011.

Thank you,
FedEx

The severe weather resulting from Hurricane Irene that is bringing hazardous conditions across the East Coast is leaving difficult conditions and is affecting FedEx operations. Unavoidable service delays should be expected due to widespread power outages and local road conditions. FedEx is committed to providing service to the best of our ability in areas that can be safely accessed and where conditions have improved. We will continue to monitor the situation to minimize the impact on service. Please continue to check fedex.com for updates.

Don’t get bogged down by your mother’s guilt trip! Ship her a present early with Mail & Business! (Click here to get a $2.00 Coupon just for being a Facebook Fan of Mail & Business!)

FedEx & UPS Shipments come standard with up to $100 insurance coverage included as well as sophisticated tracking to make sure that whatever it is your mom desires, it arrives quickly and in great condition.

Still not convinced you need to send her a present? I’ll let Mr. T do the talking for me:

Popular Mechanics created a sensor that measures when a box is dropped, jostled, overheated or frozen. Then, they shipped the sensor a dozen times through UPS, Fed-Ex and USPS to test which service is easiest on your packages.

Working with National Instruments, an industrial test and measurement company, Popular Mechanics created a data-logging device capable of gauging and recording vibration, temperature and orientation.

Popular Mechanics editor Glenn Derene sent the package on a tour of the United States, starting and ending at Popular Mechanics’s office in New York City, with stops in California and Austin, TX. In Santa Monica, California, Popular Mechanics employees uploaded the sensor’s data from a micro SD card, recharged the battery and sent the package on its way.

The parcel was shipped on a dozen more times, in what Derene describes as a modest experiment to see how the device performed and to gather enough data to draw broad conclusions. Their targets—FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service—were unaware of the test. Derene also tested whether overnight shipping was more or less violent than three-day and if marking the package “Fragile” or “This Side Up” ensured more careful treatment.

The Results: After crunching the data, Popular Mechanics found that “the USPS has the gentlest touch, with a per-trip average of 0.5 acceleration spikes over 6 g’s. FedEx and UPS logged an average of three and two big drops per trip, respectively.” USPS flipped over its Express Mail packages quite a bit, about 12.5 position changes per trip. Meanwhile, FedEx averaged seven position changes, and four for UPS. Popular Mechanics also found that “FedEx delivered the most big bumps, with an average of three acceleration spikes over 6 g’s (equivalent to a 2.5-foot drop) per trip. The USPS was the gentlest yet also the most active handler, with an average 12.5 position changes per trip. UPS was tops at keeping our package upright.” Disturbingly, Popular Mechanics learned that their package marked “Fragile” or “This Side Up” received more abuse than the rest. See graph below.

Source

Mail & Business is offering fans of our facebook page the opportunity to get 500 FREE Business Cards!

All you have to do to cash in on 500 FREE Business Cards is go Like the Mail & Business Facebook Fan Page and tell your friends about the deal by tagging Mail & Business in a status update. Not sure how to tag someone in a post? Click here for more details.

When you “like” the Mail & Business fan page, you will be prompted to enter in your email address to get the coupon. You will also need to let the Woobox Promotions/Coupons application have permissions on your facebook profile — the reason for this is so that we can regulate that only our facebook fans receive this coupon. Once you go through those steps, you will receive the coupon in your email inbox. From there, you need to tag Mail & Business in a post and then you can cash in the coupon at our shop!

All together, this deal will save you nearly $70!

So… What are you waiting for? Go get your free business cards!

Thanks!

Tagging people or pages on Facebook is a great way to share information with your friends. Rather than post a link to an external website, you can “tag” someone in a post. It works just like tagging a friend in a photograph, only instead of a photograph, you’re tagging them in a status update.

In the above example, Mail & Business can link you, our customer, to Jami Howard’s Fan Page seamlessly and easily without having to add links. It’s a great way to link to another Fan Page or Profile within Facebook.

First, you will need to be friends with or a fan of the person/page you are wanting to tag. Then, you will begin to type a status message. When you are ready to tag the person or page, you type in @ and begin typing the name of the person or page you want to tag. A drop-down box will appear.

Simply select the person you would like to tag in your post. Facebook will create a link to this person’s profile or fan page within your status, using their name as the link text.

The result:

Now, this post appears, not only on the Mail & Business Facebook Page, but also on Jami Howard’s Facebook Fan Page — linking both pages and exposing one another to each other’s fan base!

Got anymore questions? Come post them on Jami Howard’s Facebook Fan Page and she will do her best to answer your questions.

There are, however, some things a Notary cannot do. There are also things that a Notary is encouraged not to do and, as a shop policy, we follow those suggestions pretty conservatively.

A Notary cannot merely stamp and sign you document to make it “official”

It is a completely meaningless act for a Notary to merely stamp and sign any document — this does not constitute a valid and legal notarization.

Why not? Because every notarization requires certificate wording to indicate exactly what the Notary is certifying. If there is no certificate wording preprinted at the end of your document, then you must find out the required wording from the office that issued the document, or the office where it is to be filed.

All states prohibit Notaries from using their seals to make documents “look official”

A Notary cannot explain or attempt to help you understand your document

It is illegal for Notaries who are not attorneys to help you prepare your documents, especially important documents that might have legal ramifications. A Notary that offers such assistance may be fined or imprisoned for the unauthorized practice of law.

We cannot explain words or phrases to you. We cannot give you any advice about how to proceed with a document. We are actually prohibited by state law from doing so!

Even answering seemingly harmless questions like, “What goes in this space?” or, “What does this mean?” or, “Is this the only document I need?” can get the Notary in BIG trouble. If you need help filling out your document, call the office that gave you the document or the office where you will file it. Or, contact your attorney.

A Notary cannot notarize a birth certificate

Despite what you may have been told by a travel agency or an airline, a Notary cannot notarize a birth certificate. Only a custodian of vital records can properly certify an original or copy of a birth certificate because only that official can verify that the birth information is correct and accurate.

Remember, all states prohibit Notaries from using their seals to make documents “look official” — simply making a photocopy of your birth certificate and asking a Notary to stamp and sign it is improper.

A Notary cannot notarize or certify a photograph

Notaries have no authority to notarize or certify photographs. It just can’t lawfully be done, even for a foreign passport or medical license application. Unfortunately, foreign governments and misinformed US agencies sometimes demand that Notaries perform actions (such as notarizing a photograph) that statues give them no authority to do!

One solution to this dilemma is your notarized signature beneath your written statement (“This is a photograph of myself… etc…”) on a paper attached to the photo or on the back of the photo, if it is large enough. With this solution, the Notary is certifying the genuineness of your signature and not the photograph.

A Notary cannot sign and stamp an incomplete document

It would be foolish for a Notary to notarize a blank or incomplete document — in the same way it would be foolish for you to sign a blank or incomplete check!

Signing blank or incomplete documents may facilitate fraud and often results in lawsuits, both criminal and civil. Complete your document first! If certain spaces don’t apply, line through or initial them, or write “N/A” (“Not Applicable”) in the blank.

A Notary cannot notarize a document for a person who is not present

If you’re asking a Notary to notarize the signature of a person who is not present, you’re requesting a criminal act! Both you and the Notary could go to jail, be fined or both!

Society trusts the Notary to personally screen each signer for identity, willingness and competence. This is impossible if the signer is not face to face before the Notary at the time of notarization. Under law, your word alone is not good enough.

The document signer MUST appear face to face before the Notary at the time of the notarization — not before, not later. It is a criminal act to persuade the Notary to violate this rule.

A Notary is required to scan your document for completeness

You can’t hide your document from the Notary by presenting just the signature page of a document. Certainly, your document may be very private and no one has any business reading it. However, the Notary does have the right to hold and quickly scan the document to ascertain certain particulars about it for the record — such as it’s title (or general type), it’s date, the name(s) of its signer(s), the number of pages and whether it contains any incomplete spaces that would make notarization inadvisable.

Remember, you go to a Notary to protect your rights by having your signature in a document validated and the existence of your document noted in the public record. For this protection, you necessarily must give up some privacy.

Notarizing a document in a foreign language can get tricky

Technically, a notary public can notarize a signature on a document in a foreign language with which they are not familiar, since a notary public’s function only relates to the signature and not the contents of the document.

However, the Notary should be able to identify the type of document being notarized. If the title of the document is unclear or the Notary is unable to understand the title, he/she can refuse to the notarize the document.

In addition, a Notary must be able to communicate with their customer in order for the signer to either swear to or affirm the contents of the affidavit or to acknowledge the execution of the document. An interpreter should not be used, as vital information could be lost in the translation. If a notary public is unable to communicate with a customer, the customer should find a notary that speaks the customer’s language.

It is our right to refuse to notarize a document if anything about the interaction makes us feel uneasy or if the appropriate documents or items necessary for notarization are missing, expired or appear suspicious or fraudulent. If we refuse to notarize your document, please understand that we are protecting ourselves legally and not passing a judgement onto you.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to give us a call or stop by the shop.

The only time that Flat Rate Shipping is better than Ground shipping (via UPS or FedEx) is when the item you are shipping is very heavy and it is going VERY far or to a rural address. In most cases, the UPS or FedEx rate (which includes sophisticated tracking and $100 insurance coverage) is at or just above the price for USPS Flat Rate shipping and in some cases, you can pay the regular weight rate for Priority Mail shipping and STILL send it cheaper than the Flat Rate Shipping for the SAME exact service.

First things first, let’s talk about the sizes of the boxes.

The small flat rate box measures 1 5/8″ x 5 3/8″ x 8 5/8″. That’s roughly the size of a VHS tape — not really large enough to hold much. It costs $4.90 to send the small flat rate box. In most cases, something that is small enough to fit in a box this size is also light enough to go First Class Mail rate! Depending on how far you’re sending your item, your First Class Transit Time and your Priority Transit Time may be about the same.

The medium flat rate box measures 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ x 11″. That’s just smaller than two packs of copy paper, stacked. Your rate on this box is $10.70 and, like all USPS Flat Rate shipments, does not include tracking or insurance. Is what you’re sending worth insuring? Think about it this way: How eager are you to provide proof of purchase price with receipts? How eager are you to go back out and repurchase this item? Typically, it’s only a few extra dollars to have the peace of mind that comes with sophisticated tracking and insurance!

The large flat rate box is the only box that is actually a decently sized box at 5 1/2″ x 12″ x 12″ and your rate for this box is $14.50… Again, this is a great price if you’re sending it a great distance or if it is VERY heavy. More often than not though, a package this size will not weigh more than ten pounds. For perspective, a ten pound package going to North Carolina will only cost you around $17.00 using UPS. This includes sophisticated tracking, insurance up to $100 in coverage and would arrive in about two days. It’s impossible to get the same service with the post office (we’ll talk about why later), but at their very best option, with delivery confirmation and insurance added, you will pay $16.75 total — that’s right — a savings of only $.25!

No Such Thing As Tracking

It’s true. The USPS offers several additional services (Delivery Confirmation, Certified Mail, Return Receipt, etc) but you will NEVER see the word tracking on their website when they discuss these services. Why is that? Because tracking implies that your parcel is followed from Point A all the way to Point B, with every stop noted. Each time a parcel changes hands with UPS or FedEx, it is scanned to leave a breadcrumb trail of the journey. If your package was last scanned via UPS or FedEx in Tuscon and then it doesn’t appear again, the carriers can put a trace on the package and follow their steps all the way down to the driver that was last recorded as the person in possession of the package!

With the post office, all of their services are worthless unless your item actually arrives. You can purchase a “Point A” receipt (Certificate of Mailing) for $1.15 but until it arrives at “Point B” there is nothing that anybody can tell you about the package. It cannot be traced. It cannot be found. The post office will simply tell you to, “Just wait six weeks and see if it arrives.” SIX WEEKS? Do you have six weeks just laying around that you’re willing to surrender to this kind of system?

Insurance is another factor that is often overlooked with the USPS.

Sure, you can purchase insurance with the USPS on your parcel and it even comes with Delivery Confirmation included. Sounds good, right? Well, that all depends on how much information you want to know about the package and how long you’re willing to wait. If your package NEVER arrives (gets lost in the mail, stolen, misrouted or misdelivered), right out of the gate, the post office will make you wait THREE WEEKS before you can even FILE the claim. So if you shipped something Flat Rate Priority on, say, November 18th with an estimated arrival date of Monday or Tuesday, November 23rd or 24th and it never arrived, you’d have to wait until December 9th to even FILE your claim with the USPS. And once you file the claim, the post office tells you that, “A properly completed and supported claim is usually paid within 30 days.” So, that present that you bought early and wrapped early and shipped early? That package that you insured? If something goes wrong, you won’t even see your money back on that claim for almost two months!

We offer insurance through our private insurance carrier, Shipsurance. There are some stipulations regarding insuring your package, namely that it is packed according to shipping standards to protect the contents. We can file a claim as soon as possible and typically, it takes anywhere from two to three weeks for our insurance to pay on the claim. At that point, we can give you a check and you can head out to replace the item that you sent. Let’s go back to our example, if you shipped with us using our insurance carrier, you should have a check for the claim by December 9th which gives you enough time to repurchase, rewrap, and send it again to get it in time for Christmas!

At Mail & Business, we do the research and we do the work to provide you with the best product at a competitive price! It’s not about upselling, it’s about educating… And education is the consumer’s best weapon!