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View Full Version : JUST FYI: Use Signature Confirmation on shipping film to Samy's



Daniel Stone
18-Jul-2011, 17:09
hey all,

Just FYI, I shipped out an order of film(e-6 and c-41) to Samy's in Santa Barbara, CA, and it showed it was "delivered". However, it wasn't. IDK what went wrong, as the package was returned today to my doorstep, exactly as I sent it out, just with a big "return to sender" written on the front. I called USPS twice to file a claim since the other day(it was "delivered on 7/9) but Samy's said they hadn't received it.

So, not putting a bad word out there for Samy's(more for the USPS, and the PARCEL POST function through Paypal shipping online(non-ebay transaction)), but the "delivery" was made on a Saturday, when Samys doesn't open until 10am(and mail delivery was 9am). So, for those of you contemplating using, or have been using, Samy's mail-order services, make sure to send it SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION(this way it actually gets delivered to a BODY, not just dropped in the mailbox(or not "delivered" at all, like in my case).

Or, make sure that the film will arrive on a weekday, not during the weekend. As all the film orders(+ other mail) are placed in their mailbox(yes, box, not handed to a person in an air-conditioned store, but in a hot(I'm guessing) box outside the store. Just FYI. I'll be sending my film this way from now on, only via UPS Ground since its 1-day anyhow, and gets handed over to a person anyhow unlike the regular mail.

So far, the processing services at Samy's has been great for me. Super clean, super consisten. and they've even been willing to load 1-8x10 sheet/rack(on the bottom part) as per my request(no more "surge" marks on 8x10 c-41, yay ;)). Great people, and fast turnaround. Just make sure you don't let your film sit a day or two heatin up in a metal mailbox like mine did, this time :(.

-Dan

vinny
18-Jul-2011, 17:26
I had a mailman that pulled that crap more than once with "delivery confirmed" while i was at home. No knock at the door and a package that never was found.

Sirius Glass
18-Jul-2011, 17:37
I had a mailman that pulled that crap more than once with "delivery confirmed" while i was at home. No knock at the door and a package that never was found.

I had that happen with a large shipment of Tri-X Pan in 120 after it was discontinued so I could not get the order replaced.

Daniel Stone
18-Jul-2011, 18:15
I had a mailman that pulled that crap more than once with "delivery confirmed" while i was at home. No knock at the door and a package that never was found.


The thing with me is though(thank God), the package was returned, albeit it was VERY WARM after receiving it from my postman. Too warm, I'm just hoping there isn't any effects to the film.

Thankfully, my mailmen/women have been terrific. I've found that the "customer service" is always top-notch, especially since my family offers them cold drinks when the weathers cold, and a cup of coffee/tea/cocoa when its cold(not that often here in LA ;)). So far, so good. Maybe this postman in SB thought something was screwy, IDK. My sis is going back north tomorrow through SB, so the film will get "hand delivered", and for free this time ;). Albeit a full week late though.

-Dan

cdholden
21-Jul-2011, 04:37
the package was returned, albeit it was VERY WARM after receiving it from my postman.

a) Welcome to July.
b) You're in Los Angeles.

Would you expect anything different? Maybe I'm interpreting this incorrectly, but your post reads like this isn't normal. I've only been to LA once. It was in August, many years ago. It was hot then too. Am I missing something? :D

Chris

Marko
21-Jul-2011, 06:46
Be careful about sending with sig. confirmation via UPS, though - their drivers are always under time pressure so they simply toss the package at the door and run or, when signature is required, simply mark it as "delivery attempted" and return it to the center so the recipient has to go there and pick it up in person instead of them "wasting time" waiting for somebody to open the door and sign.

Marko
21-Jul-2011, 06:47
a) Welcome to July.
b) You're in Los Angeles.

Would you expect anything different? Maybe I'm interpreting this incorrectly, but your post reads like this isn't normal. I've only been to LA once. It was in August, many years ago. It was hot then too. Am I missing something? :D

Chris

Humidity? :D

Bob Salomon
21-Jul-2011, 07:03
You are in LA, Samy's has stores all over the LA area from Orange County to Pasadena. Can't you bring the film to one of the stores and have them take it to SB?. They run trucks between the stores all the time.

Daniel Stone
21-Jul-2011, 09:23
You are in LA, Samy's has stores all over the LA area from Orange County to Pasadena. Can't you bring the film to one of the stores and have them take it to SB?. They run trucks between the stores all the time.

Bob,

NO. Samy's sends film(E-6 and anything LF, amongst other services) out to A&I for processing. Stupid, I know. They have their own E-6/C-41 dip-n-dunk line, and they send to someone else... Stupid business decision IMO... The S.B. "professional" lab was started primarily b/c of Brooks being in the same town. Pasadena has Art Center, which now, shoots a whole lot more film than Brooks students do, but any/all E-6 gets sent to A&I. Why not keep all the profit in-house? I mean, that's what a smart business person would do, even if it meant a slightly longer wait time for orders to come back...

Bob Salomon
21-Jul-2011, 10:35
Bob,

NO. Samy's sends film(E-6 and anything LF, amongst other services) out to A&I for processing. Stupid, I know. They have their own E-6/C-41 dip-n-dunk line, and they send to someone else... Stupid business decision IMO... The S.B. "professional" lab was started primarily b/c of Brooks being in the same town. Pasadena has Art Center, which now, shoots a whole lot more film than Brooks students do, but any/all E-6 gets sent to A&I. Why not keep all the profit in-house? I mean, that's what a smart business person would do, even if it meant a slightly longer wait time for orders to come back...

Not sure that running their own machines and employing people equal to A&I and maintaining the line quality would be as profitable as sending it out to A&I.

BrianShaw
21-Jul-2011, 10:59
Not sure that running their own machines and employing people equal to A&I and maintaining the line quality would be as profitable as sending it out to A&I.

Even the most basic business case analysis using only estimated costs would likely support that. Outsourcing of many services has been shown to be economically beneficial for more than a few years now.

photobymike
21-Jul-2011, 12:22
[QUOTE=DanielStone;752492]hey all,

Just FYI, I shipped out an order of film(e-6 and c-41) to Samy's in Santa Barbara, CA, and it showed it was "delivered". However, it wasn't. IDK what went wrong, as the package was returned today to my doorstep, exactly as I sent it out, just with a big "return to sender" written on the front. I called USPS twice to file a claim since the other day(it was "delivered on 7/9) but Samy's said they hadn't received it.

Do you realize that USPS xrays everything sometimes twice or three times. USPS uses commercial passenger air to transport. And yes you can see it as a base fog. i have tested this several times. It is noticeable and can be seen in a good film scan. I send by FEDEX they do not xray domestic packages normally. I also send my film inside special xray proof containers. On a recent trip to texas they made me take the film out of the containers to show the security people at check point. They saw it as blocks of something they could see.

Preston
21-Jul-2011, 12:39
Daniel,

Thanks for the heads up. I send my E-6 to Samy's via USPS Priority Mail and haven't had any issues, so far. Sending early in the workweek is a sensible precaution.

--P

nonuniform
21-Jul-2011, 15:16
I never thought A&I was anything special, they were always like the Duggal of LA. The work that I've had done by the SB Samy's has been outstanding, and if you're shooting a lot of 4x5, the savings do add up compared to lab costs in SF.

Daniel Stone
21-Jul-2011, 19:51
Do you realize that USPS xrays everything sometimes twice or three times. USPS uses commercial passenger air to transport. And yes you can see it as a base fog. i have tested this several times. It is noticeable and can be seen in a good film scan. I send by FEDEX they do not xray domestic packages normally. I also send my film inside special xray proof containers. On a recent trip to texas they made me take the film out of the containers to show the security people at check point. They saw it as blocks of something they could see.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your input. I've used USPS for the last 2 years, and haven't experienced any of the "problems" you've just mentioned. I've also bought film from ebay, here, APUG and other various sources, and I've NEVER had any of the problems stated. Now, I would believe it if I put my film in the checked baggage, if I were flying, but since I'm not flying(and when I do, always hand-carry my film), and just shipping it to the lab, I've never had a problem. I'd imagine that the mail MIGHT get x-rayed, but since its around 100-120mi from me to Samy's distance-wise, it probably just goes on a truck to get there.

I've also had good experiences with Fedex/UPS ground-based services, primarily for this reasoning of reducing possibilities of x-ray damage. But if it was REALLY such a problem to ship film, then why would so many vendors offer to send shipments via USPS?

-Dan

photobymike
21-Jul-2011, 20:07
quote DanielStone

"I've also had good experiences with Fedex/UPS ground-based services, primarily for this reasoning of reducing possibilities of x-ray damage. But if it was REALLY such a problem to ship film, then why would so many vendors offer to send shipments via USPS?"



i dont know honestly. But i have sent test film to a lab in colorado... And developed film myself. i know this is not scientific but i can see a higher base fog in the film sent by USPS. It show up on the Histogram Adjustment of the Epson scanning software. It does up shows as a "tiny tail" in the histogram. Also taking a densitometer reading of the base or edge in photoshop shows higher density than my control film. Definitely not scientific and should be considered my opinion. I am however convinced that this is the case.. test film was fuji 400H color neg