RE: Shipping Cost for the Smartwords Beta Release

[Peter Evans peterev@xxxxxxxx]

Kenneth Frank:

>We will probably offer several alternatives, including mail if that is what
>the customer wishes. The problem is that mail has no tracing facility, so
>one of the tradeoffs for lower cost is a risk that the package gets lost.

Ah, sense at last!

I routinely order out-of-print books via http://www.abebooks.com/ . The
most recent one was B. H. Chamberlain's *Things Japanese* (5th ed., 1905),
a 500-plus-page hardback, which the dealer wrapped in bubble-pack. USPS
"Global Priority" -- a grand name for "flat-rate airmail for all you can
reasonably stuff into one of our envelopes" -- cost $8.95. This wasn't a
mistake on the part of the dealer; it's what I read on the USPS sticker and
it's also in line with the "Global Priority" rates for books I'd bought
previously.

If I pay $15 for SmartWords and an extra $10 for "Global Priority", I'll
rate my chance of receiving the package at well over 90%. If I don't
receive it and have to shell out another $25 for a replacement, I'm still
saving money on a single UPS delivery.
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Peter Evans