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Office Max in Tyler TX

February 8th, 2010

Office Max

5361 South Broadway Avenue
Tyler, TX 75703-3724
(903) 939-8880

Located behind Racquet and Jog, off if Broadway, Office Max has the resources to deliver competition to the other local office supply stores, but the advantage of corporate success is not apparent in the quality of the superstore. Despite being the largest office supply retail chain Office Max will disappoint you if you expect a significant price cut in product. Office Max has always wanted to convey an atmosphere of bulk merchandise discounts and warehouse wholesale opportunity but with none of the distinct advantages those two categories offer.

You see, according to Office Max, in 1985 Thomas G. Stemberg became frustrated when he could not get a new printer ribbon on independence day, seeing as how the local office supply store had the audacity to close for the holiday. This was all the motivation Stemberg needed to combine his grocery business expertise with the growing need for office supplies at the dawn of the computer age. And now that the mega stores have emerged and independent competition in the field is almost pointless we see Office Max attempting to merge with Office Depot, a move the FTC agrees would present the chance for a monopoly of the industry.

Office Max functions as a wholesale supplier for bulk office materials but as a distributor of hardware and software Office Max makes a negligible effort in keeping the price at the reasonable standard. The same can be said for their office furniture, this branch as well as the hardware and software branch seem designed to take advantage of the uninformed seeking the ease of proximity. Office Max might be an acceptable choice for your office supply needs, but it would be a good decision to take advantage of the internet or possibly store sale for any technological needs.

The UPS Store on HWY 64W

January 15th, 2010

This little store surprises me almost every time I go in. The employees at first glance look like the employees of any random retail store. I first expected the middle aged woman to be gruff and short with me and for the seeming teenage workers to act like, well, teenagers. My first impression couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

This UPS Store handles shipping and every thing that could possibly be related to shipping. They sell envelopes, pens, postage stamps, even the occasional toy or high-tech gadget to include in your package. They offer notary and fax services. They do copies in all varieties of inks and paper colors, including banners the size of a refrigerator. They have boxes and bubble wrap. They’ll even box items up and attach the label for you. A lazy man would be very happy shipping from this location.

I was introduced to this multi-function store when I needed to make about one hundred two-sided color copies. I had traveled around Tyler to the most obvious places –Kinko’s, Office Depot and Office Max only to realize that they were charging way more than I expected for simple color photocopies. My next idea was to purchase a thirty-five dollar color printer at Wal-Mart, which after paper, ink cartridge and a connector cable was well over sixty dollars. I got this home and printed out twenty copies at high quality. It ran out of ink faster than I had ever imagined, and the copies looked subpar. Needless to say I was disappointed.

On my next visit to Wal-Mart I saw a sign advertising cheap color copies at the UPS Store. I didn’t even know that shipping businesses made copies at the time. I went in and got amazing prints, amazing service and all for an incredibly discounted price. The copies were about a fourth of the cost of Kinko’s. The price was very nice, but the reason I kept going back and still do today was because the service was so impressive. As I said earlier, my first impression was very wrong.

The employees of the UPS Store treated me like they were happy I was there. They smiled, asked how they could help, helped above and beyond what was necessary and maintained a very healthy level of small talk. The cool thing is that it was not just Christmas or something like that. Somehow the manager has found a way to maintain a standard of this treatment with all of their employees. In most of my frequented stores I brace myself when I walk in and wince when I see certain cashiers. This is never the case with the UPS Store on Highway 64. It also seems that they have a small enough client base to remember me. It’s not quite like the television show Cheers, but it is close. They just haven’t memorized my name.

The other thing that so impresses me with this store is their shipping service. I suppose that should be the first thing one notices with a shipping business, and that is probably the case with most people. The employees always try to find the cheapest solution for me. They weigh the item and wince with me when it will cost an unexpected amount. They even offer to ship via the US Postal Service. It is at a slightly higher rate than going into the post office, but the convenience is more than worth the extra pocket change.

My most recent discovery is that if wanted they will save your information in their computer database. I walked in this Christmas with an unlabeled box. I told them my name. They verified some basic details to make sure it was me and then asked who I was shipping to. I started to tell them the name of the addressee and they finished my sentence and told me the address they had saved. I let out a stunted laugh and told them it was correct. Then they printed the label and charged me an arm and a leg to ship a box during the Christmas season. I didn’t mind. I left with a smile and told my wife about the good experience.

I must offer one last bit of praise for this business. They are the only place I have found on this side of Tyler that sells individual, large, red, permanent markers. I need these every year before Christmas and can never find them. Most years I end up paying five to ten dollars for a multi-color pack and then fill my drawers with blue and green markers that I will never use. I am not sure why they even sell the red ones, but I am so grateful for this discovery. If you are in need of a large red marker go to the UPS Store on Highway 64 near Wal-Mart. There is even a Papa Murphy’s next door so you can bring home dinner.

3872 STATE HWY 64 WEST
TYLER, TX 75704
STATE HWY 64 W @ LOOP 323 IN THE WALMART PLAZA
Phone: (903)526-3232
Fax: (903)526-3434
Email: store5437@theupsstore.com

Tyler TX Craigslist

September 18th, 2009

For those of you like me you may have been brought up using Ebay to buy your good deals and merchandise on the internet I think you will find Craigslist to be less of a headache. I absolutely loved ebay for years and years until things started to happen that became a real nuisance. After I had enough with Ebay because of several different issues I tried out Amazon and Craigslist. I found that Amazon allows you to buy everything immediately without having to take it to auction. Since many of Ebay’s auctions seem fake because of fraud I moved over to Amazon and started buying several things from the cheapest verified seller offering what I wanted on Amazon. This setup on Amazon worked very well and I could pick between used or new. I immediately decided that in almost every case Amazon was a better choice over Ebay. There are exceptions to the rule and a great example is when I needed to buy an antique triple block pulley. I could only purchase a used item like this at an affordable price on Ebay. Amazon did not offer used or new triple block pulleys. Antiques like the triple block pulley example are why Ebay is still needed. Ebay really needs to create a separate place to go for those who want to completely avoid the whole fake auction experience. It just has become too much to want to deal with.

Craigslist fills the gap between Amazon and Ebay by being a place for those wanting to find good deals on larger items that cannot be easily shipped for an affordable price. For instance, I bought a large wooden filing cabinet that originally retailed for $500 for $100. It was a great buy and all I had to do was drive 5 miles, load it up in my truck and deliver it to my house. It was worth it as I would have to deliver a new item like this anyway if I were to buy something like it at Office Depot. Tyler Texas Craigslist has also allowed me the ability to buy a bicycle, a car, bike rack, and several other items at discounted prices I could not find on Amazon or Ebay. Rather than fight it out over a week in an auction only to see the auction go to retail price for some used junk I can go on Craigslist and buy the same thing at a negotiated price that does not have to go to auction.

Tyler TX Craigslist has had its opposition mainly due to its adult section and I agree that Craigslist should really shutdown that sleaze but the rest of the site is really amazing. You can find jobs, very cheap merchandise, free classifieds for selling your own junk, and some interesting money making opportunities. I will warn that most of the “too good to be true” opps on Tyler TX Craigslist really are too good to be true and you should consider getting a real job or at the very least attempt to go about doing an opportunity without handing your money over to a swindler.

Craigslist Tyler TX is a place where you will find what is known as “I don’t want it anymore” syndrome. I have actually participated in this syndrome when my 1999 Saturn was sitting in my front yard for over a year not running. I took the car to the shop and although they were able to get it back to running with little repair they showed me that it had many issues. The cost to get the car back up to a reliable standard would be more than the car is worth. I decided I didn’t want the car anymore. I found a city employee here in Tyler Texas that would buy the car knowing about all issues wrong with it for $300. Now the car probably had a few years left in it and I think it was worth more but I really wanted the car gone. I could just see the car back in my yard sitting there filling in that white trailer trash stereotype that I seem to immolate every so often. I thought I would do me, my neighbors, and my family a favor and get rid of the car ASAP. Craigslist is full of cars, and merchandise like this where the person just really doesn’t want it and you can usually haggle the price down further once you show up with cash in hand.

It is important when considering using Craigslist that you are not being tricked into coming to some perverts house, or a robber of some kind. If you are a woman I recommend bringing a guy along with you when you pick up your item. As a woman or man if you are paranoid about the other seller you could agree to meet at a local Coffee Shop or something and exchange money and goods there. You really want to be careful especially if you are being offered an iphone for $50 or something as chances are the guy is setting a trap for you to come to a location where he can then steal your cash. As long you follow some common sense when using Tyler TX Craigslist you can get some really good deals. Between Ebay, Amazon and Craigslist I think you will come up with a really good guage on where prices are at for what you want to purchase. There is no place like Tyler TX Craigslist as it is the impulsive buyers paradise for used I dont want it anymore local Tyler Texas merchandise.