Category: Things that make life easier.
Answer: A mobile app and service that makes shipping easy.
Question: What is Shyp?
It’s a good thing I don’t write for Jeopardy.
A few months ago, I saw on Twitter that Shyp (a company that was already on my radar for the positive press coverage they’d received) was expanding its on-demand service to Chicago and offering up free credits to anyone willing to give them a go. I figured there was no harm in trying, and with my dad’s birthday right around the corner, the timing was great.
Shyp requires no real prep work, just take a photo of whatever you want to ship (in this case it was a custom wall clock made from a Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon album) and enter a few details about where the shipment is going.
Obviously this isn’t a Pink Floyd wall clock — but a worthy example nonetheless.
After you submit the shipment, a “courier” gets dispatched to pick up your items (every time I’ve used Shyp, someone has made it to my house in less than 20 minutes). Your item gets scanned, put in a Shyp bag for transport, and taken to one of their warehouses.
Once there, they pack, weigh, and apply postage to your shipment, before arranging delivery with UPS, USPS, or FedEx (they compare prices to get you the best deal). From the point they pick up your shipment, to the final delivery, the app does an excellent job of keeping you updated on the status.
Since that original shipment, I’ve used the service a handful of times, and the experience has been consistently positive. If you sign up here, you’ll get a free shipment up to $30 (shamelessly I get a credit too). Unless you love waiting in line at the post office, I definitely recommend giving Shyp a try.