Learning a New Schedule and New Fixed Day Dispatch

Moving to a new place means getting used to a new bunch of things. Like the new local go-to cafe, the new “we ran out of milk!” convenience store or the new favourite take away restaurant. For me, being a home-based small business, this also means figuring out the closest Post Office and also the most convenient on-street post box.

Our previous apartment was right in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. It was a stone’s throw away from the Opera House and the Harbour bridge, always bustling, and had all the in-city conveniences. I had at least 3 local post-offices within 15 minutes’ walk and 2 on-street post boxes 1 minute away from the building’s entrance!
It was a breeze to dispatch packages - I could work on them right up till 3:50 for the 4PM cut-off time.
In contrast, our new place is slightly further away from the amenities, even though we’re still only 15km away from the city.

New neighbourhood and new on-street post box friend!

The closest on-street post box is now about 15 minutes away, and that’s only the red one for Standard Shipping. For Express Shipping, I’ll have to go a bit further, about twice the distance away. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. It’s definitely still very convenient to be able to still be within short walking distance, but it does significantly increase the time needed for every drop off I do. This then takes time from my hands, time that could be used in dyeing, sewing, crafting…

So, I’ve decided to trial Fixed Day Dispatch for all orders I receive. From October 2021, I’ll be dispatching packages only on Monday, Wednesday & Friday of each week. Orders will need to be placed by 5PM the day before the day of dispatch. So for example, if an order is placed on a Tuesday at 3PM, I’ll aim to send the package on Wednesday. If I receive an order on Friday, 11AM, it’ll likely be dispatched the following Monday. Of course, this timeline is meant to be a guide, and doesn’t apply to made-to-order and bespoke products or items that require personalisation. As vaccination rates increase and Sydney opens back up, I’m also offering pick-up (also Mon, Wed & Fri) which you can now select at check-out!

What does this mean for you, the shopper? To be honest, it doesn’t change much! I’ve always had a 1 - 3 working day dispatch timeframe, so an order placed on a Monday would still have up to Friday to dispatch. But now that I’m committed to allocating specific days to dispatch, I hope that it’ll help make things more efficient around here and I can make use of that time to creating more beautiful things and content for you!

Are a shopper and have questions about the new Fixed Day Dispatch?
Or are you maker and considering it for your own shop? I’d love to hear from you :)

Melody