Thanksgiving

Dear Friends,

We hope you and your families have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Until next time...

Della

UPS Raises Their Shipping Costs by 5%

Dear Friends,

You don't know how badly I hate bringing you this news. One of the things we depend upon so much in this business is the various shipping carriers. We, like you, believe that the charges we have to charge are too high already and now we have to announce that UPS' shipping costs are going even higher. At least it is not going to happen until after the holiday season. Here's the official blurb about the cost increase:

"As 2008 approaches, all of us at UPS would like to express our appreciation for your continued business. To help you plan for the coming year, we want you to know about new UPS rates and services that will take effect December 31, 2007.

UPS published small package Daily Rates will change as follows*:

• UPS Ground and UPS Standard to Canada services will increase 4.9%.
• Air and International express services will increase a net 4.9% through a combination of a 6.9% increase in rates and a 2% reduction in the air and international fuel surcharge.

Changes will also be made to accessorial charges.

• Delivery Area Surcharges and Residential Surcharges will increase by $0.10.
• The Additional Handling charge will increase by $0.50 and the charge for Address Corrections for UPS Ground packages will increase by $1.00.
• The charge for Declared Value will increase by $0.05 per $100 of Declared Value, with a minimum charge of $1.80, and you, as the shipper, will have the option to bill Declared Value charges for Freight Collect shipments to your account.

To see the complete list of accessorial changes, please visit ups.com/rates."

As you know we always pay for your shipping if your order is $50 or more, but for those of you who order less we always check around to see what the lowest shipping price is.

Again, we are sorry to have to bring this information to your attention, but felt that you needed to know why the costs of your order might be higher than you expected it to be.

Until next time...

Della

Dogwood Square Now Takes Discover Card

Dear Friends,

I just got off the phone with the nicest lady. I had called her because I couldn't get a reply to an e-mail I sent her. She told me that she had meant to cancel her order because she wanted to use her Discover Card and she couldn't find that card in those that Dogwood Square would take for payment.

She is from a small town in Michigan near Detroit and said that the economy there was really terrible. She said that even though it is time for shops to start hiring extra people for the holiday rush, no one was hiring this year. Things were so bad that many stores were already advertising 50% off sales just to get people in to buy.

She said that there were a lot of automotive workers where she lives and that the automotive industry was really in dire straights this year. And that there were a lot of people moving because they had lost their jobs.

Now how does that play into the bit about the Discover Card? Well, she said that Discover Card offered bonus points for everything you bought using their card. She said she had gotten coupons good for meals and gas and other things. So she and her family had stopped using all their other cards and only used their Discover Card now. And with the way the economy was going, every little bit helped.

I did end up cancelling her order after all, but she promised me that she would keep us in mind and would buy from us next time. And, because of her, I looked up Discover Card and, sure enough, they do offer a lot of benefits which people all over the country can take advantage of. So it was a no brainer for me, Dogwood Square now takes Discover Card.

I've said this so many times, but I think it is worth repeating...The very best thing about having this business is talking with our customers, whether on the phone or over e-mail. We absolutely have the very best customers!!!

Until next time...

Della