jodi wrote:Hey guys,
Have you ever tried to ship or fly (via bush planes) something to AK and they returned it/you couldn't receive it? I'm wondering about weird items, or rather, items that you wouldn't normally think there would be a problem with. For instance, when flying internationally, I thought it was weird that you couldn't pack batteries in checked baggage and you couldn't take knitting needles on board (although, yes, I do understand why). I'm trying to order everything online and knowing if something might be sent back in advance would be helpful. I think I read that light bulbs and palmolive dishwashing liquid can't be shipped (to bush AK), and neither has any notification that it can't be shipped there prior to purchasing.
On a related note, where do you guys shop for food online? I've heard about Amazon, Walmart, Fred Meyer, spanalaskasales.com, Full Circle... Any others that I should know about?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jodi
Jodi what we discovered is that if something doesn't ship, you will find out about it during the check out process. When we first moved up here, we did a lot of shopping with Walmart.com (until they stopped the free shipping perk, which I hear is offered again) and while checking out, I'd have to go back and remove all the unshippable items. It was kind of a pain, and I really wished online vendors would let it be known much earlier in the shopping process.
We use baking soda and vinegar for most of our cleaning needs. We use some soap called 7th generation soap that we can get mailed to us.
As far as light bulbs, we brought a lot up with us. energy efficient ones and are still using some from our initial move 4 years ago.
As far as food online, I have found that the best place to order from is anywhere with free shipping. We started utilizing Fred Meyer's bush orders last year for many items and we saved quite a bit of money. It also reduced our stress load, since we were charged 10% and I admit, I'll gladly pay 10% to keep from doing the major shopping runs.
We bring our meat out with us when we go to town. We mail all our clothes except the ones on our back and bring nothing but meat out. If you are in a hub, then freight costs aren't that much. We use ACE air cargo and are charged about 1/2 dollar per pound on freeze.
I have never done full circle. I think it is a rip off, especially if you live outside a hub.