Difficult but satisfying

We do our utmost to help our customers to get back their stuff. It can be a powerbank to Switzerland, leatherman to Tampere or even a chainsaw to Zambia. 90 per cent of the items are easy. We just pack them and ship them according to the protocols that we have shaped during our years of service.

Lithium ion batteries can be very difficult, especially if they need to be sent to a country outside EU. Shipping them requires an authorisation which can only be obtained by taking a bi-annual two-day course. Only with this, our logistics partner accepts lithium ion batteries and powerbanks that are packed by us.

Some countries are challenging. China, for example, does not accept import of any used lithium ion batteries. Israel has the same policy de facto. Iceland, on the other hand, has a different problem. Only very few courrier companies serve that country because of the small size of the market there. We faced this issue last November. when our client wanted a delivery of ski waxes to Iceland. After some ferocious searching, we finally found a solution: We sent the package by GLS to Denmark. A shipping company took it over the North Sea to Reykjavik where a third company delivered the precious batteries to a happy customer.

These learning experiences are an everyday guest in a start-up entrepreneur's house. As a one-off event, they are waste of money and time. It is not economically advisable to spend hours in finding a way to make a single customer happy for a very moderate fee. However, solving an issue makes the next issue a bit easier. And nothing beats the feeling when everything finally clicks together after struggle and hard labour. Add a sincere "thank you" from the customer and understand why you are in the business.