I’m the kind of person who loves his gadgets and while I might draw the line at forking out $400 to be first in line for the latest iPhone, I’m certainly one of the first on the waiting list to get one.  Like many geeks (my wife refers to me as a goober), I’m about as organized as a whirlwind in a pile of index cards but fortunately for me, my long-suffering beloved is far more disciplined than I’ll ever be.  For the center of my universe – my iPhone – I’m very grateful I married the right woman!

Occasionally I’ll come home to find the house is in the throes of being turned upside down as my little lady embarks on a major cataloging and arranging exercise with the household.  My collection of gadgets and techno “must haves” has been spread over the family room more than a few times in our marriage, prompting some gnashing of teeth on my part.

So it was that I returned home to find my angel intent on slapping a personalized label onto all of our “mobile” personal items.  The bicycles, the video camera, both the kids digital cameras bought as Mickey Mouse Christmas presents, baggage, my old rucksack I use for my hiking trips – in short, if it was capable of being moved it had a small, identity label affixed to it.

Now I love my iPhone and I am a self-confessed MacHead; I love the Apple design flare and when it came to making a decision to buy a smart phone it was a real no-brainer for me.  It just had to be an iPhone – the same iPhone I was using to talk to my kid brother as I walked into the house, only to have the phone taken from me and get the “identification” treatment from “She who must be obeyed”.

By now I know not to argue – it took only a few seconds for a very small label to get tagged onto my iPhone towards the lower end where it doesn’t interfere with the phone’s operation or its looks.  After a snatched “Hi” with my younger brother, my little angel gave me the iPhone back and waved me away as she went on to whatever the next target of her labeling interest happened to catch her eye.

By now, you may think I’m a guy who lives under the thumb, however there are times when you should just let your woman sort things out for you.  In some things, women just have a better sense and judgment about things than mere men…certainly this mere man.

Three short weeks later on a trip to New York City, I was riding the subway to downtown Manhattan for a brief meeting and then a cab ride over to Brooklyn.  Another meeting and then a cab ride to Penn Station for the train back home.  It’s at this point that I’m fumbling around for my iPhone which has become noticeable by its silence.  Sure enough it’s gone, but the problem is I had no idea where I lost it and almost immediately I’m thinking about all the numbers and contacts I have in there, all the texts, emails and IM’s I have saved and a host of other data.

Crestfallen, I return home wondering whether I should break the news of my devastating loss only to be greeted by Madam with a knowing grin on her face.  My iPhone had been found by a Good Samaritan on the subway who called the number on the id tag and my wife had arranged for it to be shipped down to me for the next day.

Panic over for me, but humble pie time as the little lady now casts her labeling eye over virtually every possession in the house though I’m drawing the line at having one fixed to me personally!

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Buying labels and stickers has never been easier with the advent of the internet and now there are more reasons than ever to click the mouse and place an order – it is really so simple and so very, very cheap!

Sourcing your stickers and labels online is convenient because you can do this whenever you want to – you don’t need to set time aside in a busy, hectic work schedule to get what can be a mundane chore done – order in the middle of the night, first thing in the morning or anytime you want to – the choice is all yours.  When it comes to convenience, nothing beats the internet for putting you in control.

The price is another major reason for sourcing labels online – a good printer will use the internet to reduce their own production costs and in turn will pass on the enormous savings created to you, the customer, in the form of big discounts.  It is not unusual for discounts of 50% or more to be found using online based print and design partners when compared to traditional shop-based suppliers.

A note of caution here – price is important but so is quality, delivery and customer service.  You have to be careful because many online suppliers are actually simply acting as a middleman and outsourcing the orders they receive to third party printers so they can take a cut – this does not pass on the full discounts available in the pricing and you lose control of the quality aspect of the order.  Turnaround times are also longer in these instances and if there is a mistake in the order you are unlikely to have effective or practical recourse.

Online ordering is very simple and provides an enormous amount of flexibility as well as reducing the lead time involved in putting the design and artwork together.  Artwork can now be simply emailed to the printer (though you should check with each supplier for any particular requirements they have for file formats and sizes) and the resulting proof can be rapidly turned around and emailed straight back to you.  You should note that the colors that are produced by proofs may not be truly replicated by your computer monitor but this is usually very marginal and does not impact on the process or finished products.

In addition to the ordering and proofing process, you should be able to gain access to past orders you have made with the print supplier using the online portal – this will allow you to use previous files, designs and proofs from past projects which will result in faster turnaround times and the potential for reduced costs to you.  You may also need to have labels and bumper stickers delivered to multiple delivery addresses and in varying quantities and frequency for repeat orders – a good quality online portal will provide this functionality with simple one- or two-clicks of your mouse.  Once you have finalized your design and agreed the proofs and the order has been placed and is on the way to being fulfilled you will want to track the order through production and delivery and again, nothing beats an online system for enabling you to do this.

First off, get the shipping label right!

The shipping label needs to clearly identify who the recipient is, there address and whether they have to sign for the package on delivery.  It should also contain precise and simple instructions on what to do in the event the recipient is not available to collect the package or it cannot be delivered – your return address and telephone contact number are the bare minimums required here.

It is not unusual for shipping labels to utilize barcode technology to enable efficient tracking of the package using an online tracking system which you may give your customer access to so they can see for themselves where the package delivery is within the schedule.

Secondly, packing materials are frequently second-rate or the packing method used is not effective.  Make sure you use appropriate packing materials for the contents of the package – it is pointless shipping a fragile object wrapped in newspaper and then left to rattle around a box which is too large for the item it contains.  Making sure you use good quality packing materials is essential not only for the protection of the item, but also for your reputation as a seller with your customers.

Another important point to remember is that if you ever have a need to claim on insurance for any loss or damage caused in transit, the insurance company will probably want to see that you used a properly addressed shipping label with good packaging.  Insurance is not there to cover improperly addressed and packaged goods but to compensate when they are damaged in transit – you as the insured must take all reasonable steps to ensure loss does not occur.

Another hint is to make sure that if you are sending fragile or delicate items, you must make sure this is clearly visible on the packaging.  Combining a brightly colored warning sign with your shipping label is a good way of making sure you have all the materials in one place that you need to address and warn the handlers and recipients of what is contained.

By far the most effective method for making sure your package gets from A to B is to concentrate on the shipping label.  The mail service can work wonders with minimal information, but you can ensure a faster delivery time if the information they need is available to them clearly and easily; it goes without saying that if the recipient information is not clear or is lost, the package not likely to be delivered in the first instance!  When you are sourcing shipping labels and packaging materials, consult with your print partner for the best method to achieve the results you are looking for and especially if you are shipping delicate or non-standard items.

Well, I have to admit it has happened to me on more than one occasion. Most of those times, another golfer had turned the lost club in to the club house and I was able to retrieve it with no problems. However, there were a few instances that the missing club simply disappeared. (My guess is that someone found the club, and with no way to determine the owner, simply kept it for themselves.)

After several lost putters, sand wedges, and drivers – I decided it was time to do something about my problem. So, I searched the Internet for golf club identification. And, that’s when I found MaverickLabel.Com’s Golf Club & Sports ID Labels web site. (http://www.mavericklabel.com/golf.html) They have a really simple ordering process which allows you to create your own identification label right there on their site. You simply type-in your name and phone number and you’re literally done in less than two minutes. The labels look fantastic and they don’t stand out like a sore thumb on your golf clubs. And, to top off the deal, MaverickLabel.Com offers free shipping on this product!

I had been thinking of purchasing an expensive set of Ping golf clubs, but was very reluctant due to my carelessness. But, with my new ID labels in hand – I went ahead and bought the new Ping clubs for an upcoming business trip to Florida. I put the great looking labels on each of my clubs with confidence and took them with me to Orlando the next week.

I loved the new clubs and was having a great round of golf with my new business associates. Everything was going great until I got to the 11th hole. I was about 75 yards from the green, in a bit of rough grass. So, I began digging through my bag to find my pitching wedge. And, to no real surprise… It was not in my bag! I couldn’t believe it. I had left the club at another hole – again! I finished the hole with my 9 Iron and we then went back a few holes, asking the golfers behind us if they had seen my club. But, unfortunately for me, none of them had.

To make a long story short, we finished the round without my pitching wedge and waited at the club house for a couple of hours to see if anyone had found the club. Again, however, nothing. It was simply gone. I continued to call the golf course for a few days after my trip, but it was never turned in.

I then got back on the Internet and started searching for anything related to lost golf clubs. And, I found a site that specializes in helping lost golf clubs (http://www.lostgolfclub.com) find their way back to their owners. This site has you enter your specific club’s information – and your personal contact information. Seems like a very good way to help you find your lost clubs, but they did not find my club.

This might be the end of this story, but then, about two weeks later… The course manager called my cell phone to let me know that their grounds keeper had found my club in a tall patch of grass on the 4th hole! He mailed my club back to me and I had it safely back in my bag two days later. And, it was all thanks to the ID label I had put on each of my new clubs. Needless to say, I’m very glad I made that purchase from MaverickLabel.Com.

If you are a student you may be carry so many things with you everyday from class to class. There is always a possibility that you are going to leave something behind. By having some ID or address labels custom made you can assure that people will know the items are yours. They will know where to contact you and this will ensure a quick return. You can have them plain or have a design on them. You can choose a color you like the best.

If you run an office, you can create labels with the name of your business on them. This will ensure that items stay where they belong. You can also have a barcode placed on your stickers. This will assist in the yearly equipment check, the process will go much quicker and not to mention much smoother. If an item is missing you can easily tell what it is by the missing barcode number.

Even if you are an athlete you can use these labels for your sports bag and equipment. With all the games or tournaments you will be attending, it is a good idea to leave your items marked. Especially since, as you already know, your bags get thrown in the locker room and then are left there during the game. Then you call come back and everything gets thrown out of the way in celebration of your big win. These tags will help determine your team shirt from your team mate’s.

Everyone needs to send out mail at some point, and you are no exception. A great time saver that everyone should enjoy is custom made address labels. You can have just about anything on them with today’s technology. Your favorite cartoon character, the initial of your last name or a nice design: you name it and it is yours. They can be clear, so there appears to be no background or you can have them made in a color of your choice. If you are using address labels for your business you want them to look professional. You can consider placing your company logo on the address label.

Whatever the purpose of the label, you should use them. Your personal items will be marked with your contact information if they are ever misplaced. Your office equipment will remain where it is supposed to, and will be ease to locate if not. Then, lastly, your mailing will take you a fraction of the time it took before with the use of mailing labels.