The reason cleaners charge more for women's blouses than men's business shirts is because they are passing along their increased cost of production to their customers. Depending on the cleaner's equipment, it costs them between three and four times the labor expense to properly "finish" blouses for women compared to a men's shirt. Here's why…
The biggest production cost for a cleaner is their labor expense, the money they pay their employees. Most of their labor goes into the "finishing" of a garment. Finishing is a combination of machine pressing and hand ironing. Most garments require a combination of machine pressing and hand ironing to achieve the desired finish. Many cleaners have special "assembly line style" machines that can finish the typical men's business shirts without any hand ironing. These machines greatly reduce the time and labor needed to finish a shirt compared to a women's blouse which sometimes requires as much as 100% hand ironing to achieve the proper finish. Depending on their equipment and the skill of the presser, most cleaners can finish three to four men's business shirts in the same time it takes to finish one women's blouse.
You may be thinking, why not make similar machines for finishing women's blouses? Well, I'm sure they would if they could. The problem is that women's blouses come in an extremely wide variety and combination of different patterns, fabric types, trims and ornamentation. Plus, these variations can change dramatically from season to season with the latest changes in fashion. This prevents the machine manufacturers from developing presses that will fit the majority of women's blouses. Where as men's shirts have basically looked exactly the same for more than 100 years and they're almost always made of 100% cotton or a cotton/poly blend. This stability in style has enabled the machine manufacturers to develop shirt presses that will fit the majority of men's business shirts. The classic men's business shirt is called a Pin Point Oxford and has the common features in the diagram below…
Most models of shirt machines are limited in the range of sizes that will fit on them. The standard range is medium through extra large. Shirts outside of this range, i.e. small and double X shirts, require extra hand finishing. A shirt that doesn't fit on these machines is typically charged the same price as a women's blouse. There is a women's version of the Pin Point Oxford business shirt, but they rarely fit on the machines. If a women's shirt will fit on the machines, the cleaner should charge her the same price as they charge for a men's business shirt.
Electric scooters have substituted the necessity of engine scooters in a large way. In the present time electric scooters have become equally popular among the kids as well as among the adults. This is a good alternative of conventional scooters and is a very cost effective solution. And the most important reason behind such a massive popularity of these scooters is its eco-friendly functionality. Since electric motor scooters are run by battery and there is no need to fuel or gas consumption, it doesn’t produce any smoke or sound. This is how it maintains the equilibrium of the eco-system.
Another very positive fact about these scooters is the easy maintenance solution. Electric scooters require very low maintenance. You don't need to change the engine oil, don’t need to fill up the fuel tank, you don’t need to visit service center at a regular interval, it is very easy to maintain. You just need to charge the battery on a daily basis for a period of around 6 to 8 hours. And with this amount of charge, you can travel up to 30 to 35 miles. And the speed is also enough. Users can enjoy a highest speed of 30 miles per hour which is pretty decent.
Different models of electric scooters are now available in the market. And these models are mainly designed keeping in mind the age of the users. The power of the engine varies largely with the scooters. It starts with 100w engine and there are engines which are as powerful as 1600w or 2000w. Obviously, high power engines are for adults. Most adults will choose 4000w electric scooter. There are options for kids ageing 4 to 6 years and there are options for adults. This scooter is for all. And now anybody can buy electric scooters from online. There are numerous online electric scooter suppliers who offer these scooters through their online shop. You just need to choose your model and make the payment. Your scooter will be delivered at your house.
At lifestyle Mobility they aim to please and assist people who at other times would not be able to move freely or enjoy a life that was independent. This comes from the fact that they sell electric scooters that will help assist people to get about and to be able to do every day things, they may not otherwise be able to do. At least not without the help of another person.
Three Key Questions to Ask Before Getting Started on a Legalization Project
Where is the document from?
Where will the document be used?
What type of document is it?
The answers to these questions can have a significant impact on how to proceed. Below are a few examples of how to approach a legalization project based on whether the originating and destination countries have signed onto the Hague Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.
Example 1: You need to use documents from Japan (Hague party country) in the U.S. (Hague party country) and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (non-Hague party country). What you need: Japanese apostille for U.S. and Japanese authentication with UAE legalization for UAE.
Example 2: You need to use documents from China (non-Hague party country) in the U.S. (Hague party country) and in Brazil (non-Hague party country). What you need: Chinese authentication with legalization at U.S. and Brazilian embassy/consulate inChina.
The type of document, in certain circumstances, can be very important. Sometimes documents such as passports, educational or personal documents must be sent to one consular office, while commercial documents must be sent to another. Certain consular offices may refuse to legalize certain document types altogether, but their sister offices may accept them. Different types of documents may also require different procedures (such as Algeria only requiring translations for a Power of Attorney) or different fees (such as a fee of $30 for Good Standings, and a fee of $600 for most other corporate documents at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates). And for many Arab countries, commercial invoices require an additional step of certification by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
Procedures Can Vary Greatly Between Consular Offices for Same Country
Sometimes, the regions covered by different consular offices for a particular country overlap. In these situations, it is usually best to determine if there will be a benefit in working with one office over another. For example, when legalizing a document, some consular offices require only that a document be notarized due to the fact that the notary is registered within a specific territory. Conversely, sometimes it is necessary to have a document notarized, certified by a county clerk, authenticated by a Secretary of State, authenticated by the U.S. Department of State and even certified by a trade group before it can be legalized by the consulate. In some cases, going to one consular office versus another can make a big difference in terms of turnaround time, level of complexity and the cost associated with these projects.
Getting Accurate Information Can Be a Challenge
Most embassies/consulates post their jurisdictional policies and procedures online. The information on these websites, however, is often out of date and inaccurate. In some cases, the websites are not even in English. We have even seen one example of an embassy website containing a scam because it was set up to be editable by the general public, like a “wiki” site, but postings have clearly not been monitored.
There are also books published on the subject of document legalization/authentication, but due to frequent changes in policies and procedures, these are often outdated, even with annual publishing. (It is not unusual for embassies in Washington, D.C., for example, to change their rules on jurisdictional policy more than once a year.)
The bottom line is that if you are going to handle any legalization project, answer the three questions listed above and then start digging. Realize that the rules and procedures change all the time so you can’t assume something will be handled the same exact way as in the past. By doing your “homework” or working with a service company that is experienced in document legalization, you can help to minimize or eliminate delays and frustration.
Ever since the Segway came out, it has been the subject of many geeky lunchtime conversations. They were always just too cool.
Now I'm actually considering buying one. I would mostly use it to get back and forth to work. I live only 1.5 miles away, but it takes too long to walk and it seems silly to drive. Today I tried biking to work. It took only a little longer to bike (10 minutes) vs driving (7 minutes) so time is not a consideration.
What I don't like about the bike is that it's just slightly too large of a vehicle. You need to store it somewhere at either end. You're not supposed to ride on the sidewalk, but it's way too scary to ride in the lanes crossing the "intersection of death" at 101, 237 & Mathlilda. I'm also not looking forward to the day when I get a flat tire. With a Segway, I'd be able to legally and justifibly ride on the sidewalk.
The new Segways just came out and they have some cool new stuff. For one, you turn by leaning, just like you accelerated and decelerated before by leaning. I found the twisting of the grip unintuitive when I rode one a few years ago. It has a new wireless key device and a security alarm.
It certainly wouldn't save me money vs. driving. A Segway scooter price is over $5,000. If I drive 3 miles a day and pay $3.00/gallon, I'll save approximately $100 in gas plus whatever 675 miles is in terms of maintenance over a year. It's better for the environment I suppose, but then again, I'm not sure 3 miles is going to make a difference over people driving in each day from San Francisco.
Neither a bike nor Segway would be great in the rain. The Segway would probably be better in cold and hot weather. I'd be going slower in cold weather, so there's be less of a wind chill, and in hot weather I wouldn't work up a sweat.
South Bay Segway in Campbell offers 2.5 hour tours of the Los Gatos Creek trail for $75. I'm thinking about taking one of those to see if I like it. Anne thinks it might be enough time to "get it out of my system". Perhaps.
It might just be too geeky, even in Silicon Valley. I'm not sure I want to be known as "the Segway Guy" at work or deal with people who want rides all the time. Still, I think the technology is damn cool, and I lust for cool technology. That coolness always wears off after a while though and you're left with the practicalities of if and how it improves your life.
Would a Segway improve my life by $5,000 worth? Would something else that costs $5,000 make me happier? I don't know. Do you?
We will review how to choose a good reliable Taobao agent, what is the best Taobao agent shopping and buying service, international shipping, commission, and many other points right now in this blog post.
Whether you have already bought from Taobao with a Taobao agent or you are preparing to place your first order and wondering if you can trust this Taobao agent, here we go with some ideas:
First, make a list of available Taobao agents you have already found through Google (or your preferred search engine) and forums about shopping or buying from China. Then, check for agent’s information, terms and conditions about payment and delivery, in the way to get a clearer picture of what it would cost you to buy from Taobao.com (and if it is worth it at all). Remember: not all items are that cheap on Taobao and not every Taobao agent provides that low commission fees for their service. So after this different comparison, make an estimation of your purchase. If the agent offers you the possibility to look for Taobao items on your behalf, give it a try, probably they can suggest you the products with a good value for money. For example, a good Taobao agent may consider the quality of the product, the price and the seller reputation. When the agent estimates that this would create a good value for you, then you should be immediately informed about the chosen item.
Second, if you are not sure about which Taobao agent to choose, try to contact each with the same request of information and wait for replies. In this way, you can estimate how reactive the agent is, as well as the quality of reply (if it answers to your question in satisfied way): understandable English, clear answer to your question… Consider also, if your own language is available for this service, normally that would make communication easy and fast.
Third, one of the most important points while buying from Taobao is international shipping fees. You might be wondering what is so special about international shipping fees. But if you buy from Taobao several items and you want a fast delivery to Europe, Northern America, Australia or even Singapore, the price is based on the weight of each 500g. So before buying the items, you should estimate the total weight of parcel and the corresponding fees. Taobao agent should give you an estimation, because it is always possible to ask the item weight from the seller. Also before international shipping, a good Taobao agent should suggest you the best way to deliver your items: it includes the choice of shipping / delivery company, optimizing the parcel weight and customs advise. You should remember that no any Taobao agent is responsible for customs clearance (if required) of the products you buy from Taobao. It should be possible to declare the shipping as non-commercial. Another fact is that most Taobao agents offer very attractive international shipping fees, sometimes going up to 70% discount. Yes, sometimes it happens, but be prepared to wait for quite a long time to get your parcel. Optimal range for a discount is 30-60%, depending on the items you want to buy.
The above are three most important elements to go through before start buying from Taobao.com. Now let’s check for more individual points about Taobao agents.
It is rather personal appreciation: check the quality of information which is present in the offer on agent’s website. This is not a rule, but often a quality information attracts more people and the conversion rate is considerably higher than for websites with poor information.
Taobao agent should be able to write and read a correct English. This is the minimum. If you have difficulties with English and Taobao agent is not clear in writing in English, then there is a great chance of misunderstanding. Probably, if English is not easy for you, try to find the agent speaking your own language first.
We will think about other points to add in the future, but it seems that it is already quite complete information to start your Taobao shopping. If you have any questions or suggestions about Taobao agents, buying from Taobao.com or other information, feel free to contact us or leave a comment.
The New Yorker's recent article, "The Gift of Doubt, Albert O. Hirschman and the power of failure," by Malcolm Gladwell, inspires thoughts on the current business challenges in China. The article delves into the economic philosophy of the late economist Albert Hirschman, whose work examined whether ignorance impedes or is a precondition to progress. Hirschman's study of a thirty-two year odyssey in railroad construction led to his belief that creativity is borne of necessity rather than desire.
The article describes that during the mid-nineteenth century, a five-mile mass called the Hoosac Mountain blocked passage between the Deerfield Valley and a tributary of the Hudson, posing a significant challenge to railroad builders. Beset by miscalculations, political roadblocks and inefficient drilling methods, construction of the Hoosac Tunnel would eventually exceed its budget tenfold. Had they fully grasped the situation at the outset, the funders would never have undertaken this Herculean task. However, once engaged, the imperative of success spawned creative thinking and ingenuity that led to completion of the longest U.S. railroad at the time, contributing to the overall rapid industrial growth of the country.
According to Hirschman, "the only way in which we can bring our creative resources fully into play is by misjudging the nature of the task, by presenting it to ourselves as more routine, simple, undemanding of genuine creativity than it will turn out to be."
In the case of the China credit crunch, such ignorance has led to an economic system that is broken. The situation of unregulated shadow banking, combined with higher borrowing rates and the inability for many companies to obtain funding, has created a macroeconomic crisis condition where new thinking is required. It is the equivalent of being mid-way through the mountain before realizing the tools at-hand will not complete the task. It is an opportunity for the C2FO Market to provide a transformative solution.
The credit crisis in China has created an imperative for SMB and global Fortune 1000 companies to think more creatively about achieving cash flow efficiency, without resorting to shadow banking, factoring, and supply chain financing. Constant static and "less-than dynamic" discounting methods are not economic tools of the modern age.
Instead of borrowing the same money at increasingly higher rates, or being restricted to limited accounts receivable advance rates and excessive fees, C2FO provides an open market system that gives all businesses the opportunity to access their cash from their customers in a more efficient manner. This means lower cost, less friction and more flexibility. C2FO is the economic trans-continental railroad of our time and a tipping point for China's businesses to transform their financial system. C2FO is working capital made easy.
