Back in the day, every Amazon order felt like a celebration: I’d hit “buy” before noon, and the very next day at exactly 3 p.m., the intercom would buzz.
“Mr. Jim, UPS here—a package for you.”
I’d gotten to the point where I’d ask the delivery guy about his wife and the baby. That’s how often he showed up.
I didn’t mind dropping an extra 25-30€ on expedited shipping.
That’s what my impatience cost me.
This year, late November, I decided—for the first time in years—to order with standard, free shipping. It was just some filters I put in front of my camera lenses because the one I had broke. Nothing urgent.
“It’ll take a week, maybe ten days,” I thought.
“I’m not in a hurry.”
I never imagined that one little click would turn into a journey of anxiety, phone calls to the Greek postal service, an AI reading me the exact same thing I was already seeing on my screen, and a package that got “stuck” for 4 days in Athens.
When I finally got it, I realized the 25€ I saved wasn’t just money. It was proof that it was never worth paying in the first place.
How I Ended Up Knowing My UPS Driver Personally
For years, I ordered from Amazon with fast shipping simply because I couldn’t wait.
I was so impatient to get my package as quickly as possible that I’d end up paying an extra 25-30€ on every single order.
Sure, I’d always find good deals on the products themselves, but as long as my finances allowed it, I didn’t mind getting the order in two days at most—and most of the time, it arrived the very next day.🚅
In fact, during the golden days when my online business was doing really well, the UPS driver had gotten to know me. He’d show up at my house all the time, especially during sale periods like Black Friday. The intercom would ring, and he wouldn't even use my surname:
“Mr. Jim, UPS here—a package for you.”
Eventually, I learned his wife was pregnant, then a while later that she’d given birth, and whenever I saw him after that, I’d ask how the family was doing. We developed a real sense of familiarity.
After Years, I Finally Chose Standard Shipping on Amazon
This year, late November—sale season again—I decided to order some filters I needed for my cameras after one of them had an accident that broke a filter.
After months of not spending any money, I finally decided to loosen the purse strings and ordered the specific filters I’d had in my Amazon cart for months, ever since the one broke while I was on the island of Skyros.
That cart trick helps me track prices and know if a deal is actually worth it. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this.
But this time, for the first time in years, I chose standard shipping instead of expedited.