Notice: Due to issues with the processing of VAT on deliveries to the EU a limit has been put in place, restricting orders to a maximum of £135. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

A message from Baccus Admin

12th Sep 2025

 

This week's post is from Lindy, but before that is revealed, here is this week's magic number which stands at #32847.

Now, over to She Whe Must Be Obeyed....

Let’s have a catch up.

Many of you know how we work and have been to the workshop to see how it all happens. However,  admin is known as ’just the place where orders are packed and go out….like little pixies come along and make the magic work.

So, I thought it would be a good time to let you know how it is going in the world of admin.

Orders

We are still some having issues with PayPal. Their tech and ours can argue over the decimal point when it comes to payment and so will not release a ‘ we have received your order’ message until we come in, connect to PayPal and shout at it very loudly. It is like having a pair toddlers. As you can imagine, quite rightly, this generates emails asking what is going on.

Let’s just say that tech and I are having a love hate relationship. 

Once all orders have been printed and into the casting box it’s time to order the boxes, bases, bags, packing material, check rules, scenic, and most importantly…. Coffee. I do not function without coffee.

Packing

Ok, Bins full of little men come to me with codes written on them, accompanied by the order that I sent to casting. Some codes require additional items; some have changes according to command strips and some… are just as it says on  the order. These are put into a bag or box and put onto the packing shelf for me to invoice later in the week.

Invoicing

Invoicing is relatively easy. Codes in, price point checked and changed accordingly, VAT checked and print. However, anything overseas will need to be weighed, and parcel size recorded. EU has to be checked and separated if the order is over the £135 cut off point and now, we have to make sure we have included any DPD charges for the US.

Oh, and then there are people who move house. You are BARRED. No-one is allowed to move house as this means going into the main page to change all details and change addresses on the system for posting.

Posting

Invoices done, parcels addressed and post ready for franking for the Uk.

Overseas will then be entered onto the courier’s page with weights, codes and tariffs to generate labels. These are then boxed and collected.

At this point you would think ‘Yay, coffee time.’

Nope. It is now time to chase any orders from the previous week that have been longer in the post than expected. Many of these turn up the following day but on occasions we hit a stumbling block where a shipment is lost. Yes, a whole shipment. I mean, I know Peter can lose money down the chair or keys in the bin… but a whole shipment!

And so…

This generates a whole load of emails to customers who have already waited patiently for the notification saying their order is on the way to now be told that it is missing. Shipments are sent in batches of twenty-five orders with some of these orders taking the best part of a week to cast.

At this point I have to let Peter know that he has a shipment missing.

Overtime

We honour orders that are lost/missing as we expect our customers to get what they pay for. This means the whole process starts again on top of the week’s orders. So, when you have an email saying that you can get back to me any time tonight as I am working until 11pm, you know why…. It is called ’a missing shipment.’ The school run has become ‘drop and go’ as we leave our 13-year-old to look after nan and come back to work. Do not feel sorry for him… he likes the space do his homework…. on the switch!

Phone calls

We do try to answer as many calls as we can. If you can’t get through, please keep trying, or email us. We only know when something is wrong or missing when you raise concerns.

Delivery Times

Typically, the UK post is no longer than 3 days, The EU 3—8 days and the US will depend on customs . We have a 3—8-day notification online at the moment but, I have been in to check progress and parcels from the 1st of September are only just clearing customs.

However, we expect this to improve once everyone knows what they are doing.

PLEASE let us know if you have any worries and if I miss your call or email, which can happen, shout louder.

So, there you have it.. The life of the admin team!   I mean… ME ;-)