I’ve been a long-time customer of Sip & Ship. It is a friendly one-stop shop that is a great resource for my one-person business. They offer a long list of business-related services which are available a la carte. They also offer coffee, muffins, sandwiches, greeting cards and personal gifts. It’s run by a husband and wife team, Diana and Steve, and their staff. I use their Ballard location. A few years ago they expanded and opened a second store in Greenwood.

Initially, I only used Sip & Ship’s package receiving service. I signed up for this free service, then they charged me a few dollars for each package I had delivered to their store. As a computer consultant, I order a lot of products and many require a signature upon delivery. It was very convenient to have the boxes delivered to Sip & Ship where there was always somebody around to sign for the package. The staff then notified me and I swung by to pick it up.

Over the years, I’ve availed myself of a number of Sip & Ship’s services, including the following:

• I signed up for their private mailbox service when Diana pointed out that the annual fee for this service was less than the amount I paid for all of the packages I received throughout the year. I can now have any and all mail delivered there and they’ll sign for, then hold all of my packages.
• Diana is a notary public so I’ve been able to have her notorize documents for me when I swing by to pick up my mail.
• Pack and mail boxes. Sip & Ship is a full-service shipper. They work with USPS, FedEx, UPS and, no doubt, other shippers. I frequently mail packages and envelopes of all sizes. I get a discount on shipping costs since I rent a private mailbox. The Sip & Ship staff also offer custom packing services if you don’t have a box and padding materials. One time I had to send a laptop to California and they did a great job building a custom box with lots of padding. The laptop arrived intact and on-time.
• Sometimes I purchase a chai and head up to their balcony to get caught up on my email via their free Wi-Fi network.

Recently, I learned that Sip & Ship offers a convenient drop-off shredding service. They charge $1 per pound of paper or $10 per bankers box. The shredding machine is located in their Greenwood store. You can drop off the paper at their Ballard store  and they’ll transport it for you or you can take it directly to their Greenwood store.

I’ve probably only mentioned half of the services that they offer. If you’re a small business owner in the greater Ballard or Greenwood neighborhoods check out Sip & Ship and see if they can be of service to you.