News/Stats How To F.A.Q. The Staff Affiliates Comments Credits

to Courier, Neopia's virtual virtual gift site. Here we enclose the incorporeal in brown paper and string for you and send it across the world to the person of your choosing - though, please note, nothing but a few neomails will change hands in the process. My name's [Weapon], by the way. I suppose I'm the spokesperson here. [;3]

But the interesting part? For the (approximate) three days a gift is 'in the post', you, and the recipient of your gift, will be kept up-to-date on the parcel's wayward progress. What could possibly befall a small package upon its journey? Well, you might be surprised...

news/stats news/stats News/Stats news/stats

25th Nov: Listed in [Iconaclastic] and [The Pharaoh's Stone].

24th Nov: Listed in [Sarang]. [=3] Still looking for opinions as to the 22nd's poll, thanks a bunch.

22nd Nov: [Purple] has suggested that a 'Sorry' gift might be a good addition to Courier's options. What do you think? Please let me know. [=D]

22nd Nov: New affiliate, [Artful Conception]. [=3] We're having a bit of a rush on the gift requests at the moment... I can never tell what prompts them. 150th gift sent off this morning (and about a third of that 150 have been Smiles). [C=]

8th Nov: Yes indeed, I have finally finished [the new section] that's all about the staff here at Courier. I hope it gives the feel of this page a whole new dimension. [=D] I've also updated the Shoutbox to reflect the fully-formed personalities of the team.

7th Nov: Affiliated with [Ask Purple]. Great new site. [=3] I asked a question about Courier's layout and received a very helpful answer.

6th Nov: Affiliated with [Soroptimist Directory].

3rd Nov: There's now an archive under How To. Nothing like 24 hours to consider exactly how to set it up. And I've added a section for The Staff (coming soon). My work on it is about 1/3 finished, in case you were wondering. [;3]

2nd Nov: Took down the Halloween Wishes gift. Might be making an archive for those things. Courier has received an award from the amazing [Soroptimist Directory].

25th Oct: Cour has a new affiliate in [Gamer*]. [C=]

24th Oct: Since I mentioned the 'something' for A Gift For Life the other day, I guess I should mention that it's finished. Check out the news for today [here]. [=3] So I should be cracking on with Cour's staff section now. Also, Courier has been honoured twice. One is this:

And two is the new award you can find in the Comments. [:*]

21st Oct: Poll results: 100% voted Yes, with an astounding two votes. [x)] So yes it is. Not sure when it will be happening though, as I'm busy working on something for A Gift For Life at the moment.

16th Oct: Halloween Wishes are now available for sending from the How To section. [=3] Still looking for answers to my poll. [-pokes previous entry-]

13th Oct: Listed at: [Converse AllStarz]. POLL: Should we have a section to introduce the 'staff' that work for Courier?

12th Oct: Courier has been reviewed by [Imperial Reviews]. [C=] Cour scored 93/100. Lemonade all round. And I've added some snippets to the Comments per usual.

11th Oct: New affiliate: [Buttoness].

9th Oct: Just updating the Gifts Sent count, though I don't usually note when I do. [=3] And Courier is very proud to currently be tying (with [Locket]) for Second in Misc at [Consensus].

Cour is even beating my longer established site, [A Gift For Life]. Oh, and I've added a 'Placing at' section down at the Affiliates.

6th Oct: Another new affiliate, in the form of [Exhilarating*], and a lovely new Comment. [=D]

5th Oct: Courier has a new affiliate in the amazing [Futago]. [C=]

4th Oct: [Kiss of Beauty], a requests site by Kaz, has been reborn and is Cour's latest affiliate. [=D] And Emily at [Somersault] has included Courier in her Top 10.

1st Oct: Today we're welcoming in October (which the etymology nuts among the employees like to call 'Dectober') and the availability of a new gift. It's called a Thanksgiving Thank You and it's Courier's first seasonal gift, which means it's only in stock for a certain amount of time (probably two months, in fact, so there isn't a great rush). We hope you like it! [=D]

24th Sept: We employees here at Courier had a small celebration as we sent the 100th gift off to its destination. Lemonade and faerie cakes, mm yum - oh, and confetti! But it's back to work now, lots to do, chop chop.

20th Sept: One new Comment, and Courier is very soon to be listed at [Landslide]. [=3]

19th Sept: Avast ye, matey! Set yer eyes on t' fine vessel that be Courier's newest affiliate, [Take Me Too].

18th Sept: The navigation is back to normal now, thanks to a lot of people helping me out in compiling information on [the new filters].

16th Sept: Gah, I can't believe it's been six days. [D=] There's been a coding glitch that made it nigh impossible for anybody to update their pages, and things are still not quite as they were so some quick coding adjustments were necessary. So. The gifts sent count has been updated, and we have two new affiliates. I think that's it for now... I need to go and fiddle with my other sites. Oh, and I apologise for the messed-up navigation. I'm working on that.

10th Sept: Ahh, it's been a little slow here at Courier's offices lately. Not many deliveries. We do have one new Comment though. [=3] And I adjusted the linkbacks and their textareas the other day, after asking the Help Chat for further opinions on the matter. Hopefully it's clear enough now. I'm still not certain though. [=/]

5th Sept (again): Please doff your hat to Courier's latest affiliate, [Kingdom Reviews]. [;D] Decided today to decrease the line height within this box. Oh, and I'm told the linkback buttons and their text areas are confusing. [=/] What do you [think]?

5th Sept: As I've been a bit sporadic in whether or not Courier takes Saturday off, I thought I'd post a quick heads up that, indeed, there is no mail today. [^.~]

4th Sept: [Harsh Criticism] has to be the fastest reviewer ever. [*laugh*] I request and when I check back maybe three hours later the review is done. Courier received 4/5 stars. [=3]

2nd Sept: Two fairly major updates today. [=D] Firstly, a couple of new linkback buttons. [-points at Business Cards-] Both designed like the first. And secondly... well, those of you who have received a gift will know all you are linked to at the end of the journey is Neopet's image of the relevant item (like [this] for Luck). Now you'll be linked to another petpage where a more interesting image will be awaiting you. [;3] You can thank Greenhope10 for the idea. [=3]

1st Sept: September's here! [=D] Courier has just been accepted as a 'Cast Member' at [Casting Call]. Oh, and you may have noticed I've been fiddling with the Business Cards section over there. The 'coming soon' is, indeed, coming soon.

31st Aug: Courier has been tagged at [Rave]! [=O]

30th Aug: Everybody at Courier was very excited to be sending the 50th gift this morning. (+ 1 Affiliate, + 1 Listed In.)

27th Aug: Decided to add individual counts to the gifts in the How To section, to show how many have been sent. I'm considering making a 'I sent a gift' button of some kind. And late yesterday I fixed a couple of errors that were showing up in Internet Explorer.

26th Aug: Thanks must go to Shrutz_princess for some great feedback and the brilliant idea of a Thank You gift, which is now available for sending. [^.^]

26th Aug: I've put the Comments in a scrollbox and turned them upside down so that the newest is at the top. I've also rearranged the How To section slightly, so the gift images are lined up with the descriptions. (Oh, by the way... it looks like the employees have been shouting some new things around the office.)

25th Aug: Kaz at [Final Destination Designs] has featured Courier in his Affiliates section. [='3] Thanks, Kaz!

24th Aug: Sorry about the images being down for a while earlier. The host of my host was doing some maintenance.

22nd Aug: I have insect bites up my arms. [x.x] This spokesperson spent her 'Saturday off' helping with a local park cleanup, which was a first and was a pleasant but smelly experience. Courier has one or two new affiliates I might have failed to newspost about. Made a slight adjustment of the How To paragraph. It now mentions that timed deliveries are exceptions of the Saturday off thing.

18th Aug: Thank you so much to [Shibuya Station] for Courier's review. [n.n] I've quoted some parts in the Comments. And I saw where Tenshi was coming from on most of the crit, so I'll definitely be working on adjusting some things. I'm currently attempting to do something in CSS that I'm not sure is even possible. [Px] I may have to consult somebody more learned.

16th Aug: Realised this morning that I forgot to take a day off on Saturday. Maybe I'll be bored enough to remember it next week. [x)] Speaking of weeks... Courier will be a week old tomorrow! I am both delighted and horrified by how much interest Courier's been receiving.

14th Aug: Added a question to the F.A.Q., because I actually have been getting this one. [^-^] Also, Courier is now listed in a directory! [-prods Affiliate section-]

13th Aug: More gifts sent and more lovely comments (the second makes the time spent on the first worth it [;3]). Working on that navigation, ~~but it's not doing what I want it to do. [-grumbles-]~~ _{ETA: now fixed thanks to a helpful Neopian. [=3]} Oh and Courier now has two awesome affiliates, so please nip to the bottom to check them out. [=D]

11th Aug: New section - Comments (for which I need to add navigation, yes)! [^-^] Because I've had some nice ones. Having a wonderful, slightly overwhelming reaction to Courier today. I've also decided I'm no longer going to talk in the second person here in the updates. Call me the spokesperson. [;D]

10th Aug: Having received a request earlier today while the page was still under construction, we decided we had better get a move on and finish up. So here we are. Courier is all ready to deliver gifts. [C=] Feedback will be embraced with the enthusiasm of a Huggy.

8th Aug: It's a box. [=O]

Somebody tell Marie and The Onion they forgot to put the address on one of these parcels I've got down here. E. ~~~ We definitely did not forget the address thank you, Edvin. It must have come off as you took them down. M. ~~~ This is a good quote, folks! 'Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.' S. ~~~ Gag. ~~~ Hard to do with you around, Boss. ~~~ 'No one can defeat us unless we first defeat ourselves.' S. ~~~ I like that one. T. ~~~ You're invincible, Tim! Don't you forget it. S. ~~~ No he's not. ~~~ Whoever is lacking the guts to sign their messages, please sign your messages. S. ~~~ I'm sure we all know who it is. M. ~~~ I'm just concerned that you're lulling The Onion into a false sense of security, Boss. Anyway, may I please go for lunch? E. ~~~ Lunch is fifteen minutes yet, Ed. S. ~~~ I have to kind of agree with Edvin, positivity is dangerously close to naivity. C. ~~~ I know that's why I'm asking, Boss. E. ~~~ Timothy isn't stupid, guys. Right, Tim? M. ~~~ Well I guess I am sometimes. T. ~~~ The kid just made my day. ~~~ Oops. That was of course me, EDVIN. ~~~ Everybody's stupid sometimes, Tim. You can go for lunch in five minutes, Ed. S. ~~~ Thank you so very much. You are the art of benevolence, Boss. E. The Office Shoutbox (above).

Business Cards

#1: a gift site
#2: I sent a gift
#3: an experience

The Numbers
Est. 10th August, 2009.
160 gifts sent to date. Visitors:

how to how to how to how to How To how to

Use of Courier's services is of course 100% free, but we do ask that you consider taking one of our business cards with you when you leave. [;3] To send a gift, please browse the selection below and click an image to make your choice - you will be zoomed straight to a neomail form. Shipping takes an average of three days. Please make sure the recipient's and your own neomail are unblocked. If a gift requires timed delivery (e.g. for a special occasion, such as a birthday), please request ahead of time and supply us with the date on which the gift should reach its destination. Courier sometimes doesn't deliver on Saturdays, but any timed deliveries will be made exceptions of this rule. Thank you.

Thanksgiving Thank You
This very special kind of Thank You is a 'seasonal' gift, so it won't be around forever.
(-- Sent: 8 --)

A Smile
Is there anything quite like a smile? Is there anything quite like packaging one up and sending it on its way to someone?
(-- Sent: 54 --)

Luck
Couldn't we all do with a bit of this?
(-- Sent: 29 --)

Birthday Wishes
Is somebody's special day coming up on your calendar?
(-- Sent: 13 --)

Congratulations
Congratulations are so versatile. A friend might have reached some type of goal, or won a Neopian contest, or just gotten lucky...
(-- Sent: 9 --)

A Poke
This poking device has an added benefit, in that it's made of jelly.
(-- Sent: 26 --)

Thank You
A heartfelt thank you.
(-- Sent: 13 --)

Archive

16th Oct, 2009, to 31st Oct: Halloween Wishes (-- Sent: 6 --)

f.a.q. f.a.q. f.a.q. f.a.q. f.a.q. F.A.Q. f.a.q. f.a.q.

Do you deliver to Kreludor and the Virtupets Space Station?
I am very happy to say that, yes, Courier does.

I noticed a parcel I sent took a very roundabout route on the way to its destination. Why was this?
Er yes, this is quite a common occurrence. But Courier believes that, since parcels rarely exceed three days in transit despite this, there would be little benefit in organising more direct routes.

Can I request to send a gift that isn't on your list?
Though Courier cannot commit to stocking just anything, we would welcome suggestions for improving the current selection. We do plan on providing seasonal gift options.

I received a neomail saying someone had sent me a gift, but I'm a little confused; is there anything I need to do?
Nope, nothing. You may be receiving a couple more neomails, spanning the next couple of days, but nothing is actually required of you. [=3]

Further enquiries may be directed [here].

staff staff staff staff staff The Staff staff staff

Sukie | 31 | Blue Blumaroo
Keeping four employees in order has turned out to be more work than Sukie invisioned, but she loves it. Coming from a big happy family, she knows the thing about big happy families is that they often need to be gently poked out of sulking. She is always reminding the others about the power of positive thinking.

Cael | 32 | Split Poogle
Cael's job is to receive the requests and file them in the archives. He's also in charge of keeping an eye on Courier's stock and sending off for shippings of gifts when they are running low. He takes his duties very seriously and grumps when the other employees mess about or when a request form is filled in incorrectly.

Marie | 26 | Brown Usul
Folding in the ends of a parcel requires both an eye for precision and a sure touch. Marie is a professional. There could not be a more satisfying task than paying painstaking attention to detail in everything, every minute.

Timothy | 17 | Onion JubJub
Timothy first takes the details of requests from Cael and then helps Marie prepare the gifts for sending. He must also inform Edvin when they are ready. Marie is his cousin and the only one Timothy doesn't find a little intimidating.

Edvin | 17 | Mutant Korbat
Edvin handles his job of seeing the gifts out of the office with an apparent lack of enthusiasm, although he doesn't ever make mistakes. He resents being the same age as such a nervous kid as Timothy and can be sarcastic with him.

Tracking is officially a concerted effort, though it is Cael and Marie who are best at finding out the details when a parcel has gone astray and it is mix of Sukie humour, Tim humour and Edvin humour that reaches you to explain how your gift ended up in Terror Mountain when it was addressed for Shenkuu.

Courier also employs a webmaster, Weapon, who is a Green Xweetok and who is in charge of advertisement and communications.

affiliates affiliates affiliates Affiliates affiliates

My other sites: [Find A Laugh], [A Gift For Life], [I Just Won The Game], [Filter Solutions], and [Life's A Game].
Affiliation requests are [open].

Affiliates:

Listed in:

Reviewed by (hover for details):

Ranking Placements (hover for details):

comments comments Comments comments

We would love to hear what you [think] of Courier. [C=] Bold text, if any, is the text relevant to an image.

Fusion811 says, I l-o-v-e the brilliant idea of Courier!

Hullo there! I'd just like to let you know that your site has won a site award from my site, Soroptimist Directory! Congratulations! ~Cass

Congratulations! The owners at Futago (Tenshi and Reeuuk) feel like your site Courier deserves Futago's Mroom Award!

[Imperial Reviews] has reviewed Courier (12th October). The effort is clear, it's eye-catching and well-done. ... It's rather amusing and entertaining! ... Courier is a very individual name. I like the nobility of the name! 93/100 (See the [whole review]?)

Asyunalescahadzaon says, I think this is an adorable idea! The Neomails describing the travels of my little parcel of luck were wonderfully written and very enjoyable to read, and even my impossible-to-impress teenage brother cracked a smile when I read them to him.

I absolutely love your site. The idea is very unique and was an awesome idea. I wish I had thought of it! ;P says _Vsagar_. This is a fantastic idea! It's so original and it's nice to know that someone's working hard to put a smile on random Neopians faces! ^-^ says Chavo_guerrero. ...Wait ...what? xD says Meepitspwnyou.

[Harsh Critiscm] has reviewed Courier (4th September). I like your welcome message. It's very personable. :) I was very curious to know what your site was about ... It's a very unique concept and I salute you! 4/5 (See the [whole review]?)

I love your site! It's so cute and very original!! I wish you the best of luck with it! ^.^ says Fire_wolf1991. Nice work on the site! It's a really creative idea, says Thepurplewonder. ^-^ So enjoyable to read through the plot, says Sandeezr.

Just wanted to tell you that your Courier Services idea is great. Keep up the good work! (: says Shrutz_princess. Sarcasticshman7 says, An excellent feel to it. A++++ Purplepolkadotty also says, How did you think up all of this!? It's great! A good way to let your friends know that you are here for them and think they're awesome, says Greenhope10.

[Shibuya Station] has reviewed Courier (17th August). I love the layout, it's very well put together. ... The Poke gift is really cute n.n ... Wow, you have an amazing site here. It's incredibly original and creative. What you are doing is very nice, I myself sometimes send gifts to my friends, so it's really cool to see that you took it to the next level and made it a public service. (See the [whole review]?)

Majikel thinks that This is a really awesome idea. :3 Purplepolkadotty says, How intriguing... xD Linkissocool11 proclaimed with great enthusiasm that: This is awesome! Your sites are always awesome! I love your humor! XD

Umbra says, You know what? Your site is amazing. I was actually looking forward to all the updates. I might send a whole lot more gifts just for that. Faithful_jewel loved every message you've sent. Newmoon653 says, What a unique idea for a site. ... You always come up with the neatest things! ^_^

Wow. Um... okay. *lol* says Adorable_chao_10. The idea behind Courier is one of the most interesting I've seen, says Argetl. What a magnificent idea! says Kalotypography.

credits credits credits credits Credits credits

I learned image rollovers thanks to [Coding Help by Kitty], although adjustments were necessary.

In case anyone was wondering:
Layout originally checked in Chrome, Safari, and the resolution 1280x1024.
Frequently checked in Opera, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and the resolution 1024x786.
(Thanks Kaz, and Kate. [=3])

Courier, content and layout © [Weaponstar], 2009. All rights reserved. [?]
NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2009. Used with permission, all rights reserved.