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    <title>February 2012 Contest Winners</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[We are pleased to announce the winners of the February 2012 contest! Winners were chosen by the number of ballots they collected through sharing their contest link to tell other people about Lens Lenders.<br />
<br />
The first prize winner of a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D lens is Teague Chrustie from Newmarket, Ontario!<br />
<br />
The second prize winner of a free, one-week rental is Dave Lawrence from Calgary, Alberta!<br />
<br />
The third prize winner of a 1/2 price, one-week rental is Mike Boldt from Calgary, Alberta!<br />
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Congratulations to all three winners!<br />
<br />
Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest!]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Wed, 7 Mar 2012 13:23:37 -0500</pubDate>
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    <title>Switching Servers</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[The Lens Lenders website is in the process of being moved to new servers. We're sorry for any rough edges.]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Mon, 5 Mar 2012 14:54:07 -0500</pubDate>
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    <title>Lens Lenders February 2012 Contest</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Lens Lenders is having a contest! First prize is the winner's choice of a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens or a Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 D lens!<br />
<br />
The contest page <a href="http://www.lenslenders.ca/february2012contest.php">is here!</a><br />
]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Thu, 9 Feb 2012 08:18:30 -0500</pubDate>
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    <title>Happy New Year</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[As we work through the end-of-year numbers, we're discovering more statistics. Number of rental customers in 2011 increased 20% over 2010. Revenue increased 31% over 2010. These are healthy numbers, but we're by no means Megabucks Inc. The majority of revenue was put right back into the business to buy more equipment. The Canada Post strike increased our shipping costs in the middle of the busy Summer season. (We did not cancel a single reservation, however, even though we lost money on some to expensive courier costs.) Todd, the owner of Lens Lenders, when considered to a 37.5 hour work week, earned less than minimum wage. (And he works much, much more than 37.5 hours each week!) Fortunately for Lens Lenders customers, Todd truly enjoys running his own business! Judging from the growth statistics from 2011 over 2010, he seems to be good at it, too! Plus, he enjoys the perks of having access to a big selection of photography equipment ... when it's not being rented.<br />
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As we did for our 2010 customers, we will be sending a thank you message to our customers from last year with an unlimited-use coupon code for  discounts in 2012. Many companies concentrate on only caring about getting brand new customers. We think it's better to spend effort on keeping existing customers and showing potentential new customers that there's a reward for renting from us.<br />
]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:09:43 -0500</pubDate>
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    <title>Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 G IF ED AF-S VR zoom lens for sale</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 G IF ED AF-S VR zoom lens is <a href="http://bit.ly/n3Ppwc">currently for sale on E-Bay</a>. Auction ends October 19.]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:42:07 -0400</pubDate>
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    <title>Website Improvements</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[We have made some improvements to the rental and checkout pages of the website. Let us know if you experience any problems.]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:56:12 -0400</pubDate>
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    <title>CWP Network Interview</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[I was interviewed by Lisa of the CWP Network as a part of their Episode 6 podcast. You can listen to the podcast <a href="http://www.cwpnetwork.com/?portfolio=episode-6-lenslenders-and-listener-questions">here</a>.]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:35:10 -0400</pubDate>
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    <title>Update On Rental Shipping</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Packages that were stuck in Canada Post during the labour dispute are returning to our shelves. We are reactivating these serial numbers in our database, so if dates you wanted to rent were unavailable, you may wish to check the dates again.<br />
<br />
We are continuing to send rental items out using UPS and FedEx as Canada Post works through their backlog of shipments. Return shipping labels for Canada Post are being provided in all our packages as we expect work loads at Canada Post to be returning to normal when current rentals are due for return.<br />
<br />
We have had some incidents of lenses not returning from previous customers quickly enough to keep up with our rental schedule. In these circumstances, we have worked out solutions, such as extending rental periods or providing alternative lenses that are in-stock.]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:44:05 -0400</pubDate>
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    <title>Canada Post Return To Work Bill</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[The Canadian bill to mandate the CUPW to resume postal operations <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/06/26/canada-post.html">received royal assent on Sunday</a>, making the bill law.<br />
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Lens Lenders will gradually transition shipments back to Canada Post as the work back log clears and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/06/27/ns-halifax-canada-post.html">residual union action</a> subsides.<br />
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Alternate couriers such as UPS and Fedex will continue to be used as a part of Lens Lenders shipping. Customers with rentals due for return will be contacted through e-mail with instructions.<br />
]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:31:26 -0400</pubDate>
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    <title>Canada Post Issues Continue</title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Canada Post and the CUPW continue to experience issues which prevent their delivering packages. Lens Lenders has been successfully using UPS, FedEx and private courier services to deliver and receive returns of rentals. Customers with rentals to return are being contacted with replacement shipping labels sent to their e-mail.<br />
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Current rentals are being sent with no return shipping label in the box, since the state of the Canada Post / CUPW dispute can't be predicted for when the rental is due to be returned. Customers will receive return shipping labels to their e-mail according to the Canada Post situation on their return day.<br />
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If you have a rental to return and have a preference for UPS or FedEx, please let us know.<br />
]]></description>
    <category>General</category>
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    <pubDate>Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:15:31 -0400</pubDate>
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