Hello! My name is Amy and I've been an avid part-time eBayer for about 5 years. This page is devoted to all the little things you don't need to know to bid on my auctions but might still be wondering about. Don't worry, if you send me an email with a question already answered here, I won't bite your head off for not reading. This is just for fun...and to be sure *I* know what I'm doing here.
Shipping
All of my shipping takes place Monday thru Friday. I like to sleep in or clean house (in no particular order) on Saturday mornings. No wait, that's Sundays. I like to go garage-saling on Saturdays. So no shipping, it messes with my garage-sale mojo.
I have been debating a way to adequately describe the method to my madness (in relation to shipping times, not madness in general) and decided against trying to explain it. I will ship your item within a reasonable period not to exceed two business days after your payment. How can you be sure? Well, because I said so and I consider myself quite trustworthy. I think however it works out, you will be satisfied as long as the post office doesn't lose your package out the back of one of their trucks.
Combined Shipping
In the past I have not had a combined shipping policy. I had a bunch of slips of paper with combined shipping quotes on them and whenever someone asked for one I threw them into a hat and drew one out. Needless to say, I ate a lot of shipping.
Then I recently discovered this thing called a scale. It's simply amazing. I can plop something down on it and out comes a weight measurement. Now, the new postage rates and ever-changing rules keep me on my toes, but I can tell you precisely how much two or more items weigh together.
My policy, which is rather new since I ALSO recently discovered the shipping calculator within my ebay listings, is to charge combined shipping based on weight and actual cost to your location, plus $1.25 for stuff like mailers, tape, paper, printer ink, and gas for my Saturn. Same goes for my international pals.
Payment
This is very easy (and my favorite part). I take Paypal. Only Paypal. I used to take money orders, but people kept forgetting to sign them and then I'd have to mail it back and hope they came back to me. And I admit, the thrill is almost the same the second time the same money order comes in the mail, but now with all these star ratings I can't be dragging out a transaction for weeks over something as silly as a signature. I suppose I could have started forging, but I think that's a crime. And with the advent of online banking, I kinda quit going to the bank, so it was just a logical (read: lazy) decision to go with Paypal only.
International Buyers
I love you guys! I'll bet a good 15% of my business is international. International shipping is totally beyond my rhealm of comprehension, so I let eBay's calculators do it for me. I hope they are working alright for you. The discovery of the shipping calculator and the scale have allowed me to offer almost everything I sell to my international buyers.
A few other things on international transactions...I do not mark 'gift' on customs forms for anyone. Except sweet Canadian grandmas buying newborn clothes for their first grandbaby. Just kidding, of course. Actually, it is against the law to mark merchandise as a gift. And I don't ship Economy. Holy cats, please don't even request it. You may not need the item you purchased for 4 months, but my peace of mind is tapped out after about 3 months, so no go on Economy. |
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