Complete Customer Service and Selling Policies

Your eBay bid constitutes a binding legal contract and includes all terms and conditions on the auction page and the extended terms listed on my About Me page.

I am an eBay Trading Assistant and many of the items I sell are on consignment from my clients. I sell a very wide variety of items and therefore cannot be a expert on everything I sell, but items are described to the best of my ability. I try to describe any and all defects, as best and honestly as I can and note if an item is working or not at the time of auction, if applicable. Most used (non-new) items will show some wear and tear and could possibly have hidden or undetectable damage. If I can't or don't see the damage, I can't tell you about it; which is not misrepresentation, simply unfortunate. I don’t try to make an item look like something that it’s not, so most times, I will leave any necessary cleaning to you. Some items may require cleaning after receipt. Items such as vintage jewelry in particular are sold as is as some buyers prefer the patina of age. Therefore I do not clean items before sale.
It is always possible that I might miss something or see something as minor that you might see as major, so please if you have any questions or concerns about an item I'm selling, please ASK QUESTIONS Before bidding! I will respond within 24 hours or less, if possible. Bidding is your choice and is your legal acceptance of all of the auction terms. Please do not guess or assume anything about the item. I am not a mind reader and I cannot answer questions not asked. I may not know enough about it to have anticipated your question. Always ask.

Communication from winning bidder expected within 3 days from close of the auction.  Payment is due within seven (7) days of auction close. Partial payments will be forfeited with no claim established to your item. If full payment is not received in this timeframe, I will report Non-Paying Bidder status to eBay and relist the item for sale to a serious bidder.

These "handling fees" insure your precious purchases make it safely to your door in one piece at the lowest possible price. All of these fees are eBay authorized and approved and are significantly below what they consider as the limit on the "reasonable and customary" charges they allow.
Due to changes in eBay policies, sellers are now required to insure all packages regardless of value or type of item. Therefore insurance is now required on all items we sell. These mandatory insurance costs are already included in the shipping costs shown. You may rest assured that your item is covered against carrier loss or mishandling.
As required by eBay and PayPal, if your package is valued at over $250.00, it must be personally signed for upon delivery and can only be shipped to a PayPal confirmed address. This additional signature confirmation charge ($2.20) will be added to your invoice and must be paid prior to shipment.
I charge only ACTUAL calculated shipping charges based on the weight of your package with a very modest handling fee of about 2 dollars. (Unfortunately I've been forced to raise this charge recently to offset the additional costs incurred under eBay's new insurance requirements). This fee helps to somewhat cover the rising costs of the many extra features and benefits you've always enjoyed by doing business with me. These include Delivery Confirmation (up to $0.75), eBay required insurance (starting at $1.75 and upwards based on the value of your item) and only occasionally, if I am very lucky, perhaps partially offset a tiny amount of the high cost of the NEW packaging materials I purchase out of my own pocket and use to ensure your item arrives safely and securely in your hands.
This very small fee does Not even begin to cover all my costs, overhead or gas, nor does it pay for any of my eBay or PayPal fees. I ship items to you BELOW COST. Please keep this in mind when rating me on shipping charges as I do not make money from shipping and handling and am in fact, losing money on every shipment.

I am required by law to collect 8.05% Sales Tax for Arizona State Residents.

I am not, will not and cannot be responsible for a bidder or buyer not reading the complete description, terms or conditions of sale, including those on the About Me page, which are incorporated by specific reference into the binding terms of every auction or sale.
I offer a 3-day store credit return on purchase price only when eligible item is returned in the original documented and resaleable condition in which it was sent to you, less a very low 10% restocking fee to partially offset the additional costs incurred in accepting a returned item. I cannot refund any shipping charges as they have already been spent on your behalf and at your explicit request. I do NOT issue "cash" or money-back refunds under any circumstances. Returns are for store credit only.
Some items are not eligible for returns. These sales are Final. If an item is not eligible, it will be noted in the auction as such. Items may not be returned for shipping damage. Your item is insured and will need to go through the proper insurance procedures for reimbursement. Please retain all items and all packing materials for investigation of the claim by the insurance carrier.
There are NO returns for items without cause. Buyer's remorse is not a valid reason for returns. Please contact me within 3 days of receipt before returning any items to receive the required return authorization and the correct office address to send it to, which may or may not be where it was sent to you from. After you receive authorization to return your item, I require that you return it via Insured Priority or Registered Mail, for your safety. (I ship items to you in the manner that you as the buyer select from the available options, because you are paying for it and assume all responsibilty; but on returns, items must be insured and tracked.) Items returned without prior authorization, to the wrong office or via an improper method of shipping, will be refused and returned to you Postage Due.

Exceptions to return policy and ineligible items:

Feedback is not the place to vent your concerns or to complain about how long it took the shipper to deliver your item. If you have a problem after you receive your item, please send me an email with your concern to work it out. Feedback rants don’t help anyone and can’t be retracted. I don’t leave feedback until I know that the transaction is completed to your satisfaction and your feedback to me is the usual way that I know that the item has been received and that you're satisfied with your purchase.
I work my hardest to earn your confidence and repeat business. I try to deserve all 5-Star ratings in every area and succeed 99.999% of the time! (Hey, I'm only human.) I will only leave feedback for you after taking into account the Feedback AND Detailed Seller Ratings you left for me. Remember in eBay's rating system, ONLY a 5 is a good rating! 4's are not acceptable either to eBay or to me as a dedicated hard-working seller.
I am completely committed to customer satisfaction. I am willing to work with you and I aim to please, but I will not be held hostage to feedback extortion either, so please be reasonable and we'll all be happy!

When you’re rating the seller, please keep the following in mind:

• Review the item title and description before rating the seller on the item as described. Make sure to read the small print and the seller's terms and conditions completely. Did they deliver what they advertised, as described, according to the terms of the sale?
• Consider only business days when evaluating communication. Sellers don’t always check email on weekends and holidays. Did they answer your questions, email you to let you know when they received your payment or when your item was shipped?
• When rating sellers on shipping time, rate the seller on the time (business days only) that it took them to mail the item, not the time it took you to receive the item. You shouldn’t hold sellers responsible for delays in mail services, international custom delays or for the time it took for your payment to clear. (Especially if you paid by check or by e-check through PayPal, both of which take significant time to clear and funds to be deposited into the seller's account.)
• When rating the seller on shipping and handling charges, remember that sellers are allowed by eBay to charge actual postage, packaging materials costs and a reasonable handling fee to cover the seller’s time and direct costs associated with shipping. (The postage value reflected on your package is only a small portion of these costs. Most sellers barely cover their expenses for time, packaging materials, such as boxes, packing peanuts, bubble wrap or padded envelopes, or the rising cost of gasoline. Many sellers take a loss on these items.) For international transactions, buyers are responsible for duties, taxes, and customs clearance fees as requested by country laws. (These fees are imposed by your government and your seller legally has no control over them.)

Due to a fraudulent buyer/thief, we no longer accept bids of any kind from buyers with Private Feedback. If you have private feedback and wish to bid on any of our items, please unhide your feedback. If you place a bid on any of our items without revealing your feedback first, your bid will be cancelled. If you snipe one of our auctions and win with private feedback, the auction results will be considered NULL and VOID with eBay's blessing. You will not be allowed to purchase the item and it will be offered to the next highest bidder. Additionally, you will be reported to eBay for violation of their Unwelcome and Malicious Bidding Policy, which may result in the suspension or cancellation of your eBay account. We apologize in advance to all honest bidders, but this is a case of one idiot ruining it for everyone. We feel any truly serious and honest buyers will have open and visible feedback, just as sellers must. If your feedback is public and positive and you are a serious bidder, we welcome your bid and wish you good luck.

In an effort to allow all bidders fair and equal access to my items and prevent the unfair use of sniping technologies, on occasion, I will end items early and either sell to the highest bidder at the time or relist them. I will do this randomly so you will never know which items will end early. Please do not wait and plan to use sniping technology to win my items as they may no longer be available. Instead, please place your maximum bid NOW! eBay will proxy bid on your behalf and will only use the minimum portion of your bid necessary to win. By bidding now, you guarantee you will have the opportunity to purchase the item at a price you are willing to pay if I choose to end the auction early in order to sell to the current high bidder. Wait until the last minute and it may already be gone!

Most items come from a smoke-free home unless otherwise noted! However, because many of my items are sold on consignment, I cannot guarantee that they have never been in a smoking environment. If this is a problem for you, please contact me and I will check the item in question.

Important Shipping Policies - Please Read!

I am happy to combine shipping on multiple wins. To qualify, all items must be paid for in one payment at the same time. If not listed, or for International shipments, including Canada and APO/FPO, please contact me for your shipping costs BEFORE placing your bid. The USPS considers APO and FPO addresses as International shipments. So do I.

We ship via several providers. Most packages are shipped via United States Postal Service, either First Class or Priority mail. Patterns and leaflets are usually sent via First Class Mail. Books, Software and CD music usually ship via Media Mail. Larger packages may be shipped via UPS Ground. Please note that Media Mail and Parcel Post (over 1/2 pound) are usually less expensive to ship but almost always take much longer to arrive. Packages less than 8 ounces are cheaper to send First Class. Please remember that APO/FPO and other military destinations are considered International shipments and are shipped via Priority International or UPS Express. I try to ship within 1 business day of confirmed payment whenever possible. Jewelry and other high value items must be insured at Buyer's expense.

We treat your items with the utmost care and concern and pack accordingly. However, occasionally, accidents do happen. Once an item leaves my hands and is given to the shipping carrier, I have no control over it and am not responsible for carrier loss or damage. However, for that very reason, we insure all our items. You may rest assured that your item is covered against carrier loss or mishandling just in case something unexpected does happen during the delivery process or while it is otherwise out of my care and custody.
Due to changes in eBay policies, sellers are now required to insure all packages regardless of value or type of item. Therefore insurance is now required on all items we sell. These mandatory insurance costs are already included in the shipping costs shown. Additionally, as required by eBay and PayPal, if your package is valued at over $250.00, it must be personally signed for upon delivery and can only be shipped to a PayPal confirmed address. This additional signature confirmation charge ($2.20) will be added to your invoice and must be paid prior to shipment. 
Please make sure you have confirmed your address with PayPal before making payment as that is the only address your package will be shipped to. Packages are insured for the amount of the purchase price only, not including shipping charges. If an item is damaged in transit, please contact me so I may assist you in filing a claim with the third party insurance carrier and to obtain their specific insurance procedures. Save all packaging materials and damaged items for their inspection.

I usually attempt to notify all winning bidders with the name of the shipping provider and any tracking numbers with their Item Shipped notification. I use Delivery Confirmation to track USPS packages and to avoid fraud or lost packages. UPS and FedEx have a detailed real-time tracking system, however USPS often will not track items during shipment but only the delivery of the package to your residence or place of business. I am not responsible for shipper's failure to track.

I do Not ship to Italy. If not listed, or for International shipments, including APO/FPO, please contact me for your shipping costs prior to bidding. International shipments must be paid via PayPal only.  I do NOT ship packages of ANY value via International First Class Mail for security reasons. All items valued at under $250.00 USD are shipped via USPS International Priority Mail. If your item is valued at $250.00 USD or more, based on final sales price, I can only ship via USPS International Express Mail  or United Parcel Service (UPS) with a signature required for delivery. Please bid accordingly.
Please note that purchasing goods from the United States or any other country may mean that your national Customs Authorities will charge you an Import Duty or other additional related charges - for example a Customs clearance fee, a Value Added Tax (VAT), or a Purchase Tax, etc. As the Buyer, you are considered to be the "Importer", and as such, you are solely responsible for paying any such costs. For cross border transactions, under US law, sellers may not collect tariffs and duties. However, buyers are responsible for actual, applicable tariffs, and duties as requested by respective country laws. Please be aware of any that may apply to you from any international transaction prior to bidding. If you do not know how much (if any) import tax or fees you might be liable to pay, please check with your local tax authorities prior to bidding and entering into a contract to purchase from any country other than your own.
As the Seller, I have no control over what you may be charged by your national tax authorities, nor do I have any possible way to know how much that may be. I will not falsify customs documents by marking any purchases as a "Gift" nor will I falsely change the contents or value of the purchase on any Customs paperwork. Please do not ask me to break the law or compromise my integrity to do so. I am not able to compensate / reimburse you for the payment of any such costs.
Also please be aware of any import restrictions into your home country, such as value limits or restricted items like gold, silver, jewels or precious metals as I cannot be an expert on every country. These restrictions are also your responsibility as the Importer. Your item may be confiscated by your country's Customs Authority if you purchase a restricted item and/or you may be subject to fines, fees or other legal action. I will not be responsible for any restricted item you may purchase. If it is confiscated, it is your responsibility to redeem it. I am unable to assist in these matters.

Non-Collectible Item Condition Rating System

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Description