Feb 2nd, 2010:

I lost pretty much the entire month of January and have gotten almost nothing shipped.  I am very sorry for the delays, for any who suffered them (or are still waiting), if I have not already apologized to you directly.

For the first two weeks of the month, my car was broken down, which made getting to the library or post office almost impossible, as my only remaining method of travel was walking, and it was about 8 degrees (-13 C, for those on the Metric System) for most of that time.  I nearly lost a very important part of my anatomy to frostbite in a mere twenty minute walk one of the times I tried it.  My car troubles began with a flat tire Dec 30th at about 9pm, which I couldn't get fixed until the 2nd since everything was closed for the holiday.  I hardly had the tire fixed before my starter burned out when the ignition broke and got stuck in the start position without my noticing.  So I had to spend $230 (that I didn't have) in just two weeks, and I STILL haven't been able to get the ignition fixed, as I am completely out of money and credit. 

Then, I had hardly gotten the car running when I got sick.  Saturday Jan 16th I started coming down with something and by mid-Sunday was flat on my back.  I really have not gotten any better since (except the fever and sweats had gone away [I think, but they may have been back a couple of times, it's hard to know without a thermometer] by Wednesday the 20th).  It is about all I can do to stay upright here at the computer at the library right now.  I thought it was just the flu, but it should have been over more than a week ago, if that was the case.  Since about the third day [Tue the 19th], I have felt okay, as long as I am laying down, (except for the last several days, when I am occasionally coughing so hard I almost throw up - and did, once).  It is very deceptive, and I've kept thinking I would be fine in just one more day.  Tomorrow I am going to the hospital to get checked out, if I am not MUCH improved by morning.

I am very sorry for the shipping delays and slow communication.  Today was the first time I had been online since Thursday [the 28th].

Dec 23rd, 2009:
For some reason, the selling restriction was lifted from my account yesterday.  I have no idea why, as looking at my seller dashboard my DSR in that one category is still over 4%.  Not that I'm complaining! 

I don't know if it will last, but I quickly relisted everything, so I should be good for another month, if nothing else.

Dec 17th, 2009: 
Get them while you can!!! 

Thanks to Ebay's draconian new restrictions for sellers with more than 4% of their feedback being 1s & 2s (and I am at 4.65% in one category), I may be out of business on Dec 23rd.

I haven't been able to list anything in over three weeks, so my store will be empty after all of my listings end on the 19th and the 23rd.  I am supposed to be re-evaluated on or around the 20th, but I am afraid my numbers will not have improved enough by then.  If things don't work out, I want to thank all the great customers I've had over the last 4+ years!  Please complain to Ebay about this absurd policy.  It only took two customers giving me low scores to put me out of business.  At this rate, I figure about half the sellers on Ebay are going to be shut down within a couple of months, and reduced competition means increased prices.

GET FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ITEMS AFTER THE FIRST ONE!!!  Read the second paragraph for details.

[August 6, 2008]:
July was pretty horrible.  Very busy (so I got quite a bit behind again; my apologies to anyone who didn't get their package quickly, if I haven't apologized directly), also some jerkoff in Chicago stole my Zombie Hulk, so I'm out over $180, which may wipe me out.  I had used delivery confirmation, for all the good it did me, since I couldn't find the DC receipt by the time he filed a claim, TWO MONTHS after the fact.  So do not sell to (or do business with) Ramon Ayala (or any other name he might use at 2735 N. Drake in Chicago IL); he is a liar and a thief.  (He told his credit card company it wasn't him, even though I have multiple e-mails from him, including one where he says he got the figure.  And the day it was delivered he claimed not to have gotten it, until I gave him the DC number showing that it had been delivered that day.  I still had the receipt at that point, two days after I sent [which was the day after he bought and paid], so I have no idea what I did with it that I can't find it now).

So now I have no money for GenCon, and little time to get any.  In an attempt to spur sales, I am going to offer free shipping for all items after the first one (the "first" one will be the one with the highest shipping cost).  So you pay shipping on the "first" item, then all other items ship for free.  Just tell me you want the free shipping deal.  (It will also be a way to find out if anyone ever reads any of this!)

[February 27th, 2008]:
Wow, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  I was WAY behind on my shipping (again), due partly to being sick, and partly to the ridiculous amounts of snow we've been getting, but am now almost caught up.  And here I am with my fourth AND fifth negatives (both from the same guy, and both from the same sale). 

For anyone who wants the story, he bought on 2/3, I shipped on 2/15.  He was upset about the slow shipping, which I can understand (although I had already refunded him $2.40 of his shipping money, since he overpaid me), and thought he was entitled to get FREE shipping as a result of my delay.  (He actually began by demanding a FULL refund when I told him what date I had shipped.)  He did end up agreeing that trying to get the items AND all the money he'd paid was unfair, and I tried to convince him that free shipping was unreasonable, but he rejected my offer of a 10% refund and stuck to the position that he deserved free shipping (and I was offering 10% of the TOTAL price, not just 10% of the shipping cost). 

Despite my better judgement, I was going to give him the second refund for the full amount he wanted (and don't anyone else try this on me, as I don't think I've ever done it before and I don't think I ever will again); all I wanted was for him first to confirm that he had recieved the figures and they were satisfactory.  (I was concerned that he was using the threat of negative feedback to try to blackmail me into giving him money back.  Giving him the refund without assurances that he'd gotten the figures and was happy with them would simply give him the opportunity to try FURTHER blackmail, if that's what he was doing, and leave me no better off than before I'd given him the money.)  Instead of giving me any assurance (thus getting what he was asking for), he simply demanded an immediate refund and restated his original threats. 

I repeated my request for confirmation that he'd gotten the figures, and I even told him what I was afraid of (trying VERY hard not to be insulting, for instance I never used the word blackmail in any of my messages, and even told him I might simply be paranoid about his intentions).  Instead of even replying, he then blasted me with the two negatives and reported me to PayPal (and probably Ebay, as well, as that was one of his threats), and is SUDDENLY claiming not to have gotten the figures. 

Keep in mind that the figures should easily have arrived a week ago, we've exchanged several messages in the intervening week, and at NO POINT did he EVER mention not receiving the figures, despite my TWICE asking him that very question, point blank.  I am convinced that he is lying about not getting them, in an attempt to get PayPal to give him the money back.  That's the only reason I can think of why he wouldn't have confirmed that they'd arrived.  If he truly HADN"T gotten them, he simply would have said so when I asked.

Anyway, I still hope to work this out with him somehow (though it will clearly be more difficult now).  So I may or may not end up with more to say on the subject.

--Mark

[October 22nd, 2007]:
Good news and bad news.  The good news is I am FINALLY caught up on my shipping, so items should once again be going in the mail within three business days as it says in my listings. 

The bad news is I got my third negative feedback.  Here (for anyone who cares) are the details:  A veteran Legacy Batman was bought by a guy in Canada.  This was while I was MASSIVELY behind on my shipping.  On Friday September 21st (which was 8 days after he paid), I marked it as shipped, since I was expecting to get it in the mail that day, and the library closes before the post office on Fridays, so I wouldn't be able to mark it shipped afterwards.  As it happens, something came up and I didn't get a chance to make it to the post office that day.  Before I could get it in the mail (or even unmark it as shipped), the buyer sent me the following message [this is an exact quote, although I have to bleep out the profanity]:  "What the h### gives you the right to sit on your ### for 8 days before shipping my item?"  

Now this was his very first message to me.  He could have simply asked why it had taken me so long, and he would have gotten an apology, as well as his item.  [I would have given him an apology even if he hadn't asked why it took me so long, but in another message, he later confirmed that no excuse would have been acceptable for shipping his package late, not even if I'd been out of state attending my mother's funeral (which, luckily, I was not).]  And for all he knew, I could have shipped it the very day he paid, and just forgotten to mark it as shipped until then.  But he just assumed the worst, and started blasting me with profanity, instead of asking me what the problem was.

I was a bit shocked, as no one has ever been so rude in the entire two years I've been selling on ebay.  Not even close.  So I thought I should check him out a bit.  I saw that he had a feedback score of 7, so at first I thought maybe he was new, and just didn't know any better (though how anyone could think it is okay to be that rude is beyond me).  But I also saw that he had been on ebay for two years.  Two years, and he had managed only a feeback score of seven, with almost as many negatives as positives.  After reading all of his negative feedback (and the many negatives he had left for others), I came to the conclusion that he was an untrustworthy hothead, and that I'd be better off returning his money, rather than risk letting him get the money AND the item.  So the next day I returned his money, told him I would not be sending, and gave my reasons why.  As expected, he promptly blasted me with a negative feedback, including accusations that I was a liar (because I had marked the item shipped and then been unable to send it that day).  [Note that I had never told him I had shipped.  I don't confirm an item has shipped until it is actually in the mail.] 

The really amazing part is that, while he accused ME of being a liar (despite the fact that I never said anything to him that wasn't true), in the same message where he started off blasting me with profanity (rather than simply asking why it had taken me so long to ship), he also said this: "you have just over a week left until I file for non reciept."  And then he filed the VERY NEXT day.  (I discovered that he had filed a dispute just moments after I refunded him his money.)  This only confirmed to me that his word was worth nothing, and that I had done the right thing by refusing to do business with him, even if it did cost me a negative.

--Mark

[August 20th, 2007]:
Just got back from GenCon (about 4pm CST).  Forgot to mention here that I'd be out of town from Wed till Sunday, and it turned out that I got home later than anticipated.  Had extremely limited computer time from the con, so I apologize to anyone who didn't get a timely invoice or response to a question. 

It also put me (even further) behind on my shipping.  I didn't get everything out that I needed to before I left, and now I have a ton more stuff to ship that sold while I was gone (not to mention the twenty Johnny Thunder LEs I presold that now have to ship).  It was far too hectic to get anything shipped from the con.  I spent the whole four days rounding up Johnny Thunder LEs (mostly by playing in battle royales, though I did end up having to trade for seven of them, as the battle royales weren't as quick as when I was there two years ago, plus WK was only running from 10am till 6pm [noon to 6pm on Thur, and 10am till 4pm on Sun], as opposed to two years ago, when you could play in games till nearly midnight most nights).

I'll be shipping as quick as I can starting tomorrow, or possibly tonight for a couple items, if I get to the post office in time.

M!

[May 26th, 2007]:
Haven't fully figured out all the implications of the new postal rates that went into effect May 14th, but insurance went up (for the first $50, anyway).  Insurance is now $1.65 for the first $50.  I need to change all of my listings, which will take hours and hours.  In the meantime, if you need a quote on insurance for over $50, just let me know. 

[March 30th, 2007]:
I no longer have internet from home (I was sharing a connection with the guy next door, but he moved out on Wednesday), so I will have to go to the library or my sister's house until I can get something else figured out (I don't really have the money to pay for a connection by myself).  As a result, for the next couple of weeks I will only be checking in once a day, most likely.  So it may take me up to a day and a half to respond, if a message comes in just after I've signed off for the day. 

[March 9th, 2007]:
A quick note about figure conditions.  A while back, I stopped listing most figures as being in "very good condition," and just started saying they were in "good condition."  This is mainly as I didn't want to overhype the condition of the figures, or have someone get a figure that had some minor flaw I had overlooked and get upset because by their standards it was not in "very good condition."  However, you should know that I am not going to sell anything with any major flaws (unless I have made note of them in the description).  When I say that a figure is in "good condition," that means it has no broken or missing parts, and no major flaws.  Minor things that I might not mention are production flaws made by Wizkids: a little bit of extra glue on the base, a slightly crooked flight stand (if it is REALLY crooked, I will mention it), slight flaws in the paint job (I make no guarantees as to the quality of the paint jobs; if I did, there wouldn't be ANYTHING I could sell, as I've never seen a figure yet with a perfect paint job, and I have handled literally THOUSANDS of heroclix), or possibly some very slight rub-off on the dial (but if part of the dial was rubbed off enough that you couldn't read it, I would mention it, or probably not even sell it).

In general, I'm not going to sell you anything I wouldn't want in my own collection.  At least, not without making note of any significant flaws in the item description.

As with anything, if you've got any questions or concerns about the condition of a figure, or figures, don't hesitate to ask.

--Mark

[Oct 31st, 2006]:
I just turned off the automatic shipping discount function, because it is too simplistic for my shipping rates, and generates the wrong cost more often than not.  I was simply going to change all of my card auctions to be exempt from the automatic calculator, but of course for auctions that have already had sales, it won't let you edit the shipping details.  So instead of the easy fix, I've had to turn the whole thing off.  I really hate ebay sometimes.

Feel free to continue doing self-checkout, but if you underfigure the shipping amount, I will have to cancel your payment and send an invoice with the correct amount (although there's probably something in the ebay software that will screw that up too).  I hope that doesn't sound harsh, but the only other option would be to turn off the self-checkout option entirely, and usually people do figure the correct amount. 

I'm starting to understand why some sellers charge the (seemingly high) shipping rates that they do.  The system just won't let you set up anything with any level of complexity to account for the weight variances between something like a single feat card and a complete rev set.  When all I was selling was single uniques and LEs, it was easy enough, but adding cards in has made it too complicated for ebay's primitive discount options.

Of course, the downside is that now it looks like I'm not offering any shipping discount (unless someone reads the auction details), so I'm probably going to lose even more sales.  (As I said, I really, REALLY hate a lot of things about ebay.)

Quick update [May 14, 2006]: I really need to restructure this page, but I've been too busy shipping stuff, and sorting through my extras to find other stuff to list.  I do want to mention one thing about my policy on photos in my listings, and why some listings have them and some don't.  Taking pictures is really time consuming.  I'd like to have pics on *all* my listings, but I just don't have the time.  I try to get pictures for all my auctions, but for store listings it's not worth it to take a picture for an rev set that I'm only selling for 89 cents.  I *do* plan to take pics for all the uniques and LEs, but it may take me some time to get them all taken.  If anything sells before I get a chance to take the pic, so much the better.  ;) 

I'd like to take all the pictures *before* I list the items, but if I waited till I had the pics, I might not ever get anything listed.  I'll readily admit, I've still got some work to do when it comes to being more efficient.

As for the pictures themselves, in almost every case, you get the actual figure used to take the picture.  I don't see much purpose in taking pictures, otherwise.  I don't understand why so many sellers use stock photos.  What's the point?  In my opinion, if you're not going to get the actual figure from the picture, what is the point in having a picture at all?  Maybe if you're selling a Spider-Man unique, since there's several different ones, it helps to identify which one it is, but in most cases, I think a photo is unnecessary, if it's not going to be of the actual figure being sold.  Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.  ;)

 

About me personally [written approximately Oct 1, 2005]:

So far I've primarily just been listing heroclix items for sale.  That's the market I know best and the stuff I have the most extras of.  I've been playing heroclix almost since the beginning (I started playing around the time of GenCon 2003, which puts it in August of that year, or maybe late July, if I started playing before GenCon).

I joined HCRealms in Dec of '03 so that I could start trading figs online.  I'd been visiting the site for a couple months before I joined, but finally signed up to do some trading.  I did about 15 trades before I stopped.  I only had P.O. box as an address for a while, and one of my trades got stolen out of the box, or something.  Luckily, the guy who sent it to me had used shipping confirmation, and the USPS web site showed it being delivered to my P.O. Box, so I knew *he* hadn't ripped me off, but I never did get the package and the post office never was able to explain what had happened to it.  So I decided to suspend trading for a while, at least till I had a place to live and a real address again.  By the time that happened, the 'clix community here in Milwaukee had grown to the point that I was able to get almost anything I needed by trading locally, so I never did resume trading online.  I got too cheap to spend the money on postage.

Also by that time, I had become a heroclix judge.  (I've been a judge for going on two years now).  So that also contributed to a reduced need for trading, since I was getting LEs in my judge rewards.  For a good year of that time, I had two venues, so I was getting 8, 10, occassionally as many as 12 LEs for a month of judging.  I built up quite a stockpile of extras, which I am now trying to turn into cash (and also to free up some space in my apartment - there are heroclix *everywhere*).  I've been trading and selling locally, plus I sold about $300 worth of 'clix this year at both Wizard World Chicago and GenCon (Indy), but I've been talking about getting on ebay for over a year now, so a couple weeks ago I finally did it.

I've actually been a member for a little over a year, but I initially only joined so that I could look at completed auctions to keep an eye on what certain figures are worth.  Basically, ebay was just my price guide reference for my local trading and selling.  I'd been using it that way for about a year, without being a member, but then about a year and a half ago, they changed things so that non-members couldn't look at completed auctions.  That was when I finally signed up, though it took me a couple months to do so.

The next hurdle that kept me from selling here was that I had no feedback.  I figured I wouldn't get very good prices until I built up some feedback.  But I lost my job about a month back, so I finally put the gears in motion anyway, and put up my first 3 auctions on Sep 23rd.  I got paid for them on the 30th, and I've been building from there.

As you can see, I'm pretty new around here, so if you've got any tips, let me know.  Hopefully, I will have more feedback before long.  [Update, Nov 1,2005: I've gotten quite a bit of feedback since I wrote that nearly a month ago.  Now, I'm hoping to get to 50 feedback within about another week, so I can start offering Paypal buyer protection.]

Well, that's about all I can think of for now.

At the Wizkids website I am Brigadier_M and at HCRealms I am Brigadier M, so maybe you've seen me around...

M!

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About my business practices [written Nov 1, 2005]:

I started out charging shipping of $2.50 (with an extra $0.50 per auction, if winning multiple auctions).  But then I had to upgrade my paypal account because I got a bunch of credit card payments, plus I was about to run into the maximum monthly recieving amount, and not be able to recieve any more payments (they don't mention *that* in the fine print, when they're trying to get you to sign up).  Plus, I'm about out of boxes that I can use for shipping and am soon going to have to start buying boxes at $0.75 each.  So I've had to raise my shipping price to $3.  I'm hoping I can hold the line at $3, but we'll see how it goes.  I'm beginning to understand why some people charge $3.50 or more for shipping.

Also, with my latest batch of auctions I have expanded to international shipping.  After I've sent a bunch of packages internationally, I expect to have a better feel for how much it costs, so I may be adjusting my international shipping charges the next time around.  I don't know if I'll have to adjust my costs up or down, but I'm hoping I can adjust them downwards, to make buying from me more attractive to overseas customers. 

I have yet to check into shipping via FedEx or UPS, and have just been using the good ol' U.S. Post Office.  But if you would prefer an alternate shipping method, don't hesitate to ask.  This also goes for U.S. customers looking for quicker shipping methods.  So far, I've only been offering shipping via first class postage, but if someone wanted priority mail, or overnight delivery, I have no problem with that, so long as they're willing to pay the extra cost (and of course, I'd have to find out first how much extra it *does* cost).

Once again, that's about all I've got for right now...

M!

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My reply to Pastaspiser21's negative feedback [written Jan 28, 2006, then re-written (in a greatly abbreviated form) March 11th]:

He paid.  I sent.  He deserves to have gotten his package, and I deserve to be able to keep his money in exchange for my goods.  If we were the only two involved in this transaction, that's how it would have (and how it should have) worked.  Unfortuantely, the postal services of two nations were also involved, and one of them screwed it up.

He could have taken insurance, but didn't.  Do I blame him for that?  Certainly not.  I probably wouldn't have either, had I been in his place.  Most of the time it's unneccessary, since most of the time the post office doesn't lose your package.  (I'm not going to be one of those sellers who insists everyone take insurance.  If you don't want the extra expense, I understand completely, and I'm not going to force it on you.)  But by the same token, he can't blame me for *his* choice of *not* taking insurance. 

If something goes wrong with a package and it's *my* fault - if I packaged it carelessly, for instance - then I could be expected to bear the burden of any loss.  But this wasn't one of those times.  And you can rest assured, there never will be one of those times, since I take exceptional care in packaging and labeling.  I don't want anything to go wrong with anyone's package, because I would want you to take the same care when sending something to me.  Plus, I value and want to protect my reputation and good name.

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A bit more about my business practices [written 3-22-06]:

Been needing to do an update for a while, but I've been too busy trying to keep up with my shipping.  Don't really have the time for it now (still got some items that are overdue, plus I've got a ton of pics to take for the auctions that are ending this weekend, plus I need to get an ebay store started so I can put up all the rev sets I've accumulated), but it needs doing.  So, I'll be brief.

I became a Powerseller back in mid-Jan, I think it was.  I debated whether or not to accept the invitation.  On the plus side, I figure it makes me look more reliable (and I do strive to be reliable).  On the other hand, I figure it will raise the expectations from my buyers (as it gives me the appearance of being a professional), and higher expectations might be harder to satisfy. 

Well, as it happens, I guess I *am* a professional now.  I ran out of my own personal extra figures some time ago, and have begun buying to maintain stock for my selling.  Buying is tough.  I've gotten many broken figures sent to me.  More about that another time.

You may have noticed that I've lowered my shipping costs.  I got a source for some small boxes a while back, and I've been re-using booster boxes, when possible.  The smaller the box, the less it costs to ship.  And I don't want to charge more for shipping than I have to.  I had many shipments that were going overseas end up costing $2.55 or even only $1.70, when I was charging $5.  I wasn't comfortable with that, so I lowered it to $4.50, which I still felt was too much, even if I figure in 30 cents for a box (if I can't use a booster box).  On the other hand, when someone buys 5, 6, or more items, I was often paying more for shipping then I had charged them.  So for my latest batch of auctions I have lowered the shipping rate on overseas purchases to $3.50 for the first item, but I've raised the additional item fee from 50 cents to $1.00.  Hopefully, this will fix things.  If not, I may have to tweak it further.  (So if you buy 1, 2, or 3 items, the shipping will be less now than I would have charged a month ago; at 4 items the cost is the same now as then; and at 5 items and up is where it will cost more now, which is where I had been losing money on the shipping.)

And I've lowered the cost on U.S./Canada/Mexico shipping from $3 to $2.50.

Ok, got to get back to work now...

M!