the inspiration of art to the soul can help overcome any disablity....Senrysa
SEE SOMETHING YOU LIKE IN MY STORE??? MAKE A REASONABLE OFFER!!!! I AM AS THEY SAY A VERY MOTIVATED SELLER....
Some things you may like to know about me!
How long I have been selling on EBay?
I have been buying AND selling on EBay since December 2002 with outstanding feedback!
Why do I buy on EBay?
That is a simple answer: I am a crafter and I LOVE awesome clothes and accessories but I live in a small town and don’t have access to all those big and fab stores you find in or around large cities to find these things.
1. I am a grandmother to 2 amazing grandchildren live with me who ALWAYS need clothes!
2. My 2 yr old grandson has been diagnosed with Autism and my 8 yr old granddaughter with Dyslexia so I use EBay as a resource to buy books to educate and equip myself to understand and help them. I also buy educational items for their special needs.
Why do I sell on EBay?
1. I sell the toys and clothing my grandchildren outgrow so I can buy them more!
2. I suffer from CFIDS and Rheumatoid Arthritis which has become so severe that my doctors have told me I can no longer continue to pursue my love of Altered art, Rubber stamping, card making, Scrapbooking and jewelry making because the pressure on my wrists, fingers and hands is just too hard. I have purchased oodles of amazing crafting products for this creative hobby and now need to sell them. This has probably been the most difficult thing I have had to accept and know that the sooner I sell these supplies the easier it will be on me that I have had to give it up. So I am offering new and gently used supplies up for sale to someone who can make beautiful and creative things.
Why do I like to sell on EBay?
1. I have met the most amazing and supportive people on EBay! Many in some of the same situations as me and that has been a blessing in more ways than one.
2. It gives me a way to make some of the investment back that I have put in on my supplies.
3. Many people like myself find that time, distance, cost of gas and especially shopping with kids make shopping on EBay a pleasure instead of a hurried chore. Something we can all use!
4. I get lots of questions from new crafters and love sharing my ideas with them.
5. Let’s face it! The idea of garage sales and selling through newspaper ads can be a bit scary these days and EBay gives me a safe alternative to these.
What do I sell on EBay?
Here are just SOME of the things you may find!
Crafting materials like scrapbook paper, mounted and unmounted rubber stamps (many unique and some very hard to find), glues, tape, rulers, stickers, embellishments, acrylic blocks for unmounted stamps, scrapbooks, inks, embossing powders/glitters, cardstock, card making supplies like envelopes, card blanks, stampin’ up supplies, rubber stamp/crafting magazines and books, ephemera, microscope slides for slide art and jewelry, jewelry findings, supplies and tools, old greeting cards, soap making supplies, candle making supplies, essential oils and herbs, mica powders, micro beads, polymer clay canes, vintage photos and photo albums, toddler boy clothes, little girl clothes even music cds and dvds!
I work in polymer clay so I also occasionally have clay, raw polymer clay canes, polymer clay molds and tools. Sometimes I have Tibetan lamb’s wool for hair and other items to decorate polymer fantasy dolls and mermaids.
Why I don’t like to sell on EBay but can’t change! Many of my buyers are really surprised when they find out what sellers actually pay to sell on EBay. It’s not a FREE service for sure!
10-1-2009
Also Ebay/ PayPal fees and shipping have gotten so high that most of my items have a minumum $4.50 s/h to cover fees, hosting service, postage ect. I usually just have a .75 on each additional item after the highest shipping cost. I have tried to start items at .99 but with the costs of selling and the item I actually lose money as it is very unsual to ship something that takes one stamp. Hopefully ebay/paypal will back off their fees a bit eventually but for the present I hope you understand that I believe honesty is the best policy which is why I explain all this in my listings. You absolutely do not have to buy from me but I can't see paying Ebay and PayPal to sell MY items at a loss.
An exception to the $4.50 first item s/h is if you are bidding on something like an unmounted rubber stamp and the winning bid is over $5.00 I will adjust the s/h. I am between a rock and a hard place. I don't want to go to a flat $5 s/h on each and every item as some sellers have done so I am trying to find a way to be fair to my buyers, myself and to make sure I stay within Ebay's policies. Since sellers MUST now use PAYPAL for all money they receive that also means we MUST pay a minumum fee + % of the money received on each and every transaction that goes through paypal. We no longer have a choice on method of payment nor do you.
EBAY OWNS PAYPAL!
1. EBay charges much higher fees than most customers realize! A buyer must pay the following on each item they sell:
1. A fee to list each item (whether the item sell or not)
2. A base fee + % of the sale price of the item
3. THEN when the buyer pays through PayPal there is another fee taken out and this is on the total amount of the amount of your payment INCLUDING any shipping and handling fees.
4. If you have an EBay store as I do, you also pay a huge chunk EVERY single month whether you list anything all month. (Please not you still pay a fee to list, a fee on the item if it sells AND the PayPal fee as well)
5. Many sellers like me also pay a photo listing company because EBay charges you .15 per each additional photo in your listing. Let’s face it EVERYBODY wants to see more than one little photo of what they are considering buying, including me!
So, when you look at the cost of item please consider all these costs, not to mention the actual cost of the item, shipping cost and time to do listings, pictures, and getting you your item.
Other things that make me CRAZY!
1. People who DO NOT read and understands my listing policies as I state them.
2. Buyers that bid, win and DO NOT PAY or have the courtesy to let me know if they have a problem of some sort. I try to work with everyone within reason.
3. People who leave negative feedback unfairly. Most buyers have no idea of the repercussions of leaving less than positive feedback OR less than 5 stars on any part of any of the DSR ratings cause sellers to pay more fees to list AND your item can be placed so low in search results that even after paying all these fees your item may never show to a single prospective buyer. Also FYI items that are listed and a seller EBay store ARE NOT SHOWN in the regular EBay searches! I bet most people don’t know that! Final value fees for sellers are even higher than fees for those items that are sold in auction style listings.
4. People who do not read my shipping policies. I am not a Power seller with a warehouse and employees, just lil’ ol’ me. All my buyers are welcome to ask questions of me anytime! I have 2 small children with special needs in my home so sometimes I can run a little behind. I am also understanding of that situation from people I buy from. I am not Wal-Mart nor is EBay my fulltime business. Although I do the best I can and always ask that if you need your item quickly LET ME KNOW!
5. EBay recently changed all payment methods to PAYPAL only! I think this stinks as it takes the choice away from the buyer. Of course please remember that ALL PAYPAL PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS REQUIRE A FEE PAID BY THE SELLER and PAYPAL IS OWNED BY EBAY! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out it is a little like double dipping for EBay BUT I can’t change this. So please don’t ask if you can send cash, check or money order because EBay has taken that choice from me as the seller and you as the buyer.
6. Shipping costs money, no matter how you look at it. EBay offers sellers a better place in searches if they offer FREE shipping to buyers. HOWEVER, we all reasonably know unless USPS, FEDEX or UPS starts offering free shipping there really is no thing as free shipping. SO, when you see free shipping in a listing it has to be covered somewhere, whether it is in the initial listing price or in the handling cost. I try to address the cost in different ways often the best way for my buyers is if they buy multiple items I try to offer a flat rate + a small handling charge. An example is below:
I try to safely pack multiple items together in one package. This is really a great way to get more bang for your buck as shipping cost on smaller packages has gone up so much. I can't do a lot about that but at I am trying to find a way to keep the shipping from taking such a bite out of those with budgets.
7. I personally DO NOT have a problem with paying sellers handling fees, if you order from Wal-Mart, Toys R us, Victoria ’s Secret and other online companies you have to pay a handling charge somewhere. I don’t ask people or companies I buy from to send me a breakdown of every penny when I buy something from them.
I look at TOTAL cost if it’s agreeable to me I buy it and if it I don’t think its fair I DON’T! If I see a great pair of jeans and the seller is charging $2.00for the jeans and $12.00 for s/h it’s the same as the seller who is charging $14.00 with FREE shipping. I pay the same price so I don’t really care how they break it down. Some people agree with this some don’t. You need to read my policies and if you think it’s not for you, please save us both time and frustration buying looking for a better deal somewhere else.
Something re: feedback and leaving thsoe little DSR (stars) ratings:
BEFORE YOU LEAVE FEEDBACK: Please Read:
eBay Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) are often misunderstood by Buyers. DSRs are not like other 5-point rating systems you may be used to, where a rating of 3 is right in the middle or average, above 3 is above average and below 3 would mean below average. But it doesn't work that way on eBay, where 4 is bad and 3 is very bad! On eBay, normal performance starts at 5 and anything less THAN A 5 is a NEGATIVE. With just a few 4 ratings, eBay will punish that seller with higher fees and penalties! So please reserve scores under 5 for truly sub-par performance. While it may seem that giving less than 5 stars couldn’t really hurt a buyer it absolutely CAN!
I always strive to give 5-star service. I clearly state all my policies and shipping rates and times up front. So if I have generally been honest in my descriptions, clear in my communications and policies and within reason on my shipping fees (please remember shipping cost, fees, supplies, time and gas are included in these fees), please respond with all 5 stars.
As I explain in my listings I am disabled with Rheumatoid arthritis, care for 2 young grand- children in my home 24-7 and Ebay is NOT a full-time business for me rather a way to sell my craft supplies and my polymer dolls and art. You are always welcome to email and check on the status of your packages. Please remember though I can not control the weather, the mail trucks and things like that. SOme weeks I ship every single day other weeks not so much. I have only failed to make at least one shipment in a week once when I had family medical emergency and had to fly out of state. Even then I kept my buyers informed I just couldn't physically ship until I returned home. That has happened one time since 2009!!!!!
Above everything else I cannot control USPS shipping rates! I state that if you need your item quickly let me know and I will do everything I can to accommodate that need. If I run behind on shipping I usually include something extra in your package.
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