The Other Side of the Auction

So I wrote a good story about ebay but unfortunately that is not the norm.  I don't get contacted too often and in 890 feedbacks I only ever got one negative one (and the was because the dingbat did not read the posting).  I sell and ship lots and lots of t shirt.  I have it down pat and it works for me.  The only problem is when people want me to combine shipping - buy more than one shirt that is and ship them together for a lower cost.  I keep my shipping charges as low as possible to please my customers but ever so often there is a doosey that cannot do math.  Shipping is by weight and two shirts weighs twice as much as one shirt hence the shipping is more than if I was shipping one shirt.  It is not rocket science and it mystifies me that people have trouble with that simplistic equation.  I usually charge $4.99 to ship one shirt, well this gem bought two t shirts and requested a revised amount for shipping costs.  I changed it from $9.98 to $7.99 to be accommodating.  I know I was losing a little on the shipping but it all evens out in the end.  The along comes this snarky message.  Really folks as a customer service professional always remember this mantra - Sarcasm and snarkiness does not help your cause.  I literally wanted to reply, "You're a moron" and be done with it but no I explained in full and struggled to do my best not to be nasty also, although I admit it I don't believe I was completely successful.  PS I hate when people write "cheers" in an email??? So annoyes me unless you really are buying me a drink then I like it.

Here is the exchange in full it you want to read how stupid the world can be:

EMAIL FROM CUSTOMER:

Thank you for adjusting the shipping price from $9.98 to $7.99.

I still think that if it cost you $4.99 to ship one shirt, it should've been the same price if not maybe a dollar more to ship two shirts.

Anyhow, I'll ask the USPS employee to give me a shipping quote on the package when I retrieve it from my PO Box.

If USPS finds that the shipping rate to ship the package from your address to my PO Box was less than the $7.99 that you charged me, I will ask for a refund at that time.

Cheers,

REPLY TO CUSTOMER:

Hello,

I understand what you are saying and I wish the USPS was that cheap also but it is not. Shipping by USPS is based on weight -- two shirts equals double the weight hence not the same shipping cost as one shirt. Last night when I went to the post office and put the two shirts and envelope on the scale the price to your zip code the USPS fee said $6.95 --- you will not need to check with USPS as you will be able to see the cost I paid on the shipping label itself -- in addition to that I had to pay $1.08 for the envelope ($1 plus 8 cents CA sales tax) and in further addition eBay charges a 10% fee on shipping costs charged which will be 80 cents ---- all together it will cost me $8.83 (not including the cost of my time to go to the post office twice) to ship these shirts while charging you only $7.99. I was trying to be accommodating and always try to keep my shipping charges as low as possible.

When you check with USPS please let me know if there is a cheaper option as I would love to be able to offer that to my customers - my local office has indicated there is not. I appreciate your help.

thanks.

Matt Came to Visit

Matt came to visit last month.  It was so good to see him again.  I felt bad as it rained 5 days out of the week that he was here but he enjoyed himself in other ways.  He always has a positive outlook and makes the best of everything.  I really enjoyed his company.  He is like Valium for me - he just keeps me relaxed and de-stressed.  I get myself really worked up at times and it is usually over the smallest, dumbest things but he just calms me down.  Sometimes he pokes the bear but he knows when is when and doesn't go to far, so it makes it funny.  He really spoiled me too and we went out quite a bit - thank you so much!  I stock piled some stuff for his visit - a Diesel shirt, a Burberry sweater, and so one but the best was that I gave him a Barney's navy blue tee shirt (he looks so goods in navy).  The t shirt was never used and I only paid 50 cents for it but I knew it was high end and would be perfect for Matt.  After I gave it to him I asked him how much he thought it cost at Barney's and he said $80.  I shit my pants!  An $80 t shirt???  One they can't charge $80 for a t shirt and two did I seriously just give it away???  I did not believe him so I checked later and her was right!!!  OMG how crazy is the world???  I was kinda stuck on it for the rest of the week but when I saw how awesome he looked in it, as I knew he would, I was glad how well it all worked out.  This post seems like a joke that is not funny when you re-tell it but let me just say that Matt's visit was the best time I have had in ages!  Come visit anytime you want Matt.  Love you!

The Highlight of My Day

I have been doing well with reselling Tommy Bahama shirts.  Most of them are not my style but they are really well made, quality products and retail for over $100 each.  The one above was an excellent score.  It is a limited edition embroidered back, 100% silk, and never worn (new with tags).  I got it for $3.50 and it sold for $41.00 so I made a terrific profit and the buyer got a great deal -- success all around right?  Well the story continues.  After the customer got the shirt she left me positive feedback and also sent me an email.  In her email she stated that her husband was a pilot and he had this exact shirt that he wore all the time when he hung out with his other pilot buddies.  Unfortunately he passed away when he was involved in a crash a year ago.  His shirt meant a lot to her son so my customer gave it to him.  In the meantime she has been on the hunt for more in order to give to her husband's pilot friends as a "memory gift".  Long story short she told me all that in order to let me know if I come across another of this exact shirt she is still looking for more.  I know this all sounds odd but I was thrilled by it all.  I sell a lot of items and they go all over the world and because I am so curious by nature I do wonder sometimes why the customer bought the item and what is going to happen to it.  So to get this message volunteering this info pleased me and it was also a touching story.  I did reply back and in short I said that I was sorry for her loss, I never know what I will come across but will keep it in mind, and that I am sure her husband is happy with the "memory gifts" she is tracking down for his friends.  I figured that would be the end of it but no.  I got an email right back.  I made her cry.  She thanked me profusely for speaking of her husband being happy and using the present tense.  She said it has been difficult to let him go but even though she has his essence still exists and always will so it meant a lot for me to recognize this and use the present tense.  It was nice.  It was good.  It definitely was not an interaction that I imagined would be taking place today.  I am glad my message made her happy as her message made me super happy too.  The highlight of my day.

Be Careful of the Dress Hags

Ok this post might be a bit negative but I will do my best to keep it light.  My dignity went out the went out the window long ago.  I have a job where I literally make 13 cents and hour - seriously 6 year old kids in turn of the century sweat shop textile mills made more than I do.  But you know what - I am doing what I need to do, I am surviving and I am taking care of myself.  It is the slow season for retail so I pick up hours in any department that I can, again dignity is a long lost concept for me.  Today I was schilling women's dresses.  I have no problem with this but I do have a problem with the bitches in that area, or more to the point they have a problem with me!  I get that we all have numbers which adds to the pressure but what these so called "ladies" have not figured out is that regardless if we individually get 150% or 350% of our sales goal, we at the end of the day we are still just making 13 fucking cents an hour.  In men's we work together so we can all make a good individual goal instead of one person having 350% and the other having 25%.  It is called teamwork.  Long story short if I even looked at the register today then I was pounced by the lionesses. Seriously, again we are not on commission.  If I help 5 women pick out flouncy overpriced dresses in an hour or 50, well I am still only getting paid 13 cents for that hour.  End of the day I was glad it was only a 4 hour shift.  I smiled at all the my bitchey coworkers, said yes and ok to every insane piece of BS they said to me and privately did my eye rolls as I picked up the 15,0000 articles of clothing off the floor (what is the deal with women's clothing that it is not made to be on a hanger???)  I did help one lady by veering her away from this atrocious peach cotillion dress into a sharp and sleek black and white number that  was so much more flattered her age and figure.  With that one dress I made my sales goal and so had no problem staying clear from the hags at the register (serious why would a customer buy a $500 dress from a female sales clerk that has no make up on or could not even run a comb through her hair that morning?).  It is very often that woman say they do not like to work with other women -- I kinda get that now.  Its all good - I made the pennies I needed today and damn that lady looked good in the black and white dress.  She even gave me a hug!

Happy St Patrick's Day

This is a real doorway in Ireland.  I like that it is open to an amazing and thoroughly different world.  This is where I am on this St Patrick's Day, standing at a doorway to a different world.  I am going to walk through it.  I do know that once I go through I still have to make my way.  That is where I hope the luck of the Irish comes in.  I hope you all have a wonderful day and are in a wonderful world.

Happy Anniversary

Happy 6th Year Anniversary to me since I made my first blog posting.  I know that I have been awful lately but I was not sure what I had to say.  Seems like it is the same thing daily.  I am just focused on working out my finances and being able to support myself.  I have a plan that I am working on but it is taking time to get there.  In the meantime I have been helping support myself with eBay.  It is the most exciting things I do as of  late.  I try my best to stay away from any purchases for myself but I fail every so often.  This is a vintage Benrus watch that I picked up yesterday.  I works perfectly and was only 8 bucks.  I just could not pass up this swanky grandpa style, love it.  It was mangled but I fixed it up.  I polished the glass and got the scratches out and also reconditioned the leather band.  There is plenty of life left in this classic -- just like there is plenty of life in me (also a classic).  I promise I will be blogging more often.