eBay My World: north-beach-treasures( 1316)

I'm a 48-year old Dane, now living in the beautiful US Pacific Northwest. I'm a life-long nature lover and beachcomber, and make my living primarily as a writer and stamp dealer. This is my ''hobby'' account; I have been on eBay since May 1998.

seaglass, sea shells, postage stamps, colored glass, driftwood, pottery, blown glass, shells, stamps, coins, paperweights

stamps, old letters, books, music, art pottery, zuni fetishes, northwest coast American Indian art, soapstone carvings, DVDs

Stamps, coins, pottery, sea glass

English, Danish

Gardening, reading, writing, beach combing, nature photography, hiking, golf, stamp collecting, cooking

The Power of Now, The Four Agreements, The Intention Experiment, The Highly Sensitive Person

Lost In Translation, Garden State, The Fifth Element, Still Breathing, The Station Agent, Danny Deckchair

Six Feet Under, Boston Legal, Pushing Daisies, Scrubs

This particular eBay account is fairly new to me, but I have actually been part of the eBay community as a buyer and seller since May of 1998. However, because my ''main'' eBay identity is my business, and what I plan to use this account for is purely ''hobby,'' my bookkeeper suggested I start a new account, even though the feedback from 2000+ transactions won't transfer. ''Unless,of course,'' she said, ''you want to pay taxes on any coincidental income from your hobbies.'' I thought she had a good point. Of course, if people turn out to like the sea glass, this will probably just end up becoming part of my ''patchwork economics'' lifestyle.

I have lived near the ocean for most of my life. I learned the joy of beachcombing from my father, when I was a small boy of maybe five or six. I currently live about a 10-minute walk from the beach, in a town that's surrounded by water on three sides. While other people go jogging, or walk their dogs-- I stroll on the beach several times a week, often with my camera. During my walks, there are always treasures to be found... washed up by the sea. Every one of them is fascinating to me, even after 40 years of beachwalking. However, 40 years of collecting things from the beach is a LONG time, so much of what I find is certainly ''wonderful,'' but it is hardly ''new'' to my collections. I recently came to the realization that unless I stopped bringing in stuff, I'd simply run out of space... and frankly, I'd rather SHARE the treasures I find with others, than just toss them back into the ocean.

I accept PayPal, because it is fast, easy and secure... and it's pretty much how most people want to pay. It gets a bit costly (with fees, and all) for small amounts so I APRECIATE checks and money orders when the total is less than $10.00, but I by no means REQUIRE it.

I generally use the Post Office to ship-- Priority Mail or First Class Mail. How much it costs naturally depends on the weight of a shipment. Shipping is charged at something pretty close to MY COST. When I am shipping smaller lighter items, they are usually sent in padded/bubble envelopes. Please keep in mind that part of my ''cost'' includes the price of such an envelope, except for Priority Mail, where the USPS provides packing materials at no charge to me. However, I do not try to ''make money'' from shipping, as I find this practice very annoying, as a buyer. For 15 years, I had a store that sold blown glass, and we shipped worldwide-- I'm pretty good at packing safely. Yes, I do combine shipping on multiple purchases-- which is also a reason I STRONGLY encourage people to look at ALL my auctions. Since all my sales at a given time are 'related' you can often end up with several items being shipped for a reduced rate.

Basically, I want people to be happy with what they buy from me. In most cases, if you don't like something, send it back within 10 days for your money back-- the cost of the item + shipping. All you'll be out is the cost to ship the item back to me. EXCEPTION 1: I have a fair amount of seaglass and beach pottery that I sell in ''lots.'' I will NOT accept returns of individual pieces contained in something described (for example) as a ''mixed lot of 50 pieces.'' However, I usually add a few extra pieces to lots, so when I say ''50 pieces,'' you'll typically end up getting 53-55, and so on. EXCEPTION 2: I will NOT accept returns because ''it looked bigger in the picture.'' ALL items are sold with dimensions listed in the description, AND include a photo with a coin for size comparison. When you make a photo of something small large enough for people to see clearly, the item WILL automatically look larger. Please READ the description!

For now, I'm not going to put that here... not because I have anything to hide, but because I just don't care for all that SPAM that appears when I put my email address somewhere on the web. The eBay contact/message system is pretty effective, and I DO respond to messages.

It is said that ''a picture is worth a thousand words,'' and I tend to take that to heart. I strive to always have a LARGE CLEAR PHOTO (or several) with each auction I offer. In the case of seaglass, there will typically be a ''main'' photo, and a smaller one showing the specimen next to a standard US Dime, to give an impression of size. For those of you outside the US (or who don't have a dime handy), this coin measures 11/16ths of an inch in diameter, or 17mm for you metric folks. I have been a hobbyist nature photographer with an interest in macro (close-up) work for years, so I am fairly picky about my images. However, please READ the descriptions, as well! To avoid confusion about what you're buying, especially read the part about CONDITION... I do describe as accurately as possible, and people who know me say I am a harsh judge when it comes to quality. I tend to see flaws where most people don't.

Most of what I sell with this eBay account is sea glass. I have collected sea glass for almost 40 years, and there is much controversy and debate over the issue of ''real'' (beach picked) vs. ''man made'' (tumbled broken glass) sea glass. ALL the glass I sell was found by me, on ocean shores around the world, but predominantly in the Pacific Northwest, or my native Denmark. I do NOT trade in man-made glass, I do NOT alter or otherwise ''improve'' the glass I find and offer for sale. I also do NOT oil or otherwise ''treat'' the glass to make it look like something it is not. When you buy glass from me, you will ONLY get beach picked glass, as I find it. Occasionally, you might get a bit of seaweed. But it's the genuine article. NO EXCEPTIONS, NO EXCUSES. Occasionally, I also sell some beach pottery, rocks, carved driftwood walking staffs and sculpture, and other things of interest. My passion is basically ''Found Objects.''