eBay My World: wayne89( 1210)

I LUV GLASS!

Art Glass, Folk Art, Precious Metals, Investment Grade Coins, Art Pottery, Antiques

English

Besides an obvious fanaticism about glass, I love the outdoors. I was born and raised in Southern Arizona and though most folks think of the desert southwest as a barren, hot and unforgiving environment, it's anything but. That's why, when ever I get the chance, this is where you will find me. Arizona, besides having what seems like the all of the copper you could ever wish, actually is the home of many of the worlds greatest minerals. Besides Gold and Silver, we hunt for semi-precious stones like turquoise, jade and fire agate and my personal favorites malachite and the deeply intense azurite, which is a shade of blue unlike any other found in nature. And of course, Apache Tears, which are mined very much like opals in the Australian outback, in so far that the stones are embedded in soft limestone deposits and you merely take your small pick and pop 'em out of the wall. Of course to reach any of these stones requires that you hike miles into the desert.

I don't like to brag, especially in this day and era of the computer, but yes, I'm a nerd and prefer to read a good book rather than zapping Martians on a video monitor. But my favorite book, bar none is, To Kill a Mockingbird. I've read it maybe four times now and it still teaches me those lessons about life that still hold true today. Intolerance, bigotry, injustice and that there are still descent men and women that even though they stand alone, fight for what is right.

This is tougher to answer, simply because I haven't seen many movies, nor am I inclined to do so. But of those I have seen I'll have to choose, Casablanca.

Again, I'm not much into music but I love Marty Robbins and will go with, Big Iron.

We (my family) have been collecting glass for three generations. As such, it became necessary to actually sell some of these items to make room for new acquisitions. Out of that reality, we came to open booths and stores in the Phoenix, AZ metropolitan area not only to make the resale of our items more organized, but to give our family a focal point that we all could be involved with (sort of like the family who bowls together, stays together). Luckily, through hard times and good, we have managed to keep our inventory and collection growing. Now we have decided to expand our business past booths and store fronts and enter the world wide market of the internet. We (or at least I), being comfortable with Ebay have made a commitment to providing a continuous offering via Ebay, while the smarter of my siblings begins those preparations necessary to opening a dedicated web site (cranberryopalescent.com). Until that time, we will learn from you what you want (besides free) most in glass.

Well we use to offer a variety of options allowed for payment, but in October of 2008 eBay more or less restricted those options to electronic means. Now we do not have any business accounts with banks, so we can not offer a Merchants Credit Card option and like thousands of other small sellers, we are forced into taking Paypal, completely owned by eBay and yet another 3% that eBay absorbs from the seller.

We only use brand new boxes and fill material in our packaging. We do not use USPS free boxes as they are 32lb ECT, while those we buy are 40lb ECT, which offer greater protection. We pack extremely well, exceeding every major carriers requirements for packaging fragile items. We are very proud of the fact none of our products have ever been damaged in transit. Because of these material costs and the fact that they weigh more, our freight costs are higher than those offered by folks who reuse old boxes and newspapers to protect your investment. But in each of our sales you will find a postal calculator, we do not hide the cost of your freight, which allows you to consider that cost into your bid.

This is tough. We use to be very generous with our return policy, but eBay has made selling a very costly business in the fact that they (eBay) with their fees and such has risen from about 5% of the total sale when I first started about ten years ago to 18% now. Mind you, that's for a listing that lasts only 7 days. You have to wonder how eBay figures the cost out. If I list something for 2 bucks and someone buys it, eBay takes about 0.36 cents from listing fees to final value fees to the 3% they get from PayPal, yet if I list something for $500.00 and eBay obviously doesn't do anything more technically wise than they did for the listing that cost 2 dollars, but they now take $90.00. So we out of necessity, no longer accept returns. It's not because we're trying to steal your money or get out of our obligation to be honest retailers, but because eBay will still keep the listing fee.So we will obviously return the cost of your item, but we no longer will refund the actual shipping cost

pretty-glass@q.com

We are crazy for glass. A fine piece of glass can dazzle or fascinate an individual like brightly colored fish in an aquarium. It is this love for glass that we bring to all of our transactions. Of our goals, it is to educate and thrill others about the wonders of glass. From furnaces hotter than hell, sand, metals and chemicals are turned molten and gathered. Upon which, skilled (sometimes as many as twenty, sometimes just one) artisans working in a medium that allows only seconds to shape or mold, create elaborate, richly textured or marvelously minimalist wonders in colors of earth and imagination. It is our promise as individuals and corporate citizens that the experience of purchasing from us must be easy, enjoyable and beneficial. To that end, we are dedicated to providing only the finest glass for the price that can be found. Furthermore, this commitment extends to all of our offerings.

Look out folks. The day of the small seller on eBay is coming to an end. They have decided we don't make them enough money and soon will make it impossible for small sellers to make a profit. I sure do hope you all like a Walmart on every corner.