I will be closing both of my stores on Sunday, August 1. I will have oral surgery next week to remove two teeth, which I mentioned in my previous post. A few days after that, I will go back to work for the fall semester.
Jennifer's Series Books on eBay
Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy
I expect to be closed for two to three months.
Both stores currently have a 10% discount on all purchases. The sale was supposed to end today, but I decided to extend it until the day before I close the stores. The sale will end on Saturday evening, July 31.
I want to get my inventory down just a bit so that I can reduce the shelf space taken up by those books. This will help me to continue to organize my different collections.
I am also being very careful about what I purchase, as I don't want to end up with boxes and boxes of extra books by the time I reopen. During the last week, I decided not to purchase four bulk lots that I would normally have purchased. Any bulk lots will have to be especially enticing before I will consider purchasing them. And yes, I have already purchased two small bulk lots, but they have important books in them (like hardcover Hardy Boys Digest books).
Sales have been brisk since March and mostly without any trouble. The postal service has caused me a few problems with some delayed outgoing and incoming packages. Two outgoing international packages were held up in customs for a month. One incoming international package took two weeks to be processed through customs.
Currently, I have one incoming package going in a circle in the northeast United States. Hopefully, it will escape soon. A few of my outgoing packages have also gone in circles. This doesn't seem very efficient.
A few years ago, I wrote about the high cost of international shipping.
Chinese sellers are able to list items on Amazon, eBay, and other sites for as little as U.S. $0.99, shipping included. The Chinese receive subsidized postage rates, and the rest of the world is paying their postage for them. Read the following article for more information.
As U.S. Postage Rates Continue To Rise, The USPS Gives The Chinese A 'Free Ride'
I still offer to ship books internationally, but most of my prospective international buyers think I am ripping them off. They think I am choosing to use the most expensive shipping method instead of using a less expensive method. The United States Postal Service no longer offers surface mail. It does not exist. We are only allowed to use the expensive method.
This came up again last week, leaving me with the familiar but unpleasant feeling that the buyer thinks I am trying to rip them off. A buyer wanted me to find a cheaper method to mail five books. I looked into the cost, and it would cost me $80 to mail the five books together in a box to the destination country. Yes, I agree that the cost is outrageous and not worth it for cheap books.
I was then told that another seller sent seven books to the buyer via international mail for around $30. It was suggested that I might be able to find a cheaper method. I decided not to respond, just because I didn't wish to give a detailed explanation of the situation.
I don't have access to that cheap of a method through the regular shipping channel. It is true that a cheaper, seldom-used method does exist. However, I'm not going to go to the trouble of using M-bag, if that is how the seller ended up shipping the books for $30. I used M-bag a few times many years ago, so I am quite aware of the service and the hassle involved on my end. I don't care to go to that trouble, for personal reasons.
Years ago, the postal clerks were bemused when I asked for M-bag. They didn't know what it was and had to find a supervisor. A canvas bag had to be found. The package had to be placed inside the bag, and then the bag had to be tagged with the mailing label. I drop off my packages with preprinted labels, and I refuse to wait in line and go through all of that again. I am sorry.
In past years when I have mentioned M-bag, some readers would tell me that it is a defunct service, while other readers would say that the service is still offered. USPS updated its site, and the service still existed as of January 24, 2021. That's pretty recent, so I'm confident that the service continues to be offered.
What Is M-bag Service?
I will close with a word of advice. If you really want a book and the book is at all scarce, purchase it instead of asking the seller questions. A prospective buyer asked me about whether a certain book had a mylar cover (the edge of the white paper backing could be seen in a chipped area in the photo) and whether the shipping cost would include insurance.
I spent a few minutes typing an answer. I stated that the book had a mylar cover. I explained that the shipping didn't include insurance, and eBay does not allow sellers to charge for insurance. However, I would gladly insure the book. As soon as I sent my reply, I saw that the book had just sold to somebody else. The person who asked the questions missed out by just minutes. The book hadn't been listed that long.
If a book is scarce and hasn't been listed for very long, purchase it if you think you want it.
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