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FAQ
- Shipping time, time to ship, How long until I receive my item?
- Will I get a tracking number?
- Who is UPS? Who is USPS?
- What about shipping insurance?
- Will you ship to a P.O. Box? What about my APO/FPO?
- What is the difference between UPS Ground and UPS 3-Day Select?
- I don’t like Paypal, can I pay using a debit or credit card?
- Can I pay using Google Wallet?
- Can I pay using a paper check?
- Can I pay using bank-to-bank wire transfer?
- Non-US address with my payment account, Am I a “US buyer”?
- Paypal :: What is a “Confirmed Address”?
- Paypal :: What is a “Verified” account?
- Paypal :: What is “Instant payment”? What is “eCheck”?
- Empty space in the packing photos … can’t it shift and possibly get damaged?
- There is damage or other problem with my order, now what?
FOR ALL BUYERS …
Q:Shipping time, time to ship, How long until I receive my item?
A: That would be the Time-To-Ship plus the transit time, both in business days. We ship within one (1) business day of cleared payment. If you need your item delivered on a specific date, inquire before you bid/buy. If you need faster service, contact us beforehand — UPS Next Day and 2nd Day Air are available for most items. Click below to get the current UPS map of normal (but not guaranteed) business days in transit for UPS Ground service from our zip code 08542 to your location. All UPS shipments, including UPS Ground service, are “Day Definite”, which means (on the day that we ship) you will know the date on which UPS will attempt delivery. When viewing the UPS transit time map, please keep in mind that it does not delineate town-by-town exceptions to the color-coded days-in-transit. A less populated corner of one color-coded block might be a day longer, whereas a major urban center may be a day less. If timing is critical to your purchase, please contact us before you buy.
Q: Will I get a tracking number?
A: Yes, you will receive a tracking number on the day that we ship your item; it will be emailed to you directly by the carrier, so it is important that you are not spam-blocking email sent from the carrier’s tracking system. You will also receive another auto-notify email from UPS a few hours after delivery. All US-bound parcels ship UPS; some overseas-bound parcels optionally are offered with USPS Express Mail International.
Please be sure that you are not blocking mail sent from these addresses:
auto-notify@ups.com
U.S._Postal_Service@usps.com
Q: Who is UPS? Who is USPS?
A: UPS is United Parcel Service, a private carrier. USPS is the United States Postal Service, the US government sanctioned mail and parcel service.
Q: What about shipping insurance?
A: All US-bound items ship with UPS, fully insured with UPS against loss or damage in transit. International-bound shipments are also insured, pursuant to the insurance-limit set by the carrier, and, for USPS-International, the maximum insurance available varies by country and can be quite limited.
Maximum insurance coverage for USPS International:
Germany $500, France $650, UK $650, Switzerland $650. USD
Q: Will you ship to a P.O. Box? What about my APO/FPO?
A: Sorry, but we can not ship to a Post Office Box or APO/FPO — we ship using UPS, and UPS will only deliver to a street address; however, if you are a member of the US Armed Forces and wish to purchase; please contact us.
Q: What is the difference between UPS Ground and UPS 3-Day Select?
A: Available to the 48 contiguous US states, UPS 3 Day Select is described on the UPS website as “An ideal mix of economy and guaranteed delivery by the end of the third business day.” You could think of it as UPS Ground service with a time in transit of three business days. Here’s the catch: The eBay and Ruby Lane shipping calculators will show 3-Day Select (if we have enabled that option for that item) for all destinations — even if UPS Ground is only 1, 2, or 3 days. But if UPS Ground is 3 days or less to your destination, UPS does not offer 3-Day Select. This makes perfect sense, since there would be added cost but no benefit.
So, if the transit time to your location shows UPS Ground as 3 days or less, choose UPS Ground instead of UPS 3-Day Select. Don’t worry though, if you choose and pay us for 3-Day Select — but that service is not available to us because UPS Ground to your destination is 3 days or less — we’ll refund the difference to you and ship the item UPS Ground.
Also, by the way, whereas we enable UPS Ground and 3-Day Select within the shipping calculator for most of our listings, we are also willing to ship via the faster UPS services of 2nd Day Air and Next Day Air. Please inquire as to cost before you buy or generate a purchase order.
Q: I don’t like Paypal, can I pay using a debit or credit card?
A: Yes. While our eBay store is Paypal-only (because eBay owns Paypal) our store at ThinkGreatStuff.com uses Google Wallet for checkout; see the next question…
Q: Can I pay using Google Wallet?
A: We accept Google Wallet (previously known as “Google Checkout”) for almost all items — this allows you to pay us with a debit card or credit card bearing any of the following logos: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover.
Q: Can I pay using a paper check?
A: We strongly prefer electronic payment for most items, but if you really (really) want to snail-mail us a money order, personal check, or bank cashier’s check … submit our Contact Form and we will respond promptly.
Q: Can I pay using bank-to-bank wire transfer?
A: Yes, we accept (or sometimes require) Fedwire bank-to-bank wire transfers for certain high-priced items … submit our Contact Form and we will respond promptly.
Q: Non-US address with my payment account, Am I a “US buyer”?
A: No, not for us. You are only a “US buyer” if your (eBay or Ruby Lane) account AND your Paypal or Google Wallet account are both registered to the same US address.
Q: Paypal :: What is a “Confirmed Address”?
A: Generally speaking, a Paypal Confirmed Address means that your registered address at Paypal is the same address where you receive your credit card billing statement. A Confirmed Address is important because Paypal provides the seller with a level of “Seller Protection” — but only when the seller meets a long list of requirements, one of which is that the buyer-ship-to be a Confirmed Address. Additionally, we require a Confirmed STREET Address, since UPS will not deliver to a P.O. Box. Here is how to tell if your Paypal account has a Confirmed Address: Login to your Paypal account, click Profile (in the links-bar above your name), click Street Address in the Account Information column, the status for your address is shown on that page.
Q: Paypal :: What is a “Verified” account? Does that count as a Confirmed Address?
A: No, a Paypal “Verified” account and a “Confirmed Address” are two different things. A Paypal Verified account is a Paypal account which you have linked to your (bank) checking account, and completed a short verification process. We do NOT require buyers to have a Verified Paypal account.
Q: Paypal :: What is “Instant payment”? What is “eCheck”?
A: A RARE PROBLEM, but… We will not ship your item until payment has cleared. Usually, it takes only a few minutes after you complete payment at Paypal for the funds to clear into our Paypal account; this is what Paypal calls an “Instant Payment”. But occasionally a payment will arrive with a notice from Paypal to NOT ship the item until further notification, which is typically 5 business days later — this because the buyer has funded the transaction using an “eCheck”. An eCheck is a Paypal payment that you fund using your (Paypal-linked) bank account when — this is important — when you either have no credit card on file at Paypal, or when some piece of the credit card info on file, like the expiration date or the billing address, is out of date. Please make every effort to avoid this unfortunate occurrence. We always ship ASAP, but if your Paypal payment arrives as an eCheck, it will delay shipment by approximately one week.
Q: I noticed, in the packing photos, some empty space in the box — can’t it shift and possibly get damaged?
A: Ahh… good question. We usually photograph the packing at a stage where you can see the item, and some of the packing material around it, but before we add additional packing material so that there is no empty/void space in the box. Please know that ready-to-ship boxes are always fully stuffed with packing material to prevent any shifting or settling. We double-box just about everything and pack both inner and outer boxes such that there is no void space. We tend to go overboard on packing — we want to be certain that your purchase arrives intact, visit Why us for more info.
Q: There is damage or other problem with my order, now what?
A: We pack very carefully, and take every precaution to ensure that your item reaches you exactly as described. All items are insured with the carrier against loss or damage in transit. Upon delivery, please immediately inspect your item; if there is any issue, problem, or damage:
- Stay calm. We will work with you to resolve the problem. Contact us immediately, and await our response.
- Save all packing material — Yes, ALL, as in every-piece-of packing material.
- Please DO NOT file an eBay/Paypal dispute or credit card claim, doing so will only lengthen and complicate resolution. Give us the chance to resolve the issue first; you will still have the option of filing a dispute afterwards.
- If your item arrived damaged: Contact us immediately; we prefer to notify the carrier ourselves. But, in the unlikely event that you do not hear back from us within 24 hours: Notify the carrier via UPS Claims. DO NOT simply return the item, since that will void insurance coverage.
Again: If you are not happy with your purchase, for any reason, please contact us and we will work with you to resolve the issue.
FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS (non-US)…
Q: Item is listed “not available” to my country (or my Paypal payment has been blocked), can I buy this item?
A: Often we are happy to make an item available to you even if the item’s listing does not initially include your country. Please submit our Contact Form and we will respond promptly.
Q: Which carrier for international?
A: UPS is our default carrier, but for some items/countries we may also offer US Postal Service Express Mail International as an alternative. Sorry, but we do not offer Priority Mail International or First Class International.
Q: What about duty/taxes?
A: The buyer is responsible for all duty, taxes, brokerage fees, and customs-clearance fees. These charges are payable directly to the appropriate carrier, broker, or customs agent, upon delivery.
Q: Canada :: Would you be willing to ship U.S. Postal (USPS) instead?
A:Maybe; depends on the item value, box size, and a few other considerations. Inquire before you buy.
Q: Canada :: What is the UPS brokerage fee?
A: Canadian-bound parcels shipped UPS Ground, called “Standard to Canada” service by UPS, incur an added fee for clearing customs, which UPS calls a brokerage fee (by the way, this fee is NOT incurred for their faster services). This brokerage fee is in addition to the S+H charge that you paid to the seller. The buyer is responsible for this fee; it is payable directly to UPS upon delivery of your package.
Please see Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada and this PDF brochure for more info. Also see the previous several questions.
Vintage, Antique, or Unique... Think Great Stuff
Browse -›
Our other site -› AntiqueBookends.us