Below is a breakdown of how and why our shipping rates are determined as they are.

We have found that fixed shipping rates are the best way to provide an easily predictable cost regardless of how many different items are purchase. Please consider the stated shipping as part of the final item total. In this case it's not high or low, it's just the price and it is very clearly stated up front so not a surprise.

We are always working to improve our system and charges to make it as easy and cost effective as possible. The average order is for 1 or 2 items so that is what the stated rates are tailored to. If you want to order many items together and feel that the shipping charges are excessive you can contact us for options for better ship rates

We will ship using the fastest method available within reason. This will generally be a USPS flat rate envelope or box for smaller items or UPS ground for larger items/orders. Shipping rates are generally figured against UPS charges ¾ of the way across country. We will always use a USPS flat rate box over UPS as it gets there much faster. For single item orders this often costs us more than you have paid for shipping. On the flip side, we may get a few bucks for multiple item orders. It is virtually impossible to get the system to determine the rate for every order accurately and it generally works out in the wash this way. We WILL use flat rate boxes whenever possible and should not receive a hit in the DSR “shipping charges” category just because we found a way to get you your item in half the time and saved a little money in the process. It’s a win/win situation. If the order doesn’t fit in flat rate and needs to go UPS we may loose $ but will never charge additional

We have spent many hours with Ebay and Paypal discussing the calculators and other shipping rate calculation options and nothing seems to work out in all cases and be predictable for the customer. It either goes over or under drastically or just gets confusing. The calculators also make it virtually impossible for the customer to determine the actual final ship cost before purchasing all items if buying from more than 1 listing. We have tried using the calculators and many other methods over the past number of months and it has caused more problems than it has solved so we are going back to the fixed rates

A WORD ON “DSR” RATINGS.  As you may or may not know, Ebay sellers get discounts and incentives depending on their DSR (stars) rating. the better discount we get the better the rate we can provide. leaving a good mark will improve pricing in the long run. FYI - A star rating of 4 in any category is NOT a good rating as any seller that averages 4.3 or less gets kicked off Ebay. If everyone received 4 stars there would be no Ebay sellers. if you are happy that your item arrived very fast and in good condition and as described you should be leaving 5 stars in all categories. since our orders can be so variable our fixed rate shipping is just the quickest and easiest way for all involved.

*** For a very good tutorial about this DSR system please see the independent site - LeavingFeedback.com – be sure to click to the 2nd page also for a much more detailed breakdown

Thank you again for shopping with us and taking the time to better understand our shipping policy