And other interesting things about our website . . .
Recently I discovered that some shoppers might not be aware that we provide free shipping on all orders of $35 or more. Changes have been made to the website, so that there’s now a can’t-really-miss-it banner that states that on the home page, but of course not everyone visits the home page; hence this blog post. Our shipping costs are low anyway – usually $1 per item, even though we ship every order with USPS tracking – but I wanted everyone to be aware of our policy.
So, now that I’ve started writing about the workings of the website (as opposed to writing about stamps, which is what I prefer to do), I’ll briefly mention whatever else I think should be mentioned.
One thing you’ll know already if you’ve made purchases through the sonorastampshop.com website is that it’s hosted by Etsy, so when you go to checkout you’ll be using a process just like any other Etsy shopper. (It’s easy, and you can check out as a guest if you want to do so.) Why do I use Etsy? Simply put, it’s easy for me and safe for my customers. Not only does Etsy keep your payment information secure, it also correctly calculates and collects appropriate sales tax.
The next thing I should mention concerns the images of the stamps shown. They’re not the actual size – that would be pretty much impossible to accomplish, what with people looking at things on their desktops, tablets, phones, etc. – but whenever I have the information I usually put something about the size of a stamp in the description. Be aware that actual colors can also vary somewhat from screen to screen.
If I have, or am planning on having, more than one copy of a stamp or set of stamps in inventory, the description will state: “We often have multiple copies of this item in stock; the image shown is representative of what you will receive.” If the item in question is a plate block, I’ll also add, “The plate number and/or position may vary.” And if the item in question is from a time when the centering of a stamp image could vary widely, the description will state: “Please be aware that centering varies with older stamp issues.” Of course, some items are pretty much one-of-a-kind, and for those things the image will be of the specific item being sold.
Lastly I’ll discuss shipping and delivery times. On most days, orders get shipped out the day after they’re received, usually in the morning. So I’m pretty fast that way. And, as noted above, every order gets shipped with USPS tracking. If you read the news, you already know that the mail service in this country isn’t as fast as it used to be, but by using tracking nearly all orders end up where they should be – and, if they don’t, we can both see that. If you ever do order something and have it not arrive in a reasonably timely manner, check the USPS tracking information and then get in touch with me so that I can either send a replacement or issue a refund.
Anyway, that’s it for this “housekeeping” blog, and I hope the information proves useful. If you have any questions that I didn’t address here, be sure to contact me.
Happy collecting!
Daniel