>User Profile > itsabooty > All-About-Me

My name is Jeff and I have been an antiques dealer for more than a quarter of a century. Over the years I have owned and run shops, an antiques centre, have stood at fairs, from the smallest local village hall bric a brac market to the massive showground trade fairs, have given talks the public and generally tried almost everything in the field of antiques with the exception of being an auctioneer. Although I suppose my seven years with eBay could be thought of as covering that base !

I no longer sell as `itsabooty` on eBay because of their anti-seller policies, but I wont get on my soap box, everybody knows what a rubbish place eBay has become. While I was there I amassed over 1500 feedbacks and learnt a great deal about what people want from an on-line auction or seller. I think buyers need to be treated honestly and I have always tried to be open and frank. I have also tried to treat my customers with respect, most are a joy to work with, but I do not suffer fools gladly.

I source my stock from a variety of places, farm auctions, household auctions and antiques auctions, house clearances, car boot sales and antiques fairs, as well as buying from shops. I am always on the look-out for unusual and interesting things and I have a particular interest in the period 1850 - 1950, with a special mention for the Arts and Crafts items produced in that time.

When it comes to selling there are various hints and points of which I would like you to be aware.

Firstly, and most importantly, I use as many photos as I think will convey the piece accurately. You dont want to be unsure of what you are buying and I dont want you to have a nasty surprise either.

Secondly, I try to be as open and clear as possible as to the other costs involved in the buying process such as shipping/postage costs and payment costs.

There are the wide range of posting costs, from simple 2nd class post all the way up to insured courier collection and delivery. The difference in price is huge, so bear this in mind and, if in doubt.... ask. At the end of the day it is your decision which service to use and what level of cost you want to incur to ensure the safe delivery of your item.

I am an antiques dealer NOT a postal delivery service. I act as your agent only, I package well and I always get a `proof of posting` certificate so that you know I have posted your item. I do not feel that I should be held responsible for any shortcomings of the postal service

International buyers – please note:
Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or P&P charges. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility. Please check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying.

Other types of costs involved in the buying process might include the cost of payment. I have a policy of maintaining a level playing field for all buyers, no matter which payment method they chose to use, no one method will be made more attractive to buyers than any other. All payments methods have a cost, whether it be the cost of processing a bank transfer, the cost of writing a cheque or the cost of making a Paypal payment. All buyers will be responsible for the costs of their own choice of payment method.

How to deal with these costs... Set in your mind the total amount you would be willing to spend on an item. This needs to be high enough so that you wont always regret it if you dont get it, and low enough so that you dont feel you have paid too much. Next total up the costs of payment and of shipping/postage and deduct that from what you will pay. This gives you the total you can offer/bid/pay. So you see it is to a certain extent irrelevant what the costs are because you still pay the same amount out. And if there is a level playing field for costs, nobody has an advantage over anyone else.