I do my best to figure out the shipping charges to the best of my ability. As a long time buyer, I know how frustrating the shipping charges can be when you get your heart set on an item and the price it will cost you. This is why I've elected to join Etsy's Free Shipping Guarantee. If your order is under $35 and you are paying for shipping, I will refund you any difference between what my estimate was and the actual shipping cost. Etsy only allows us to calculate shipping costs at USPS rates so I will quote out the various carries to find the cheapest ship means to get your purchase safely to you. More often than not the lowest shipping cost that insures the contents is UPS Ground so transit time may end up being longer than quoted.

I will absolutely consolidate your order to the best of my ability. Having done it myself, I know what an additional incentive it is to buy multiple items from a single shop in order to save on shipping charges. And of course, I want you to do the same to me.

But let me also remind you that I have free shipping for orders over $35. If you are wondering about order consolidation and still below $35, you are leaving money on the table. You should think of it as free credit that is good only for this transaction. Use it or lose it!

I know I write really long descriptions. This is very much to my detriment because it means I can only get listings up so fast. For me, when I buy vintage items I want to know a little something about what I am buying, so as a seller I want to do the same for you. I rarely sell anything that I haven't clearly identified.

I also do my best to inspect each item that I put up for sale in my Shop, and describe any damage or flaws to you. There's nothing more disheartening than getting something home only to discover damage that was cleverly hidden in a photo. Requiring you to inspect the photos is laziness. I will never place the obligation on you to inspect my photos to inform you of the condition.

As I state in the About section, I want you to leave my Shop knowing more about what you looked at (and hopefully bought) than before you clicked on something. And hopefully this brings you back for return visit. I realize that means I can be very wordy in my descriptions so I've added a summary at the top - the critical stuff I know buyers want to know - Dimensions and Condition.

I will do my best to summarize both in the Product Summary at the top and provide more detail in the description. For specifics on condition categories see "Condition Categories" in this FAQ.

What the condition descriptors mean to me:

EXCELLENT Vintage Condition: The item is near mint. It is as if it had never been used.

GREAT Vintage Shape: The item has the expected amount of wear from use and has been well cared for.

VERY GOOD Vintage Shape: Item has noticeable wear or not noticeable damage.

GOOD Vintage Shape: The item has more than one instance of damage but is still functional and may still be appealing to the right person or collector.

POOR Vintage Shape: I would not sell an item of this condition in my shop.

I do my best to describe the item in my description, and I do my best to examine each piece before listing it. And you can rest assured that I stand by my descriptions. It has happened where I did not notice some damager or it suffered some damage during storage. I will always notify you if I discover this while packaging. I have had occasion where the piece arrived with undisclosed damage. I will always make it right and then some. Each time we ship a vintage item, no matter how well we pack, there is a chance of damage. And it is time consuming on both our parts. It's for that reason my sales are final. If there is an issue, always talk to me first. If I am at fault I will always make it right.

I do not take shipping upgrades or expedited shipping requests. Like you and probably the reason why you need expedited shipping, I too often leave things to the last minute. Between my day job and this vintage side business, I can not always move things asie to expedite an order. If you inform me ahead of time I can let you know what my time currently allows for and advise on whether your timeline is feasible. But I won't be able to guarantee on-time delivery. Only that I will do my best.

If your order is time urgent, I would rather lose the sale than make a promise I can't keep, so there are others probably better suited to hitting your deadline, I do hope you will come back when your needs are not under deadline.

Do not ever buy any dinnerware items that have crazing. Anything that you might eat off of. If you see a Seller on Etsy trying to sell a plate or bowl with crazing, I would boycott this Seller as they are selling something to you that is hazardous to the health of your family.

Crazing is micro fracture cracks in the glaze caused by a temperature differential between the ceramic and the glaze or sometimes different layers in the glaze. These cracks are permeable to water and sometimes are not visible tot he naked eye until you give the item a wash. (And why you shouldn't buy dirty dinnerware!) These cracks will also harbor bacteria where they can't be washed away. Black crazing is bacteria run amuck. Gross!

I do my best to capture the detail of the items as well as any potential issues or flaws. Sometimes damage does not reveal itself except under special conditions, and should you receive such an item from me, please reach out to me so we can work on a solution together. For the most part, the item pictured is the one you will receive, with the notable, but not solely limited to, exception of dinnerware. For pieces where I have multiples available, the item photographed may not necessarily be the item(s) you receive. The item you receive will be of comparable or better condition. Items of different condition level will be called out, put into a different price tier, or separated to a different listing.