Shipping Insurance

First let’s go over the different kinds of insurance methods, and the pros and cons of each.

Types

There are 3 kinds of insurance available:

• Carrier Insurance
• 3rd Party Insurance
• Self Insurance

Carrier Insurance is insurance offered by USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. This is the most common kind of insurance. Services like UPS and FedEx often include insurance at no extra charge, whereas services like USPS charge a fee for the service.

Pros:

• Can be purchased with the shipping costs.
• May be provided free of charge.
• Provided by a major company.

Cons:

• Claims can take awhile to be processed.
• You may need to present a damaged package at their location for inspection, or make yourself available at your home or office for someone to inspect the damage.
• Wait times before filing a loss claim can be longer than other insurance methods.
• Could cost more than other methods.
• May not cover international shipments.

3rd Party Insurance is insurance purchased on your behalf through a private company not affilated with the carrier. They agree to cover your package in the event of loss or damage.

Pros:

• Can be purchased with shipping costs through some providers.
• Can be purchased seperately through some providers. One provider gives you up to 3 days to purchase insurance.
• Costs less than some other methods.
• Some providers share the revenue with the seller.
• Claim processing time is often 1-2 weeks.
• Many 3rd party providers will cover international shipments.
• Damages can often be proved by photograph instead of having to be in person.

Cons:

• Providers are often lesser known.
• May take an additional step if your insurance provider is not the same place you purchase your postage from.

Self Insurance is when the seller is assuming the responsibility of the package. In other words, if your package were to become lost or damaged the seller would be the one to cover the refund or replacement out of pocket.

Pros:

• Claim processing time can be extremely quick since there is no middle man.
• The money saved on insurance costs may allow the seller to offer insurance at a lower rate, or to be able to provide their products at a better deal.

Cons:

• Seller may not honor their agreement. But as you’ll see later in this guide, that can be an issue irregardless of which insurance method used.
• If the seller does not set aside funds to cover the possibility of claims, they may not have the funds available to issue a refund or replacement in the event of a claim. This is more of an issue with high ticket items.

Why do you need insurance?

A seller’s responsibility is to ship your order in a reasonable timeframe and in the condition described. A seller can not control how your package is handled in transit. Therefore it is not the seller’s responsibilty if the shipping carrier loses, drops, kicks or stomps on your package. Their responsibility to that package ends when they turn it over to the care of the carrier.

So if it is not the seller’s responsibilty who’s is it? The carrier’s. But not all carriers care about that responsibility. Let’s say you ship a package via USPS with delivery confirmation. So you have proof you mailed it. A month passes and the package has not arrived. Try calling you USPS office. They will confirm that you shipped it and then…. nothing. They don’t do anything about lost packages unless the package is insured. The most the y will do is tell you to fill out a PS FORM 1510 Mail Loss and Rifiling Report. What is that going to do for you? Not a whole lot. The form will be sent to the dead letter office and you will be notified if it ever happens to find it’s way there.

So what’s a buyer to do to protect themselves? Insure insure insure! Do you have to insure every purchase you make? Absolutely not. But you should insure the packages that you don’t want to assume the responsibility of. Because that is the real issue. If your seller offers you the option of insurance and you reject or decline that option, YOU are accepting full responsibility of that package and releasing the seller from further obligation. The seller is still responsible for shipping promptly and in described condition, but they are not in charge of physically delivering that package to you unless they themselves ARE physically delivering that package to you, which could be the case if they are local to you.

The DON’Ts

1. Don’t expect a seller to cover a package that was lost or damaged in transit. If you choose not to insure you accepted the responsibility for that package. If something ultimately does go wrong with your order, trying to hold the seller responsible for your decision is paramount to fraud.
2. Don’t expect a seller to refund the price of insurance after a package was received in good condition. You paid to insure that your package would arrive, and arrive in good condition. If it did those things, you got what you paid for. Why would you ask for a refund for a service you received?
3. Don’t expect a seller to refund the price of insurance after you file a claim. The amount you pay for insurance is usually non refundable. the insurance you pay gies you the right to file a claim. If you hadn’t paid insurance you wouldn’t have the right to file a claim. So if you ask for a refund of the insurance amount you may not be eligible for that claim any longer. Insurance is a service, it was provided, how could you epect a refund for a service you received?
4. Don’t leave negative feedback for a seller because of a carrier error. Ebay feedback is designed to comment on the seller. If, for example,UPS makes a mistake with your package that is not the seller’s fault. therefore it is not something that should be included on their feedback. Other eBayer’s don’t need to know that your UPS driver stepped on your poster. However, they do need to know if your seller did not handle the claim in a timely manner.
5. Don’t expect an insured package to be marked INSURED on the package. 3rd party, self and some carriers do not note the outside of the packages as insured, even when they are.

The DOs

1. Do contact your seller immediately in the event of loss or damage.
2. Do save the item(s), shipping box and all packing materials unil the issue is resolved.
3. Do provide any insurance requirements, such as paperwork or proof of damage, in a timely manner. Most insurance providers have a timeframe claims have to be completed within. You could lose your right to file a claim if you do not comply.
4. Do give your seller a reasonable amount of time to file the claim and keep in touch with him or her through the process.
5. Do let the seller know if you prefer a repair, refund or replacment.
6. Do ask any questions you have about a seller’s insurance policy prior to bidding or buying.
7. Do expect your order to be covered if you paid for insurance, even if your seller forgot to (or decided not to) purchase insurance. If the seller does not purchase insurance than they are self insuring by default.

One final issue I feel deserves mentioning. Most insurance claims need to be filed through the seller. That means you depend on that seller to handle your claim properly. Make sure you keep notes on when you notified your seller, when the claim was submitted, etc. I had a seller never file a claim for me on an item that was received damaged. It was shipped Fedex, and automatically insured, so filing my claim cost them nothing except a few mintues of their time. Yet they never did it. Make sure you keep track of your claim every step of the way.

Happy Bidding!

Tags: Metaphysical

It has come to our attention that a seller here on , who is calling herself a SAHIRE and who makes every customer call her on the phone before opening their package, is badmouthing other sellers on . What a smart thing to do! Make everyone call you first, so you can badmouth others with no paper trail! Ebay will never know! Your nasty business practices are safe!

Recently this seller had the nerve to tell a customer that all other Djinn listings on were nothing but ‘witches’ (whatever that is supposed to mean), and even more disturbingly, she convinced a customer that a spirit she purchased from a reputable seller was HARMING one of her family members!! People, this is getting OUT OF HAND.

This seller who is calling herself a SAHIRE (hey, this isn’t World of Warcraft…which is where that term comes from!) was actually a BUYER for a while before she decided selling was more lucrative. How did we discover this? Because she has posted the FEEDBACK FROM HER OLD ACCOUNT AS HER OWN!

If you take a look at her listings, she has posted 4 feedbacks at the bottom, but none are on her actual feedback page. It didn’t take much sleuthing to look at the feedbacks of these customers and find who they were actually left for (I looked under “feedback left for others” from the customers she listed). Her old ID did much more buying in metaphysical than selling, and it is my guess that’s how she got much of her “knowledge” that was supposedly handed down for generations. That and from all the movies she’s been buying on her current ID, including Taken, the Illusionist and several seasons of Charmed. Why switch to another ID? Because the old one didn’t sound “haunted” enough, of course!

Lastly, this seller states enthusiastically, ‘I have 52 positive feedbacks!’ However, she fails to mention that only 13 of them are from unique BUYERS. The rest are from her purchases.

It is not difficult to weed out frauds. Usually if someone is badmouthing others or suggesting that everyone else is fake and theirs are the only true magickals on , that is clue number one. If they have to badmouth others to make their own items seem legit, that should be a major red flag to everyone. Secondly, look for things like this feedback discrepancy. Third, if they are calling themselves by some title (aka: Sahire) just GOOGLE it. You’ll see that except for online war and witchcraft GAMES (and one porn star), there is no such reference in any REAL metaphysical or spiritual text.

Most importantly, do not believe negative accusations toward sellers you have bought from, and know are legitimate! There are so many frauds invading the metaphysical community lately, and they are attacking everyone else. Many of us have been here for YEARS, and have built a positive and glowing reputation that can easily be ruined by one fraud who barrels in making pie in the sky claims and slandering everyone else.

Tags: Metaphysical

There is a lot of confusion these days about these 2 terms, and many think the terms are synonymous. Before delving into specifics of each, let’s start by pointing out the difference between witches and Wiccans.

- A witch is a person who practices magic/spellcraft.

- A Wiccan is a person who practices Wicca, an earth based pagan religion.

A Wiccan can be a witch, and a witch can be a Wiccan. But the terms do not mean the same thing. Why? Because you do not have to be Wiccan in order to practice magic and spellcasting. Therefore you do not have to be Wiccan to be a witch. And although Wiccans tend to practice magic (and are therefore witches) they do not necessarily do so.

This is where alot of people get it confused, which I find sad. I have talked to countless people who thought in order to practice witchcraft they had to give up their current religion and become Wiccan. Now that’s fine if Wicca appeals to you and you no longer believe the teachings of your current religion. But it is not a necessity. You can be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, whatever religion you already are, and still be a witch and practice witchcraft.

Where the biggest problem lies is usually with the other religion. I don’t think there are alot of Christian priests who will give witchcraft the big thumbs up. The same goes for church leaders of most religions. But here’s the thing you need to consider… (and let’s use Christianity as our example since there are so many Christians) are you practicing the ideas of your religion… or are you blindly following a preacher? Just as you do not have to be Wiccan to be a witch, you don’t have to worship the Pope to be a Catholic. When you are a member of a religion, it is because you believe in a good number of the ideas others of that religion believe in. It does not mean you are a slave to every word uttered, their church leaders, or every idea they have.

Each person is an individual. We all have our own personal thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and feelings. You do not have to believe every single thing of the religion you belong to. You believe in Christ? You believe you are saved through him? Well then you are a Christian. Your preacher tells you witchcraft is evil? Um, ok… he is entitled to his opinion. Does that make you stop being a Christian? Someone disagrees with your belief and that somehow takes something away from you? Why on earth would you think that?

Religion is a personal experience, and your beliefs are your own. Our so called religion is just a title we give ourselves. Something to be identified by. If you believe a little bit of Buddhism, a little Hindu, some Christianity and a little Wicca… let yourself. Don’t pigeonhole yourself into a title. If you really need to have a response to give people who ask, pick whichever thing you are closest to and say you are mostly. “Hi I’m Selena, I’m mostly Christian!” or combine your beliefs into a single title “I’m a Christian witch,” or “I’m a Wiccan Buddhist.” Then at least you are being honest.

Don’t know what you are yet or what you believe? Well you owe yourself the time to find out. Research it, contemplate it, and develop your own personal belief system. That is what I have done, and there are few things as fulfilling as that.

Me personally? I’m a Christian witch, and I’m proud of it. I practice spellcraft and I believe in Christ, just as the “title” implies.

If you have questions or comments about this guide feel free to contact me. However, please do not contact me to spread negativity. I only deal with positive people. I know there is a plethora of zealots that would love to tell me how wrong I am and try to pigeonhole me into their beliefs. Although I respect their beliefs, I am not interested in receiving angry, preaching or negative emails. I am secure in my beliefs and have researched them thoroughly. I think everyone should do the same. I do not look down on or judge other religions, religious hybrids, or people still trying to find their way. I am accepting of everyone’s beliefs, and I am accepting of my own beliefs. And that is the greatest gift you could ever give yourself.

Tags: Metaphysical

We do not recommend some of these feedbacks..but when you need a laugh, maybe it will make you feel better.

And no, these are not from our dealings thank goodness! This is all from one Ebayer. I left the spelling and grammar errors so you can see these geniouses. Uh Huh,

This is all from one Ebayer (as buyer and seller) ..38 negatives..

• NEVER rec’d ANY e-mails.Had item almost 60 days and filed claim.Take your meds.
• LEFT NEG FB 4 NO REASON!JUNK!NASTY EVIL EBAYER
• CHECK HER NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR SOME LAUGHS!!!!! Who is EVIL?
• RUINED IS RUINED!THIS SOW LEFT NEG /GOOD ROLL MODLE?
• DO YOU HAVE FRONT TEETH? NOBODY ELSE I DEAL WITH IS AS EVIL AS YOU.

Comment: WILL NOT ANSWER EMAILS GRAPHIC PEELING OFF NOT GOOD CONDITION!BAD SELLER

• Response: $2.49 GET A LIFE.
• Back at You: PAY PAL WILL MAKE U REFUND 4 FRAUD! U WILL SEE U THIEF!CHARGE $9.90 SHIP 4 2 PR SHORTS!

Note: Always customize your display so you know what shipping is up front..

• Comment1: CAN’T GET INTERNET FROM INSIDE A JAIL CELL. GIVES OTHERS A BAD NAME, BLOCK HER!
• Comment2: YOU WOULDN’T KNOW THE TRUTH IF IT SMACKED U UPSIDE THE HEAD TRAILOR TRASH HICK

AWFUL.. SELLER, BUYERS BEWARE.. CON ARTIST, LEARNED FROM HER PARENTS

• Comment: SELLER HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO ALL DAY THEN LIE AND SCEEM!
• Response; ME LIE ? LOOK AT YOUR OTHER NEGS FROM OTHER BUYERS/SELLERS, YOU ARE THE LIAR.

Poor sellers dealing with this buyer:

SHE LIVES IN A *** VAN**** *** DOWN BY THE RIVER ***** WATCH OUT SELLERS!
SELLERS PLEASE EMAIL ME FIRST, DON’T TRUST THIS LUNATIC OR ELSE YOU’LL BE SORRY

PROBABLY GOES TO CEMETARY’S TO DIG UP GRAVES FOR FREE JEWELRY, SELLERS BLOCK PLS
*********** SELLERS BLOCK THIS ONE, TRUST ME!!!! ************

And another seller dealing with this buyer:

• This buyer has some nerve. paid for parcel upgraded to priority still complains
• OUTRIGHT LIAR, YOU MUST HAVE NO CONSCIENCE. SHAME ON YOU!
• Discounted shipng by 15.00 byr lvs neg??? 14 negs in 6 months u tell me!
• Warning, bidder bids, pays, then complains about shipping, bad er!
• combined shipping for this buyr svd hr 20.00 and she is still moaning. WATCH OUT

And another seller dealing with this same buyer:

• Miserable person. BEWARE SELLERS!! Rude, dishonest person.
• This person is Seriously Deranged. Does not live in reality. SCARY!
• Was kind enough to refund purchase, and still gives neutral.
• A lot of work to agree on shipping costs, but ended fine. Agreed to ship parcel post. Many emails prior 2 payment. Asked for $1.32 refund. Which I refunded. (Sounds like this buyer buys, then after the fact negotiates like the dickens with sellers on shipping…and gets MAD if you do not agree to HER TERMS. And SELLERS cannot block her from bidding that is SO WRONG.
• SUPER RUDE-MEAN-NAGGING-HARASSING BIDDER! NOT MY FAULT she BID ON WRONG SIZE
• See feedback she’s left 4 others - obviously a crybaby! Think twice b-4 selling!

YOU ARE A NUT! Harrassed my happy sellers! THIS WOMAN LOVES CHAOS!Offered refund. YOU wanted DOUBLE REFUND & WOULDN’T SEND MY CANDLES BACK! THIEF!LIAR!Was proven candles were REAL and Paypal ruled for me. Investigated 4 FRAUD!

this buyer is a crook will change your price and then leave neg. feed & not answer. changed price Didn’t pay the right amount & will not answer e-mails asking for difference. this buyer will change the price and only pay for a little of what she owes.buyer would not pay full price, I gave a full refund for the LITTLE she paid.buyer changed price for her order and only paid what she wanted, gave full refund.

DANGEROUS!! Hard to deal with, very impatient, will not deal again. F-

PAID IN HORRIBLE TIME and then had a HORRIBLE ATTITUDE. STOP PLAYING GAMES! F—

“CAUTION”

And other buyers dealing with this SAME Ebayer as seller:

• Seller is a PSYCHO! BEWARE!! Very RUDE! B4 you bid, read her comments!!!
• It is lucky there are very few sellers like this
• you are very bitter person i have never said a bad thing about you i would not d
• I’m new to this and she was not understanding
• Unhappy with item.Said was like new cond. but is very used cond.Dirty!
  Lied about cond.Rude,don’t buy from!Look at her - feedback!
• If you are considering buying from lady, you should contact me first.
• Difficult and rude seller. Email me for details if you wish.
  

• comment: SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO MENTAL HOSPITAL 4 FRAUD! WE SHPPED. POLICE REPORT FILED
• response: YOU SHIPPED EMPTY ENVELOPE!MAYBE YOU HAVE ALZHEIMERS! POOR DEAR!

On the other hand:

• You again!?!?!? You’re great
• ~:*è*:~..~:*è*:~.Outstanding.~:*è*:~.eBayer.~:*è*:~.~:*è*:~ FIVE S*T*A*R*S
• .?*è*:?10.?*è*:?STARS.?*è*:?PERFECT.?*è*:?SELLER:*è*:?THANK YOU!

1. AS A SELLER, NEVER leave feedback first.
2. RETAIN CORRESPONDENCE.
3. BLOCK BUYER/PROSPECT FROM BIDDING AT EARLIEST SIGN OF FLAKINESS.
4. DON’T SPEND A LOT OF TIME ANSWERING PROSPECT QUESTIONS..FOR LOW DOLLAR ITEMS, unless you want to.
5. CHARGE FOR CUSTOMIZATION..MY GUESS IS THEY WON’T PAY FOR IT.
6. For the non-payers. Be polite, offer to negate the sale if small dollar amount and you can resell.
7. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR TIME.

Selling can be a joy. Interchanging information with most customers is a true pleasure.

Ebay is a very difficult marketplace.

• Some customers buy the wrong item or may want but not pay for, the higher end.

  Tags: Metaphysical
  

Faery magick is not to be taken lightly. The realm of the Tuatha de Dannan, the Sidhe, and the Fae is to be approached with respect, courtesy and caution. Do a little research and be specific before you go banging on the doorway to the Faery realm

Why? Because you are dealing with a whole different realm. Faeries are considered by some to be from the kingdom of the elementals. Others consider them a separate race, known as the Tuatha de Dannan. There are tales that faeries are actually angels who refused to choose sides when Lucifer was rebelling, and so in punishment they were sent forever to the Earth. You will have to decide for yourself who and what you believe them to be.

If you are interested in working with these enegies, your best bet would be the garden-friendly gnomes, brownies and slyphs. They help create plant colors and facilitate the growth of flowers and trees. Gnomes are often perceived to be gnarled, diminutive old men.

Brownies are household fairies. They are said to appear as small, brown and furry like men. They protect the home, guard your property and look out for your children and animals. Brownies will also help keep your house clean…if you show them kindness.

The sylphs, air elementals, have their own energies and powers. They represent the creative force of the air elmeent: inspiration, intuition and knowledge. Sylphs appear to us as a classic storybook type of faery or angel. There are some gently sylphs and even plant spirits that could pass as a Tinkerbell type of faery–you know, the ones that you’ve pictured as little air sprites, fluttering about with gossamer wings. Those are the safe sort you’d like to have working with you in the garden. I like to think of them as flower faeries.

Rarely physically seen, these flower faeries make their presence known by walking through your hair or making the leaves on the plants bounce and the petals on the flowers quiver for no apparent reason. They help care for the garden and also enjoy families, pets and children.

But we must remember that Nature is an entity unto herself. She has many faces, some gently and others not. The spring breeze that refreshes you can turn into damaging winds during severe thunderstorms. The same creek that babbles by your backyard may domonstrous damage in a flash flood situation. Nature is a paradox. So, too, is the faery realm.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Tuatha de Dannan once were treated as gods in pagan Ireland. For instance, these old gods of the earth were at one time so feared it was forbidden to say the word “faery.” They were referred to instead as the Gentry or the Good People. The Irish faery beliefs are the most detailed and generally held, and include many types and varieties of faeries. Some are grotesque and almost all are formidable, but what strieks me most of all are the tales of the great beauty of most of the faeries. Over and over we hear legends about their love of music and poetry, faery feasts and rides and the beauty of faery women and the faery horses. The Welsh tale of Rhiannon should be a prime example.

Rhiannon’s story goes like this. A prince named Pwyll decided to challenge himself by sitting on a hill (faery mound) and tempting fate. Legend stated that any man who sat upon this hill would either receive a “great blow” or see something amaxing.

What Pwyll saw was Rhiannon: a beautiful woman in gold, slowly trotting around the hill on a whwite horse. Captivated, the prince called for his fastest rider to go and fetch the fair maiden, but no matter how fast he went, she was always just ahead and out of reach. Pwyll tried it himself, wearing himself and his horse almost to the point of exhaustion. Still rhiannon’s pace never changed and she remained just ahead of the prince.

Finally, in frustration, the prince called out to Rhiannon and asked the lady to please stop. She did so immediately, and turned to look at Pwyll with amusement. She then told the prince that it would have been better for the horse if he would have but asked her earlier.

For Pwyll it was love at first sight, and he asked Rhiannon to marry him. Rhiannon accepted.

There is thought to be a connection between the realm of the Faery and the dead, but the grandeur of faeries seems to derive form their godlike qualities. IN Ireland, more than anywhere else, the faeries are often thought to be shadows of the old gods of the country. In other magickal places, such as Scotland, beliefs are different.

Here the emphasis is placed on the good and the bad among the faeries. Sometimes you will see this referred to as the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Caution is suggested. There are many monsters in Scottish faery legend, the kind that come slithering or crawling out of the mist–not to mention the Cailleach Bheur. An aspect of the Crone goddess, the Cailleach is the personifcation of the typical hunchbacked old crone stirringthe smoking cauldron. What does she look like? The Halloween-type, hook-nosed old witch–wise, all-seeing and a little frightening…be careful, or she just might get you too! Some modern authors have described her as being blue-faced and sporting fangs. Now that’s creepy.

The Cailleach is from the Highlands, and she is a more elemental and imposing faery character. The key word here is elemental. It is fascinating how the Cailleach ties into the faery mythology. This is a goddess of the land; the Highlands, to be precise. Today, the Cailleach is a powerful representation of the Crone. Sure, she may be a little scary, but if you approach her wisely and cautiously, you just might learn something.

You need to acknowledge and understand just who and what you are dealing with. The faeries are considered to be good-hearted and merry. They are also fickle, easily offended, obstinate and quick to anger. The old beliefs abut the dangers surrounding the shifting glamour of Faeryland are ones to take into consideration.

Yes, there are many tales of elven heroism and faery beauty. These fantastic beings are often imagined as suitable for a child’s bedtime story, with the traditional tales of enchanting music and their love of sports and revelry. There are also just as many dark legends as well. In reality, try thinking of the Faery Kingdom as the good, the bad and the urgly. You better believe they can still make their presence felt and known.

The poet W. B. Yeats was fascinated by the faery realm, but he was warned by an Irish medium to be careful, and not to seek to know too much about the Fae. That’s good advice.

Some people make the mistake of working with the faeries without realizing exactly what they are getting into. Be very particular. If you call them, they will come.

Tags: Metaphysical

I’ve been dealing with the paranormal for most of my life~ I had an experience at the age of 3-4 yrs old STILL makes me a little uneasy when I think about it! If you plan to purchase a paranormal item there are a few things you NEED to be aware of: These were ONCE living and breathing souls~ for some reason they are still earthbound and when they “throw” things it’s because they don’t understand why YOU can’t see, or hear them! When you purchase a haunted doll (for example) PLEASE don’t expect them to jump out of the box, have their head turn around and yell “BOO!” at you…this an unrealistic belief! A doll that plays host to a spirit may take anywhere from seconds to years to make their presence known to the buyer! Some are fortunate enough to have activity BEFORE they actually bid on this item! I actually have some buyers that SENSE the activity BEFORE they see my item…and when the item is listed…they email and say…I KNEW this was a special one!!!

When you receive the host it is always good to Welcome them into your home…BUT set up boundries for them. They are like children in many ways…tell them what you will and won’t allow…and IF you have other haunted dolls LET THEM know that they are getting someone NEW into the home…believe it or not…jealousy can be UGLY from a paranormal side!! Things can be thrown, broken, shattered and blasted (radio and tv is good for this!!) and this can happen at ANY hour day or night!! If you have any questions PLEASE feel free to email me and I’ll try to answer any questions you may have! I enjoy investigating hauntings, haunted houses etc…

Tags: Metaphysical