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Shipping

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Remember how auctioneers quickly adopted to the internet. Their audience expanded from local to national. Were they happy! Of course, they had to ship customer's purchases, however it was a fair trade for the higher prices realized.

Now everyone complains about the "cost of shipping". What happened?

A number of vendors successfully sold the idea that shipping could (or should) be a profit center. They showed auctioneers how they could profit on the actual shipping cost (while still offering their customers a discount from 'retail' rates), charge for materials, and charge for handling aka labor and / or time. It isn't working for a lot of buyers. (And, we'd add, for consignors who realize lower prices when buyers reduce their top bid to compensate for the higher cost.)

Your Shipping Options

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  1. International Bidders. Unless you live in Canada, please bid through the LiveAuctioneers platform.
    • Canada: We will ship to Canada - if it can be shipped by the US Postal Service ( generally, purchases with a total value of less than $400 USD ). You are responsible for payment of duties and taxes.
    • International: We do not handle international shipments in-house. Please bid through LiveAuctioneers and have them handle shipping, that is, select LiveShipping when checking out.
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  2. Pick-up. We are located in the Chicago metropolitan area. You may pick-up your purchases by appointment. Unless paying with cash, receipt of good funds will be verified before scheduling a pick-up appointment.
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  3. Show delivery. We'll deliver to the antique advertising & breweriana shows we attend at no charge (assuming we have space to do so). We actually prefer pick-up or personal delivery of expensive and fragile items. A list of conventions / shows we'll be attending follows:
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    We do not accept payment at the time of a show delivery. Purchases being delivered must be paid in full in advance of their delivery.
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    • Many Chicago metropolitan area shows, both antique and breweriana. Please contact us.
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    • May 10-11, Grayslake Antique Market, Grayslake, IL - setting-up
    • May 28-30, Chicagoland Coin-Op Show, Schaumburg, IL - setting-up
    • June, ABA / American Breweriana Association Convention, Springfield, IL - attending
    • July, AAAA / Antique Advertising Association of America, Morgantown, PA - attending
    • September, BCCA / Brewery Collectibles Club of America, Minneapolis, MN - maybe
    • October, Chicagoland Coin-Op Show, Schaumburg, IL - maybe
    • October, The Big Collectibles Show, North Canton, OH - setting-up
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  4. In-House Shipping. We offer In-House Shipping as a service to our bidders. We do not run our - shipping department - as a profit center. We charge for box(es) - anything fragile is double-boxed - and foamboard. We pass-through the discounted shipping rates ( postage / shipping, insurance, and delivery confirmation ) that we receive by using Pitney Bowes software. The discount is often 30%-to-40% off the retail, over the counter / walk-in, rate. We do not charge for other packing materials or our time.
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    • LiveAuctioneers: If you buy through LiveAuctions and want us to handle shipping, please select Pick-up or Self-Arranged Shipping when checking out - and contact us. Because we can not add shipping / postage to a LiveAuctioneers invoice, we will bill it separately after receiving payment for your purchase(s).
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    The final cost will be different - always - because of insurance, the type of signature confirmation required, and your choice of carrier. We generally ship by US Post Office. We ship high value items - and those being sent to a business address - by FedEx or UPS with a direct signature confirmation requirement because of the higher theft risk.
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    Please note: There is a minimum shipping charge of $5.50 PER BIDDER, not lot. The post office charges over $5.00 for envelopes / packages with tracking. We receive a discount by using Pitney Bowes software. We are mentioning this because we collect and sell Victorian trade cards and other ephemera. We've had numerous bidders win an item and then not pay the shipping cost because it seems high relative to the purchase price.
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  5. Self-arranged & Third-Party Shipping. You may arrange your own transport or ask a third-party shipper to handle shipping. Because it's common in the collector community to have a friend pick-up an item and deliver it to you for free, we have a release form appointing them your agent and relieving us of liabilty should damage occur in transit. Please call / email us if you'd like another individual to pick-up your purchases and we'll send you the form for completion.
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    Local Shipping Companies:
    The UPS Store, Winnetka, IL - [email protected] - (847) 446-6899
    Prince Freight, LLC ( Max Prince ) - (312) 590-0846, especially for neons.

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