Antique Store

As many of you know, I sell on eBay under the username “airspy”   …there is also an Etsy store called “neonarchaeology” that I have set up but not yet done much with.  These are both great resources when items can be readily shipped.   Well, actually, anything CAN be readily shipped if the buyer wants it bad enough to pay for the costs that can be incurred on heavy or bulky items.  As an Alaskan, shipping either way is always a challenge and so I have been on both sides of this issue many times….and, because we Alaskans are often cheated by those who won’t ship here at all or by those who will but then charge extra above and beyond the actual cost, I make it a policy to only charge actual rates and to try to work with buyers to get a deal that suits the needs at a price that is no more than it has to be.

Once, I sold a full set of British Larkspur radio gear.  The buyer was restoring a Korean War era British Ferret amoured vehicle and wanted the correct radio set.  This equipment weighed over 250 pounds when packed.  He lived in Canada.  The cost to ship was going to be insane.  But….   I was going to be driving through there anyway within a couple of months of his purchase and he was happy to wait for me to drop it off and save the shipping costs.  And I was happy to do it.  I have also purchased items in the lower 48 and picked them up later because that was the way that worked for me at the time.  In other cases, I have shipped on a customer’s FedEx account because they got a better discount than I could.  In short, I will try to arrive at a solution.

But some items almost don’t seem worth the trouble to ship.  Or they are so fragile that in spite of my extreme packing methods they may still be damaged in transit and I just would rather not incur the risk and deal with the insurance claims.  A lot of my neon art pieces would fall into the latter category.  For these sorts of items, and to gain a little more local sales traffic, I have opted to open a booth in a local antique store.  There will still be items for sale online but this will give an added avenue for items that don’t quite mesh with the online ordering experience.

Beginning on Sunday, October 15th, I shall have a space at LAZY DOG ANTIQUES in Anchorage….. 1340 Rudakof Circle (Behind the Denny’s on DeBarr Rd……..which is convenient if you like greasy spoon diner food and copious amounts of coffee along with your antiques.)  So, stop by…..grab some grub, drink some coffee…and then browse around……and… buy something– preferably from my booth 🙂  ….your gracious patronage helps me fund the locating of more interesting items to write about, restore, and sell…..and as an added bonus, such purchases help prevent me from having to seek out a real job.  🙂