Below is information to help you decide if you want to use our consignment service and how it works.  Of course, please feel free to contact at us  at sharon@gone-tomorrow.com if you have any questions. We’ve tried to make our guidelines clear, but you know how that goes: A 12 year old may get it, but it doesn’t mean we will. I think I’ve addressed every ‘what if’ scenario, still if we’ve missed something we certainly welcome your input.

• Who Does What?

o   You are responsible for taking the photos, pricing, descriptions, and shipping items when sold. (Or we can do the work for you-See Alternative Method of Consignment below) We are responsible for putting the items on the site, helping you to succeed in selling, and handling all the paperwork.

• Web Space:

o   Your items are placed within the category that makes the most sense. In some cases if your item is something we haven’t previously sold, we may set up a new category or we could set up a page just for your item. Our goals are the same: Sell your items!

• Promotions:

o   We may choose to showcase one or more of your items either on our home page, in our newsletter, our Blog or on our Facebook pages. Our search engine rank is generally within the top 5 in several search criteria and in most cases we’re number one for online thrift store/shop.

• How to Get Your Merchandise on Our Site:

o   Photograph your items with a white (preferred) background, (even if the item is white-use more lighting and turn off the flash) determine the price, write a brief informative description, (We reserve the right to edit any description.) include measurements, if applicable and email all to: Sharon@gone-tomorrow.com. Include your full name (First, middle initial and last) city and state, and if you have an account with PayPal, the email address you use for payments. (Payments will be addressed below)

• Orders:

o   Orders and Payments are handled through our PayPal account.  An order can include sales of more than one consignor’s merchandise and/or sales for Once in a Blue Moon. We will separate each party’s sales and email your paperwork to you. (Receiving your payment is addressed below. Really!)

• Shipping Charges:

o   Shipping charges are the most difficult aspect of this entire process. If we charge too much for shipping, our customer’s won’t buy. Too little, we’re operating at a loss on certain items. Trying to split shipping between several consignors is even harder. We do our level best to make the shipping charge split as fair as possible and mainly by us absorbing the deficits. That said, you may find it necessary to price something a little higher if the weight of the item is guaranteed to be more than what we can charge the customer for actual shipping. We strongly urge you to review shipping charge calculations at Shipping Rates.

• Fees:

o   Our fee is 35% when you keep your merchandise and provide all the information for the listing of your items. Our Alternative Method fee is 40% (We charge a lesser percentage for wedding gowns. Please contact us for more info) Our fee is deducted from the sale of each item. You will receive an accounting of the sale transaction at the time we send your payment.

• Your Payment:

o   If you have a PayPal account, your 65% or 60% share, plus shipping fees paid, will be transferred into your account immediately following your proof/notification to us that the item was shipped. See note below in Other Weird Stuff: We strongly urge you to setup a PayPal account so your payment is immediate- it’s really a painless process. If you would rather not setup an account up with PayPal, your payment will be mailed via a bank check on the 1^st of every month for the previous month’s sales.

• Your Account Number:

o   Each customer will be assigned a customer number based on his/hers initials followed by a number sequence. (First, Middle and Last)

• Your Pricing Strategy:

o   Pricing of your merchandise is at your discretion. Pricing of collectibles, antiques or other desirable merchandise should be researched to determine the price you set. In general, pre-owned merchandise, excluding collectibles and antiques, are priced at 30% of the original retail price. We can offer suggestions if you like.

• Acceptable Merchandise:

o   Merchandise should be saleable, in that it is clean, not chipped or damage and in working order. If there are flaws, spots or anything to detract from the original new condition, you must describe the flaw so the shopper can make an informed decision as to whether to purchase.

• Order Form:

o   PayPal sends an email alerting us of an order. When we receive the notification we remove the item (s) from our site and will provide you with paperwork for the sale in PDF format. You will receive a packing slip to print and include with the shipment, as well as the transaction details between Once in a Blue Moon and you.

• Packaging the Order:

o   You may package the order however you like. That said, we hope you keep in mind the possibility of breakage during shipping. In the beginning we had to learn the hard way by having a couple of shipments arrive with broken items. Now our breakable items are heavily wrapped in bubble wrap or other shipping materials, our clothing is sent wrapped in tissue paper and we use suitable sized shipment containers/boxes/plastic bags for each order to help keep items from moving around during transit.

• Which Shipping Carrier to Use?

o   Generally, orders can be shipped through the post office. You can go to www.usps.com to get rates and other information. FedEx and UPS are also alternatives. Postage rates went up twice during the 1^st four months of 2011, so we’ve had to look at ways to save money with shipping. Instead of using boxes, which can add several ounces to a shipment, we purchased heavy duty plastic bags, which are about 18 x 13 or so. They’ve held everything from clothing to antiques! Securely wrapped of course. You can ship first class mail on orders weighing 12 ounces or less. These are just a few tips and we can help with more ideas if you need us.

• When Do We Ship?

o   We try to ship next day, sometimes same day, and only under rare circumstances and with good reason do we allow more than two full working days to pass. Although we have no control of your shipping practices, we hope you will not let more than two working days go by before shipping the customer’s order.

• Consignment Term:
  • We do not limit the time your merchandise can stay on the site. You will receive our newsletter, which generally goes out once a month and it could be used as your reminder to contact us if you want your items removed. Otherwise, we’ll contact you every 3 months or so. If we do not hear from you we will remove your items from the site. If you are using other methods for selling your merchandise and the item sells, it is imperative that you let us know right away so we can remove the item from our site to not risk having the item sell again.
• Alternative Method of Consignment:
  • If you would prefer not to deal with any aspect of selling your items, the alternative is for you to ship your merchandise to us at your expense and we will handle the entire transaction ourselves. Our fee percentage split is 40% for this service. Either email us at sharon@gone-tomorrow.com with an itemized list (see our form) including a brief description and pricing (would help) of what you are shipping us or include the listing in the box. We will inventory the items when they arrive against your itemized list and will send you a confirmation that all items were received and are as described. Another thought is that shipping charges become our full responsibility.
• Layaway:
  • We offer our buyers a Layaway service and it is not unusual for a buyer to include in their layaway multiple consignor items as well as our items. The buyer has 4 payment plans they can choose from, with the last one being Ala Carte. This means instead of a set amount every month for a maximum of 3 months, they can opt for payments in any amount, payable whenever and they're given 5 months. (Two extra months) You will not be paid  on layaway items until the final payment is made and the items ship.

• Name Your Own Price:
  • Another service we offer our buyers is the option to name their own price. If they see something they really like, but feel we’re asking too much, they have the option of asking if we’ll take less. Before we respond we’ll do research to see if lowering the price in warranted. I’ve turned down only a couple of people. If someone wants to offer a lesser amount for one of your items we’ll let you know and you’ll have the option to accept or deny the request. You’ll be under absolutely no pressure to decide either way.
• Emails:

o   If/when we send you an email, whether it’s to alert you of a sale or if only to check to make sure everything on the site is still available and you do not respond, you are running the risk of having your items removed from the site. We will send a couple more emails and will give you a few more days to respond, but after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed without contact from you we will remove your items.

• Vacations, Etc:

o   If you are planning on being away for a few days, it would help us both if you would send us a quick email. We will refund the buyer’s money and remove your items from the site, if a sale comes through and you do not respond to our emails because you’re out of town. When we know ahead of time we can send the buyer an email letting them know their shipment will be delayed until you return. They appreciate being kept in the loop.

• Other Weird Stuff:

o   This has only happened once; still I feel compelled to add it to our guidelines: If you plan on using our site as a ‘viewing’ area for people you send to see what you have for sale, but then you handle the sale outside of our site to avoid paying our fee, it will eventually come to light and your items will automatically be removed.

o   Because of a situation we recently had, we no longer will accept a consignor's word alone that the order was shipped. Proof must be provided in order to be paid.

Please let us know if you have any questions!