Would you buy good casting wood pieces...?

[robutacion]

I'd like to have 1 of the following (if you have anymore of the first two selections)

Australian #90z (diagonal cut) Tree of Heaven wood - PEN blanks - Sold in packs

Batch-12 - #45 Dwarf Banksia 1/4 pod cast - sold seperately - 11 availabe @ AU$6.00 each

250 gr of #26 Platypus gum burl carved by termites

You need to explain to me what you mean...!

As for the #90z Tree of Heaven, I have plenty pf packs, you need to have a look on the web-store and pick the pack number(s) you want.

The #45 Dwarf Banksia 1/4 pod cast, I still have half a dozen or so.

I don't think that is any doubt about the 250gr pf the #26 carved by Termites pieces

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

Wayne,

I have your blanks in a box and it is about half full, because the boxes sizes between this one and the one smaller one is a big difference and off-course, one is not big enough and the other is too big,

I can fill it up with paper but you may want to use this opportunity and put something else in it to make the shipping worthwhile, up to you.

As is the box weighs 4.7kg a cost of shipping of AU$75.00 you can add another 1kg for an extra AU$16.00 it will all depend on what would you want to add for me to give you the total, as you should already know how much as the blanks you ordered will cost you, huh..?

Might as well add 22A&B and 23 A&B . Do you have any red gum in about 1 3/8 square 3-5 inch long ?

Just looked at your website . Are the #1,2 &3 pieces of red gum burl 1 1/4 inch thick ?

Wayne,

I had a better look at those slices and only the #1 is 1"1/4, #2 is sold and 3 and 4 are 1"3/4, I can cut specific size pieces if you want.

Cheers
George

 

[stuckinohio]

George, As for the heaven blanks, the web site says you only have one left, no matter which pack I looked at. So I figured you'd throw in whichever you had left. I'll choose a pack.

 

[stuckinohio]

#3 for the tree of heaven please.

 

[1080Wayne]

Wayne,

I have your blanks in a box and it is about half full, because the boxes sizes between this one and the one smaller one is a big difference and off-course, one is not big enough and the other is too big,

I can fill it up with paper but you may want to use this opportunity and put something else in it to make the shipping worthwhile, up to you.

As is the box weighs 4.7kg a cost of shipping of AU$75.00 you can add another 1kg for an extra AU$16.00 it will all depend on what would you want to add for me to give you the total, as you should already know how much as the blanks you ordered will cost you, huh..?

Might as well add 22A&B and 23 A&B . Do you have any red gum in about 1 3/8 square 3-5 inch long ?

Just looked at your website . Are the #1,2 &3 pieces of red gum burl 1 1/4 inch thick ?

Wayne,

I had a better look at those slices and only the #1 is 1"1/4, #2 is sold and 3 and 4 are 1"3/4, I can cut specific size pieces if you want.

Cheers
George

Will take 1 and 3 , George. I assume they will fit in the box .

 

[robutacion]

George, As for the heaven blanks, the web site says you only have one left, no matter which pack I looked at. So I figured you'd throw in whichever you had left. I'll choose a pack.

Hahahahah, that is something that is part of the Shopify store system, I can't turn if off but, you can ignore it, if the pack selected is not available, it shows "sold out".

Don't worry...!

Cheers
George

 

[stuckinohio]

I'll take #3 for the tree of heaven, in case you didn't see the prior message. Let me know the total so I can get you paid before I order something else!

Lewis

 

[robutacion]

I'll take #3 for the tree of heaven, in case you didn't see the prior message. Let me know the total so I can get you paid before I order something else!

Lewis

Yeah, I saw it don't panic.

What is wrong if you order more...? I never like to see half empty boxes particularly when shipping rates are calculated on increments of 1/4kg and costs tend to get better as the package fills up.

I take shipping to Internation destinations very seriously because domestic freight is quite reasonable so, folks can get a fair amount of stuff, such as 5kg for AU$17.00 freight while overseas, every gram counts and even with mu contract rates being about half price than the general public, it always "hurt" when a parcel starts to go near those 5kg and that has been the main reason why I keep my prices as low as possible, with years between price increases but again, I'm only a little guy with considerably less overheads than the bigger guys, I'm perfectly aware of that.

I will let you know of total costs, as soon as I come back from taking Merissa to the Hospital for her monthly Infusion treatment...!

Cheers
George

 

[stuckinohio]

Well George, my wife is awesome, but she does have limits when it comes to money! I totally appreciate wanting to fill the box, but I gotta stop somewhere

Oh, and sorry to hear about the infusion. Please don't mistake my responses for rushing you. I'm in no hurry. Well mostly. I'm anxious by nature when I'm looking forward to something!

 

[robutacion]

Well George, my wife is awesome, but she does have limits when it comes to money! I totally appreciate wanting to fill the box, but I gotta stop somewhere

Oh, and sorry to hear about the infusion. Please don't mistake my responses for rushing you. I'm in no hurry. Well mostly. I'm anxious by nature when I'm looking forward to something!

Hi Lewis,

Money limitations is one of the things I have lived all my live, sometimes better sometimes worse but we always find a way so, I understand well your point and I apologize if you feel I was pushing you to buy stuff, that wasn't my priority, giving you the best possible deal, was and off course, I don't like to fill the boxes with paper, I prefer to fill them with wood/blanks...!

You've done well mate and I thank you for that and I'm glad I gave you the opportunity to have lots of casting material for you to use, I will be looking forwards to see those castings in pens.

OK so, let's wrap this up;

The total weight of you box is now, 3.240kg with some "gifts" in there.

You have the items of before.

1 KG of peppercorn burl casting pieces $30
6 pieces or 250 gr of #9 red gum casting pieces $5
6 pieces or 250 gr of #22 olive root burl casting pieces $3.75
6 pieces or 250 gr of #30 bottle brush casting pieces $5
6 pen blanks of peppercorn burl spalted $6.30?

Australian #90z (diagonal cut) Tree of Heaven wood - PEN blanks - Sold in packs AU$6.00

Batch-12 - #45 Dwarf Banksia 1/4 pod cast - sold seperately - 11 availabe @ AU$6.00 each

250 gr of #26 Platypus gum burl carved by termites - AU$6.00

Totals of AU$68.00 for blanks and AU$57.00 for shipping= AU$125.00

Please Paypal me to, nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

Wayne,

I have your blanks in a box and it is about half full, because the boxes sizes between this one and the one smaller one is a big difference and off-course, one is not big enough and the other is too big,

I can fill it up with paper but you may want to use this opportunity and put something else in it to make the shipping worthwhile, up to you.

As is the box weighs 4.7kg a cost of shipping of AU$75.00 you can add another 1kg for an extra AU$16.00 it will all depend on what would you want to add for me to give you the total, as you should already know how much as the blanks you ordered will cost you, huh..?

Might as well add 22A&B and 23 A&B . Do you have any red gum in about 1 3/8 square 3-5 inch long ?

Just looked at your website . Are the #1,2 &3 pieces of red gum burl 1 1/4 inch thick ?

Wayne,

I had a better look at those slices and only the #1 is 1"1/4, #2 is sold and 3 and 4 are 1"3/4, I can cut specific size pieces if you want.

Cheers
George

Will take 1 and 3 , George. I assume they will fit in the box .

Wayne, the other 2 Peppercorn pairs of spalted blanks did fit in the box OK and the Red gum burl blank #3 I can't find blank#1 and I know blanks #2 was sold, the other blanks were a little too big so, I cut a couple of extra pieces to fill the box, one is from the Red gum burl and the other is a slice/board from something I was cutting yesterday that I'm sure you will like, these 2 pieces are "gifts".

The total weight of your box is about 7.5kg so AU$115.00 and the blanks is,

Red Gum burl - AU$25.00

Peppercorn Burl small blanks 17 pairs @ AU$5.00 = AU$85.00

Peppercorn Burl larger pieces 4 pairs for 3.780kg @ AU$25.00 = AU$94.50
a total of AU$204.50 + AU$115.00 = AU$319.50

Please have a good look and see if everything is correct.

Paypal to, nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Cheers
George

 

[stuckinohio]

George, Money is sent! thank you Sir. Very happy to get a huge load of wood for a great price!

Oh, and I turned three pieces of the Australian She/Bull Oak I got from you. They are now a nice pen, pencil and letter opener set that is going to my sister-in-law as a birthday present. I'll have pics up in a day or two!

 

[hcpens]

What do u have left and what price?

 

[1080Wayne]

Wayne,

I have your blanks in a box and it is about half full, because the boxes sizes between this one and the one smaller one is a big difference and off-course, one is not big enough and the other is too big,

I can fill it up with paper but you may want to use this opportunity and put something else in it to make the shipping worthwhile, up to you.

As is the box weighs 4.7kg a cost of shipping of AU$75.00 you can add another 1kg for an extra AU$16.00 it will all depend on what would you want to add for me to give you the total, as you should already know how much as the blanks you ordered will cost you, huh..?

Might as well add 22A&B and 23 A&B . Do you have any red gum in about 1 3/8 square 3-5 inch long ?

Just looked at your website . Are the #1,2 &3 pieces of red gum burl 1 1/4 inch thick ?

Wayne,

I had a better look at those slices and only the #1 is 1"1/4, #2 is sold and 3 and 4 are 1"3/4, I can cut specific size pieces if you want.

Cheers
George

Will take 1 and 3 , George. I assume they will fit in the box .

Wayne, the other 2 Peppercorn pairs of spalted blanks did fit in the box OK and the Red gum burl blank #3 I can't find blank#1 and I know blanks #2 was sold, the other blanks were a little too big so, I cut a couple of extra pieces to fill the box, one is from the Red gum burl and the other is a slice/board from something I was cutting yesterday that I'm sure you will like, these 2 pieces are "gifts".

The total weight of your box is about 7.5kg so AU$115.00 and the blanks is,

Red Gum burl - AU$25.00

Peppercorn Burl small blanks 17 pairs @ AU$5.00 = AU$85.00

Peppercorn Burl larger pieces 4 pairs for 3.780kg @ AU$25.00 = AU$94.50
a total of AU$204.50 + AU$115.00 = AU$319.50

Please have a good look and see if everything is correct.

Paypal to, nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Cheers
George

Everything correct George , except you haven`t made much money for a considerable amount of work . All I have to do is make and sell a couple sets of S&P shakers to pay for it all . PayPal sent . Thank you very much for everything and for the extras . Is the one you were working on yesterday an unknown , a new known , or a new batch of something you had before ?

 

[robutacion]

George, Money is sent! thank you Sir. Very happy to get a huge load of wood for a great price!

Oh, and I turned three pieces of the Australian She/Bull Oak I got from you. They are now a nice pen, pencil and letter opener set that is going to my sister-in-law as a birthday present. I'll have pics up in a day or two!

Looking forwards to see those turned blanks...!

I'm glad you are happy with your order, that is all I need to know, thanks...!

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

What do u have left and what price?

Richard,

You have everything shown to pick for, all the casting species boxes are still full and any other blanks you saw and that are sold, if you want some of the same, I can get them ready for you in no time.

I have also a couple of bags from the first pieces I processed and dried when I first got the Peppercorn, there are a few sizes so I will take come pics for you guys to so.

I picked up another trailer full of Peppercorn burl from my storage paddock, I'm just waiting for the rain to stop so that I can start to process it, I still have 3 or 4 trailers full of it in the Paddock.

Prices for the castings pieces are marked it its pics.

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

Wayne,

I have your blanks in a box and it is about half full, because the boxes sizes between this one and the one smaller one is a big difference and off-course, one is not big enough and the other is too big,

I can fill it up with paper but you may want to use this opportunity and put something else in it to make the shipping worthwhile, up to you.

As is the box weighs 4.7kg a cost of shipping of AU$75.00 you can add another 1kg for an extra AU$16.00 it will all depend on what would you want to add for me to give you the total, as you should already know how much as the blanks you ordered will cost you, huh..?

Might as well add 22A&B and 23 A&B . Do you have any red gum in about 1 3/8 square 3-5 inch long ?

Just looked at your website . Are the #1,2 &3 pieces of red gum burl 1 1/4 inch thick ?

Wayne,

I had a better look at those slices and only the #1 is 1"1/4, #2 is sold and 3 and 4 are 1"3/4, I can cut specific size pieces if you want.

Cheers
George

Will take 1 and 3 , George. I assume they will fit in the box .

Wayne, the other 2 Peppercorn pairs of spalted blanks did fit in the box OK and the Red gum burl blank #3 I can't find blank#1 and I know blanks #2 was sold, the other blanks were a little too big so, I cut a couple of extra pieces to fill the box, one is from the Red gum burl and the other is a slice/board from something I was cutting yesterday that I'm sure you will like, these 2 pieces are "gifts".

The total weight of your box is about 7.5kg so AU$115.00 and the blanks is,

Red Gum burl - AU$25.00

Peppercorn Burl small blanks 17 pairs @ AU$5.00 = AU$85.00

Peppercorn Burl larger pieces 4 pairs for 3.780kg @ AU$25.00 = AU$94.50
a total of AU$204.50 + AU$115.00 = AU$319.50

Please have a good look and see if everything is correct.

Paypal to, nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Cheers
George

Everything correct George , except you haven`t made much money for a considerable amount of work . All I have to do is make and sell a couple sets of S&P shakers to pay for it all . PayPal sent . Thank you very much for everything and for the extras . Is the one you were working on yesterday an unknown , a new known , or a new batch of something you had before ?

Hahahah, The slice I put in the box, is from something that I found in the firewood place, initially only a small single burl piece that I processed into pen blanks and offer them on my last sales however, and since that time, I have found a large limb from the same tree that is mostly burled stuff, I brought that limb home already and I'm processing same but the interesting thing is that, the day I found that limb was after they started process wood from a large pile that had tonnes of other logs on top so, almost impossible to see underneath however, I had a feeling that, if one limb was downloaded in that spot, I had a good chance that the rest was dumped in there also and covered later on.

Yesterday, and in my way from taking Merissa from her Infusion treatment, I planned to stop at Ken's Place and mark all the exposed pieces I didn't want them to cut and split into firewood so, and knowing that I had a good chance of getting wet from rain and muddy from crawling under and over logs, I got my work boots and overalls in a bag to put on when there and that I did.

The rain had stopped and I was going like a Ferret in between logs above and bellow reaching to mark what I wanted. I have found another large limb and the main trunk, unfortunately, the main trunk has had most of the surface burls cut before it was dump but, I have still lots of burl stuff to play with.

You will be saying, by George hasn't yet told us what wood species is...?:frown:
Yes, I know and I want say it neither but what I can saw that most certainly will put you in the right track is that, I have already mentioned on another post that, I have had the wood species for many years but I never saw a burl in these type of trees here in Australia. That has all changed now, I reckon this old tree I found under piles of logs was a fluke of nature and it develop these burls all over its outer surface and that is most possibly what endup killing it, it really looks pretty rough and that would be how it would look when alive, and people saying that the tree was full a disease...!

Got it, yet...?

Cheers
George

 

[1080Wayne]

Wayne,

I have your blanks in a box and it is about half full, because the boxes sizes between this one and the one smaller one is a big difference and off-course, one is not big enough and the other is too big,

I can fill it up with paper but you may want to use this opportunity and put something else in it to make the shipping worthwhile, up to you.

As is the box weighs 4.7kg a cost of shipping of AU$75.00 you can add another 1kg for an extra AU$16.00 it will all depend on what would you want to add for me to give you the total, as you should already know how much as the blanks you ordered will cost you, huh..?

Might as well add 22A&B and 23 A&B . Do you have any red gum in about 1 3/8 square 3-5 inch long ?

Just looked at your website . Are the #1,2 &3 pieces of red gum burl 1 1/4 inch thick ?

Wayne,

I had a better look at those slices and only the #1 is 1"1/4, #2 is sold and 3 and 4 are 1"3/4, I can cut specific size pieces if you want.

Cheers
George

Will take 1 and 3 , George. I assume they will fit in the box .

Wayne, the other 2 Peppercorn pairs of spalted blanks did fit in the box OK and the Red gum burl blank #3 I can't find blank#1 and I know blanks #2 was sold, the other blanks were a little too big so, I cut a couple of extra pieces to fill the box, one is from the Red gum burl and the other is a slice/board from something I was cutting yesterday that I'm sure you will like, these 2 pieces are "gifts".

The total weight of your box is about 7.5kg so AU$115.00 and the blanks is,

Red Gum burl - AU$25.00

Peppercorn Burl small blanks 17 pairs @ AU$5.00 = AU$85.00

Peppercorn Burl larger pieces 4 pairs for 3.780kg @ AU$25.00 = AU$94.50
a total of AU$204.50 + AU$115.00 = AU$319.50

Please have a good look and see if everything is correct.

Paypal to, nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Cheers
George

Everything correct George , except you haven`t made much money for a considerable amount of work . All I have to do is make and sell a couple sets of S&P shakers to pay for it all . PayPal sent . Thank you very much for everything and for the extras . Is the one you were working on yesterday an unknown , a new known , or a new batch of something you had before ?

Hahahah, The slice I put in the box, is from something that I found in the firewood place, initially only a small single burl piece that I processed into pen blanks and offer them on my last sales however, and since that time, I have found a large limb from the same tree that is mostly burled stuff, I brought that limb home already and I'm processing same but the interesting thing is that, the day I found that limb was after they started process wood from a large pile that had tonnes of other logs on top so, almost impossible to see underneath however, I had a feeling that, if one limb was downloaded in that spot, I had a good chance that the rest was dumped in there also and covered later on.

Yesterday, and in my way from taking Merissa from her Infusion treatment, I planned to stop at Ken's Place and mark all the exposed pieces I didn't want them to cut and split into firewood so, and knowing that I had a good chance of getting wet from rain and muddy from crawling under and over logs, I got my work boots and overalls in a bag to put on when there and that I did.

The rain had stopped and I was going like a Ferret in between logs above and bellow reaching to mark what I wanted. I have found another large limb and the main trunk, unfortunately, the main trunk has had most of the surface burls cut before it was dump but, I have still lots of burl stuff to play with.

You will be saying, by George hasn't yet told us what wood species is...?:frown:
Yes, I know and I want say it neither but what I can saw that most certainly will put you in the right track is that, I have already mentioned on another post that, I have had the wood species for many years but I never saw a burl in these type of trees here in Australia. That has all changed now, I reckon this old tree I found under piles of logs was a fluke of nature and it develop these burls all over its outer surface and that is most possibly what endup killing it, it really looks pretty rough and that would be how it would look when alive, and people saying that the tree was full a disease...!

Got it, yet...?

Cheers
George

Got it , George . I just got around to extracting my previous order from the post office , where it had been since Wednesday . It contained some of those blanks , so I will be able to tell if it is the same .

Love the scribbly gum . Reminds me of what I see on my local pincherry and chokecherry to a much smaller extent . Black cherry from the E US has more of it , but I`ve never seen anything that dramatic .

The cypress is gorgeous ! Thanks for everything .

Wayne

 

[robutacion]

Hi Wayne,

Your big box (8.6kg) is on its way and so is Lewis too.

I have a problem with that size boxes I use on both orders, because they are big they carry a lot of stuff and some of the most expensive orders sent overseas during 2015 ($5,500 worth) among 3 orders with Vape/e-cig mod blanks disappear to never be seen again.

I used the most expensive and "secure" postage option Australia Post had to offer but even that, didn't helped me at all and all I received was an AU$50 compensation for 2 of them, the third I'm yet to receive anything at all.

Someone asked me how could a box that size disappear when they have tracking, the answer is simple, if someome inside the system wants what is in the boxes, you are fried, Paypal refunds the amount paid to the buyers and I'm left with nothing.

So, why do I receive only an AU$50 compensation value when the parcel contents worth many time that...?? this is a great question and one that I avoided to comply to minimize any additional costs/charges/fees at the buyers end but that, endup being my demise and something that I had to change.

So, what do I need to do to guarantee being compensated for the parcels contents value in case in disappears because the buyer paying with Paypal, is guaranteed a full refund..???

Well, the only think that can protect me is to use a mail/postage option that offers tracking but that allow 2 other things to happen and that is, declare the correct parcel value (contents) and pay extra insurance for that value, that will be the only way Australia Post will pay me the correct value of what was lost.

However, and doing this, will possibly attract some duty/tax fees at the destination end/pick-up and that is what I have always avoided to attract but, I have no choice.

As a rule now, anything over AU$100.00 will be declared and insured, that is a considerable cost to me and that I don't think should be covered by the buyer, payments by Paypal (as I always request) will protect the buyer but it doesn't protect the seller and in my modest view, I prefer to pay from my own pocket for that extra security that in the end will only benefit me but that, does also affect the buyer if asked to pay taxes, that will depend of the minimum amounts allowed before tax which depend from country to country.

So, why am I saying all this? because I want you folks to understand the reason why I have to declare in the Customs forms, the parcel contents value and appreciate the fact that, I can't possible continue to risk losing so much money that I don't have and that, takes me some time to recover to be able to continue to do what I do.

I'm not complaining, I'm not letting some steam out, and I'm certainly not shifting blames, what I'm trying to do is to make you friends know that, I will maintain my prices low, I pay for the extra security to ensure the parcels get to their destiny because, in some way, when they disappear, is most cases some of the unique and one of a kind blanks disappear and you will never be able to enjoy them, the very reason why you purchased them, right..???

In the end, I still don't want to go through the missing parcels nightmare but this may ensure a certain piece of mind after the parcels are posted.

Cheers
George

 

[1080Wayne]

Well George , I have zero problem with you declaring full value on the shipping document . I think the worst that could happen at my end (apart from not getting the parcel) would be a flat $10 charge plus 5% GST(VAT) . We don`t have import duties on wood , at least I`ve never been charged any .

I do have a bit of a problem with you not including your full insurance costs . To my mind , they are a legitimate cost to pass on to the buyer . And speaking of costs , you say in the above post that the parcel was 8.6 kg yet in the previous one you only charged me for 7.6 kg . Do I owe you another $15 ? I assume Australia Post charges on gross parcel weight , not net .

For what it`s worth , I would value the S&P blanks at $15 . I wouldn`t have bought as many , but you would have had as much or more money immediately in your pocket , and still have product left to sell without having to do any more work . Which just proves I`m lazier than you are . Good night , George

 

[robutacion]

Hi Wayne,

I could only wish that everybody would see it that way but and we well know, that is not the case but I do believe, if I would pass on those insurance costs but it would make the shipping costs a lot more painful for you guys...!

I did stuff up on your parcel weight, I got in my head that was 7.6kg but at the Postal Office scales it went 8.6 and I later confirmed they were correct, never mind...!

Well, is good that you are getting lots of working material for not a lot of money and that was the point of me offering this Peppercorn burl recently acquired, there is plenty of it and fortunately, this stuff is fairly light weight when dry so, another bonus to overseas folks.

I'm happy with the about AU$30 per kilo of this stuff, allows everyone to have some for not a big investment and off-course, I'm looking forwards to see of few things made with it, as I'm certainly taken full advantage of having plenty by start making a few things out of it, already, I will show when done...!

We have had another solid day of heavy rain and strong winds, we are OK here, high up in the hills but, some folks down on flat terrain, are getting flooded...!

Yesterday and today, I manage to process the last trailer full I brought in from the paddock, its all cut on the bandsaw into slices and blocks, many of which will make natural edge bowl or vessel pieces, anything from 4" square up to 10" square, some quite deep. I had plenty of the Peppercorn tree heartwood in this lot, beautiful reds when green but the reds become light brown when dry, I will try over dry (accelerated drying) and stabilized a few with the heartwood and see if I can preserve some of the reds...!

I will take some pics, tomorrow...!

Cheers
George

 

[stuckinohio]

George,

I understand you worrying about declaring the full value and possibly causing a fee for the buyer at pickup. I suppose that would be a little bit of a shock to pick up a package and have to pay more for it.

I am curious how much the insurance that would protect you would cost. Is it based on declared value? It's pretty cheap for the USPS. Knowing the cost would give us an idea how much you are paying out of pocket to protect yourself in the event of loss. Most of us would be willing to pay the extra fee I assume. This whole thing of the buyer getting reimbursed and not you is strange to me, but I guess I never thought of it!

The current exchange rate benefits people with the USD which makes your stuff pretty affordable in the first place.

I think your prices are too cheap. Particularly for the wood that Wayne and I are ordering, but in general also. Looking at the casting wood for example (pen blanks) - most of the casting pieces were $20 AUD for 1 kilo = $5 for 5 or 6 blanks. That puts the charge per piece at $1 or less each. I agree that we shouldn't pay too much for these pieces, particularly the casting pieces from the edges of the tree (that I like) since they are mostly torn up and there isn't much there. But the fact is - we need/want these pieces and they are not available from many places, particularly the pieces you have. The rule of supply and demand applies in this instance! We can always charge more for the pen/product because we had to pay more.

Looking at Amboyna burl - it looks like you charge $32 AUD for 4 grade A blanks, which I think are $8 - $10 per piece here in the states on average. $10 USD equates to $13.20 AUD per blank = $52 AUD for 4 blanks. I purchased from you before despite the shipping charge because your prices are very good, for everything you offer.

BTW, I said the same thing I just told you to another member on this forum (in a private message).

With that said, if you are happy with the price of your products (I am too....!) then you have one option. Tell the buyer up front that there will be an extra fee on top of the shipping fee. The fee is to cover the insurance and you are not shipping it unless the fee is paid. Or you could simply add the insurance cost into the shipping total,which would be easier and less harsh.

At that point it's up to the buyer if they are going to buy from you or not. It's not your fault that we don't live on the same continent as you. Nobody likes to pay high costs for shipping, but really the cost is minimal if you look at all the factors involved. The problem is, depending on the cost of the insurance, I think this could negatively effect your sales ever so slightly. If the insurance is $5 AUD for every $100 in value or something similar then I don't think people will care. If it was something like $10 or $15 per $100, people might balk at that.

I touched on this earlier, but you are offering unique products which no one else sells. It takes a lot of work to retrieve these products and get them home and cut them up into blanks. You spend a lot of money in fuel for vehicle and chain saws. You spend a lot of money on blades and chains too. And don't forget that with the "worthless wood" casting pieces, you have to peel off the bark too, which is bothersome.

Honestly it seems like you could raise the price slightly on all your products which would help cover the cost of the insurance and give you some more money also. I don't think it would hurt business.

Bottom line is this - You are an extremely valuable asset on this forum in more ways than one. I'm sure that every member here has benefited from your input, insight or products. If people want what you have then they will buy it. Shipping isn't your fault. I also don't charge very much for the pens I make, or for anything I sell in general. I feel bad about making a lot of money at peoples expense, but I am not making a living doing this. I have a full time job which pays well and affords me the opportunity to do this for fun. I assume this is your main source of income. Totally different ballgame.

Thank you for what you provide to me and the forum,

Lewis

 

[robutacion]

Lewis and Wayne,

I have the 2 track numbers but is difficult to know which is which because since the Australia Post changes a couple of months ago, all Customs forms have changed and the ones I have now for under the contract discounted rates, there is no number in the form as such, the info from sender and recipient are filled together with codes and weights and when a parcel is processed, there is a small sticker that is produced by the computer and that is the generated track numbers for that parcel that they stick to the main contract form I have to fill up.

I have requested that, when more than one overseas parcel is processed the same day that, they put the sticker in front of the line with the code for each parcel that allows me to identify which parcel that belongs to, I have the 2 tags in front of each line as I requested but and when I checked, the first line belongs to Wayne's parcel and the sticker/track belongs to a USA parcel so that means that, they put the stickers in the wrong order.

Anyway, your track number is CW200395051AU

And Wayne track is CW200395065AU

I have to comment on both your post and Wayne's post, they both reflect on identical opinions that you two have in relation to the costs I'm absorbing to have some security/protection in case the parcels disappear.

There is no doubt that Paypal has constantly announced their buyer protection and many of the prices increased for their services to guarantee that protection to buyer's however, those rules do not apply to sellers and quite recently they announced a few changes of how much money the seller can withdraw from the account to basically guarantee that, if all sales within a certain period of times go wrong and Paypal has to reimburse buyers, they want to make sure that money will be there in the seller account and not use Paypal/s funds.

I buy a lot of stuff online using Paypal and 95 of the sales I made are paid with Paypal, only within Australia I allow Direct bank transfer but most people prefer to use Paypal because it's immediate instead of waiting 3 to 5 working days for the payment to clear. I have always felt a blessing what Paypal offers, and I have no problem with the fees they normally charge, they are starting now to get a bit greedy, after they made it so big and so many million of users.

As for the average insurance % cost to me on parcels over AU$100.00 I calculated it at approx, 7.2% but there are other add-ons that I may use to get some piece of mind such as signature on delivery (about AU$5) and other notification methods that cost between $1 to $2.50 per parcel.

Your order was insured for AU$150.00 and Wayne's order was insure for AU$350.00

I appreciate your thoughts about my prices, I know they are fair and that, they allow overseas folks to continued to buy from me even when the exchange rate is not as favorable to you guys as it has been for some time, one hand cover the other and pleases me considerably that, I'm able to share my wood's and my stories with you all, my life would be very boring and lonely without it.

I don't have to charge high prices because I don't have big overheads, shops, employees, etc., those savings are all passed on to you guys, this is not a business to me nor it will ever be, I live from a small army disability pension and what I do is my hobby and my mental therapy to prevent madness and keep me motivated, it's tiring but also keeps me from rusting away.

My hobby pays taxes from my many purchases in local and fairway business what I make is what legally I'm allowed to earn, I'm glad when I reach it and I accept when I don't, Merissa, myself and our 2 pet dogs don't need much and were are happy that way...!

I have said all this many other times before, I'm saying it again and I will say it as many times, as I may be necessary...!

I do what I love and I love what I do...!:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George

 

[stuckinohio]

I'm glad to hear this is not your main money maker. It makes a difference when you love what you are doing. Makes it feel less like work!

 

[1080Wayne]

Lewis and Wayne,

I have the 2 track numbers but is difficult to know which is which because since the Australia Post changes a couple of months ago, all Customs forms have changed and the ones I have now for under the contract discounted rates, there is no number in the form as such, the info from sender and recipient are filled together with codes and weights and when a parcel is processed, there is a small sticker that is produced by the computer and that is the generated track numbers for that parcel that they stick to the main contract form I have to fill up.

I have requested that, when more than one overseas parcel is processed the same day that, they put the sticker in front of the line with the code for each parcel that allows me to identify which parcel that belongs to, I have the 2 tags in front of each line as I requested but and when I checked, the first line belongs to Wayne's parcel and the sticker/track belongs to a USA parcel so that means that, they put the stickers in the wrong order.

Anyway, your track number is CW200395051AU

And Wayne track is CW200395065AU

I have to comment on both your post and Wayne's post, they both reflect on identical opinions that you two have in relation to the costs I'm absorbing to have some security/protection in case the parcels disappear.

There is no doubt that Paypal has constantly announced their buyer protection and many of the prices increased for their services to guarantee that protection to buyer's however, those rules do not apply to sellers and quite recently they announced a few changes of how much money the seller can withdraw from the account to basically guarantee that, if all sales within a certain period of times go wrong and Paypal has to reimburse buyers, they want to make sure that money will be there in the seller account and not use Paypal/s funds.

I buy a lot of stuff online using Paypal and 95 of the sales I made are paid with Paypal, only within Australia I allow Direct bank transfer but most people prefer to use Paypal because it's immediate instead of waiting 3 to 5 working days for the payment to clear. I have always felt a blessing what Paypal offers, and I have no problem with the fees they normally charge, they are starting now to get a bit greedy, after they made it so big and so many million of users.

As for the average insurance % cost to me on parcels over AU$100.00 I calculated it at approx, 7.2% but there are other add-ons that I may use to get some piece of mine such as signature on delivery (about AU$5) and other notification methods that cost between $1 to $2.50 per parcel.

Your order was insured for AU$150.00 and Wayne's order was insure for AU$350.00

I appreciate your thoughts about my prices, I know they are fair and that, they allow overseas folks to continued to buy from me even when the exchange rate is not as favorable to you guys as it has been for some time, one hand cover the other and pleases me considerably that, I'm able to share my wood's and my stories with you all, my life would be very boring and lonely without it.

I don't have to charge high prices because I have big overheads, shops, employees, etc., those savings are all passed on to you guys, this is not a business to me nor it will ever be, I live from a small army disability pension and what I do is my hobby and my mental therapy to prevent madness and keep me motivated, it's tiring but also keeps me from rusting away.

My hobby pays taxes from my many purchases in local and fairway business what I make is what legally I'm allowed to earn, I'm glad when I reach it and I accept when I don't, Merissa, myself and our 2 pet dogs don't need much and were are happy that way...!

I have said all this many other times before, I'm saying it again and I will say it as many times, as I may be necessary...!

I do what I love and I love what I do...!:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George

Am I reading this correctly George ? Your pension puts a cap on additional earnings . If you exceed that amount by X$ you lose X$ (or more) of your pension ? That does make me angry !

I also love what you do , George .

 

[robutacion]

Hi Wayne,

That is pretty much it mate, and I make sure I don't give them ammunition to shoot back at me, that would be silly, huh...?

I like to keep it simple...!

Cheers
George

 

[stuckinohio]

Wow, that is really crazy to me. I thought that is what you meant in the post, but I figured I read it wrong until Wayne pointed it out.

I don't understand that. No need to explain it, just making a statement! That stinks...

Lewis

Hi Wayne,

That is pretty much it mate, and I make sure I don't give them ammunition to shoot back at me, that would be silly, huh...?

I like to keep it simple...!

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

Wow, that is really crazy to me. I thought that is what you meant in the post, but I figured I read it wrong until Wayne pointed it out.

I don't understand that. No need to explain it, just making a statement! That stinks...

Lewis

Hi Wayne,

That is pretty much it mate, and I make sure I don't give them ammunition to shoot back at me, that would be silly, huh...?

I like to keep it simple...!

Cheers
George

Well, I don't think that I could explain it to you, either...!

We got used to it and its OK...!

Cheers
George

 

[Edward Cypher]

Sorry it took so long to get back

Sorry it took so long to get back George. Was out of town for a week visiting my newest Granddaughter. But yes pen blank size. And I understand if everything is gone. But I would not give up time with my daughter and her daughter for all the wood in the world. So let me know if I have a KG box if I do my PP is cypher4691@msn.com Thanks again. I will be sure to check this post saturday the 25th. Thanks again and sorry for the delay.


Edward R Cypher

George I would love a box or 2 I have bought olive wood from you in the past and it was beautiful. Would not mind some of that root burl. Be interested in the one kg size box I understand postage will be 24 AUD more or less. Thanks for this amazing opportunity.

Ed

Yes mate, that is correct.

I believe you are referring to.pen blank pieces, right?

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

G'day mate,

You are not too late at all, I hardly sold any maybe 1% of it, that's all.

I'm also surprised that only 2 people ordered some, but that the way it goes, I suppose.

All the pen blanks show is the pics, are still available, I sold 1kilo I added 3 or 4 so, plenty left.

Any other size blanks, such as the ones Wayne ordered or others, I have plenty of burl to cut them from so, that will not be any problem.

Congrats on your newest Granddaughter, I love wood but I would have made the same decision as you so, don't worry...!

Cheers
George

Sorry it took so long to get back George. Was out of town for a week visiting my newest Granddaughter. But yes pen blank size. And I understand if everything is gone. But I would not give up time with my daughter and her daughter for all the wood in the world. So let me know if I have a KG box if I do my PP is cypher4691@msn.com Thanks again. I will be sure to check this post saturday the 25th. Thanks again and sorry for the delay.


Edward R Cypher

George I would love a box or 2 I have bought olive wood from you in the past and it was beautiful. Would not mind some of that root burl. Be interested in the one kg size box I understand postage will be 24 AUD more or less. Thanks for this amazing opportunity.

Ed

Yes mate, that is correct.

I believe you are referring to.pen blank pieces, right?

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

G'day mate,

You are not too late at all, I hardly sold any maybe 1% of it, that's all.

I'm also surprised that only 2 people ordered some, but that the way it goes, I suppose.

All the pen blanks show is the pics, are still available, I sold 1kilo I added 4 or 5 so, plenty left.

Any other size blanks, such as the ones Wayne ordered or others, I have plenty of burl to cut them from so, that will not be any problem.

Congrats on your newest Granddaughter, I love wood but I would have made the same decision as you so, don't worry...!

Cheers
George

Sorry it took so long to get back George. Was out of town for a week visiting my newest Granddaughter. But yes pen blank size. And I understand if everything is gone. But I would not give up time with my daughter and her daughter for all the wood in the world. So let me know if I have a KG box if I do my PP is cypher4691@msn.com Thanks again. I will be sure to check this post saturday the 25th. Thanks again and sorry for the delay.


Edward R Cypher

George I would love a box or 2 I have bought olive wood from you in the past and it was beautiful. Would not mind some of that root burl. Be interested in the one kg size box I understand postage will be 24 AUD more or less. Thanks for this amazing opportunity.

Ed

Yes mate, that is correct.

I believe you are referring to.pen blank pieces, right?

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

I have mentioned before that I had some small Peppercorn burl spalted pieces that I have dried after I got it, they were going to be stabilized with dyes after I had stabilized a bunch with clear Juice but, I have decided to wait, maybe someone wants some of this dry stuff but raw/untreated, the same go for some spalted slices that I also stabilized a few and these ones were also going to be coloured.

I have spent most of the afternoon processing some of the Peppercorn that I had cut into chunks a few days ago, my priority was to sort what was usable and what was not, clean all the bad stuff out and put it under cover for further processing.

I had started a couple of days ago but yesterday was my turning day so, I continued this afternoon, finishing all the slices into the various grades of pen blanks, including the casting pieces, these will have the bark removed, next.

I had also mentioned a few days ago that I was going to take pics of all those square/bowl blanks I have cut, most have the burl to, in case they are going to endup and natural edge, I may even glue some blanks bark to have it to stay attached to the piece, most of the bark in coming off or parts of it because the burl is old and the water has pushed the bark out because the wood swell but the bark doesn't.

These square blanks were thrown behind the pile where I was putting the processed pieces, most/all of what I processed today was in front of it and I didn't feel that I wanted to walk over it to get the square blanks out for the pics so, now that they are easily accessible, I will get them out tomorrow afternoon and take some pics.

I was invited to do a workshop/presentation tomorrow morning at a farm where a group of knife makers will be present for a series of presentations on various subjects, I'm responsible for the talk on knife handle materials, from treated wood to hybrids/Resifills so, that will be fun...!

Have a look at some of the available pieces in the attached pics...!

Enjoy.

Cheers
George

 

[Edward Cypher]

George a kg box please.

George there are too many choices so if you do not mind just make me a mixed KG box of burl casting stuff. I can stabilize and cast so what ever looks good and if you could label one of each type you send so I can sort them when they get here. I think I already sent you the pp stuff but I will send again in a PM. I trust you completely, everythiing I have recieved has been awesome. So surprise me, thanks again.


Edward R Cypher

G'day mate,

You are not too late at all, I hardly sold any maybe 1% of it, that's all.

I'm also surprised that only 2 people ordered some, but that the way it goes, I suppose.

All the pen blanks show is the pics, are still available, I sold 1kilo I added 4 or 5 so, plenty left.

Any other size blanks, such as the ones Wayne ordered or others, I have plenty of burl to cut them from so, that will not be any problem.

Congrats on your newest Granddaughter, I love wood but I would have made the same decision as you so, don't worry...!

Cheers
George

Sorry it took so long to get back George. Was out of town for a week visiting my newest Granddaughter. But yes pen blank size. And I understand if everything is gone. But I would not give up time with my daughter and her daughter for all the wood in the world. So let me know if I have a KG box if I do my PP is cypher4691@msn.com Thanks again. I will be sure to check this post saturday the 25th. Thanks again and sorry for the delay.


Edward R Cypher

George I would love a box or 2 I have bought olive wood from you in the past and it was beautiful. Would not mind some of that root burl. Be interested in the one kg size box I understand postage will be 24 AUD more or less. Thanks for this amazing opportunity.

Ed

Yes mate, that is correct.

I believe you are referring to.pen blank pieces, right?

Cheers
George

 

[DLGunn]

I would like:

1 KG of peppercorn burl casting pieces
250 gr olive root burl casting pieces
250 gr bottle brush casting pieces
250 gr Platypus burl cap casting pieces
6 pen blanks of peppercorn burl spalted

This is for pen blank casting. Please let me know the total and and I'll send you the money.

 

[robutacion]

G'day,

Thank you for your order...!

1 KG of peppercorn burl casting pieces = AU$30.00
250 gr olive root burl casting pieces = AU$3.75
250 gr bottle brush casting pieces = AU$5.00
250 gr Platypus burl cap casting pieces = AU$5.00
6 pen blanks of peppercorn burl spalted = AU$6.30

Total of AU$50.05 for blanks and 2kg weight/shipping for AU$40.00 = AU$90.00

Paypal to, nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Cheers
George

I would like:

1 KG of peppercorn burl casting pieces
250 gr olive root burl casting pieces
250 gr bottle brush casting pieces
250 gr Platypus burl cap casting pieces
6 pen blanks of peppercorn burl spalted

This is for pen blank casting. Please let me know the total and and I'll send you the money.

 

[DLGunn]

George, I sent my payment. Thanks, I'm looking forward to getting these.

 

[robutacion]

George, I sent my payment. Thanks, I'm looking forward to getting these.

Paypal received, thanks...!

I will have them posted tomorrow morning...!

Cheers
George

 

[KCW]

PM sent.

 

[KCW]

Paypal sent George, thanks again!

 

[robutacion]

Paypal sent George, thanks again!

Hi Daniel,

Your parcel is done and will be posted today.

Let me know when you get it...!

Cheers
George