Frequently Asked Questions

Do you take offers for items?

Try me, although I'm an independent trader as it were. Please don't try to take advantage, I try to price my items carefully in-line, if not better than competitors.

Some things are clean, others aren’t. What gives?

With some things there is a certain charm or desirability for originality, wear or patina.

One instance is coins - most collectors (not all!) consider coins to be damaged once they're cleaned. Specialist coins are often valued at least 50% or less than their uncleaned counterparts!

I'll clean some things up to a degree but never do anything to knowingly make something less desirable. It's individual preference at the end of the day so I'll leave those few items for the future owners to decide what they want to do.

Does your shop have a minimum spend?

No - although when testing I did find that card payments were a minimum of £1 (I didn't set this and I don't think I can override it).

This may be the case with PayPal too but I can't say for sure.

What are the numbers next to the photos on your website?

The numbers that look like 00/000/00 are my notes to match a photo with a paper trail. It's commonly referred to as an SKU, or a Stock Keeping Unit in general retail (not that I knew that when I was setting up shop).

Basically it's an individual number for a specific item, sort of like a barcode but I'm not that fancy.

My own numbers have the meaning (using 01/002/03 as an example):

01 - The first notebook I use to jot down notes

002 - The second page of the notebook

03 - The third line of the page

This code is used throughout the entire buying / selling process to keep tabs on things.

Essentially 01/001/01 was my first item and it goes on from there. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's the order of appearance in my shop though!

What’s your stance on returns?

I get it - sometimes something just isn't for you or something just isn't working right. I try to capture any important information and details in the photos and text descriptions.

Typically antique shops don't accept returns, although a lot of them aren't online. If something is faulty (undescribed), give me a chance to take a look at it and if you still don't like it, I'll have a good think...

If it is something that is quite clearly evidenced, I won't be able to offer a return.

'Sold as seen' is a usual antiques policy for some reason, and I should probably follow that lead.