"FAQ's"
Frequently Asked
Questions
Basic information on using our site and ordering from us is found on
our pages:
Introduction
Terms of Sale
This page provides additional explanation of questions we have been
asked.
Prices and Payments
What currency are your prices in?
You're in Canada. Why do you also provide a price in U.S. dollars?
I live in another country. How do I pay?
What credit cards do you accept?
Using the website
If an item is on the site, is it guaranteed to be available?
The screen is too crowded! Can I do anything about it?
Nothing shows up in my Shopping Cart !
How long does my Shopping Cart last?
Can I look at only the new items?
Other Stuff
I have a question that's not here!
What currency are your prices in?
Our prices are all in Canadian dollars. Even though we are in Canada, we also provide an approximate price in U.S. dollars. This is for the benefit of those customers who want to pay in that currency, either with a credit card or cheque.
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You're in Canada. Why do you also provide a price in U.S. dollars?
We price everything in the two currencies for the benefit of our customers in
Canada and for the convienience of our worldwide clientele.
Approximately 90% of our business is done outside Canada. Canadian
customers may pay in Canadian dollars with the appropriate taxes added.
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I live in another country. How do I pay?
We try to offer as many convenient forms of payment as possible. See our
Payments Page for full details.
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What credit cards do you accept?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Depending on your country of residence, you may
be able to use your Discover card through PayPal. Please see our Payments
Page.
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If an item is on the site, is it guaranteed
to be available?
There are no guarantees, but the chances are very good. The database of
items you are browsing is very current and up to date, but it is not "live".
This is on purpose, because we did not want fictitious orders affecting
our database. Our technology allows us to update the database at the push
of a button, and we do after any significant orders. We do not leave "Sold
!" items on our site to tantalize you. The only time you will get a
"Sorry, sold" on your e-mail invoice is if somebody else ordered the same
item between updates. This does not happen very frequently, but when it
does, we go strictly by the time-stamp that the server places on the order.
We noted one occasion when a customer "won" an item by a margin of 6 seconds!
There is one period of time when "Sorry, sold" is more likely.
That is right after an announced upload of new material. We send advance
notice of the exact time the items will be available for viewing to everyone
who put themselves on our mailing list (see "Mailing List" link on Home
Page). It's a bit like opening the doors at a stamp show. There is a general
rush of viewing and ordering during this period, and a lot of items
are ordered. We do not update the database for a few hours until after
the rush subsides. If we did, it would cause technical problems with people
browsing and ordering.
If you desperately want a particular item, don't wait to add more to
the Shopping Cart -- send off the order right away. We will honor the first
time stamp for a given item, even if the rest of your order comes later.
Just put "more coming" in the comments box. Of course, save this technique
for when you really need it. Abuse (like sending a separate order for every
item) will not be appreciated by Debbie and may result in dire and unforeseen
consequences!
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The screen is too crowded! Can I do anything
about it?
If you are finding the screen too crowded, particularly the list of items
after a search, chances are you are using a screen resolution of 640x480
and/or a large font size. Most web pages these days are designed for 800x600
resolution, so if you can increase your resolution, that's the best fix.
If you can't, or don't want to, there is still a solution. Move
your mouse courser over the vertical line between the left and right portions
of the screen. You will see it turn into a double-headed arrow. Hold down
your left mouse button and drag the line to where you want it. You can
do the same for the line separating the bottom panel if the control buttons
are not properly placed.
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Nothing shows up in my Shopping Cart !
The most likely reason is that your browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer)
is not accepting "Cookies". Cookies are small bits of information that
our server sends to your browser. When the server asks for the information
later, your browser returns it to identify itself so that the proper shopping
cart can be retrieved. Think of the process like a ticket at a coat check
- you hand in your ticket to get your coat back. If your browser is set
on "No Cookies", it's like saying you won't take the ticket for your coat,
so it's hard to get it back later! Our cookies do not store any sensitive
information. They are only a random number used to identify a particular
shopping cart.
To check your Cookie setting:
Netscape Navigator: From the menu bar, choose Edit , Preferences,
Advanced. Then in the "Cookies" section make any selection except
"Disable cookies".
Internet Explorer: From the menu bar, choose Tools, Internet
Options, Security, Custom Level. Then in the "Cookies" section, under
"per-session cookies", check either "Enable" or "prompt". (If you
check "prompt", make sure you "Accept" the cookie when it asks!)
If that doesn't fix the problem, send us a "Bug report" and email us
the stock numbers you are interested in.
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How long does my Shopping Cart last?
Until you send the order, or you delete the cart yourself. That means you
can come back to it later in the day, even later in the week (or survive
a computer crash or thunderstorm) without losing the results of all your
browsing. Of course, there is no guarantee that the items you wanted will
still be there if you left it a while! In practice, we delete all abandoned
Shopping Carts that are older than a month.
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Can I look at only the new items?
Yes! After you choose a country from the search form, just check the 'Search
newer items only" box, and select a time frame.
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I have a question that's not here!
Ask it right now. We'll answer it, and maybe
post it here for the next person.
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