Shipping and Customer Service at The Happy Rooster store 
If there is a problem, please contact me first before leaving feedback -- and I will make it right! It is very rude to leave a negative without giving the seller adequate time to reply and fix the problem.
Also, the eBay 5-star system is very misleading in the choices it gives you. A "4" is defined as "satisfied" which sounds fine -- until you learn that eBay regards anything less than a "5" as a serious complaint! If a seller drops below 4.1, he or she will be kicked off eBay -- even though a "4" supposedly means you are satisifed! So please, do not give me or anyone else less than a "5" without first telling us what the problem was so we can fix it!
ABOUT THE JEWISH SABBATH
We are Hasidic (very traditional orthodox) Jews -- this means that I do not, repeat, DO NOT do any kind of business work on the Jewish Sabbath, which is Friday PM until after dark on Saturday night (Central time zone for me.) Specifically: I do not use my computer, text, tweet, read or answer emails, ship items, or answer the phone. If you purchase something after my noon post office run on Friday, then it will go out Monday. (During the winter, when the sun sets very early and the Sabbath starts around 4PM here, there might not be a Friday mail run.) If there is a problem and you email me on Friday night or Saturday, you won't get an answer until sometime on Sunday.
I try to be prompt, but God decreed the Seventh Day as a day when the Jewish people should not do business, and I follow that law very strictly. I mention this because there have occasionally been people who emailed me on Friday night or Saturday, got annoyed because I did not answer immediately, and then left a negative before I even knew there was a problem. Again, we are not a company, just a family trying to pay our bills, and we have a life outside of eBay. So I'm not at my computer all day long, and I do not "blackberry." Thank you in advance for your multi-cultural awareness and patience.
I prefer to ship USPS (Post Office) because that is the easiest way for me to get things out fast. In the USA, most light items shipped by First Class Mail will get there just as fast as Priority. For International orders, First Class is much, much cheaper than the options given on eBay's shipping calculator. My goal is to save you money!
I usually send a routine email saying your item has shipped. Sometimes I will also note in your feedback that the item has shipped. If there is a problem or delay for some reason, then I will email you to let you know what's going on. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
I usually ship within 1-3 business days of receiving payment, often faster. Please remember that we are not a big company, just a family trying to make ends meet, and I do all the packing and shipping myself. With gas prices the way they are, I have been going into town about twice a week instead of daily -- thus the "3 business days" designation. This sometimes means a small delay but it also keeps the shipping charges WAY down.
A lot of sellers use Priortity Mail for everything because they can schedule a pick-up at the door, but this raises costs astronomically. I prefer to take things to the Post office myself and use First Class, which is much cheaper for you. Please remember this when you evaluate me in the 5-star feedback system. These stars count very heavily toward how eBay evaluates us sellers -- as stated above, a "4" is considered a complaint by eBay, not just "good" or "satisfied." The star ratings, in turn, affect how and where our listings are displayed in searches and on Best Match, etc., So please -- keep in mind that a day or two delay means more money in your pocket, right? And isn't that consideration worth 5 stars?
Sometimes there are also emergencies, bad weather, special events or what-not that prevent me from driving into town at all, which can also delay shipment a day or two. If that happens, I'll email you if it is possible to do so. Then there are occasional power outages in our rural area during storms, which keeps me offline and unable to read my orders & emails.
But fear not -- usually I am very prompt -- read my excellent feedback on My Profile page. 
Combined shipping: Unless otherwise indicated, all these items are shipped from our little hobby farm in Minnesota -- I rarely drop-ship from other locations. I try to keep shipping as low as possible, but please do remember that this includes packaging, gas to drive into town, etc. not just the actual postage. Think of the extra dollar or two as a "finder's fee" for helping you get the item(s) you were looking for. It would cost you a whole lot more for gas to drive all over town and then maybe not even find what you want. I spend a lot of energy developing my network of cruelty-free feather suppliers, tracking down new sources to make different species available, sorting and listing them all -- just so you can have exactly the right feather when you need it. Isn't that service worth a little extra?
What can combine with what?
Some sellers just have a flat fee for everything they sell. Others sell items cheap but charge exhorbitant shipping. I do neither. It's not right to charge the same price for shipping a packet of seeds as for a big heavy book. So I have a customized system of charges. This makes things a bit more confusing, but it saves you money in the end. The combining should happen automatically when you check out but if in doubt, just ask for an invoice, and I'll give you the best deal I can.
Where possible, I will combine shipping if items can be safely put together in one package, and payment is made in ONE combined payment. The reason being, that PayPal charges sellers a flat 30-cent per-transaction amount on each individual transaction plus an additional percentage based on the sale amount. On small items like seed packets, I actually LOSE MONEY if I combine several seed packets that were paid for with separate PayPal payments. In such cases, I can ship them together, but must charge separately if you pay separately -- so please, if you are bidding on more than one item, wait until all have ended, then pay with one payment.
Here are the general combining possibilities:
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS were banned from eBay as of March 31, 2008. All digital items are now delivered on a custom-burned data CD. You can have as many as you want on ONE CD for a flat shipping price of $2.50 -- see About Our custom-burned CDs for more info.
SEEDS: The May 13, 2007 changes in postage rates seriously affected my seeds, which are shipped in thick envelopes that now classify as "small packages." The Post office DOUBLED the cost to ship these! OUCH! I now need to charge at least $1.65 for the first packet to make ends meet, but additional packets go free if paid for together and shipped in the same package. This is still a big savings over commercial seed catalogs, some of which charge a fat $4.95 or more.
Seed orders can be combined with just about anything for a discount -- and this should happen automatically, but will vary according to what the other item is. Ebay calculates it by starting with the highest item's shipping costs, then adding the other charges according to some criteria that I have pre-set. In some cases there is a small handling and packaging fee to cover additional time, effort, and materials to safely combine the items. (I do try to re-use packing materials to keep costs down and save landfill space. When shipping long feathers, I even custom-make my own boxes out of used corrugated cardboard.) If the total seems exhorbitant, please ask for an invoice. Ebay doesn't always get it right.
Books, tapes, CDs, and other media items can usually be sent together in the same box if paid for at the same time in one payment. Because books are heavy, please contact me for an invoice giving you the combined shipping totals, because, again, eBay doesn't always get it right. Sometimes Priority is a better deal than Media Mail -- strange but true.
Live plants, bulbs, & cuttings can be combined with each other but not with most other items, due to the risk of dampness from the plants and soil harming your other purchases.
Most flat artwork cannot be combined with 3-dimensional items such as long quills, books, tapes, plants, etc. because the art prints would get bent, damp, or otherwise damaged. However, several art prints can be in one package. ACEOs, because they are small, can usually be slipped in with a book, CD or feather order.
Miscellaneous items such as plates, jewelry, political buttons, knick-knacks, nature items, etc. can probably be combined. The auction page will give you the options.
Confused? Just ask for an invoice and/or shipping discount and I'll figure it out for you! And if you forgot to do that and paid way too much because eBay goofed, I'll refund the extra with PayPal.
RETURNS
Return policies differ for each item are listed with the item. I want you to be happy. However, please note that some items are sold "as is" and this is clearly indicated in the sale description. With used items, I try to describe all flaws as accurately as possible, and if I'm not sure of an item's authenticity, I state that clearly and let you decide. If you have further questions, please query me BEFORE bidding or buying, and I will try to answer your questions as accurately and honestly as possible. In many cases I will accept a clear photo of the broken item instead of shipping it back, but please contact me through eBay's message system (not regular email) FIRST to get return instructions. And please be patient for a reply -- see the comment about the Sabbath above.
I package things carefully and use the US Post Office's best, most economical-yet-safe-for-your-item method to ship. I rarely have complaints or returns. However, things do occasionally get lost or damaged in the mail. For low-priced items such as seeds, I can usually replace or refund them as a courtesy, but for higher priced items, I require insurance and that will increase the shipping charges.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long blathering page -- and again, if there are questions, do not hesitate to ask me :)
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