How it
Works...
In a "normal" auction, bidders submit offers in
increasing amounts. The bidder making the highest
offer by the end of the auction is the winner.
However, in a reverse auction, we
lower the price until we find a buyer. The
first person to contact us about purchasing an item
at the most recently posted price "wins" the item.
The trick is to decide how low the price will go
before someone else snatches up the item. Wait too
long to accept our "bid," and you may miss your
chance!
How Long Will the Sale
Run?
The sale begins at 12:01 a.m. U.S. Central
Standard Time on Saturday, December 28th, and ends
at midnight U.S. CST on Wednesday, January 1st.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Any
unsold items remaining on the auction list at the
end of the sale will be returned to inventory and
marked back up to their regular prices.
Reading the Auction
Listings
Our sale items are listed at right. Three
columns of information are included: the item name
(with a link to our standard database listing for
that item), the regular price, and the current
"buy" price. You will see the complete history of
the price markdowns in the third column; the
current price in effect will be at the top of the
history list, with previous pricing shown with a
slash through it. If the item has been sold, the
word "SOLD" will be displayed in red next to or
above the last offer price. An example appears
below:
|
Item
|
Reg. Price
|
Cur. Offer
|
|
Dental
Tarot
|
$ 50
|
$ 40
|
|
Bunny
Tarot
|
$ 35
|
$
22.50
$ 29
$ 32 |
|
Tarot du
Frommage
|
$ 150
|
SOLD
$ 110
$ 115
$ 125
$135
|
In the table above, the first item (Dental Tarot
-- yes, these are all fictional decks) has just
been listed at a "starting bid" of $40 -- a $10
reduction from its regular price of $50. The second
item (Bunny Tarot) regularly sells for $35, and had
an original starting bid of $32; it was
subsequently marked down to $29, then again to
$22.50, and would be currently available for that
price. The regular price of the third item (Tarot
du Frommage) was $150, but the bid was decreased
four times, until a "bidder" purchased the item at
the fourth price offer of $110. Since this item is
no longer available, the "Buy Now" button has been
removed.
The newest listings will always be displayed at
the top of the list -- so once the sale is in "full
swing," you may have to scroll down a ways to see
earlier listings that have been marked down
multiple times. Of course, items lower down in the
list are also more likely to be marked "SOLD" as
well.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All
prices are listed in US$.
Do the Bid Prices Include
Shipping Costs?
No. Shipping costs are extra, and will depend
upon the weight of the package and your location.
For packages shipped within the U.S., we typically
ship by USPS Priority confirmed mail, where
shipping costs will generally range from $4.50 for
a single deck without a book, to as much as $9 for
a particularly heavy deck/book set. If you purchase
multiple items that are shipped together, the
overall cost of shipping may be greater (although
still less than if the items were shipped
separately). Shipping costs outside of the U.S. for
a single item can range from $5 to as much as $30,
depending on the package weight and the country of
destination. We strive not to overcharge for
shipping, but by necessity, we will charge the
amount required to fully recoup our shipping costs.
If you need an exact shipping quote prior to
making a purchase, please write to us at info@tarotgarden.com,
or call (515) 224-7654.
How Often Will New Items
be Listed During the Course of the Sale, and How
Frequently Will Prices Be Marked Down?
New listings and price reductions will occur at
random periods. We'd like to be clever and say that
the erratic scheduling of postings is to keep the
sale fun and interesting, but the truth is, with
the chaotic schedule around here, we just don't
quite know exactly what times we'll be able to get
to the computer to update everything.
The date and time of the latest update will be
shown at the top of this page.
How to Purchase an Item
at the Most Recently Listed Price
If you are ready to purchase an item for the
most recently listed price (shown in black; if the
item is marked "SOLD," it is no longer available),
simply click the "BUY NOW" button, and fill out the
form that appears with your email address.
Alternatively, you can contact us by phone at (515)
224-7654.
If you think you may purchase more than one item
during this sale, you can have us hold the final
charges and shipping until the sale ends on January
2nd. Simply check the box on the form labeled
"Please hold all charges until end of sale" to
indicate that the calculation of your final
shipping charges, and your subsequent payment,
should not be finalized until 2 January 2003.
Will You Honor Multiple
Purchase Requests for an Item that are Tendered
Before the Next Update?
Generally not. Only the first person whose offer
is received will be entitled to purchase the item
at the listed price. We will strive to keep the
pricing and sales status of our sale list as
up-to-date as possible, but unfortunately, we
will have to take occasional breaks to eat
and sleep.
If an Item is Sold, Will
It Be Relisted?
Maybe. Most items will be listed only once, but
a few may be listed again if time considerations
and inventory quantities allow for a relisting.
However, any relisted items will initially be
priced at the original starting price
(not the final sale price) of the sold item.
Paying for Your
Purchase(s)
Payment may be made by major credit card
(MasterCard, VISA, Discover, or AmEx), or by online
payment service (PayPal, c2it).
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Because of the limited availability and timing
issues involved in this sale, we regret that we
cannot accept payment by check or money order,
unless the purchase is secured by credit card. If
you use our online form to confirm your purchase,
please indicate the method of payment you wish to
use for your purchase.
If we already have your credit card information
on file, you can approve the charge to your credit
card without phoning us or resending the
information via email by checking the form box
labeled "Check here if this purchase should be
charged to the credit card information you already
have on file with us."
If you wish to pay by credit card, but have not
previously provided us with your credit card
information, you will need to telephone us at (515)
224-7654, or provide us with your contact
information on the online purchase form.
If you submit your purchase request by email,
you will receive a followup email from us with
information on how to complete your order via your
chosen payment method.
Do You Accept Tarot
Garden Discount Coupons for "Reverse Auction"
Purchases?
No. As per the terms of our coupons, which are
not valid when purchasing items that are already
discounted, we cannot apply additional discounts to
reverse auction sales. However, we will offer a 10%
discount on any non-sale items purchased from our
wide selection of in-stock Boutique
titles when purchased with any reverse auction
selection -- no coupon required!
Other
Questions
If you have any questions about our "reverse
auction" sale, please direct them by email to
info@tarotgarden.com,
or by phone to (515) 224-7654.
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