E-MAIL RESPONSE
Nearly all our customer contact is done via e-mail--either directly or through the ebay message system. We deal with hundreds of e-mails a day. It is critical that each message you send contain full details of the topic. If we have to go back hunting through past e-mails to figure out what your message is about, it will for sure delay our response as we will finish responding to other messages first. If we can't make a mental connection, we will typically e-mail you back asking your for more details of what your message relates to--more delay. It is also important that you be consistent in what you call yourself and the e-mail address you use. It is amazing how many people use multiple e-mail identities (six is the most to date) and expect us to know that each one is really the same person (we are fairly good at guessing but we are not clairvoyant).
We primarily deal with e-mail messages on business days. Weekends and holidays we may or may not check e-mail. We rarely check e-mail on Sundays. Most often, e-mail is checked throughout the day on business days. Exceptions do occur when the e-mail person has to travel--and then every effort is made to at least remotely check at least once sometime each day. We virtually never coordinate e-mail checking with the end of auctions so make sure you ask your questions far enough ahead of the end of a listing.
We never send automatic acknowledgement replies as these are so often associated with SPAM (see below). We generally don't reply or acknowledge and e-mail until we have a useful response. This means if we can reply off-the-top-of-our-head, you will get an immediate reply. Otherwise, we will not reply until we are able to get the needed information such as a shipping quote or additional product detail. E-mail is often read at a location different than where items are warehoused. In cases where the product needs to be examined, there may be a business day of delay. We have a large collection of stuff and some items listed before the last warehouse relocation have gotten lost in the move. There may be additional delay while we try to find such an item. In any event, we will usually notify you that we can't find it within 3 business days of your query.
Messages regarding shipping:
If you are asking us about shipping cost, make sure you give us enough detail regarding the ship-to destination. This means, at the very least, a zip code if you are in the USA. An amazing portion of the shipping cost queries we get give us absolutely no idea what part of the universe (so far we can pretty much assume it is somewhere on earth) shipping would be to. Response to these queries is delayed as we have to send you a message back asking your location.
If an item is large or heavy such that it must go by truck, we need to know if delivery will be to a commercial business with a truck-high dock/forklift or if you will pick it up at the truck terminal on your end. This is the least expensive situation. Any other situation such as lift-gate, residential, rural, construction site, restricted access, etc will incur additional fees. It it is a really large item that would go by backhaul flatbed semi truck, we need to know that you will have an adequate sized forklift or crane on-hand to unload when the truck arrives.
If we need to export an item outside the USA and it is too big or heavy for USPS airmail (the favored means of international shipping due to lowest cost and customs simplicity), we need to know the nearest international airport for air freight or port if large enough to go by ship.
If you don't hear back:
It is surprising how often we are not able to respond to e-mails prospective buyers send. We expect to be able to reply back to the return e-mail address of each valid e-mail we get. One of the most common issues is that the sender has changed ISPs and or e-mail addresses but forgot to change the return address in their e-mail program--and failed to update their ebay and Paypal accounts with their new e-mail address.
Then there are people who expect us to respond to an e-mail address different than the one they are sending from. Due to the high volume of e-mails we get, there is a high probability you will not get a response in this case. If you really have to use a different address--make it really clear and repeat top and bottom of message and try again if you don't hear back in a business day.
A common problem these days is that e-mail senders have their SPAM filters set too tight to allow us to respond. If you want a response, make sure your SPAM filter will allow e-mail from cavlon@nmai.com come through.
After a shaky start, the ebay message system seems to be working pretty well. Make sure your SPAM filter allows messages from ebay message system and send us queries via the ebay messaging system (we are seller cavlon99) if you are not getting a response to direct e-mails.
Sending multiple messages at short intervals will not speed up a response. In fact, it will slow it down as we will deal with other business first and then try to figure out what the commotion is about. (It will likely irritate us a bit as well if all the queries are to the same affect.)
As a last resort, you can try calling our warehouse phone at 505-343-1095 between the hours of 9 am to 5 pm Mountain Time (Denver). Leave a message as the person you need to talk to will likely not be available at the time you call but will get the message and get back to you later. Faxes can also be sent to this number.