January-February, 2012

We have been hit with two increases in our costs, one of which we will be passing on and one which we hope to control. The first is postage: The USPS recently raised its rates considerably, and this will show up in our shipping fees as we update the tables in our shopping cart.

The second cost issue is Paypal fees on larger orders. Customers can pay us through Paypal and fund the payment from a checking account. Paypal calls this an E-check. For a fairly long time, PayPal capped the fee for an E-check at $5.00, and this made settlements both convenient and inexpensive. But that cap is gone, and we have been paying the usual merchant fee of 3% or so on commercial orders. It's a major hit.

So, a request: We will still accept a Paypal payment for any order. However, if your order is over $500.00, we would appreciate it if you would e-mail us, request our bank information and send us an electronic transfer. Domestic customers should do this through the inter-bank ACH (Automated Clearing House) system, if possible, rather than using the Fed wire; ACHs are very cheap, both to send and to receive. If your bank does not yet offer on-line funds transfer/bill payment, please look into starting an account where you can get the service. Maybe if Paypal loses enough fee income, they'll reconsider their E-check policy. Thanks for your cooperation, and your business!

Regards

SD