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I was wondering what everyone's general thought is on this...I sell lots of stuff on ebay (out with the old, in with the new...) and sometimes people will ask if my stamp set comes from a smoke-free, pet-free home. Now, no one in my household has ever smoked but we do have two dogs (which are not allowed in my stamp room and mostly live outside). Do you think it really matters about the smoking or pets? I mean, has anyone ever gotten a stamp set that reeked of smoke or had pet hair all over it? I have bought and sold stuff for years and have never encountered this.
Plus, I am allergic to cats but I don't ask if the seller owns a cat before I bid - I just figure how much pet dander is going to be on those things and will it really affect me?
I always answer truthfully that I own dogs so it's not like I'd lie to get a sale but I just wondered if the "smoke-free and pet-free" stuff was sort of a dumb thing to put on stamp listings. What do you think?
I am not sure I get it, either. I know some people have severe allergies and/or asthma, but does it really get to someone through a stamp? Maybe it does, I just don't know. I wouldn't advertise it in my listing but I would answer honestly if asked, like you do. I NEVER think to ask that because I don't care!
I have done over 300 Ebay listings, and I have 4 cats and 2 dogs. So, I put from a smoke-free home. Noone has ever asked about pets, and I leave it that. If they ask, I would tell, but noone ever has asked.
My demo showed me a set that she got off ebay a few years ago, before she was a demo. It had been advertised as from a smoke free home. Well, the plastic case that it came in was just caked yellow with stale smoke. It was disgusting!!!!
I've gotten stamp sets from trades on SCS and from ebay that also had yucky caked yellow plastic cases. I did not equate them to being in a cigarette smoke environment - I thought the cases might look like that from "age". I will now ask more questions before purchasing. I think you owe it to your customers to answer their questions honestly, if asked.
PS: I've also learned to ask if labels are missing etc.
__________________ christine m.aka summer and weekend stalker DOT INK (My yadda yadda) Don't magnify your problem . . .Magnify your God
PROUD MEMBER OF THE REDDIVAS!
That's a very interesting question that you raised, Karen. I have actually had the unpleasant experience of getting a product, not stamps but jigsaw puzzles from a home with cats and because I am highly allergic to them, I actually had to throw out the puzzle. I bought it at a garage sale and took it home. ( Besides stamping, I am also addicted to doing jigsaws). Well, as soon as I took the lid off the box, I started sneezing and my eyes started watering. So, for me, "pet free" can be an important thing.
GROSS!!!!!!! Do you know how BAD your house must smell to have it get to the STAMPS????? Oh my gosh, just thinking about it makes me want to put the dog outside!
Yep, it matters! I got a box from a SS a couple of years ago and I had to throw the entire thing away. There were hairs and the smell of smoke was disgusting. My whole house reaked after I opened it. My DH has super bad allergies and I also prefer to buy things from pet free homes. No offense to anyone but I do think that people need to know. My mom would also say that her house does not smell like cats but she lives with them and does not know what we all smell.
Well..lucky i don sell on e-bay..lol i have 2 dogs..they are in or out as they choose..i also like to have a puff or 2..outside.
I'm also allergic to cats..prolly not as bad as sum..hmmm wonder what peeps did..bfore all the ban smoking chit came out?
I have never thght about it ..as i am also allerigic to second hand smoke..lol.
My sis is very anti smoking and has ordered from e-bay..she has never asked either..n nvr said anything to me bout it.. and heavens..she has 6 horses..lol n 3 dogs..oh well..pet free, horse-free, smoke-free..lol sumthin to consider.
loves ya
__________________ Gail
When the world says give up, hope whispers, try one more time.
I think this is very important information depending on the item I am potentially buying.... stamps? not so much. clothes? very important! I got a winter coat for my dd and it came from a "smoking" home and i had to wash it several times to get it wearable. The last set of stamps that I bought on ebay had a few cat hairs on the case but nothing significant and no odor... no biggie. So to me it all depends on the item.
I would say the smoking thing to me would be important. Also depends on the stuff you are buying, like clothes etc. I have two cats, I never put a warning about them.
I prefer "smoke free" everything - but can't control that necessarily. If I had the choice between 2 sets on ebay and one said "smoke free" I would bid on it and not the other.
As for the animals - I don't know that I really trust people that don't have pets. We have a dog - and as long as one of us is physically cabable of tendint a dog properly, we will always have one in our home. A trick that a stamping friend taught me (she has cats) - just keep one of the lint rollers handy and roll it over the stamp before you use it.
Hmmm, thanks for sharing your opinions. I guess from now on I'll list "smoke free" in my listings. I was shocked at the people who have gotten smoke-scented stamps! And yellow plastic cases! Wow - so far I've been lucky, I guess in that department - nothing I've bought has been yucky like that.
The worst thing I've ever gotten on ebay is horribly mounted stamps. But even then, I just nuked them, recut them and they were fine.
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I buy a lot from ebay and I still have yet to find anyone that smokes or has pets. Because they all say they come from a smoke free/pet free home. Its amazing to me, that no one smokes or has pets!!!
To answer your ? it doesn't matter to me but I know there are people that are very sensitive to these things.
Kathy
I just ordered something off eBay. It wasn't stamps, but items that were wrapped in plastic. I never thought of asking about smoking, but when the package arrived today and I opened it, you could smell the smoke inside the bag. The items were well wrapped in bubble wrap too, and I had to take it outside to open it. The items are fine, but it was gross. *from an ex-smoker!
wow, I've done several trades, sales, ect.......... I have 2 dogs and a cat that roam the entire house. When I stamp, they lay on the floor of my stamp room. I smoke but, not in my stamp room so I never gave it a thought. I did do 1 trade with a lady who asked if it was a smoke free home. I told her the room was but, not the house. She had me spray the item with frebreeze and then air it outside before mailing. A little excessive considering the item wasn't even opened but, whatever floats your boat.;)
JMO
Kelley
I have received cards made from smokers - ewwww! I appreciate the card and sentiment, but not the stink! I traded for a bag with velco on it and it had some dog hairs on it...no biggie to me, but for some people who might be allergic, that might be a problem. I guess my policy is - be open and honest up front, give as best of a description of the item as you can, and go with it. Some people who are overly sensitive might not be the best customers, KWIM?
__________________
*Shari*
�Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.� ― W.B. Yeats
�I think you learn more if you're laughing at the same time.� ― Mary Ann Shaffer
I had a neighbor several years ago that sold Avon. She also had about 4 cats who lived in and outside the house. She gave me some bottles of Avon lotion as a gift and I kid you not the plastic bottle smelled like cat pee!
So, the poster several posts back is right...when you live with it, you don't smell it! Cat pee is the absolute worst odor to get out of stuff. I walked through a house for sell that was empty and had the carpet replaced and you could still smell the cat pee...it was in the sheetrock!!
Had to share these stories, I know they seem out there, but they are true!
As for the animals - I don't know that I really trust people that don't have pets.
I guess I just find this interesting. I have no pets but I have 5 little children. I guess you wouldn't trust me. I'm glad my DH and kids do. Seriously though, my DH has allergies and it wouldn't be possible to have pets in this house. Maybe when we have more land someday. I do take very good care of my kids though.
Of the few times that I forgot to ASK if the item (widget) was from a non-smoking home...my question was answered when I opened the various packages! WHEW!!
One person even tried to 'hide' the cig smoke smell with FABREEZE--which just smells like fake floral cig smoke...cough! cough!
The cig. smoke penetrates into plastics and vinyl...many folks don't realize that the item is NOT safe from the smell inside the box or container.
One time, I bought a doll for my daughter...the smell was SOOOO bad, the DOLL smelled like she was SMOKING several packs a day!! I had to throw the doll away (after soaking and cleaning for days, setting in a plastic bag in the sun for days, hiding away in a container with ODORS-OUT for months...I gave up! phew!)
Ok-I don't want to belabor the points made here. So, one last story
My parents smoke. Not a lot, but they smoke. When I get home from a visit, EVERYTHING in my suitcase smells like smoke. And, thats when I am only there for a long weekend, AND they don't smoke in the spare room I stay in.
I agree that for people who live in a smoke and/or pet environment, their sense of smell gets acclimated to their home. So, my parents have no idea how bad it is.
another thing with pets, is maybe they're afraid that the pets will be chewing on the stamps? i know it might sound out there, but there are a lot of sellers on ebay who aren't very honest (not insinuating that you aren't one of them) for me, pet free doesn't matter so much (although the cat pee stories do have me scared, because it's true! getting that smell out *YIKES*) but smoke free is a big big thing after i've received items that were just absolutely disgusting!
__________________ mommy to 3 handsome boys and a beautiful little princess!! michael 11/8/96, samuel 10/25/01, brandon 6/16/05, and olivia 7/12/07 (-16)
I always put in my listing smoke free home,I have a very sharp nose and would find recieving the odor bad.As I have a mini schnauzer I don't put pet free,she does hang out with me in my craft room,but does not shed or pester with anything unless food is involved once the orriginal SNIFF action is done. So there you go.
I was selling some books on amazon. A co-worker asked to borrow a few of them before I sold them. When she returned them, they smelled so badly of smoke I had to throw them away. There is no way I would sell anything or buy anything that had been in a smokers home. I will not buy anything that does not list it as smoke free home. I don't care about pets.
Art is intended to provoke an emotion from a total stranger. If you�ve succeeded in this, consider yourself an artist. Paper Shanks Blog. Love me or hate me, you are still talking about me
I have received items that came from a smoking home and have been thoroughly disgusted. I am so sensitive to cigarette smoke that we only eat in smoke-free establishments. Also... my dog is allergic to tobacco smoke among other things. (He was tested for various allergens.) I give him monthly allergy shots. I don't think our house smells doggy. My best friend who doesn't have (or like) pets has never commented on this, and I'm sure she would. LOL
I try to remember to comment that items come from a smoke-free home when I'm selling stuff either here or eBay.
__________________ "There is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness." -- Dave Barry
I know that Karen (the OP) read my Ebay listings this weekend 'cause she very helpfully pointed out some that had the wrong picture (thanks again, Karen...I must have been extra tired when I was putting them in the Turbo Lister!) I list all my stuff from a smoke and pet-free home.
My DH is allergic to everything with fur, so we don't have pets. Just being around a cat makes him sneeze, so I advertise my stuff as being pet free because it does matter to some people. It's not just the smell, it's the pet dander that gets into things. And the smoke free definitely matters to a lot of people, so I put that in too.
Some people have told about yellowed stamp cases. Although, they may be that way from smoke, the cases do yellow with age. I have some sets that I've had for almost 10 years and the cases are yellowed and we don't smoke - it's just aging plastic.
I'm another person who can tell immediately if something comes from a household where people smoke.
I would completely understand if someone asked me if I had pets. For some reason, I can see the possibility of cat dander getting on stamps. :rolleyes:
I normally put from smoke free home. In my last set of auctions, I think I forgot to put that. I didn't have anyone ask me if they came from a smoke/pet free home. I do have pets though, so I just put "from a smoke free home". I think the cat issue is bigger than the dog issue. More people seem to be allergic to cats than dogs, so if someone asked if it was pet free, I would specify the pets you have. If you have a dog and no cats, I would specify...and then say if your animals have been near the items you are selling. :-)
Vicki
__________________ Vicki Nelson
That's my little 4 month old cutie, Ryne.
Remember no time is ever wasted that makes people better friends...so we aren't all wasting our time here on SCS. :-)
for smoking... I could tell immediately if they smoked. As far as pets, I have pets and keep my house spotless, litter scooped daily and I have had non-pet people come in and say 'there's no way you'd know you had pets if we didn't see them' so even though I live with them, it's not that I'm just used to it. I do work hard to keep it that way. I will disclose a 'no smoking house' and won't bid on anything if it doesn't say that.
wow, I've done several trades, sales, ect.......... I have 2 dogs and a cat that roam the entire house. When I stamp, they lay on the floor of my stamp room. I smoke but, not in my stamp room so I never gave it a thought. I did do 1 trade with a lady who asked if it was a smoke free home. I told her the room was but, not the house. She had me spray the item with frebreeze and then air it outside before mailing. A little excessive considering the item wasn't even opened but, whatever floats your boat.;)
JMO
Kelley
I once stamped for one evening at a friend's house with a smoker DH. He was in the next room, but the house reeked. When I got the paper home and took it out of the plastic it was GROSS. I'm a non-smoker raised in a home with one smoker and since I've been without it for 30+ years, my nose is very sensitive. It's only fair to be honest-most times I bet stamps wouldn't take the smell as badly as paper.
I've never EVER smoked in my house but I won't put 'smoke free home' on any of my listings because, #1 yes..I do smoke outside but I don't know if anyone will be able to smell it (from my hands)...#2 my mailman smokes...in his truck while he is delivering the mail. Uhm...hello, he picks anything up and the smell is going to be on it. I live in the sticks and he doesn't use a mail truck, it is his own vehicle...I've called to complain about my mail smelling (even I as a smoker can smell it, so I'm sure my buyers can) and they can't make him stop smoking in his own car. That might be another thing you might want to look into...your mailman I mean.
__________________ Tammy "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. "
� Edgar Allan Poe My little gallery
I used to buy a lot of sets of the bay (before I found my current demo - she's awesome). I once got a set that reeked of smoke. I literally could not have it in the house. You could smell it in the other room! I opened the case and set it out on my apartment balcony for about a week (since it was not hot outside). That got rid of the smell and enabled me to actually use the set. If I could not have gotten rid of the smell I likely would have tossed the set as I'm very allergic to smoke. So yes, smoke free does matter to me.
As for pet free, it really depends on whether it smells or not. If your dogs are truly outdoor dogs and stay out of your stamp room, your sets probably do not smell. Some people are also highly allergic to pets so that could matter to them. My brother-in-law is so allergic to cats that his throat will close up if he comes near a cat, so, if he were a stamper, a pet-free set would be important to him.
wow - thanks for the input - I should have been putting "smoke free home" on my listings this entire time! Little did I know it DOES matter! Glad I asked.
Ebay question
