Daddy, why is the sky blue? Where does the universe end? How much does this card cost?

Unusually, we’re doing this Blog entry mostly for us to blow off steam, and this time we won’t even send out the usual announcement of a new posting. If you know what we mean by a rhetorical question, here’s a good example: Why do people (A) ask how much the card costs, when the prices are right there? (B) ask how to pay, when it’s all in the “how to order” page; and (C) never contact us again? Well, those are three such questions. We mentioned this before, we still don’t have answers, we can’t make all this much clearer than it is, and we will carry on regardless.

It’s so strange. The typical inquiry comes in like this:

Customer: I want to buy cards (X) and (Y). How much do they cost, and can I pay by Paypal?

Us: Sure, happy to help. They will cost ($__) if unregistered or ($__) by registered post, your choice.

Customer’s next message: Great! What e-mail address do we use for PayPal?

Us: Here’s the address (_______) and just click PayPal’s button on the How to Order page.

Customer’s next message: Silence. Gone!

We always resisted following-up cases like this, because we understand people do change their minds, and that’s fine. So do we. But that type of introductory correspondence almost screams out for an explanation. It would be one thing if everything wasn’t already showing in the site. And there is a scientific explanation for why the sky is blue, but not for these non-orders that self-destruct faster than a taped instruction in Mission Impossible!

Not to worry, we have other things to think about, and will revert to letting you know of new entries starting next time.

Until then …