KIX is one of our most popular items, and rightly so. We import it from Europe, and we haven’t seen it on other US-based retailers and web sites. As the label says, it contains “stabilized amyl nitrite.” I’m not sure what “stabilized” means, but I know this is the good stuff.

Sad to report, I just ran out of KIX. No more in stock. Demand for KIX has been unexpectedly high, and it just seems to keep increasing.

Glad to report, there’s more on the way. It should take 10 to 14 days for it to arrive, but the wait is definitely worth it.

Don’t hesitate if you want some. Go ahead and order your KIX now, and I’ll ship it to you in June when it comes in. After all, there’s just a limited number of bottles coming in the shipment, and backorders will be filled in the order I receive them. That means that if you order KIX now, your bottles are “reserved” for you. Wait, and someone else might get them instead.

Here’s a cool tip if you’re planning a trip this month – Chicago for IML, perhaps? Or somewhere else hot for Memorial Day?

Several customers have asked to have their purchases shipped to them at their hotel when traveling. It’s easy, it’s simple, and it saves you from wondering who’s going to “inspect” your luggage and what they’re going to find. Picture the TSA inspectors at the airport asking what’s in those little bottles… It’s not likely, and it shouldn’t be a problem, but then again, you never know.

If you have any concerns, or even if you just want to save some space in your travel bag, here’s what to do. Just place your order here as usual, but make the “ship-to” address the address of your hotel. Be sure that you include your name and the notation “Hotel Guest” to make sure it gets to you – and your purchase should arrive worry-free. Remember, most US destinations require at least two to three business days for Priority Mail delivery.

The new French product Trance (Transs) has been a big seller for us since we introduced it in March. We’re low in supply, and we won’t get more for several weeks. If you’ve tried it and you like it, or if you just want to give it a try, do it now before we run out.

A customer wrote in with his order last night that he needed his products ASAP – next day or same day if possible – and that he was willing to pay extra to get them faster. I wrote him back and told him how much extra it would be, he wrote back with agreement, and we took it from there.

I just dropped off his order at the Post Office, shipping via Express Mail, and he will have it delivered by 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. Freddie’s comment, upon hearing about this: “He must have a hot date…”

Express Mail used to be available as a choice on the Gay Hankies web site, right along with Priority Mail. I tried it, as an experiment, for about six months, and then I discontinued it. I found that very few customers really wanted Express Mail. After all, Priority Mail does provide two-day delivery in most cases, although it is not guaranteed. And, for the few who did want Express Mail, I was unable to project very well in advance what the actual postage charge would be. In most cases, I ended up losing money on it.

I’m still willing to provide Express Mail, but only on a case-by-case basis. If you want it in a hurry, I can satisfy you, but I need to know what the package contents will be in davance so that I can provide a good shipping cost estimate for you that will cover the cost of postage, packaging, etc.

Use the “comments” field on your order to let me know if you want Express Mail, and I’ll write back by email and let you know the estimated charge. Be aware that there’s just one person (me!) handling this, and if I’m away from the web site or my email, I may not see your order for several hours. If you want, you can say that you “pre-approve” additional charges for Express Mail up to a certain amount, such as up to $20. Or you can ask me to give you a phone call to get your approval for the charges, although I can’t guarantee how quickly you will get a call back or if we won’t end up playing telephone tag. In other words, email might be more effective.

Bottom line: You need it, you want it, and I’ll work with you to get you what you need…

We just got “Bronx” in stock. This is “Le Nouvel Arôme” (”the new aroma”) from France, not New York. Contains Propyl Nitrite in a pure and powerful formula. Now available for $16.99 — check it out.

I sometimes get questions from customers asking about the “grey stuff” packed inside the plastic bags with the poppers. One customer asked if it was shredded cardboard, and what was it for. Another thanked me for sending him some “Galveston beach sand.” Yes, our beaches are not as pretty and clean as the ones in Florida, but they aren’t that dirty.

What you’re seeing is vermiculite. It’s often used when shipping certain chemicals because it has a great absorbent quality. It’s also used in potting soil, to help your plants stay moist and retain water. And, it’s even used in some brands of kitty litter!

One website for a company that sells it uses this description:

Lightweight, absorbent, nonabrasive, vermiculite packing material is ideal for shipping hazardous waste, flammable liquids and industrial products, especially when leakage could occur.

As it happens, in the years I’ve been selling poppers online I’ve had no reports of breakage and only a couple reports of leaks. But, if it happens, the vermiculite is there to help absorb the spill. A little bit goes a long way.

And now you know.

The issue where the customer said he submitted his credit card information but the order came through coded with payment by check or money order has come through again. I had last dealt with this about a month ago.
This time it was a sizable order, over $80 worth, and I hated to see it delayed or held up by a misunderstanding. I’ve had a couple of emails back and forth with the customer, but I don’t know yet if he’s going to resubmit the order or send in a check or what.

In the meantime, I set aside time this afternoon to try to fix the bug in the web site software that allows this problem to happen. I think I’ve licked it. Here on, if you enter your credit-card information and then select the button indicating that you want to pay by check, you’ll get a little box pop-up asking you to choose one or the other. That’s better than just accepting your selection (the payment by check) since nearly everyone who does this seems to really want to pay by credit card.

For what it’s worth, I still don’t really know if I prefer credit card payments or paper payments. On the one hand, with the credit card I know very quickly every morning if the payment is good or not, and I can ship the order right away. I don’t have to make a trip to the bank to deposit a check, nor wait for it to clear. I don’t have to wonder if a money order was printed on someone’s color printer instead of purchased from the store. And so on…

On the other hand, each credit-card transaction has a fee of a little less than 3% that goes back to the company that handles it. There are additional fixed and variable monthly charges which are part of the cost of accepting credit cards.

On the whole, I’d rather have plastic. It makes things go smoother, faster, and allows me to serve my customers better. But, I’m happy to accept paper if that’s the best way for you to pay.

As always, eager to please…

The other day a customer included a comment with his order. He said that he would be moving soon and not to send any “promotional materials” to the current address. Occasionally I hear from other people who ask that I not send anything in the mail (except their orders, of course).

I don’t send any “promotional materials” by old-fashioned snail-mail. No flyers. No catalogs. Not even the classic plain brown envelope.

Why not?

First, I hate junk mail myself, and I don’t want to inflict it on my customers.

Second, I respect your privacy and always try to operate this business with discretion. This means that I will never send you a letter or a package that actually says “Gay Hankies” on the outside. I don’t mail anything with special logos, other than the Postal Service logo. And the return address will always show the company name BANNEL LLC.

Finally, as a web-based business, I know the best and most cost-effective way to communicate with you is by email. Sign up for the newsletter and once or twice a month I’ll tell you about new products, specials, and promotions. Or don’t sign up, and I won’t. I don’t send SPAM, and you will not receive promotional emails unless you ask for them. I won’t “sell” or “rent” your name or address or share it with anyone. And you can take your email address off the mailing list any time.

Interested? Read more about the newsletter…

A few years ago, Gloria Estefan sang “The words get in the way.” This last week, it’s not been the words, it’s been the work. When I started this online journal, I’d meant to add new postings to it at least two or three times a week. Sometimes life intervenes…

This last week, my “other” work as a freelance programmer/consultant intervened. I contract with this site for a variety of programming and database development projects. And last week, everything seemed to explode for them. It wasn’t fun.

Your storekeeper is a man who constantly balances the needs of home, partner, work, and more. Some years ago I made a conscious decision that I no longer wanted to be the one that got paged at 1:00 a.m. when a computer went down. I made a judgement that the finite time that my partner and I have to spend together is far, far more important than the infinite and unending demands of the typical wired workplace. And I choose the freedom of self-employment, even at the cost of cutting my income and increasing financial insecurity.

Looking back at the past week, I know that I made the right choice. If I were working still at a corporate IT department — or worse yet, at a hosting company like the one involved in the story linked above — I’d be on a one way trip to the nuthouse. These days — where I may be working to satisfy online GayHankies customers, or I may be dabbling in programming here or fixing other people’s errors over there, or I may be taking my partner to the doctor or the dogs for another walk around the block — are the best days.

Last week, I’ve just had a glimpse back at the type of life I used to lead, that I could be leading now. It makes me more grateful than ever for what I have and what I do. And, I’m grateful for the continuing support of my customers. You are part of what makes this possible, and I keep that in mind every day, in customer service, in personal attention, in simply trying to give you my best.