Miles at Miles of Alaska
box 363
Nenana Alaska
99760
1-907-832-5442 miles@miles@milesofalaska.net
click here to go to my site directory with links to all my pages. Art - raw materials for sale- book- advice- tips-ordering- info- home page etc
Words page/ Explaining things
This page is all about explaining something! If you have arrived here by accident click on my directory page above
This page has words involving me and doing business with me
Contacting me
Most web stores I notice have shopping carts and do not encourage personal contact. You never know the sellers name, or get to learn about them. You can not chat and discuss if they have a brown one, or a big one, or one with the right energy etc etc. .The customer clicks yes, pays, and the seller merely boxes it up and sends it. I understand why stores are set up like this. It does not take long to see I get paid for my time in the shop making things, not my time talking to people. As much as I may enjoy 'chatting' I spend an average of 6 hours a day answering emails (that I do not get paid for). I also discovered about everyone wants a good price and few want to pay twice as much for personal service that takes as much of my time as creating the piece, or acquiring preparing the raw material.
I offer up my email and it is my one and only email and phone number day or night, and trust people to contact me for a good reason. I prefer email as if you call and ask me to return the call that cost me 5 cents a minute. Email is free. Email allows me to record what transpired and keep a record. Email allows me to maybe send a picture and email allows me to reply when I'm good and ready. Some customers feel more comfortable on the phone and wish to meet the seller more one on one. I accept that.
When contacting me try to do so if you need me, not because you don't have time to look around. The only way your time is more valuable to me then my own is when you are paying me. I get $65 an hour shop time so if your time is worth more than that let me know. You might want to refer to 'stuff on the web no prices!'
Most web stores I notice have shopping carts and do not encourage personal contact. You never know the sellers name, or get to learn about them. You can not chat and discuss if they have a brown one, or a big one, or one with the right energy etc etc. .The customer clicks yes, pays, and the seller merely boxes it up and sends it. I understand why stores are set up like this. It does not take long to see I get paid for my time in the shop making things, not my time talking to people. As much as I may enjoy 'chatting' I spend an average of 6 hours a day answering emails (that I do not get paid for). I also discovered about everyone wants a good price and few want to pay twice as much for personal service that takes as much of my time as creating the piece, or acquiring preparing the raw material.
I offer up my email and it is my one and only email and phone number day or night, and trust people to contact me for a good reason. I prefer email as if you call and ask me to return the call that cost me 5 cents a minute. Email is free. Email allows me to record what transpired and keep a record. Email allows me to maybe send a picture and email allows me to reply when I'm good and ready. Some customers feel more comfortable on the phone and wish to meet the seller more one on one. I accept that.
When contacting me try to do so if you need me, not because you don't have time to look around. The only way your time is more valuable to me then my own is when you are paying me. I get $65 an hour shop time so if your time is worth more than that let me know. You might want to refer to 'stuff on the web no prices!'
Look here for the topic of interest and click
My web site is me. I am it, and we are all together. That may or may not involve 'you'. Maybe you just want to buy something, not hear a song and dance! Uh huh, ok, I could understand that. In a hurry. So am I. A very busy person. But. Doing business requires you understand what I have and offer and I understand what it is you want. Possibly an issue if we do not sing from the same sheet of music. Selling one of a kind unique items adds to the level of difficulty in communication. Personal service means a person, dealing with a person and a personality. Internet business means - among other things- not necessarily being served in the order you arrived like a line like in a store. There are ways to end up near the front of the line, or get moved to the back and still be waiting a month from now. Understanding each other is a good way to get what you want, faster and cheaper.
All this is being discussed when often it is not relevant 'because' We may come from different worlds. Internet means other countries other cultures etc. I am for example not civilized and in fact find the word to be an insult. I lived 25 years of my life as a hermit alone in the Alaska wild (see my book) Can this effect our business dealings? It could. We may define words different. (you might refer to my "If we are having problems doing business here are some possibilities" section of my 'how to do business with me' web site
Think of me as Indiana Jones, the man who can get anything you want, for a price, including the Holy Grail. Though some see me as a mountain man, who knows about bears, has tales direct from the wild. To others I am Hemmingway, Jack London- spinner of great tales even if not educated. Einstein, couldn't tie his shoes, but split the atom, defined time. To some I am great shaman, man of magic, shape shifter, time traveler. Obviously gifted, famous, and you are in the presence of greatness. Most certainly without an ego problem, and anyone who says different, well "off with their head!" Obviously humble. Some say more like the Wizard of Oz. Possibly a humbug of the first order! A flim flam man with a dog and pony show. Depends on your view. I see Oz as a guy who took a chance and did something in a dull world. Built this cool balloon and got laughed at- took off and crashed and what a joke that was! But he did not give up and made the best of it and created a world around himself filled with magic and awe in a humorless evil unforgiving world. People came to him who wanted outlandish impossible things. And he delivered. It might be hard to take Oz seriously.
But consider, I've been in the New York Times, and on the cover of more then one magazine. I'm asked to bow and make speeches, sign autographs. All the symptoms of being famous. But not rich? Oh I like to think I could have been if money was my God. I chose another road inj life - flowed my dreams, became a trapper a mountain man. But no, to me, not stuck in the past in the 1800's! No. More like something out of the far future the cutting edge of humanity. 'Us' 100 years from now. Life on a devastated plant or a new planet. Facing the elements with our bare hands- dressed in whatever keeps us warm eating whatever there is to eat. That's why it is was pretty easy for me to get into computers (also the cutting edge)
Due to this outlook I like to combine things in odd ways. The very old with the very new. My whole view of the world is not 'normal' so there can be misunderstandings and miss communications. Like I am an artist not a scientist. Science expects order, expects to define things measure weigh and describe and the ability to repeat a process so anyone who follows the instructions can duplicate it. No. Art is when everything is an experiment. We do not know the outcome for sure. It might be greater then expected, or a disaster. Important to understand if it is your special order! I quote a price and if the item turns out to be worth 10 times what I quote, it is your gain and you are a happy customer! At my expense. But if the project order is worth a 10th of what was quoted. I don't get to keep the money, no I have to make good on it. That's why it can be such a touchy thing- to be in business. It's a cold cruel work out there. Everybody wants a deal. But me? I want everyone to be happy and treated fair. I buy stuff I pay a fair price. I will not get the Indians drunk to rip them off of their raw materials in order to pass on out of this world low prices. Nor rip off 3rd world countries (well what goes around comes around and my honest opinion is the US will be a 3rd world country quite soon). So I pay for my materials what they are worth. I expect to in turn be treated fair and I in turn wish to treat the customer fair. So that sort of sums up 'me'
All this is being discussed when often it is not relevant 'because' We may come from different worlds. Internet means other countries other cultures etc. I am for example not civilized and in fact find the word to be an insult. I lived 25 years of my life as a hermit alone in the Alaska wild (see my book) Can this effect our business dealings? It could. We may define words different. (you might refer to my "If we are having problems doing business here are some possibilities" section of my 'how to do business with me' web site
Think of me as Indiana Jones, the man who can get anything you want, for a price, including the Holy Grail. Though some see me as a mountain man, who knows about bears, has tales direct from the wild. To others I am Hemmingway, Jack London- spinner of great tales even if not educated. Einstein, couldn't tie his shoes, but split the atom, defined time. To some I am great shaman, man of magic, shape shifter, time traveler. Obviously gifted, famous, and you are in the presence of greatness. Most certainly without an ego problem, and anyone who says different, well "off with their head!" Obviously humble. Some say more like the Wizard of Oz. Possibly a humbug of the first order! A flim flam man with a dog and pony show. Depends on your view. I see Oz as a guy who took a chance and did something in a dull world. Built this cool balloon and got laughed at- took off and crashed and what a joke that was! But he did not give up and made the best of it and created a world around himself filled with magic and awe in a humorless evil unforgiving world. People came to him who wanted outlandish impossible things. And he delivered. It might be hard to take Oz seriously.
But consider, I've been in the New York Times, and on the cover of more then one magazine. I'm asked to bow and make speeches, sign autographs. All the symptoms of being famous. But not rich? Oh I like to think I could have been if money was my God. I chose another road inj life - flowed my dreams, became a trapper a mountain man. But no, to me, not stuck in the past in the 1800's! No. More like something out of the far future the cutting edge of humanity. 'Us' 100 years from now. Life on a devastated plant or a new planet. Facing the elements with our bare hands- dressed in whatever keeps us warm eating whatever there is to eat. That's why it is was pretty easy for me to get into computers (also the cutting edge)
Due to this outlook I like to combine things in odd ways. The very old with the very new. My whole view of the world is not 'normal' so there can be misunderstandings and miss communications. Like I am an artist not a scientist. Science expects order, expects to define things measure weigh and describe and the ability to repeat a process so anyone who follows the instructions can duplicate it. No. Art is when everything is an experiment. We do not know the outcome for sure. It might be greater then expected, or a disaster. Important to understand if it is your special order! I quote a price and if the item turns out to be worth 10 times what I quote, it is your gain and you are a happy customer! At my expense. But if the project order is worth a 10th of what was quoted. I don't get to keep the money, no I have to make good on it. That's why it can be such a touchy thing- to be in business. It's a cold cruel work out there. Everybody wants a deal. But me? I want everyone to be happy and treated fair. I buy stuff I pay a fair price. I will not get the Indians drunk to rip them off of their raw materials in order to pass on out of this world low prices. Nor rip off 3rd world countries (well what goes around comes around and my honest opinion is the US will be a 3rd world country quite soon). So I pay for my materials what they are worth. I expect to in turn be treated fair and I in turn wish to treat the customer fair. So that sort of sums up 'me'
Some people arrive at my web site and understand it immediately, it all makes sense. Others are confused , - cant figure it out. Here's the quick and dirty version of what's going on (long version = my books). Normal, civilized, and ordinary, I consider insults. I spent 25 years of my life as a savage, alone in the Alaska wilds. I learned how to do things my way. I live in another world. If you like my art- appreciate my raw materials 'different and unique' are a direct result of how I view the world. To do business with me we need to define things the same way. I provide links to explain how I define for sale, special order, raw, soon, business, that might help us sing from the same sheet of music. I've gone through a great effort to avoid misunderstandings.Yes I'm eccentric, but luckily 'gifted' that's why I don't have to do it your way
There is a good time and not so good time to seek raw materials . Scroll directory on next page-to last entry