Bricklink Seller Review - Aviary

Sometimes, all you need is Hero Factory.  Several weeks ago my LEGO Find included some near complete Hero Factory Super Heroes.  I decided it would be worth it to finish them up and sell them rather than part them out.  So I created my Wanted List and continued to check out stores occasionally.  The same stores with the same high prices and same high shipping and or handling fees kept turning me off.  Suddenly a new store flew into view.  A small portion of my Wanted List could be handled with low prices and exact shipping.  Now wouldn't it be easier to just find one store with all the parts and pay one shipping fee?  Sure, but one store does not have all of them available.  Out of 14 lots, only one store has 8 of them and it quickly goes downhill from there.  Knocking out 5 lots at low prices was more than worth it here.

Profile
Seller: Aviary
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=crazybirdman
Feedback (at time of writing): 1846
Feedback Ratio: 99.5% positive
Location: USA, California
Prices: Base prices a bit lower than 6 month average.

My Order
Order Size: 7 lots, 11 pieces plus 2 advent subsets and a minifig.
Condition: 100% New
Shipping Charge: Exact USPS
Extra Fees: $1 surcharge for orders under $5
Other: $5 minimum buy
Final Cost per Part: A little tricky.  Two advent subsets for me and a minifig for resale (to meet the minimum) were 75% of my order.  Break the advent subsets into pieces and it works out to about $0.14 per part.  Otherwise, actual parts themselves were around $0.25 each

Timeline
Order Date: Sep 22
Invoice Date: Sep 22
Payment Date: Sep 22
Shipping Date: Sep 23
Delivery Date: Sep 26

Order Details
Why this store: Low prices on some needed parts.
Packaging: Larger pieces loose in a Ziploc baggie in a bubble mailer.  Seemed reasonable.  Minifig bagged separately.
Part condition: New
Communication: Quick and professional
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: None
Issues: A couple of extra unordered Hero Factory weapons.  Was told they were gifts.  Nice touch.

Recommendation
This store keeps fully 2/3 of their inventory in Bionicle and Hero Factory type parts, more if you count the Technic categories.  There's very little in the way of standard System parts and a smattering of odd minifigs, gear, and sets.  I struggled to meet the $5 fee free minimum.  I ended up buying a few things for resale just to save a buck.  However prices are fairly low and I could have taken the $1 hit and still purchased my parts for less than the 6 month average.  He's also using DadsAFOL's VERY impressive auto checkout feature which is a great advantage over many stores.  Using this feature requires being able to predict postage rates.  From my experience using this kind of setup on BrickOwl, it's a no-brainer.  But until Bricklink 2.0 integrates it across the board, Aviary is a great place to find it.