7/22/12, the auction ends 7/9/12, I will ship it 7/10/12. Even if it took a week to get there (which is very unlikely,) that still leaves 5 days to use it =)
It's the max value before tax. If it costs more than 11.97 before tax, I would ask to speak to the manager. It's their discretion; they can either just give it to you, or they can have you pay the difference. (so if it's $12.00 before tax, they can have you pay the $0.03.)