Shipping cost amounts are calculated based on
a percentage of the total amount of the purchase. We have based
these rates so that the more items you purchase the better
shipping rate you qualify for! When purchasing through the
shopping cart any order over $75.00 will be charged at around a 15%
rate. We do reserve the right to adjust the shipping costs for
very heavy items such as ebony. The adjustment will only be
adjusted up to our actual cost.
Shipping cost chart for domestic paypal shopping cart
orders: These rates are also for items of low weight such as
tailpieces or a single fingerboard. Heavier items will cost a
little more to ship.
Price Ranges
Approximate Shipping Cost
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*The Paypal shipping calculator leaves a
lot to be desired. Overages on shipping costs, (usually light
items) are refunded through paypal. Heavy items may
need extra shipping. Some which are constantly problematic such
as reject bass boards we took off completely as there was never
enough shipping to pay for shipping. Thanks for your patience and
understanding with this.
PHONE ORDERS SHIPPING
We have a minimum shipping rate of $8.50 all other shipping is
priced at our cost plus a $1 handling charge. (box cost is about
$1.50)
A note about
shipping:
"Standard" shipping should take
between 2-7 business days.
Orders placed before 11:00 AM PST are usually shipped the same
day. Please allow additional time for orders for custom boards or
materials that need to be specially selected.
I have been tracking the cost of our
shipping for many years. Last year we lost about $500.00 on
shipping supplies, and if you were to add the cost of labor for
packing it would be worse. It is hard to imagine how much time it
takes to package and process an order. We don't make money on
shipping, we do try to recover our costs.
Products
made of "Abalone or Mother of Pearl Shell"
*IMPORTANT NOTE TO FOREIGN CUSTOMERS: If interested in any
items containing Abalone shell or Mother of Pearl shell (MOP), please contact us
before ordering. These are classified as “wildlife” materials and
even if not endangered or otherwise listed still require holding a
Fish & Wildlife Import/Export permit, and because of this must
undergo “formal” customs clearance. Any of our foreign orders
containing wildlife will be shipped via FedEx and handled through
their in-house Customs brokerage service, which will add at least
$200.00 on top of the shipping costs (typically: a $46.00 FedEx
“Special Handling Charge” and $6.00 “Advancement Fee”, a $97.00
USF&W “Processing/Inspection” fee, a minimum charge of $25.00
duty/“Commercial Transaction Fee” to U.S. Customs, and $25.00 to
us for a lot of additional paperwork). This is as of late 2010.
U.P.S. policy forbids handling wildlife materials or products; and
the U.S. Post Office is too undependable as far as being able to
coordinate formal entries with USF&W, a situation which can result
in confiscation and heavy fines for the involved parties (even
though unintentional and all Customs forms are correctly
supplied).
Of course these costs will be prohibitive for smaller valued
shipments, while larger orders might be able to absorb the fees
(which are basically the same for any shipment regardless of size
or value).
RETURNS
We want you to be happy with your
order and generally speaking "if you are not happy with your
order, we aren't happy" You may return most items within 15
days of purchase for credit or refund. Custom ordered items such
as slotted fingerboards or custom radius boards may not be
returned. Returns must be carefully packaged and arrive in the
same condition they were sent. Materials that have been worked may
not be returned. Return freight cost is the responsibility of
the customer.
