HELP & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Before OrderingHow long does it take for you to despatch my order? How long will it take to get my order? What are your shipping (postal) charges? I need my order urgently, what should I do? What if I don't want to pay by card over the internet? What international destinations to you ship to? I can't find a product - what should I do? I'm having a problem ordering - what should I do? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shopping is easy and secure. All pages use "one click ordering" - enter the quantity you require in the box next to any product you would like to buy (ignore those you don't), then click Add to Basket. All products you would like to purchase from that page are added to your shopping basket in "one click" - easy peasy!You can view your shopping basket at any time and make changes by clicking "View Basket". When you are ready, click on the 'Checkout' button and enter your details as requested.Finally, choose how you would like to pay - we accept credit or debit card securely online using our card payment processor (Actinic Payments/Credit Call) or through Paypal (you do not need a Paypal account). You can also pay by BACs (Bank Transfer). We do not accept cheques, postal orders or orders via email or telephone, nor do we despatch goods on an invoice now, pay later basis.We're sorry to the small minority of potential customers who cannot or do not wish to place orders online but keeping ordering simple means we can continue to provide a fast service to the vast majority of customers who do.We will send you an email to confirm your order details, and another one when your order is packed and sent out to you. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PLEASE NOTE: You will always receive the quickest response if you contact us through the website - this is our preferred method of contact as our priority is to ensure an efficient and speedy service to our customers. If we are constantly stopping to answer telephones (and wasting so much time weeding out spam calls) then we are not picking orders. We thank you for your kind co-operation in this regard and always aim to answer emails within 1 working day. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Why do you have a PO Box address? This is simply because we operate from a commercial warehouse and cannot accommodate personal shoppers. If we publish the address of our warehouse, customers turn up expecting to shop and are disappointed when they find they cannot. We no longer have a retail outlet so have found it easier for all concerned not to publish our physical address. However, we fully comply with the law and publish our company's registered address, VAT registration number, company registration number and a landline telephone number wherever this information is required. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Do you have a brochure or printed catalogue? As we stock thousands of products from manufacturers all over the world, to consolidate everything into a printed catalogue would be a huge overhead and customers would not be willing to pay for it (nor would we!) - looking at an on-line catalogue is free. We also have new products arriving on a regular basis, plus special offers, so a printed catalogue would be out of date within a couple of weeks which would make the whole thing pointless. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Do you offer wholesale or trade prices? We do not offer trade prices as we are a retailer, not a distributor. Where we buy in bulk to achieve a better price break, these prices are immediately passed on in our retail prices. Even though this is a crafts business, just like any business we have to make a profit to stay in business and pay our bills so we cannot give you a discount because you wish to order 2 of an item that we have to order 100 of. It is not in our interests to divulge our trade sources so please do not ask us to do so. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sorry, we cannot offer samples as we have found it to be a pointless exercise in futility. The vast majority of the products on our website are self explanatory and we try to give as much information as possible to ensure you know what you are buying. If you have any further questions about any product, please do not hesitate to contact us. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How do I receive your email Newsletters? We frequently run promotions or special offers so join our email Newsletter mailing list to ensure you always receive the latest news. We send a Newsletter around twice a month and do not use your email address for any other purpose. You'll find a Newsletter subscription box on the right hand side of every shop page, and you can unsubscribe at any time. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I registered a stock reminder ages ago, why haven't I been notifed? The length of time that a product can be out of stock for is dependant on several factors. If there is an unexpected high demand for a product and it goes out of stock at the beginning of our ordering cycle from that supplier, it can be several weeks before the product is re-ordered. It's also a frequent problem that the product has been re-ordered, but the supplier is out of stock and we did not receive it; however, we will put a note against any product where there is a long term problem with restocks. On special offer products (where there will never be restocks) there can be a short time delay between the last one selling out and that product being removed from the shop. Any stock reminders registered for those products cannot be replied to for obvious reasons. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How long will it take to get my order? Orders are normally delivered within a few days of dispatch from our warehouse and we have found both Royal Mail and our courier to be very reliable, however we cannot guarantee delivery times and we cannot be held responsible for delays caused by the courier/postal service. Please allow 15 working days (Monday to Friday) following the date of dispatch before chasing your order unless you have elected to pay for a guaranteed service. Please allow 28 working days for international orders.We are bound by Royal Mail regulations that state a parcel is not considered lost until this period of time has passed. If you require your order by a certain deadline (such as for a project, birthday or special occasion), please allow enough time when ordering or contact us for a guaranteed delivery price. Despite our best attempts, we are not psychic and cannot guess if you have a deadline and do not tell us. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What are your shipping (postal) charges? UK Mainland: Flat Rate £2.99 for Royal Mail First Class or Flat Rate £1.99 for Royal Mail Second Class including VAT. DHL courier (UK Mainland): Flat Rate £6.99 including VAT (excludes Highlands & Islands). This service is trackable and guarantees a delivery between 1 to 3 days following dispatch. If you wish to upgrade your order to a guaranteed next day delivery for an additional charge, please contact us. International Orders are charged on a sliding scale based on product value and destination. Charges should be used as a guide to the maximum you will pay - if actual shipping is less, you will be charged less:
*Customers in tax free zones: Shipping charges to all international destinations will be displayed in your basket including VAT. When you go through checkout, VAT will be deducted before you pay for your order. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I need my order urgently, what should I do? To be fair to all customers, orders are picked strictly in turn although if we are not overly swamped, we will try to make exceptions if you wish to pay extra to guarantee a next day delivery (this does not apply to orders for sale or special offer products). Please contact us before ordering to arrange this. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What if I don't want to pay by card over the internet? We only take online orders using a debit/credit card through our secure payment processor (Actinic Payments/Credit Call), by PayPal (you do not need a Paypal account to use this service) or by BACs (Bank Transfer). When you order online, you are processing your own payment transaction and our system automatically creates your picking list, label and invoice leaving no room for error.We do not accept cheques, postal orders or orders via email, nor do we despatch goods on an invoice now, pay later basis. Sorry, but we are no longer able to take card payments over the telephone. Due to increasing costs to remain PCI DSS compliant, it is now cost prohibitive for us to process the tiny number of telephone orders/payments normally received.We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to the few potential customers who cannot or do not wish to place orders online but keeping ordering simple and safe means we can continue to provide a fast service to the vast majority of customers who are happy to process their own payment online. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What international destinations do you ship to?
*Tax Free Zones: UK Sales Tax (VAT) will be removed from your order automatically when you go through checkout. It is your responsibility to ensure the goods you wish to order are not restricted imports in your country and you are responsible for any import taxes or duties. If your country is not listed, then sorry we do not ship there at this time. ~ These destinations may require additional information for larger orders requiring a courier service due to remote locations. Please allow an additional 2 days for despatch should this be required. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I can't find a product - what should I do? You can use the search box on the site if you have the product code or description (check a previous sales receipt or email), and if it's still available you can quickly find it that way. If no results are returned, the product may have been discontinued since your last order and sold out (so it will have been removed) or it may be a product that we do not stock. If you have any product queries, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will do all we can to help. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm having a problem ordering - what should I do? If you have a problem with on-line ordering it is usually something minor which can be rectified very quickly and sometimes it can quite simply be user error.Our website is either working or it's not - it does not pick and chose who it will allow to complete orders on-line. If you have problems ordering, please let us know so we can try to resolve the issue. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I placed an order so why didn't I get a confirmation? Order confirmation emails are automatically generated by our server when an order is completed successfully. If you have not received an order confirmation it could be for the following reasons:
If you are sure you have fully completed your order, you can contact us to confirm that we have received the order and obtain your order number. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I placed an order, but would like to add more products or amend it - can I do this? Please Note: We can ONLY add to or amend your order up to the point when it is being picked for customers who have paid using our secure on-line card processor. This is because your payment is pre-authorised and is not processed until your order is packed and ready for despatch. To avoid any confusion your instructions are required to be made in writing (replying to your order confirmation email is fine). We need your order number, the correct product codes, descriptions and quantities required if you wish to add, or clear instructions if you wish to amend.If you have paid for your order using BACS or Paypal your order is closed at the point when you place your order (over which we have no control) and unfortunately we cannot make changes to the order after this point. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I would like to return something - how do I do this? Simply contact us for a Returns Form and send the goods back within 30 days of purchase. All goods must be in resaleable condition. We will refund you for the value of any resaleable goods returned and this will be actioned within 30 days of receiving the return in accordance with the EU Distance Selling Directive. We do, however, aim to process all returns/refunds with a maximum of 2 working days. P&P costs are not refundable.If you have received damaged goods or an incorrect item in your order, we will either offer you a refund or a replacement. If the error was ours, we will refund any reasonable postage costs you incur in returning the item to us should we request you to do so. Damaged or faulty items must be reported within 7 days of receipt.Under the terms of the EU Distance Selling Directive, you also have a 7 day cooling off period from the day you receive your order. During this time you can change your mind and cancel your entire order with us. You must contact us inside the 7 day period, in writing (email is fine) to let us know that you want to cancel your order and we will email you a Returns Form. When we receive all the goods back in resaleable condition, we will be able to issue you with a refund for the goods returned. Return P&P costs are not refundable.The EU Distance Selling Directive does not apply to B2B (Business to Business) transactions - even if you are only making small orders for resale from your home, such as greetings cards. Please ensure you are ordering correctly - you have every opportunity to enquire about any product we offer for sale through our enquiry form, by email or by telephone prior to placing your order to ensure the product(s) you are ordering are suitable and correct for your needs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I've ordered the wrong product - will you exchange it? As our postage and packaging charges are heavily subsidised, we cannot offer an exchange service. If you have ordered a product in error, you can return the item(s) by following our returns procedure (see question above) and re-ordering the correct item. This will be considered a new order and p&p will be chargeable, but you will be refunded for the returned item. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
My order hasn't arrived - what should I do? You will receive an "order shipped" email on the day your parcel is dispatched. Before chasing your order, please check the following:
If you have followed the above steps and your parcel has not arrived after 15 working days (this starts the day following despatch and is counted as Monday to Friday) then please contact us for additional help. Please allow 28 working days for international orders. |
