GENERAL INFORMATION AND FAQ'S
Click these links to immediately view information on any of the following:
Hours of Operation / Location
Ordering Information
Discounts / Wholesale
Product Availability / Pricing / Product Info
Sales Tax
Payment Information
Order Processing
Shipping Information
Returns / Cancellations / Refunds
Delayed or Lost Packages
Privacy / Security Assurance
Our Company
HOURS OF OPERATION / LOCATION
WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED?
We are an online store located on the East Coast of the United States in Jacksonville, Florida.
CAN I VISIT YOUR STORE?
We do not have a retail store for you to visit. This is strictly on online business, available for you to enter orders at your convenience twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
WHAT ARE YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE HOURS?
Our customer service hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 6:00pm EST (Eastern Standard Time). While we try to answer your phone calls promptly, we may occasionally be tied up on other phone lines or in the warehouse pulling orders (particularly if we are running short-staffed). If such is the case, you should receive our voice mail which will allow you to leave us a message so that we may address your concerns with either a return phone call or an email if you supply us with your email information. Please be aware that Mondays and Fridays are our peak days for receiving both phone calls and orders so it may take a little longer on these particular days to respond promptly. For emails that you send to us overnight, please allow a 24-hour response time, especially if you are located in a different time zone such as international customers. Phone calls and emails that are left for us over the weekend will be answered as quickly as possible beginning the next normal business day. Any temporary office closures, such as those for holidays, that will impact customer service and the processing / shipping of orders will be announced at the top of the home page as well as here on the information page.
ORDERING INFORMATION
HOW DO I PLACE AN ORDER? IS THERE A MINIMUM AMOUNT REQUIRED?
We have 4 different and convenient ways to order (see below) and there are no minimum requirements!
1. Order online from our website. All shipping options (along with with their associated costs) and payment options are provided to you during the check-out process. If you want to enter your order online but do not wish to enter your credit card info online, then you can simply choose either the payment option of calling in your card number at a later point or paying by check. By providing these options, it allows you to maintain the convenience of submitting your order online when it suits your schedule and the ease/comfort of contacting us later to merely provide your payment info. (Please make checks payable to La Stella Celeste, Inc.)
2. Phone in your order. Call us at 1-888-rat-tail (1-888-728-8245) or 904-647-9672.
3. FAX your order to us. Click HERE to download the order form to FAX. You may fill out the form and fax it to us at 866-354-6896 or mail it to:
La Stella Celeste, Inc.
5130 Abel Lane
Jacksonville, FL 32254
For fax orders, if you don't receive an e-mail confirmation within 1 business day, please call to confirm that we received it.
4. Email your order to us. Click HERE to e-mail your order. Please don't e-mail credit card numbers. Just indicate whether you'd like us to call for your payment information or whether you'd like us to send you a PayPal invoice.
DISCOUNTS / WHOLESALE
DO YOU SELL TO BUSINESSES OR INDIVIDUALS?
We sell to individuals and businesses alike and have no minimum order requirement.
DO YOU OFFER WHOLESALE ACCOUNTS / PRICING?
We provide "wholesale" pricing by using quantity discounts on many of our products (although not all products fall into this category due to limited availability of the product). We try our best to keep costs low and affordable for our customers with many of our products being sold as close to wholesale prices as possible (and even below in some instances!). If you want to see if an item qualifies for quantity discount, just click on the picture of the item you desire and then additional product info, including any discount pricing/price breaks, will appear. We also provide an additional cost break by means of sales specials plus we periodically provide discount coupons through our email newsletters for those customers who have signed up to receive them.
PRODUCT AVAILABILITY / PRICING / PRODUCT INFO
I DO NOT SEE AN ITEM ON YOUR WEBSITE THAT I HAVE ORDERED FROM YOU BEFORE. IS IT NO LONGER AVAILABLE?
If you have purchased an item from us previosuly but do not see it on our site now, this most likely means that the product is currently out-of-stock and will appear back on our website as soon as it becomes available once again. However, you may email or call us to determine if the item is due to be re-stocked or if it, in fact, is discontinued. NOTE: Both price and availability of products are subject to change at any time without notice. WHAT HAPPENS IF AN ITEM IS OUT-OF-STOCK? IS IT BACKORDERED?
Although we do our best to keep items in stock, there are times when we may be temporarily out of an item. While a number of our items display an available quantity for you before you make a selection, some high-demand products turn over too quickly to be able to maintain this info accurately and therefore do not display this information before-hand. If we discover we are out of an item while filling your order, we will simply refund the cost of that missing item to you. If you prefer the item instead of a refund, you MUST let us know you are acceptable to backorder or substitution by indicating so in the comments section during your checkout process. If you did not indicate that you wish a backorder and it is an item that you still want to receive from us then please check back with us at a later date to see if the item has been re-stocked. For substitutions, please be aware that the time it takes for us to contact you and to then receive a reply from you regarding an adequate/appropriate substitution can delay the timing of when your package ships out. I DON"T THINK THE PRODUCT MEASUREMENT / INFO IS CORRECT.
While we strive to be as accurate as possible, please note ALL merchandise measurements of size and length are approximate and are provided to you as they are provided and identified to us by our suppliers. As always, you may contact us with your concerns and we will address them individually.
In the event that a product is listed with an inaccurate price or inaccurate product information due to clerical / typographical error, error in pricing, or error in product info provided to us by the manufacurer / supplier, we reserve the right to cancel any product with such errors from the order. HOW DOES YOUR PRICING STRUCTURE WORK?
In order to provide the largest selection of satin cord and related products, we obtain our products from many different sources. In some cases, we manage to obtain a bulk sale purchase of a few items, and in that case, we pass the savings on to you by lowering the price of those particular items. In other cases, we add some additional colors just to increase your selection choices, but the additional colors come from a different supplier at a higher cost to us. Rather than raising the price on all of our items to keep the pricing consistent, we sell the items at the same profit margin to keep the prices as consistently low as possible for our customers. You may notice that for some similar items, such as twisted cord necklaces, some colors have nice quantity discounts and some don't. Likewise, on the nylon satin cord, the 200-yard spools are sold at the same price as the 144-yard spools. We hope that you will appreciate the savings that we are able to pass on to you whenever possible, and we also appreciate your understanding that we can't always give the same across-the-board discounts on all items.
SALES TAX
DO I HAVE TO PAY SALES TAX?
If you are a resident of our state (Florida), then you must pay a 7% sales tax unless you are a Florida business that is requesting tax-exempt status. If you are not a Florida resident or business, then you do not pay any sales tax currently.
I HAVE A BUSINESS IN FLORIDA. HOW DO I RECEIVE TAX EXEMPT STATUS?
If you have a Tax ID Number on file with the State of Florida, we can set up your account as tax exempt.
To receive tax exempt status, please take the following steps BEFORE you place an order with us - 1. Fax a copy of your Florida tax id to us at 866-354-6896, 2. Create and save an account online, 3. Notify us that you have finished creating the account. (BE AWARE: If you do not click the "save" button after entering your info OR if you do save the info but then use the back-arrow to navigate off the account info screen, then none of the info you entered is actually stored in our system and therefore, can't be flagged).
Once the account is successfully created and saved, then we can identify it as tax-exempt and from that point on when you place your orders, you will not be charged Florida sales tax.
PAYMENT INFORMATION
WHAT TYPE OF PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU ACCEPT?
We accept all major credit cards, PayPal payments, personal checks, and bank-wire transfers (acceptable on orders over $500.00). Sorry, we no longer accept western union money-orders.
Payment by Credit card (or Debit Check Card) - We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express on our webpage which is a secure site. If you would prefer to place your order online and then phone or fax in a credit card number, just select the option to call us with your credit number and after you complete the checkout, give us a call (888-728-8245 or 904-647-9672) or send your number by fax (866-354-6896). The bill will appear on your credit card statement as The Satin Cord Store or robin@satincord.com
A note about credit card payments: Credit card companies will put a temporary authorization on your card when you attempt to pay by credit card to make sure you have the funds available to complete your purchase (whether it is an online order or a meal at a restaurant, for example) - the amount is then reserved and listed as the "pending transactions" you (and your bank) see in your online account info. For some credit cards, this authorization will appear whether the card payment is successful or declined. Therefore, if you have one declined charge and one successful charge, you may see two pending charges temporarily on your credit card if you check your card account info online. This temporary authorization will expire in a day or two and your card will only actually be charged for the one successful transaction that posts (NOT for both) and the declined charge will drop off/disappear. Customers should be aware that this process of placing a temporary hold on funds is something that your credit card company / bank does and not something we are responsible for. IF the authorization is successful but you want to cancel the order, then we would release the funds we collected back to you and any pending hold for that transaction will release. However, for authorization attempts that were declined (unsuccessful), no funds were collected by us, therefore we have no ability to affect any temporary holds associated with them. You will have to wait for these temporary holds to clear automatically on their own after several days or contact your card company to get them to release the pending holds sooner. Again, this is beyond our control.
Payment by Paypal -You will be re-directed from our site to the Paypal website to make payment. Please make sure that you complete all of your Paypal steps successfully so that you will be automatically returned to our site to complete submission of your order. This method is one that we highly recommend to most of our international customers as it easy to use and refunds (if required) are more easily processed back to your account.
Payment by Check - If you would like to place your order online but pay by check, just select the 'Check' option in the payment section. You will be asked to fill in a check number. Please make checks payable to La Stella Celeste, Inc. (our parent company) and mail to the address mentioned above along with a printed copy of your order. For check orders, if we haven't yet become acquainted with you, we will wait until your check clears before shipping your package. Return customers in good standing will have your package shipped upon receipt of your check.
Payment by Bank-wire Transfer - For very large orders (especially those that approach or exceed $1000.00), you may prefer to make your payment with a direct bank-wire transfer. If you would like to place your order online but pay by wire-transfer just select the 'Check' option in the payment section and enter a check number of 9999 when prompted. Then contact us and we will provide you with the banking information that you will need to complete the wire-transfer. Please note that there is a bank-wire fee attached to this option.
Other Methods - On a limited basis, we can accept purchase orders from approved institutions such as public schools. Call or email us for approval to see if your institution qualifies for such an arrangement. Please note that even if you qualify, we will require a credit card number to be supplied as a fallback/default payment method should we not receive a check within 30-days of shipment.
ORDER PROCESSING
WHEN WILL MY ORDER BE READY TO SHIP?
Typically, MOST orders are processed within 1 - 3 business days (M-F) after they were placed (barring any unforeseen circumstances that may disrupt normal business operations) and in the order in which we received them. Processing time can be directly impacted by availabilty of the items, the amount of staff available to process orders, and the volume of orders being processed (please keep in mind that there may be a number of orders ahead of yours). When placing custom-made orders (for example: coils of twisted satin cord, satin cord necklaces, leather necklaces, etc.) be aware this may take 2 -3 days longer than normal to process since these are created by hand and that processing time is especially impacted if it is a large volume order. Orders placed when the office is closed (such as for holidays, weekends, or temporary closures) will be processed as quickly as possible when the office re-opens and in the order that they were received. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR MY ORDER TO ARRIVE?
The amount of time it takes to receive an order is a combination of Proceesing Time and Shipping Time. As stated, Processing Time takes place within approximately 1 - 3 business days and the Shipping Time depends on the shipping method you selected. Please see shipping section for estimated shipping time-frames.
SHIPPING INFORMATION
WHAT SHIPPING CARRIERS DO YOU USE?
We ship by two main carriers, United Parcel Servive (UPS) for domestic orders and United States Postal Service (USPS) for both domestic and international orders. Both mailing services pick up our packages each day at 4:00 pm EST so orders received after 2pm EST will most likely ship the next business day (see expedited orders for more info).
WHAT SHIPPING METHODS ARE OFFERED? HOW LONG DO THEY TAKE?
UPS General Info: UPS offers four methods of shipping - UPS Ground, UPS 3-Day Select, UPS 2nd Day Air, and UPS Next Day Air - each provides a tracking number that is supplied to you by UPS when your package ships. The time-frame for UPS Ground delivery depends largely on your location from our store and can be determined by clicking on the UPS icon offered during the shipping selection process to see the ground transit map. Please note that UPS Ground does not guarantee the stated delivery time-frame but other UPS options do (within reason - transport affected by severe weather conditions or state of emergency, etc. cannot be held to usual delivery standards). NOTE: UPS delivery times are based on business days only (M-F) and are exclusive of weekends or holidays. Also, the countdown on UPS timeframes begins with the day following actual pickup from our store with the exception of UPS Next Day Air.
U.S. Postal Service General Info: U.S. Mail offers six methods of shipping - First-Class, Priority Mail, Express Mail, International First-Class, International Priority Mail, and International Express Mail. Typically, First-class takes approximately 5-14 days but offers no tracking capability, Priority Mail takes approximately 2-4 days and offers limited tracking info, and Express Mail takes approximately 1-3 days and provides more detailed tracking info. These shipping time-frames are estimations only and are NOT guaranteed by the US Post Office nor ourselves - they are simply provided here as an estimation to aid you in your shipping method selection that will best suit your needs. For Internatioal orders, please be sure to click on the International Orders navigation tab at the top of this page to read policies specific to your country and be sure to apply additional days to each shipping method to account for transport and customs processing.
I NEED MY ORDER EXPEDITED.
While there is an inherent implication of urgency behind the selection of an expedited shipping method, please be aware that simply selecting an expedited shipping method (even UPS Next Day Air) does NOT automatically guarantee that the order will process the SAME day that you enter it since processing time and shipping time are NOT the same thing. Therefore, if timing is critical and an order MUST be processed AND shipped the same day it is entered then you MUST contact us before 3pm EST to see if that is possible. Please note that even when selecting an expedited method, if the desired day of delivery falls on a US postal holiday or UPS postal holiday, the package will NOT be delivered by these agencies until their next regular mail day..
HOW MUCH WILL MY SHIPPING COST? CAN I DETERMINE THE SHIPPING COST MYSELF WITHOUT PLACING AN ORDER?
Shipping costs are automatically calculated by the ordering system and are determined by the combined weight of the items being purchased and the destination of the package. The shipping cost associated with each shipping option available is displayed during the checkout process before you enter any payment information - this allows you to determine the shipping costs prior to any payment actually being made and you can cancel at any time. Since you cannot accidentally place an order with our system, this means that you have the ability to add items to (and remove items from) your basket/cart repeatedly so that you can adjust your order to see how it affects your shipping cost and as stated, you can cancel out at any time prior to payment being submitted if you decide not to order with us. This allows you to determine at your convenience which shipping method and cost works best for you or if you need to reprioritize the items you seek to purchase. We are one of the few businesses that do not add handling and shipping fees to our customers orders and we do our best to keep shipping costs down, so if we determine at the time of shipment labeling that you were automatically charged by the system's calculations excessively more for shipping than it actually costs us to ship, we will issue a shipping adjustment refund to you.
RETURNS / CANCELLATIONS / REFUNDS
DO YOU ACCEPT RETURNS?
We do not accept returns for any custom-made necklaces nor any of the clearance items, otherwise, yes, we accept returns for up to 60 days at which point all sales are final.
CAN I CHOOSE TO GET A REFUND OR AN EXCHANGE?
Depending on when you contact us, you have the choice - up to 30 days for a refund and 60 days for an exchange (starting from the date your order was shipped). Items must be returned unused, intact (in good condition) and in their original packaging. Items returned beyond the 30-day refund window can only be exchanged for other items we carry, no refunds are available beyond the 30-day window. Any defective items MUST be reported and returned within 60 days of shipping to receive a replacement item. No further exchanges are accepted/allowed beyond 60 days from the date the order was shipped as all sales are considered final at this point. Please note that refunds only apply to items purchased and that shipping fees are non-refundable.
HOW DO I RETURN ITEMS? DO I NEED A SPECIAL CODE?
Please call or e-mail us for an RMA (return merchandise authorization) number before sending items back to us. In your return package, be sure to include a copy of your invoice/sales receipt inside the package along with a notation of the action you are requesting to take place (refund or exchange) and write the RMA# we provide to you on the outside of the package so it can be sent directly to our returns department. Please note that the customer is responsible for postage on all returning packages. However, if an error on our part necessitated the exchange of items, we will ship the replacing items at our expense for regular delivery (this does not include a request to expedite the package such as an overnight shipment) and we will reimburse the customer for the postage on the return package. Shipping expenses for simple exchanges because the customer no longer desires the item or expedited shipping requests for replacement items are charged to the customer. We are not responsible for lost packages on returns, therefore, we suggest that you insure your return package for the full value of the merchandise inside as your protection against loss.
HOW DO YOU REFUND MY MONEY?
All refunds are credited back to the account that was used when payment was made. If you paid by check instead of credit card or paypal account, then you will be issued a check in return.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO PROCESS MY REFUND OR EXCHANGE?
Due to time constraints of daily business operations, refunds for out-of-stock items and refunds/exchanges for returned items are generally processed only once per week. For returned items, if your return arrived on a day after that processing day, your refund/exchange will not occur until the following week. However, at times when daily operations increase and become more hectic, refunds and refund/exchange processing may take longer, especially during holiday seasons, most notably between Thanksgiving and New Years. Please do not worry, we have not forgotten about your refund or your return. On returns, we extend no less than a 60 day window for your return, we politely request the same amount of time to process the exchange.
I NEED TO CANCEL MY ORDER. WHAT DO I DO?
Contact us immediately. We stop the processing of your order immediately once you have notified us of your intent to cancel. If you already paid for your order, you will receive a refund for the full amount (provided it has not already shipped and does not fall into category #4 in the notations below concerning a surcharge fee). If you paid by credit card or paypal, our ordering system will not allow an immediate refund until at least one day has passed from the placement of the order as the funds have not yet been officially collected, therefore, it can take several days from the cancellation of the order before you actually see the refund return to your card/account.
I DON'T THINK MY REFUND IS CORRECT.
Please keep in mind that shipping fees are not refundable (except on cancellations before an order is sent). Also, note that there is a 20% restocking fee / surcharge under the following conditions: 1. Returns of more than three items, 2. Items that have to be repackaged or are damaged and cannot be resold as originally sent (such as returned items possessing cigarette odor), 3. For orders returned without contacting us first and receiving an RMA number, 4. For cancelled custom orders including custom-cut lengths of cord or necklaces in which the cord has already been cut in preparation for assembly, and 5. For items returned AFTER their return window has expired such as when returning items from a recent order but adding in "expired" items (older than 30 days on refunds or 60 days on exchanges) from a past order as part of the recent order's return. As always, you may contact us with your concerns and we will help determine the amount due to you.
IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH YOUR ORDER, WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO FIX IT FOR YOU. SO PLEASE CONTACT US AND ALLOW US THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.
DELAYED OR LOST PACKAGES
I HAVEN'T RECEIVED MY ORDER YET. WHY NOT? WHERE IS IT?
When your order shipped, you were automatically sent an email with shipping information from either UPS or our store on behalf of U.S. Mail. If your spam filter allowed the email through, you have the date of shipment and any tracking info that was provided. Please compare the date of shipment to the time-frame estimated for your shipping choice to determine if the package is, in fact, delayed. Keep in mind that the time-frames provided only refer to business days (M-F) and are exclusive of weekends and postal holidays. If you selected an option that provided a tracking number, you may enter that number at any time on the website of the carrier you selected (UPS or USPS) to determine the current status of your package. Typically, there are few delays but when they do occur, most are due to incorrect address information or the package could not be left at the location for some reason and a delivery needs to be re-attempted. In this instance, UPS automatically makes another attempt to deliver but the US Post office will leave a post-card for you (looks like junk mail - don't throw it away!), telling you to contact them to reschedule the delivery or claim your package at the post office.
MY PACKAGE MUST BE LOST. WHAT DO I DO NOW?
For Packages sent by US MAIL - It is extremely rare that a package is really lost. In most cases, the package will eventually arrive at its destination after it has sat in your local mail distribution center for a few days (or in customs for International orders). Once notified, we can provide general shipping information indicating when the package left our store but detailed shipping information of the package's current location and whether it was delivered or not can only be provided if you selected US Priority Mail or US Express Mail as your shipping option (Note: First Class packages cannot be tracked). If tracking documentation exists that indicates the package was successfully delivered to your location but you dispute that this is accurate (after checking with other household members or neighbors or business associates who may have accepted it on your behalf), we can contact the post office and request that they initiate a trace to identify the actual address the package was delivered to. The post office will provide a case number for us to forward to you and then they will contact you directly by phone to discuss the case with you. Afterwards, they will follow-up with you to inform you of their findings, usually within a couple of business days. If you do not hear from them within that time, call the USPS customer service and supply them with the case number you were provided so they can access the case information and the search results. For International orders, please read our shipping policies under the International Orders link for information regarding your particular country.
For Packages sent by UPS- Again, it is extremely rare that a package is really lost. Typically delays in UPS delivery only occur if there is misinformation in the delivery address or the package had to be rescheduled for delivery due to unusual circumstances. However, UPS does provide a tracking number that allows the customer to sign on to the UPS website and find the shipping details of the package in question and its current location. If you have misplaced this number that was automatically emailed to you when the package shipped, then you can contact us and we can provide that number to you again. If the tracking information indicates the package was successfully delivered but you dispute that this is accurate (after checking with other household members or neighbors or business associates who may have accepted it on your behalf), we can contact UPS and request that they initiate a trace to identify the actual address the package was delivered to and they will contact you with their findings.
IF YOU WANT US TO RESHIP AN ORDER - We can create another order for you, duplicating the original order and charge it to your account accordingly. Then when the original order that was shipped is located, you can return it for a refund of the items, if you choose to do so.
PRIVACY / SECURITY ASSURANCE
Our website uses Authorize.net to provide the highest level of transaction processing security, safeguarding customer information and combating fraud. Also, we have an opt-in e-mail list protected through SafeScribe for which you have the option to sign up and which you may opt out at any time. We take your privacy very seriously and won't in any way give, share or sell any of your personal or financial information. We hate spam as much as everyone else and absolutely won't do anything to contribute to it.
OUR COMPANY
The Satin Cord Store is a division of La Stella Celeste, Inc.
Based in Jacksonville, FL on the east coast of the United States, we are an online store that ships worldwide to our customers. Globally, we have the largest selection of satin cord colors available in one location and are happy to supply our customers with all their satin cord needs. We have been listed in several craft books and websites by well-known knotting artists such as Suzen Millodot, Becky Meverden, and Kim Sang Lan as their main resource for the satin cord used in their projects. We appreciate our customers and make every effort to ensure that their experience with our company is a successful and pleasant one. |
