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We accept the major credit cards via Google Checkout We also accept Paypal |
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| Availability / Backorders / Out-of-Stock Items How to Order International Orders Missing Item / Missing Part Policy Package Not Received Price Quotes by Email / Phone Purchase Orders Return Policy Shipping Refund policy How To Order Phone Orders There is a $50 minimum for phone orders. Our system is geared more toward on-line ordering (please see below). However, we'll be glad to assist you by checking stock or answering other questions on the phone. Phone number: Toll-free 877-260-6039 (USA only). We don't have a dedicated operator to take phone orders, but if you call and someone is available, we'll be glad to help you. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. On-Line Orders There is a $15 minimum for on-line orders. 1.) Simply add your items to the cart (click "Add to Cart") and then click "View Cart / Checkout" when you're ready to complete your order. 2.) Choose either Paypal or Google Checkout (either one can process credit cards). Paypal allows you to place an order without having to sign up for an account (true at time this page was written; may be subject to change). Google Checkout has its own checkout button, which you will see in the lower right-hand area of the checkout screen. 3.) Simply enter your billing / shipping info and credit card details, and choose a username and password (if you are a new customer). A good password should be a mixture of numbers and uppercase & lowercase letters. Preferably, a password should be 10 or more characters long. Keep your username and password written down in a safe place (such as with your credit card). If you are a returning customer, simply enter your username and password. That same Paypal or Google Checkout account can be used with any on-line merchant accepting that form of payment. Ordering with a Check or Money Order... Please give us a call 877-260-6039 (USA only) or email us to arrange that method of payment. We gladly accept valid checks and money orders for payment. Ordering with a Company Purchase Order... Please see the Purchase Orders section, below. |
| Availability / Backorders / Out of Stock Items Although every attempt is made to ensure timely delivery of orders, sometimes items go on backorder. We stock many of the items that we sell; however, even in this case, we sometimes sell out of an item before we get the chance to update the website to that effect. Furthermore, some items are subject to temporary shortages that are beyond our control. We therefore make no guarantees of delivery time. Though we strive to fill all orders as quickly as possible, we cannot guarantee that an order will meet your delivery deadline. In all cases, the sole remedy shall be refund of purchase price. Back to top International Orders: I. ENGLAND / U.K. SHIPMENTS: Goods shipped from the USA to ENGLAND seem to be handled by a private company called ParcelForce. We have shipped goods to numerous countries all over the world, but only in England have we had such problems getting packages delivered. Parcel Force seems to make half-hearted attempts (at best) to deliver packages. They then place the burden of recovering the package completely on the customer, who then faces frustration, delays, and fuel expense. PLEASE NOTE that you may or may not receive a customs invoice from Parcel Force. This can create delays, sometimes of several weeks. We'll be glad to provide a label number, but you'll have to call Parcel Force. We have shipped Express Mail packages that were supposed to take 2-5 days to arrive to customers in England, but through ParcelForce they took more like 8-10 days. Repeated attempts to locate the packages only resulted in Parcel Force insisting that we call the US Postal Service, even though tracking information showed that ParcelForce were indeed the ones who had the packages. In our opinion, privatization of postal services is not the "good idea" that it's marketed to be. Whatever Parcel Force is doing, they need to improve. If you really want to risk the long delays we've experienced with Parcel Force , we'll ship to you, but you're on your own there. Why is my International shipping quote so expensive? Please note that we ship overseas by Priority Mail International or by Express Mail Service. These start at around $30-$45. (Sorry, but we do not set the rates charged by the US Postal Service.) First Class International (FCI) is cheaper, but we prefer not to take the risk of shipping by this method. FCI has no tracking number, making it easier for foreign delivery services to claim the package is still in the USA (etc.). A tracking number at least prevents them from "passing the buck". The good news is that USPS rates are still much less than UPS / FedEx Express. Overseas shipping rates on those services typically start at $150. II. Restricted Countries We're sorry, but due to the high incidence of credit card fraud, we do not ship to certain countries. Because the scammers have expanded their operations, we may exclude additional countries without further notice. As of now, we cannot ship orders to any of the following places: Africa (all) China (People's Republic) Eastern Europe & Asia Minor (all) Egypt Indonesia Israel Malaysia Thailand We also do not ship to Iran, North Korea, or Syria. UPDATE: If you are an Ebay member with high positive feedback, we can ship to your address in Russia, China, or Eastern Europe, as long as the shipping address matches the one on your Paypal account. III. Customs Delays and Fees You are responsible for obtaining your package from your customs service. That includes making any necessary phone calls to the appropriate postal agencies. We cannot assist you with this. We can provide you only with the label number, but beyond that, we have no other information. The label number of a First Class International package CANNOT be used as a tracking number. It is only an aid to assist postal workers who have physical access to packages in your local post office. We cannot provide you with any help or even advice to locate such packages. If you want better tracking capability, please choose Priority Mail International. Even then, all tracking & package recovery is up to you. If you want the most reliable way to receive packages internationally, please choose Express Mail Service (EMS). It costs more but is extremely reliable (unless you're in England; please see above). We cannot reach into the workings of foreign postal services. Once a package has left the United States, you are responsible for finding out who has the package. Normally, this is a matter of making a few phone calls. We're sorry, but we cannot make these calls for you. (If you are in the UK, please call Parcel Force or use their web site; we'll be glad to provide a label number at your request, but you'll have to take it from there). You are also responsible for any and all customs duties and fees. Please be advised that a few countries (e.g., Italy) can take as long as a couple of months to clear a package through customs. There is nothing we can do to speed this process. Please read this section again. We cannot help you locate international packages, and we do not provide refunds for items lost in the mail. If an item is valuable and important to you, please consider paying the extra money for insured UPS or FedEx international shipping. They handle all customs forwarding, making it more easy and reliable to receive your package in a timely manner. The trade-off is that it costs more to ship that way. Back to top Price Quotes Current pricing for most items is published on the on-line catalog. Our on-line shopping cart will automatically calculate the shipping cost when you add the items to your cart. Simply enter your ZIP code and it will give you several shipping options. We recognize that some companies and agencies require formal price quotes; however, if that's not the case, please obtain your price and shipping quote from our website. That allows us to put more attention on getting orders packed and shipped out. If you do have technical difficulty with getting price and shipping information from our site, we'll be glad to help you. The more succinct and less open-ended a request is, the more quickly we can assist you. Simple "yes or no" questions require the least typing and thus the least putting-aside of orders and other office responsibilities. Unlike big companies who mysteriously appear out of nowhere with all the resources they want, we are a small business and have to do things ourselves. Thanks for your understanding! Purchase Orders I. Does your PO come with Terms and Conditions? We cannot accept any purchase order "terms and conditions" which run contrary to our own Terms of Sale / Terms of Use. (A summary of main points: (1.) the sole remedy in any case shall be refund of actual purchase price of goods; (2.) although we make every effort to provide goods according to desired timetables, we make no guarantees of such; and (3.) buyer assumes total responsibility for handling, storage, and use / misuse of item(s).) Please be advised that inclusion of contrary terms with your company's PO can delay (or cancel) the filling of your order. However, our filling an order shall in no way signify our acceptance of such terms, even if we fill your order without comment. All sales are governed by our Terms of Sale / Terms of Use. Your sending us a Purchase Order will be taken to mean that your company / institution accepts and agrees to these. If your company is very bureaucratic, consider buying the required merchandise yourself (i.e., personally) using a credit card if you have time constraints. We cannot afford to jump through bureaucratic hoops on small orders, as this takes away from our service toward other customers and is unfair both to them and to us. II. Minimum Purchase Order Amount: Our minimum order for P.O.'s is currently $100 (one-hundred U.S. dollars). Please pre-pay for orders having a merchandise total of less than $100. III. Faxing a PO: UPDATE: We no longer have a fax number. Please email your purchase order, or call us at 877-260-6039. Back to top Return / Exchange Policy Your satisfaction is very important to us. Most items have a 30-day money-back guarantee. Return the goods and we'll refund the merchandise cost if you're not satisfied. Special Notes & Exceptions: 1.) No refunds or exchanges on items that have been abused or misused. 2.) Refund does not include return shipping costs. There are no exceptions. Please see also our SHIPPING REFUND POLICY for original shipping cost details. 3.) LW Scientific items (MiniVid, BioVid, most microscopes & centrifuges) have a 15% restocking fee. We have no control over this. 4.) Platinum Wire - no refunds / returns / exchanges on this item; all sales final. 5.) Microscope Slides & Cover Slips - no refunds / returns / exchanges on these items UNLESS the original, outer wrapping is completely intact (i.e., box must be unopened). This is a safety issue. We are unable to test them for contamination. 6.) Laboratory Glassware - We reserve the right to refuse returns on glassware. This is a safety issue. We have no practical way to test glassware for contamination. If we have a well-established business relationship with you, we'll be glad to accept returns of unused glassware. 7.) Shipping Damage: we take great care to cushion fragile items so they'll withstand shipping. Most of our packages can withstand considerable abuse while maintaining the contents intact. That's because we use professional-quality methods and materials to keep your order safe in the mail. In the unlikely event that an item arrives damaged from shipping, please notify us right away. If possible, please provide a photo of any breakage. This helps us determine whether there's anything in our packaging that needs improvement. Our goal is zero breakage during shipping. If your package was shipped with insurance (UPS, FedEx), please report the claim to them. Back to top Missing Part Policy Q: What recourse do I have if an item was stolen from my order? A: If you choose an insured shipping method (UPS or FedEx), you must file a claim with them to obtain reimbursement for the stolen item(s). Many of our USPS orders ship with insurance, especially if they are $100 or more. If you live or work in a place where a package is likely to get stolen from your porch, please write "SIGNATURE REQUIRED" in the comments section of your order. We will ship the order that way. You will need to have someone present to sign for it. It is your responsibility to have someone present when a package is delivered. We cannot offer replacements for packages that were stolen from your porch (etc). Missing Parts Background: Fraudulent missing item / missing part claims have become a very common form of cyber-shoplifting. These activities contribute to increased costs for everyone else. We have to take this into consideration when evaluating a missing part / missing item claim. Generally, we do not issue replacement parts. That's because we take extreme care to make sure every part is in the shipment at the time of packing. Our packing process involves a checklist, where each item is checked against the order as it is put into the box. The upright rod from our support stands is one of the most popular items on which to claim non-delivery. We still don't know why. We now take extra-special care to make sure there is exactly one rod per base. We even reinforce cartons inside or out, to make sure the rods cannot break through during shipping. As a security measure, we have started randomly selecting orders to photograph the packing process. Though it's a shame we should even have to do this, we will photograph a $25 order: not every single one, but some of them. If a "missing parts" claim arises from one of these orders, we may contact the police to report theft. We take cyber-shoplifting very seriously and will pursue the issue aggressively whenever possible. We apologize for the inconvenience to honest customers, who represent the majority. If you do receive a package and something was stolen out of it in the mail system, be sure to report it to the Postal Inspector. If you cannot contact them directly, speak to your local Postmaster. Interference with the US Mail is no light thing. "Package Not Received" claims If your tracking number or Delivery Confirmation Number indicates that the package was delivered to your address, then your order will be regarded as having been filled. In other words, we are not responsible for postal service errors, packages stolen from your front porch, and the like. It is the buyer's responsibility to have someone home or otherwise arrange to accept the package. I. "Wrong House" Our experience has been that wrong-house deliveries are rare. They have happened only once or twice in all the time that we've been shipping orders. Such errors would be expected to happen only if there's a new driver on the route. If your package is showing as "delivered" on the tracking info, but you did not get it, the next step is for you to call your local post office. There is no guarantee they'll be able to help, but if you're polite, friendly, and persistent, chances are that you can get someone to find out who was on that route. You may even find out where the package was actually delivered. If your neighbors are decent people, they'll call the post office if they get a wrong delivery. Better yet, they'll call you. If you ordered something to be sent by Parcel Post, please be advised that it can take up to 10 business days to arrive to destinations within the lower 48 states. We will be glad to furnish tracking / delivery confirmation number for your order, but we cannot do much, if anything, to assist with "wrong house" deliveries. Once again, if the delivery confirmation says it was delivered to the correct address, then the package will be assumed to have been delivered to the correct address. If you think your mail was genuinely stolen, contact the Postal Service. Interference with the U.S. Mail is taken rather seriously. II. Internally Lost Packages Several times we have had larger companies or organizations claim non-delivery of a package, when the tracking information showed the package was delivered. Upon careful search by the customers, the packages were indeed found to have been misplaced after delivery by someone who worked in the building. Sometimes it took them weeks or even months to find the package in their facility. Again, if tracking information shows the order has been delivered, the order will be considered to have been delivered. We're sorry, but it is your responsibility to make sure packages don't get lost within your company / agency / facility. WE DO NOT ISSUE REPLACEMENTS FOR "INTERNALLY LOST PACKAGES" UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Shipping Refunds - Background Some sellers, especially large companies, offer full refunds including shipping. They also pay the return shipping on items sent back to them. The shipping companies do not ship goods for free. Thus, the larger merchants are actually subsidizing the return shipping cost. They can afford to do so because bigger companies move enormous amounts of merchandise. They have already calculated in a certain return rate, and everything is adjusted accordingly. As shipping costs rise, however, many companies are finding themselves unable to continue this practice. We are a very small business and do not have the volume to be able to subsidize return shipping. Many of our items are priced low and have an already-thin margin. Given the smaller volume of goods that we move (compared to big companies), we would have no choice but to raise prices across the board. Larger companies may not care if a certain proportion of buyers are simply treating it as an "approval service" where they can return merchandise at the seller's cost for any reason they like. We would love to be able to do this, too, but at this stage, we simply can't do that and remain in business. We appreciate your understanding here. Shipping Refund Policy: 1.) If a return is our fault, we refund the original shipping. Thus, an incorrect description or an egregious packaging error would be grounds for a full refund of original shipping costs. Please note that with certain items (e.g., LW Scientific) it is not up to us to make the final determination of whether an item was defective. If they receive a return and determine that the item was abused (etc) or that the claim is false, then there will be no shipping refund. There is also a 15% restocking fee on returned LW Scientific items. 2.) If a return is not our fault, we do not refund the original shipping. If item has to be refunded because you didn't like it, or it didn't fit / was the wrong size / didn't work for your application, please be advised that the shipping cost will not be included in your refund. If you're not sure whether something will work for you, please call or email ahead and ask questions before ordering. 3.) Loss or damage in shipping, when that damage wasn't directly due to a mistake or failure on our part, shall be remedied solely by filing an insurance claim with the package service. That is why we suggest UPS / FedEx, even though these services are sometimes more expensive than postal service. If someone drives a forklift through your package, for example, the insurance will cover it. 4). Return shipping (i.e., on goods sent back to us by the buyer) is the buyer's responsibility in all cases. We've been on the other side of the shipping equation, where sellers have sent merchandise that was so poorly packed that it caused destruction of the goods. Rest assured that we don't want unhappy customers. We make the effort to pack everything securely, and we want you to feel you've been treated fairly. Back to top Main Page |