After 15 years in business, I can thankfully say there have been very few unhappy customers. Shipping and Returns Policy is important, but has not been needed in the (almost) 7 years since it was implemented. It will surely change and grow as situations might arise to create the need for additional terms.
Please be aware that the owner has a full time job, she is a shepherd, she is a wife and mother to 2 active young men, she is a choir director and assistant lay leader at her church. She is busy, but also wants happy customers and a business that meets peoples needs. To date, I have had hundreds of sales and only 2 returns (both in Feb and March 2003). I want hundreds more happy customers. This will help keep the "common" in "common sense" purchase relations. It is not full of legal jargon or fine print.
1. If you purchase an item and are not satisfied, you MUST contact ISeeSpots Farm by e-mail or phone within 2 weeks of the shipping date of the order. Do not return an item until you have received the "ok" for doing so. A REASON for the dissatisfaction is needed in case there is a legitimate problem with the item. DO NOT EXPECT TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION IF YOU KEEP A SET OF KNITTING NEEDLES, FOR EXAMPLE, 3 MONTHS AND SEND THEM BACK REQUESTING THE COST OF THE SHIPPING AND THE NEEDLES WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL. This shop is not a free rental service.
2. I e-mail a notice from the shopping cart when your order ships.
3. I charge shipping costs based on my cost to ship. Most companies out there charge a shipping AND HANDLING fee that runs several dollars over the cost of the postage to actually ship the item. That covers their overhead, their personnel hourly wages, warehouse space rental, box purchase costs, and other shipping supply costs. I charge you ONLY for the shipping charges and the shipping costs. You are getting my extra trips to the post office free of charge. In fact, I have not found another shop that charges the small fees that I do charge.
4. I attempt to ship the next possible shipping date following receipt of your order. On rare occasions I will have to back-order an item. Your e-mail will state expected time of arrival for your back-ordered items when ordered---or my best guess. You are always welcome to cancel an order prior to shipping if you need it before I can provide it.
5. I charge a restocking fee of 10% of the cost of the item you have had approval to return. You are responsible for the shipping costs back to me as well as the initial shipping costs from me to you (since I did not ask you to purchase the item in the first place). My customer base is not penalized for the use of credit cards and the associated fees that come out of my business. Every sale that goes through on a credit card costs my business a percentage fee. Every return costs another percentage fee. This adds up to a fair amount of money on each item when the transaction is done twice.