Welcome to our INFO page - we're glad you're interested! For on-line shopping, please start on our front page (click HOME button at left.) Below you'll find the details: Shipping Rates, Delivery Times, How to Order, Return Policy, info on Rush Orders, Gift Wrap, Mail Orders, Catalogs, our Methods & Materials, and how to check the Status of your Order. Just scroll down to the parts that interest you. If you still have questions - or perhaps a comment or suggestion - please contact us. We answer all email promptly. You can contact us by mail: WHIMSY WOODS P.O. BOX 730 EUREKA SPRINGS, AR 72632 OR BY EMAIL: whimsywoods@yahoo.com whimsywoods@yahoo.com OR BY TELEPHONE: 479/253-7797 (Monday-Friday during normal CST business hours.) Please note, we're a small family business and do not have full-time office staff. We're also in a rural area and our phone system is decidedly low-tech, so we apologize if you have difficulty getting through the busy circuits. We prefer the mutual convenience of email but are always happy to talk to our customers, and do try to return calls within 24 hours (or the next business day.) If your telephone message is not returned, please try again -- it probably means we did not hear the entire number clearly, or a power surge re-set the answering machine. NO SOLICITATIONS PLEASE. HOLIDAY SCHEDULE: Please order custom painted items by mid-November to be sure of holiday delivery. We'll post exact cut-off dates by the end of October, but the most popular items often sell out sooner, so please order as early as possible. THE LATEST: Please click the 'refresh' key to be certain you are viewing the current version of our website. SHIPPING AND HANDLING are computed online for all states except Alaska and Hawaii, and will be displayed BEFORE you authorize the charges. Shipping in the "lower 48" states is approximately 13% on most items. Children's rockers and some smaller items have a flat fee shown on their respective pages. Standard shipping is via FedEx Ground Service, with delivery to most addresses in 3-5 business days. Orders to AK and HI incur higher shipping charges, we'll provide estimates before we process those orders. We only ship to U.S. addresses at this time. STANDARD DELIVERY: Most orders ship in 30-60 days, please allow an extra 3-5 business days transit time for FedEx Ground Service delivery. Average time is 4-6 weeks, special orders can take a bit longer, and weather and holidays affect our schedule. Genuine hand painting is still pretty low tech. Factories no doubt have production schedules but in our small studio we just start one order when we've finished another, so estimates are approximate. Personalized items take an extra 1-2 days. Let us know if you need something by a special date and we'll do our best. Please be sure to provide accurate, up-to-date billing and shipping info as errors can delay your order. We send email notice the day your order ships, so you'll know to watch for delivery. DAMAGED DELIVERY: Please open and inspect your order as soon as it arrives, and notify us right away if you find an item has been damaged. Damage claims must be reported within 48 hours of delivery. We'll send FedEx back to pick up the damaged item and return it to our studio for repair or replacement. It is important that you keep all the packing material, as we cannot file a damage claim on an item that is further damaged by inadequate re-packing. STATUS: You can check your order on the Status Page. A link is provided by Yahoo with your order confirmation message.* The status page will reflect estimated time from order date to shipment date, it DOES NOT COUNT DOWN, but will show when an order has shipped. *Note: the Status Page address is quite long and some email systems try to break the link into shorter lines. Once the link is broken it will not work and attempted access results in an error message that sometimes indicates we no longer exist! If that happens please contact us for assistance. (We've been a Yahoo store for more than 7 years and have no plans to move our website.) PERSONALIZATION AND INSCRIPTIONS: We offer free personalization on most chairs, however must limit the number of letters we can fit nicely on some of the smaller pieces. There is a $10 charge for personalization on toyboxes, beds, etc. We're happy to paint a simple inscription on a gift item -- the charge is $10 for a SHORT message ('Happy Birthday' or 'Welcome to the World') and 1-2 names. These are hand lettered on the back or underside of most items. Contact us for prices on longer inscriptions. RETURNS: Standard orders can be returned within 3 days of delivery if the item has not been used, marked or damaged in any way. Purchase price will be refunded minus a 15% restocking fee (min. $20.) Item must be returned completely undamaged so please re-package carefully and insure for entire purchase price. Apparel must have all original tags still attached. Rush charges are not refundable. Used items are not returnable. Customer is responsible for all shipping costs. Refund will be issued when returned item is received. Sorry, no refunds on customized, special order or personalized items. EXCHANGES: We're sorry but we cannot offer to exchange or re-paint an item in a different color scheme. In many cases the cost of the labor required to refinish a piece would exceed the original price. CANCELLATIONS: Standard orders can be cancelled within 7 days for a full refund, after that a 20% cancellation fee applies. Rush orders and special order items must be cancelled within 48 hours, after that a 40% fee will be charged as we will have ordered the item and/or began work on your order. We're sorry but we cannot cancel personalized, customized or special order items once painted. Any order left unpaid, unclaimed, or "on hold" will be considered abandoned after 30 days. There are no refunds on abandoned orders. BILLING: Like most custom painters we require pre-payment. Most orders are billed 55% when order is processed and the balance prior to shipping. Small orders (under $150) will be billed in a single transaction prior to shipping. Rush orders, custom design or special order items are billed before we start painting. Incorrect or invalid payment info will delay your order so please check accuracy and provide update if your card number changes. GIFT WRAP: There is a $10 charge for this service. Small items will be wrapped with paper, ribbon and bow; larger items will simply be adorned with oversized ribbons and bow. A gift tag is included, and you will find a box on the order form for your gift message. CATALOGS: We offer no retail sales literature at this time. Blame it on an aversion to junk mail or the thought of our designs on the bottom of a bird cage, in any case we try to control costs to keep our products affordable. Our web page IS our catalog so hope you'll bookmark the site and come back often. HOW TO ORDER ONLINE: To place an order, go to the bottom of the item's page and first click the CHOICES button to select the desired design, then choose a size or fill out the PERSONALIZATION box if applicable, and then click the ADD TO CART button. From there Yahoo's software will take you through the ordering process, please be certain to complete the form - your order is not forwarded to us until you authorize the charges at the very end. If you do not receive an immediate "thank you" and a confirmation message within a few minutes, your order probably did not go through and you should contact us for assistance. The HELP button (at left) is also available for assistance with ordering and site navigation questions. MAIL ORDER: We accept checks, Visa or Mastercard, and money orders by mail. PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH. Returned check fee is $30. You can email or FAX an order and we'll process it as soon as payment is received, or mail a printed order and payment (or credit card info) to the address shown above. Please provide all the information requested on our order form, and include appropriate shipping charges. Arkansas residents add .05125% sales tax. Be sure to provide your telephone number and email address so we can contact you if necessary. NOTE: We do not offer a lay-away plan. We have limited storage space so please do not place an order if you are unable to pay the total within 4 weeks. Balance-due orders will be held 2 weeks past completion, then considered abandoned. It's very sad, and there are NO REFUNDS on abandoned orders. DISCLAIMERS: No fine print, just common sense: Whimsy Woods is not responsible for spelling or address errors on your order form, so please check for accuracy and notify us immediately of any corrections. Customer is responsible for any additional shipping costs incurred by incorrect or incomplete address. We are not responsible for weather-related delays, or service failures by FedEx, UPS or US Postal Service beyond the shipping cost refunds offered by those companies for service failures. And Whimsy Woods cannot be responsible for email glitches or Yahoo service errors, so please follow up if you do not recieve confirmation of your order or any order changes. PRIVACY: Whimsy Woods does not sell, share or trade it's customer information with anyone else, never has and never will. And we don't do bulk mail advertising. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Our handpainted furniture is an all-American product. We purchase sturdy hardwood and selected pine pieces from well-established U.S. furniture companies. Every piece is sanded and primed, then receives at least two coats of low-odor, water-based paint and mulitiple coats of a clear protective finish. The handpainting is all done in our small family studio in the Ozark Mountains. We use only non-toxic, lead-free, American brand products. Our furniture is intended for indoor, non-commercial use except as noted. CARE: When necessary, clean surfaces with water and a soft cloth or sponge, dry promptly with a soft cloth. No chemicals or furniture polish are recommended. Like any painted or wood surface, our furniture can be damaged by excessive heat, abrasive cleaners, or prolonged exposure to direct sun and/or moisture. We paint every design by hand. While each item remains true to the design chosen, variations make every piece an original. Some sailboats have bigger sails, some ponies have longer tails - life is like that. If you're looking for machine-like precision, this is probably not the store for you. We promise that every piece is crafted with care and inspected by one very sharp-eyed mother-in-law.