Mindbird Maps & Books | home
How to Order
Including methods, shipping rates, delivery times, return policy, limitations, and other things you need to know about ordering from us.
|
||
Online orders with PayPal (including shipping refund offer on selected items)
|
||
Phone OrdersCall toll-free (800) 742-0556,
or outside the USA (928) 753-8488.
Call during store hours for credit card phone orders. (We are in Kingman, Arizona, and are on Mountain Standard Time year-round. Click on that store hours link to see our hours in your time zone!)
Be sure to have the name of the item(s) ready, not the item number(s). We'll repeat this, since so many assume incorrectly that we need stock numbers: Tell us the name of the item, which is at the top of each description. Ordering by item numbers is for larger businesses which have order takers sitting in front of computers. Plain English works so much better than "Number-ese"!
You will also need to have handy the billing address of your credit card, even if you're having it sent to another address. This is for your security—our card processor verifies this information, which is not likely to be known by someone unauthorized to use your card. Refer to the order form for the information we will be asking for; we use the same form to record your order.
We will quote you shipping rates and options when you call. These rates are based on the weight- and destination-based rates used for the online shopping cart. You can anticipate these rates by using the online shopping cart, and initiating the first checkout screen. When you enter your zip code, the cart can be updated to display the shipping fee (with certain limitations described in the PayPal section below). (Then you can remove all of the items from the cart and exit out of it.) For certain kinds of items, there are lower rates available, primarily orders entirely consisting of books (Media Mail), or small quantities of lightweight items (First Class Mail available when weight less than 13 ounces packed), and we will give you these options if they apply.
Fax OrdersFax your completed order form to (928) 753-8489.
Mail OrdersSend your completed order form to the address on the form. If you use this method, we recommend that you e-mail us first so that we can hold items for you until your payment arrives. Many items on this website are stocked in quantities of only one or two each.
Order online using the PayPal Shopping Cart buttons
Be sure to read the information below first! The shopping cart check-out process does not give you all the information you need to know, and has some limitations discussed below.
You don't have to be a PayPal member to checkout with the online shopping cart. If you are, be sure that your address information is up-to-date on your PayPal account, and do this before you check-out. Otherwise, old address information may get transmitted to us, and we will send the item to your old address unless you immediately report to us by email that it is different.
Shipping time estimates provided during the check-out process are for Priority services (USPS Priority Mail or UPS Ground Service; or within Arizona, all methods are considered Priority). On many items, you will have an option of a slower but cheaper service, for which we will provide a refund of part of the default shipping fee (not available for shipments to Canada). The refund is not immediate; it may take us up to 48 hours to process it, though most are processed within a few hours. If you choose one of these, time in transit may increase substantially—and the checkout process will not give you a time estimate. Particularly note that if you choose "Media Mail" for books purchased, shipping time is typically five to ten days and has been known to run two weeks or longer. No matter the shipping speed, all customer purchases are filled in the order received, and choosing a slower speed will not delay shipment of your order, only time in transit. Priority service is not usually the fastest we can send things to you; if you need something faster, email us for a time and shipping cost estimate.
Note that the shopping cart will not collect the correct shipping fee for orders consisting of rolled maps (i.e. unfolded wall maps) or charts—if any other kind of item is ordered at the same time. To get the correct fee, you must place separate orders. You can order as many rolled wall maps as you like on the same order, just don't order them along with other kinds of items. (There are a few exceptions, and if we are able to save you money by consolidating a rolled map with another kind of item you ordered separately, we will do so and refund the excess shipping.)
For orders to Alaska and Hawai'i, note that if the shipping destination is a remote portion of Alaska or Hawai'i, the shopping cart will only collect the correct amount for orders of items of 2.0 pounds or less. For Alaska, the only areas which are not considered remote are Fairbanks, Anchorage, and the cities near Anchorage and the upper Kenai Peninsula. For Hawai'i, urban locations on O'ahu are the only places not considered remote. For all other places, please email us for a shipping quote if the items weigh over 2.0 pounds (lbs.).
Please do not use the PayPal shopping cart buttons for gift orders, or for sending to an address other than your card billing address, unless you follow these special procedures. Failing this, we cannot be assured that someone is not using your credit card illegally, and we will not put your account as risk. First, where the PayPal checkout screen asks for a shipping address, always use the address that matches your card billing address. Then, in the "Comments" section of the checkout screen, you can give detailed instructions of where (or to whom) you would actually like it delivered, including any message you might want us to pass on. Please do not send surprise gift packages since if the person is not expecting it, and there is nothing on the label to indicate it is from you, the package could be refused and returned to us and your shipping cost would not be refunded; plus you would have to pay for shipping again if you wanted the package resent.
Purchase Orders
We accept purchase orders from public schools, medical centers, government agencies, universities and similar public benefit institutions. We do not accept purchase orders from other non-profits, individuals, or private businesses (including private schools). Even if your institution qualifies, if it can pay by credit card, we encourage you to do so, since this is a tiny business for which the delay in payment inherent with purchase orders is a significant hardship.
Purchase orders may be submitted by fax, by regular mail, or by PDF email attachment. Your purchase order form must include our correct packaging and shipping fees, as obtained from the rate tables on this and other pages. Also, the total amount authorized for billing should be noted. If unsure of the shipping fees for your particular order, email us and ask for a quote.
Some of our purchase order customers go to the trouble of sending tax-exempt forms. These are not needed if you are out-of-state this is a one-location business within the State of Arizona, and since we do not have a physical presence outside the state, we are not required to collect the sales tax of any other state.
There is a $50.00 minimum order to qualify for billing.
Purchase orders must be made on your own form (not our order form) and be signed by the responsible official.
Unless an exception is arranged in advance, invoices for completed purchase orders must be paid within 30 days of receipt of the order. We reserve the right to charge a late fee of 1% per month for overdue payments.
If your PO form has a "needed by" date or the equivalent, please make the date reasonable. Ten days in advance for most orders submitted by fax or email is reasonable, 2½ weeks after the issue date is reasonable for Purchase Orders promptly mailed. We fill all orders as soon as we can (orders often ship the same day), and you may receive the items much sooner than the request date, depending on the item and your distance from Arizona.
Stock Notes
Note that all items are subject to prior sale.
Used items are usually unique: Only one is usually available.
In fact, the majority of new items on the website are stocked in quantities of one or two only. (It all depends on demand: Many Rite in the Rain items, for example, are stocked in quantities of up to three dozen, raised relief maps in quantities of up to five each title, and we often stock four or five of popular road maps.) Time needed to obtain multiple quantities can be anywhere from three days to months. We can usually get maps fastest. We are often able to give an extra discount for special order items when the order is prepaid. Contact us for a quote.
Prices are guaranteed for items shown as in stock only (i.e. the words "out of stock" do not appear after the price in the description!). Please do not order items marked "out of stock" unless you contact us first to see if they are going to be re-ordered in a timely matter. Some out of stock items will not be restocked any time soon, especially books. We apologize for this, but limited resources do not allow us to keep everything in stock.
You can usually buy items we don't have in stock directly from the publisher; the name of the publisher is mentioned in our descriptions. Look up the publisher's name on Google, and you can usually find their own website.
Prices
Prices subject to change without notice. Published prices honored for quantities on hand. We may need to charge more for additional copies if price to restock is higher, but we will always ask your consent or offer you a refund first.
Descriptions
We usually go into great detail in describing our merchandise, and try to impart our best judgment as to each item's quality—even if that opinion makes you hesitant to order. Feel free to contact us if you have a specific question about an item not covered in the descriptions.
Images are not always true to color, and seldom show the true amount of detail. They are provided to give you a general idea about the appearance only.
Also, please note our disclaimer about maps. Basically, references in our descriptions to map quality do not refer to the accuracy of the map, but to the quality of printing and draftsmanship. We cannot independently verify the accuracy of any map, and all maps may have errors or omissions which may be significant to someone. See the map index page for more details.
Shipping Times
Orders are usually mailed by the next business day. Orders to be sent UPS will usually go out the same day (Monday-Friday excluding holidays or our rare vacation days) if the order is received by 1 pm Mountain Standard Time. Orders to be mailed by USPS (the post office) will go out by the next afternoon (Monday-Saturday, excluding holidays or our aforementioned rare vacation days).
(This commitment, of course, cannot apply to out-of-stock items. Many items marked "out of stock" on the website will not be restocked for weeks or even months, so email us for a restock estimate. If we have any out of stock item on order, the estimated availability date will often be noted next to the price.)
Occasionally, I go out of town for a few days, and this being a one-man business, orders will not be sent out until I return. If this is the case, the dates I am away will be prominently noted on the Home page and at the top of this page. All orders for in-stock items will then be sent out within one business day of when I return.
Orders sent United Parcel Service (UPS) Ground usually take two to four days to reach southwestern or northwestern destinations, one week to the northeastern US (up to ten days if you order Friday after the 1 pm MST deadline), and in between those extremes for the midwest, southeast, and Alaska and Hawai'i.
Orders sent Media Mail to addresses within the US usually take 5 to 10 days to reach you after we ship (but can take much longer, even one month, especially during the year-end holiday season).
Orders shipped First Class to addresses within the US usually take 2 to 7 days to reach you after we post them. Within Arizona, First Class is usually delivered 1 to 2 days after it is posted.
Orders shipped Priority Mail within the US usually take 2 to 4 days to reach you after we send them (1 to 2 days within Arizona).
We do not offer "overnight" express shipping of any kind, but can quote you on expedited UPS rates (e.g. Second Day Air or 3 Day Select), or USPS Priority Mail.
Keep in mind that we send all orders by either UPS Ground or US mail. If no one is at the delivery address to receive the package, your USPS carrier may leave you a call notice to pick up the item at the post office; or your UPS driver may leave you a notice for redelivery or pickup at their office.
Canadian orders usually take about 1 to 2 weeks.
Free Gift Wrapping
We will gift wrap your order free of charge upon request. (Exception: Oversized and medium-sized raised relief maps. These are unwieldy and require an inordinate amount of paper, and will thus require a charge up to $4.00 for each oversized relief map [shipping weight noted as 6 lbs or more] or $2.00 for each medium-sized relief map.[shipping weight noted as 5 lbs]). We use textured green paper, and will add a note inscribed as you wish—nothing fancy, just a slip of paper with your message on it. But if the item is being shipped to your address rather than directly to the gift recipient, you will want to attach your own note to the package rather than have us do it—for that personal touch! Gift wrap requests may delay shipping of your order by one business day.
Returns
You may return any item you purchase from us up to 30 days after you receive the item. If the item was significantly not as described, we will refund your postage cost to return it as well as your original payment. Please call, write or e-mail us for permission before returning any item. Failure to do so could cost you unnecessary expense, since in some cases we may not want the item back.
Since we are moving the store now (April, 2008), it is especially important when returning items to contact us first. The address we shipped from may not be the proper return address!
If we made a mistake in fulfilling the order or made a significant error describing the item, we will pay the shipping costs both ways; but if you have ordered in error, you will need to cover the shipping and packaging costs yourself—and for low-value items, this could practically eliminate the value of the refund. Be sure the description of the item(s) in the confirmations you receive match what you think you ordered!
You can avoid the need for returns by reading the descriptions carefully and making no assumptions about features not specifically mentioned. If in doubt, contact us for clarification before you order.
If returning an item by UPS is convenient for you, we can mail you a UPS return label. If you do this, we will just deduct our return costs from your refund. Your packaged return item can be given to your regular UPS driver or dropped off at an authorized UPS store. Contact us with more details on the particulars of your return.
Also, keep in mind that we often subsidize the shipping cost of some items, and as a daily shipper, we get lower UPS rates than available to you at a UPS store; it may, therefore, cost you more to return an item to us than we charged you for shipping, and you will be responsible for all return costs, including the container, if the one we send it in isn't suitable for re-use. Packaging is something of an art and science that even many mail-order operations have not mastered; returns must be wrapped so that they come back to us in the same condition you received them. We will be glad to advise you.
Mailing Lists, Catalogs, and your Privacy
We do not and will not sell, rent, or exchange your name, address (mail or email), or phone number with any other business or organization.
We do not currently maintain a mailing list. We do not have a paper catalog available. This website is our only catalog.
Ordering Online through PayPal
Read the information here for details that are not included on the PayPal shopping cart. Then just click on the shopping cart icon next to the price and follow the prompted instructions.
Shipping will be automatically added when you check out. To see how large the fee is, you can go to the check out page any time, and when you enter your zip code (Canadian customers choose the Canada delivery option) the shipping and packing fees will be displayed. The shipping rates vary with distance from Arizona and are now programmed according to weight.
The shopping cart shipping fee calculation will not be accurate if:
1. You order wall maps or charts shipped rolled along with other items that can't be shipped in the same mailing tube. If you are ordering rolled maps, please place a separate order for them and a separate order for all other kinds of items.
2. Your order weighs over two pounds and you are having your purchases sent to remote areas of Alaska or Hawai'i. You'll need to get a shipping quote from us for shipment to these areas. For Hawai'i, any destination that is not an urban part of O'ahu is considered remote. For Alaska, any destination away from developed areas of Fairbanks, Anchorage and adjoining towns on or near the Kenai Peninsula is considered remote.
And 3. If you enter the wrong zip code upon checkout, or if you have a PayPal account and the address they have on file is outdated and not in the same state as your delivery address.
1. You order wall maps or charts shipped rolled along with other items that can't be shipped in the same mailing tube. If you are ordering rolled maps, please place a separate order for them and a separate order for all other kinds of items.
2. Your order weighs over two pounds and you are having your purchases sent to remote areas of Alaska or Hawai'i. You'll need to get a shipping quote from us for shipment to these areas. For Hawai'i, any destination that is not an urban part of O'ahu is considered remote. For Alaska, any destination away from developed areas of Fairbanks, Anchorage and adjoining towns on or near the Kenai Peninsula is considered remote.
And 3. If you enter the wrong zip code upon checkout, or if you have a PayPal account and the address they have on file is outdated and not in the same state as your delivery address.
We do not ship outside of the US or Canada. Canadian customers please note that we do not ship raised relief maps or rolled wall maps to Canada, and also do not ship items published in Canada back to Canada as this is a waste of natural resources. (If a map or two published in Canada is ordered along with many other maps not originating from Canada, we can make an exception.) Canadian customers are responsible for paying any customs fees, import duties, or other taxes imposed by their own government.
Original content copyright © Lee Dittmann of Mindbird Maps & Books.
Images may be copyright © by the creator of the items depicted. Essential ordering details, including phone, fax, mail, and online options, shipping fees and delivery times, returns, special orders, privacy policy, and more are described on the How to Order page. |