All international buyers, including Canadians, are urged to contact us before buying to discuss shipping costs. The shipping cost calculated automatically when you check out is actually the domestic cost of shipping, and may need additional postage. Since international shipping costs are always higher than domestic rates, vary greatly by the item selected and the destination it is sent to, and are not negotiable. If you want your package sent with gauranteed delivery, there is an extra charge. Otherwise we are not responsible for lost packages. Please email us to discuss your shipping options before you make your order.

CANADA

Shipping to Canada is usually $2.00 more than to U.S. locations, since international shipping requires standing in a line at the Post Office. (The rest of our packages are picked up for us, and we don't enjoy loitering in the Post Office lobby much.) Please check about the specific items before sending us payment, however. The cost may actually be the same as shipment within the United States, or may be affected by the weight.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS We ship both Airmail and Global Priority Mail. We are not able to estimate these charges without specific information about your location and the items you are order. Our international shipping charges include handling, standing in a separate line at the Post Office, and are not based only on weight. So please email us before you order if you have any fear of how much postage may be tacked on to your package! We will be happy to give you a firm quote.

WILL WE FIB ON THAT PESKY CUSTOMS FORM
And Mark Your Package “Gift" To Help You
Avoid Paying Unfair and Outrageous Import Fees?

Um, no. Sorry. (But we hope you give us here at the “Courtesy Desk” credit for saving you the embarrassment of having to ask.) Look, the guys at our PO know us, and are wise to the fact that we don’t even send many gifts to our actual friends and relatives, let alone to “extended family” world-wide. It’s annoying to them and nerve-wracking to us. Besides, our aim is to live up to the maxim “honesty is the best policy” even when it doesn’t work out the way we think it ought to.

There are some things we can do to help.We know that surcharges on overseas shipments are arbitrary and often overly expensive. There are a few things we can do to help mitigate this. We’ve been told that if beads are labeled “craft beads” that sometimes helps. Since all our unfinished beads strands are definitely for crafting into finished products, we are happy to do this. We will also list the lowest possible value for a given package. We don’t have to include a sales slip if you don’t want one. And if your item is a sample, meaning that you intend to buy more if the first you receive is satisfactory, by all means let us know, and we will mark it as such, which may also help.

USPS INTERNATIONAL POSTAL RATE CALCULATOR

You'll still need to get in touch with us about our personal shipping rates, but if you visit the USPS website you will have the chance to compare basic postal rates from the United States to your country:

Our packages are picked up for mailing once or twice during the work week depending on circumstances such as volume and holidays. We ask you to allow ten days from the day we receive your package. Under normal conditions, you will often get it more quickly. During the holidays, the wait may be longer, so order as soon as you can and email us if you have a question about how long shipping will take, or if you have a would like expedited shipping. We will notify you and send a tracking notice when your package is ready to ship.

Checks and Money Orders

We accept both checks and money orders. Checks require time to clear. An order form is available through the "How to Order" button.

Email Schedule and Response Time

This varies, but we always answer email. Much of the time email response is fast, even instantaneous, since a lot of the work we do is online, and we check email often while we work. But we are a company that offers personal service, and there’s a lot more than just packing to be done: photographing, web site maintenance, buying and jewelry-making all have their own schedules. Every week has a day or two in it that requires full attention to offline work, so sometimes a response will take longer. Also, we do have a day a rest, which is usually Saturdays. But we always answer email sometime on Sunday.

So if you don’t get a response, please send your letter again. It’s likely there’s been an internet glitch. Also, check your email “trash.” Some email programs filter out spam aggressively, and if we aren’t included in your address book our email will be automatically deleted. Also, if you have more than one email address, make sure you check the mailbox of the email address from which you made the order!

Why We Don’t Generally Use Postal Insurance

Have you ever filled out a Postal Insurance form? Well, if you needed to make a claim for damage, we’d have to send you one, and if you like doing your income taxes you will certainly enjoy this experience. If not, you will plotz, freak out, and/or have a cow, depending on your personal reaction to stress. After submitting an insurance claim for damages--and don’t forget your receipts documenting the value of the item--the Postal authorities will carefully consider it. Or they may use it as a booster seat for youngsters, there’s no way of telling--but it will take a month or six weeks before you hear back from them. At which point they may tell you that they are denying the claim because it was inadequately packaged. Any damage to the package seems to mean, to the Post Office, that it was inadequately packaged. The problem with this is that damage to the contents rarely occurs unless damage also occurs to the packaging. There’s no way to win with this reasoning. The Post Office may also arbitrarily decide accept only a portion of the claim. Meanwhile, days are going to be passing, and you’re going to be getting mad. At the Post Office. At the world. At us. The question is, do you want to pay for this experience? We don’t.

The Post Office is no good at insurance, but it does tracking very well, and at a much better rate than UPS or FedEx. So we’ve solved the insurance dilemma with our own guarantee.

Return an entire bead strand or item for any reason for a full refund or credit.

What this covers: an entire bead selection (we don’t replace or refund for a portion of a selection, such as an individual bead or portion of a strand.) We ship in good faith and this guarantee does not cover shipping costs unless the item never showed up at your address. We don’t charge further shipping to make the exchange, but we don’t refund original shipping costs. Otherwise, you're entirely covered, and can make a return for any reason! Just send us an email within a week of receiving to let us know you will be making the return. When we receive the item we will make a refund or credit your account, whichever you prefer.

How to Make A Return

To receive a refund or credit, you need to email us within a week of receiving your shipment to let us know you need to make a return.

Make sure your return reaches us and is processed efficiently. Follow the steps below:

ü      Email us to let us know when to expect it’s arrival.

ü      Make sure it’s packed securely and labeled correctly. 

ü      Return any bonus items that were shipped with it.

ü      If it was shipped in a box, please return it in the box.

ü      Include in your correspondence a note as to how you paid for the item, so we can return your money by the appropriate venue, as well as all your identifying information: name, address, phone number, and email address.

ü      Ship it to our address, listed below.

Cool Bead
6690 W. Del Rio St.
Chandler, AZ 85226

We like to offer bonus items whenever we can, and any bonus included in the auction description will be automatically included in your package. Now and then we add something a little extra, too, randomly, just for fun. We want you to open your package and have a better day because of it!

Spring, after we do our Tucson bead show buying, and early fall, when shoppers and jewelry makers are beginning to think about Christmas gifts, are periods when we have really super bargains and freebies. So make sure to take a look!

Ordering Information

For information about how to order, or for a printable mail order form, visit our "How To Order" page by using the link at the top of the page.