Making a Purchase
Here is everything you need to know about how to go about purchasing items from us here at What a Character! If you read through the following instructions carefully, everything should proceed smoothly. We like happy, satisfied customers who are thrilled with their new goodies. We do our best to represent all of our merchandise accurately and to provide solid service to our buyers. In order to do that, your help is essential.
Step 1: Send an email to hugh@whatacharacter.com or bazuin32@aol.com or ossman.kenneth@dol.gov to inquire about the availability of the item(s) you wish to purchase. Please note that our internet service provider occasionally blocks legitimate emails as part of its anti-SPAM protection efforts. If your email bounces back as undeliverable, please try resending it and/or sending it to more than one of the above addresses, to make sure that it gets through to us. We answer all inquiries, so you can usually assume that your email did not reach us if you do not get a reply in a timely fashion. The text of that email should list the inventory number(s) of the item(s) you are considering buying, along with a brief description of the item(s). The "tag line" on the item's listing in our website is usually detailed/description enough to suffice here. Also, please be sure to give us the postal ZIP code where you want the package to be mailed. We need the ZIP code in order to provide you with an accurate quote on the shipping charge (because the U.S.P.S. uses postal zones/distances to determine shipping fees). Ordinarily, emails are answered within 24 hours. From time to time, though, the response time may be delayed by an extra day or two, which usually means that one or both of us is/are out hunting down new goodies for our business.
Please note that we ALWAYS answer ALL email inquiries sent to us about merchandise listed on our website, even if it is currently "on hold" for another customer or if it is no longer available. If you do not receive a timely reply from us in response to your initial inquiry, please send a follow-up email a few days later. Sometimes, cyberspace seems to eat up emails. When that happens, you have no way of knowing that we didn't receive your note and we have no way to know that you ever sent one. Also, you may wish to check your SPAM folders for filtered emails if you do not hear from us in a timely fashion. We answer ALL emails promptly, and have found that many of our customers use internet service providers that automatically block replies from us. This is particularly true for people who use Yahoo and Hotmail as their main accounts.
Step 2: You will then receive an email from one of us, indicating whether the item(s) you wish to purchase is/are still available.
Step 3: Upon receiving email confirmation from us that the item(s) in question is/are still available, please print off one of our blank online order forms. This form should be filled out completely and enclosed with your payment. If for any reason you do not have the capability of printing forms, then we ask that you write down ALL of the information contained on this form on a piece of paper and enclose that paper with your payment.
Step 4: Make out your payment put it in the mail. You will be given all of the specific payment information in the email confirming the purchase price, shipping costs, insurance costs, and availability of the item(s) you have expressed an interest in buying. What a Character! accepts personal checks, money orders, cashier's checks, American cash currency (not recommended, since there is no way to prove payment was made if the postal service loses your payment before delivering it to us), Money Gram (www.moneygram.com), and Western Union (www.westernunion.com) for payment. If you pay by money order, cashier's check, Western Union, Money Gram, or cash, your merchandise will be shipped to you during our very next trip to the post office (which usually takes place 4-5 times each week). If you choose to pay by personal check, your merchandise will be held until your payment clears our bank. This usually takes 1-2 weeks. Please keep these time frames in mind, especially if you are buying something as a gift!
Since many people have asked us about it, please note our policy regarding the use of PayPal to pay for your merchandise.
Step 5: Let us know when your item(s) arrive(s) and tell us how much you love it/them! If you care to tell other people about your experiences buying from and/or dealing with us here at What a Character!, we welcome your feedback.
Step 6: Check back often! We're always acquiring new items (on average, 30-40 each and every week) and enjoy doing additional business with repeat customers.
How we ship: Almost all of What a Character! 's merchandise is shipped via United States Postal Service. Ordinarily, we mail packages via priority (2-3 day) mail. Sometimes, very lightweight packages can be sent via first-class mail, in order to save the buyer a bit of money. We're also willing to send your merchandise by third-class mail, if you wish, and if you don't mind the extra wait to get your stuff. (NOTE: The difference in cost between priority mail and third-class postage is usually very small--typically less than 25 cents--but the difference in delivery time can be considerable. We're happy to send items via third-class mail upon request, but do not recommend it due to the slowness of the third-class delivery service.) Likewise, if you are willing to pay the extra shipping costs necessary, we will also use express mail to send your items to you. If you want your item(s) sent any way other than by priority mail, that needs to be indicated on your order form.
We will gladly ship multiple items together in a single box, in order to save you money on shipping costs. The shipping fees listed along with each item's listing are based on individual item costs. If you are planning to purchase more than one item at a time, please indicate that in your inquiry-about-availability email so that we may quote you the lowest and fairest possible shipping rate.
Shipping Charges: Our shipping charges are based on the current Priority Mail fees charged by the United States Postal Service. The exact costs of shipping are based on the weight of the package and the zones/distance between the shipping origin and shipping destination. Merchandise purchased from What a Character! is shipped from postal ZIP code 20910.
About insurance: At What a Character!, we make every effort to wrap our items carefully and to package them securely, so that they arrive at their new owner's destination safely. Once merchandise leaves our possession, though, we cannot be held responsible for what happens to it. Therefore, we strongly recommend that buyers purchase insurance for any/all items bought from What a Character!. We retain all insurance receipts for insured packages, and will provide them upon request for buyers who receive damaged merchandise, so that claims may be processed with the shipping agency (usually the U.S. Postal Service or FedEx). Insurance rates (which are the precise amounts that the U.S. Postal Service charges us to insure packages) are as follows:
| insurance cost | amount of insurance coverage provided |
| free | $1 up to $50 |
| $2.60 | $51 up to $100 |
| $3.30 | $101 up to $200 |
| $5.50 | $201 up to $300 |
| $6.65 | $301 up to $400 |
| $8.00 | $401 up to $500 |
| $9.25 | $501 up to $600 |
| $10.50 | $601 up to $701 |
| $1.25 more for every $100 of additional insurance coverage | |
We always believe that it is the buyer's choice as to whether or not to purchase insurance. Buyers who decline to purchase insurance for their merchandise assume ALL responsibility for loss or damage to the items they have bought from us.
Refunds/Returns: Our policy about refunds is pretty straightforward. We will accept returns of items that were not described accurately on our website. If you find that to be the case with an item you have purchased, you must email the person with whom you completed the transaction either within 24 hours of receiving it (if delivery confirmation was chosen) or within seven days of the date we shipped your item (if there was no postal delivery confirmation service requested with your purchase). In that email, explain what is wrong with your item that we failed to disclose in our website's description of it when you decided to buy it, and ask to return it. In our response email, we will let you know how to proceed from there. If we agree to take your item back, we will refund your purchase price for the item. In order to receive a refund, we must be notified in a timely fashion, as outlined above and the item must be returned in the exact condition it was in when shipped to you and it must be returned within the specified time restrictions in the return email you get from us. (Sorry for all of the harsh-sounding rules there, but we have had a few dishonest people try "bait and switch" tactics with us over the years.) To date, out of more than 8,700 transactions we have made, we have only had five items returned due to faulty descriptions on our part. (Pretty good track record, eh?!) So you can rest assured that we always do our very best to provide you with complete, comprehensive, and accurate information about any/every item you buy from us. To us, happy customers are repeat customers, and they're the kind we like to have the most!
09/20/14 04:26 PM