Shipping & Returns
INTRODUCTION
Generally, orders after being processed will ship within 5-10 days unless otherwise noted on the product pages such as our custom-made to order products. Please understand many of our products are not "pre-made" and may take additional time to make.
Our products come from small American-owned shops where the owner still touches the products they make and sell. Over 90% of our shops are Amish-owned without computers or direct telephone communications. With so many shops and the lack of electronic inventory, we do not always know when a product is backlogged or out of stock. We will e-mail you if the product is delayed or in production and provide you with an estimated shipping date. We have noted in the product description items where the craftsperson or artisan will custom make it from raw materials.
Shipping times are estimated. Many of these cottage-based businesses are very small one to ten-person shops, and because of the time, season, detail, and quality of the products, they may encounter a backlog of orders which may extend shipping times beyond normal. Many of our Amish cottage vendors only communicate by Fax or US Mail which sometimes delays the order by a few days. If you have a custom order, with a short time frame, such as a birthday or Christmas, just drop us an e-mail at info@cottagecraftworks.com so we can estimate shipping time. If for some reason the shipping time turns out to be too long for you, we will offer you a full refund before we place the actual order.
Because some of the Amish do not use computerized systems and with the delay in communication, some of the products may be shipped without sending an automated tracking number. The order may also still show processing when the customer logs back into the site. If this is the case and the customer feels the order is taking longer than it should they can drop us an e-mail and we will check on the status.
Our checkout module combines shipping costs for multiple products. While this works well for most of our products, the shipping module does not always take into account the cost of additional boxes having to be shipped separately or packages being shipped from different vendors from across the country. When this occurs, we will attempt to absorb as much of the additional shipping cost as we can. We try to ship with the most cost-effective/efficient method possible, and as such, we reserve the right to ship whichever shipping method we choose.
We offer a shipping calculator on our website, both on the product page and at checkout. This attempts to calculate shipping based on your zip code accurately but may at times be slightly off depending on the rates provided by the shipping carrier.
Many of our replacement parts assume that a person will be purchasing several parts and calculate shipping costs accordingly. If you should only need one small item like a bolt then contact us. We do have a $12 base shipping rate regardless of the size of the order. This helps to cover the cost to process, pack, and transport regardless of how small the item might be.
Shipping and Packing List- please note, your package will arrive without any invoice or packing list. As an eco-friendly company, we are paperless and therefore will not include a packing list or invoice. Please use the receipt that is emailed to you at the time of order. If for some reason the emailed receipt doesn’t go through, please let us know and we will send it to you again.
ADDITIONAL SHIPPING INFORMATION
At times, we may need to contact the customer to request additional shipping if they want to continue to process the order. If not we will refund that portion or all of the order as requested by the customer. When an order is turned over to a third-party shipper we can only assume the order was delivered by a delivery confirmation. Cottage Craft Works LLC cannot assume responsibility or be expected to issue a refund for lost or stolen items once an order has been delivered to the customer.
If you have special delivery instructions you should notify UPS, FedEx, and USPS of those instructions. Absent those instructions the carrier may simply leave the parcel at the front or side door. Please also include them in the comment section upon checkout and we will try to convey them to the carrier.
Some companies will try to lure you with free shipping or shipping as low as a dollar. The fact is we all have shipping costs to factor into the sale of a product. They have simply increased the markup of the product to include shipping cost into the overall product cost so they will cover the shipping cost to the most distant locations. Some will double or even nearly triple the cost of the product. Depending on your location from the actual shipping point this may not be a good deal for you at all. We try to keep our prices competitive and where we can offer free shipping we do. Those items are noted on the products with “Free Shipping”.
Shipping may also include handling, drop-ship, crate, and packaging fees. We try to maintain low markups on our products. The time and material it takes to ship a package must also be included in the purchase.
We simply will not gouge our customers on shipping; we are only trying to cover the actual shipping costs. Because of the variety, different sizes and weight of our products, shipping options, and the cost will vary. We have found USPS to be the most economical for our small items such as hunting calls, holsters, and cookbooks.
We reserve the right to ship with the most economical carrier we choose at the time of shipping even though the carrier on the order may show otherwise. Typically an item showing as UPS may actually ship FED EX or USPS. Larger items will generally ship UPS; some are set up with FED EX. These modules do allow for International shipping. However, we do find those prices pulled directly from UPS and FED EX for International shipping sometimes seem inflated. If that is the case we will look for alternative avenues. One of our customers from Greece ordered an item and the UPS shipping calculated $107. We were able to ship it for only $55 using USPS and refunded the customer the difference. With customs and other factors, the product likely will take several days to reach an international customer.
Other products will be designated “Flat Rate” upon checkout, which means we will try to ship the product to you within the stated shipping rate. These rates generally work fine for the continental US. Canada and International destinations will require additional shipping. If we are shipping these products outside of the continental US we may still need to revise the shipping based on the actual cost. Because other factors can add to shipping costs, such as packing, crating, and handling fees by the shipper we are not able to add some larger bulky products into the automated shipping modules. We reserve the right to adjust shipping costs, to cover our actual cost.
We will e-mail you with any needed shipping cost revisions, and will never charge you without your permission. If you feel the shipping is not feasible for you, we will offer you a full refund. On our large bulky items, such as furniture, buggies, and wagons, which must be shipped by freight, F.O.B. means the shipping cost is not included as noted on the product description page. This allows us to work with you to determine the best shipping method possible, and how you would like to have the item unloaded on your end, such as curbside or in-house white glove delivery. Some of our larger products have a shipping deposit option located in the available options. These are only estimated shipping rates. We try to keep them updated based on actual orders and shipping costs.
We have included estimates in the product descriptions on the F.O.B. items to the most distant location only as a point of reference. Products designated as "Free Shipping" upon checkout will not have shipping charges added. For international orders, items that can be shipped USPS Priority International should return a shipping rate in the shipping calculator at the top of each product page by entering your postal code and country. Many of our products are limited to only shipping within the US. The shipping calculator will not pull rates if one item is eligible for International shipping combined with other items that are not eligible.
Note: Shipping rates will not include additional taxes, fees, and duties to be collected by the International country being shipped to. Those will be the responsibility of the customer.
For larger items that are beyond the weight and package size limits for USPS, we recommend using a forwarding agent such as Bonvu.com or the many others who specialize in international shipping. These companies have negotiated rates that are at a fraction of the rates that UPS or DHL would charge us to ship the same item(s).
You will need to register with the forwarding agent place the order and list the shipping address to the forwarding agent located in the US. Our site will charge the normal shipping charges to ship to the US agent. Any special shipping instructions should be left in the comment section at check out or e-mailed to us directly. Note: We do not specifically endorse Bonvu.com or any other forwarding agent. Once the shipment is delivered to your forwarding agent Cottage Craft Works LLC turns overall responsibility to that agent for any losses and damages going forward to the customer.
CANCELLATION/RETURN POLICY:
Cottage Craft Works LLC is a small family-run company. We will go out of our way to help keep our customers satisfied. We do understand returns sometimes will be needed. We will accept returns within the first 30 days of purchase. If you need to return an item then please follow the steps/procedures.
Any purchase made on Cottage Craft Works.com, a local vendor, or product bought at a trade show may be returned under the following degrees:
1) You're not happy with the particular style, color, or make of the product, and wish to exchange it for the same product. or
2) Product appears to be faulty/broken because of workmanship.
Cottage Craft Works offers a one-year warranty from the date of purchase on all of our products. Cottage Craft Works LLC reserves the right to repair or replace the item upon inspection. However, Cottage Craft Works LLC will not warranty product that has been abused or has more than normal wear and tear. Manufacturer warranty may exceed the one-year Cottage Craft Works LLC warranty stated above. Cottage Craft Works LLC is not responsible for damages incurred during shipping. While we try to package and ship all of our products to the highest quality standards, we cannot attest to how the shipping vendor will handle it. Refunds do not apply on custom engraving, carving, or special order items that cannot be restocked. We will work closely with the customer step-by-step on these products to be sure they obtain the finished product they envisioned. If we can restock a portion of the item such as a base to a box turkey call we will give the customer a partial return. Unless the product appears to be faulty/broken because of workmanship, the customer will be responsible for shipping costs to and from the Cottage Craft Works vendor. This includes the initial shipping cost. Some of our vendors do charge a restocking fee for simple returns that will also be deducted from the refund.
Please do not assume and ship back a return to our general mailing address. We will provide you with the correct return address. Shipping to our general mailing address may create additional charges to the customer in order for us to ship it to the correct address.
If you're wanting to return an item, please email info@cottagecraftworks.com with the following to expedite your case:
Name,
Address,
Phone Number,
E-mail Address
Order Number (Usually found on your invoice)
Reason for Returning
OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE HOURS ARE:
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM (CST). (We are closed on the Weekend).
You may reach us at 281-638-0050.
For Mail Inquiries, please mail to:
Cottage Craft Works Customer Support
P.O. Box 771 Brookshire,
TX 77423
Phone: 281-638-0050 Fax: 281-391-4387
If the above following terms are met, then Cottage Craft Works will immediately send a product replacement or refund, depending on what you choose. If the product is not damaged or faulty in any way in terms of craftsmanship/workmanship, we cannot issue a refund after 30 days. This is due to that most of our products are handmade and take great labor to make. If you wish to make an exchange for a similar product of the same category, we do accept exchanges as long as Shipping and Handling are Paid. Also, depending on the product, your return may be subject to a restocking fee. Custom-made orders and our replacement gun stocks cannot be returned.
Other orders canceled because a customer changed their mind will be subject to a 5.0% cancellation fee to cover our credit card and merchant fees. If you have any more questions, feel free to e-mail us at info@cottagecraftworks.com or simply use the contact us form. This page was last updated on November 19th, 2021.