Hi,
We've had this temporary webshop for a couple of months now, and so far, so good. The upgrade to our "normal" webshop has taken a bit longer than expected, though, and we still have no idea how long the process will take, so it seemed wise to go ahead and add some extra info about how things work here. We'll try to post updates about inventory levels here in the future as well. (We've posted periodic updates on our Facebook and Twitter pages in the past; please follow us -- @prostheticrecords on Facebook; @prostheticrcds on Twitter -- to ensure that you don't miss any important info in the future.)
1. Contacting us
If you use the "contact" form, we will receive your message. If you'd prefer, you can e-mail sales(at)prostheticrecords.com instead. The end result to us is exactly the same, but some people seem to get more peace of mind if they send an e-mail and see a paper trail instead of using the "contact" form. Again, it's no different to us, and you won't receive a reply any quicker if you use one method or the other. There's certainly no need to do both.
2. Orders
We will try to pack and ship your order as quickly as possible. Sometimes this happens on the same business day. Other times -- say, if you place an order on a Friday night -- it might take a few days to ship your package. (We are based in California and do not work on the weekend.) All domestic orders should receive confirmation when items are shipped.
The above doesn't apply to items that are PRE-ORDERS. Please read the product descriptions closely to see if an item is scheduled to ship around a certain date. We strive to ship all pre-orders a week before street date, but sometimes -- especially with vinyl orders, which are frequently delayed -- this isn't possible. Regardless, we will always do our best to ship domestic pre-orders so that you'll receive them by street date. We cannot guarantee this, though, since we can only control when we ship something -- not when it's delivered.
3. Delivery/Postage
We use the United States Postal Service. Sometimes, items are sent via First-Class Mail; other times, they're sent Priority, Parcel Post or by Media Mail. The method we choose depends on the item(s) you order, the weight of the package and where you live, among other things. We also use delivery confirmation, which provides generally (though not always) reliable tracking information for domestic packages and occasionally helpful tracking information for international packages.
We try to keep shipping and handling costs as low as possible. Our upgraded shop will offer additional postage options, but for now, we're stuck with the one-size-fits-all approach. For international customers, please note that until our new webshop launches, we might occasionally have to contact you and request that you pay additional postage based on the weight of your package (which is what the USPS uses to determine the mailing cost). We regret that we sometimes have to do this and appreciate your understanding if this ends up happening to you.
4. Order confirmation
For now, when we receive your order, you will automatically receive a PayPal receipt with an invoice ID number. This is your order confirmation. If you are a domestic customer, you should also receive confirmation when your order ships. Occasionally this does not happen; we apologize for that fact.
5. Pre-orders
If you pre-order an item and also order something else, your order will NOT ship until the pre-order is ready to be shipped. (See the pre-order page in question for an approximate timetable.) If you want to receive the non-pre-order item(s) sooner, please place a separate order.
6. Return Policy
All sales are final.
If you receive something you did NOT order -- be it a wrong size, a wrong LP color or a wrong album entirely -- please contact us immediately. We are human; mistakes sometimes happen. All we can do when they do is apologize and try to make it right.
As in all industries, our merchandise, CD or LP plants occasionally manufacture defective products. If you believe you've received a defective product, please contact us immediately.
We want you to be satisfied with your purchase, but we regret that we cannot exchange shirt sizes (unless we sent you the wrong size), replace open CDs or LPs (unless the items are defective), etc.
That's all we can think of for now. Thanks for taking the time to pay us a visit. We hope you find something you'll like.
--Prosthetic Records