Terms and Conditions

Our ethos is to keep our customers happy - since they then become repeat customers - but we do have to have some basic Terms and Conditions under which we do business, and these are them. We've tried to keep things as simple as possible and write in plain English, rather than obscure legal jargon.

Prices and Shipping

All our prices are in UK Pounds (GBP) and you can pay by Credit / Debit card, by Paypal, or - for established customers only and by prior arrangement with Jean - with a personal cheque or postal order from a UK Bank. Paypal also provides our credit card payment mechanism, and it allows you to pay in a currency other than GBP if you need to.
We try our best to despatch all items within two working days. However, this is not always possible - we live in a rural area where the Post Office is rapidly becoming an endanged species. Sometimes this means that items have to wait until we can get into the main post office in town - usually every couple of days.
We ship items within the UK by First Class mail - either Large Letter or Packet - or by Parcel Post depending on the size and weight (blame the Royal Mail for the complicated postal classes and rates, not us!). If it is really heavy, we can send it by courier.
Update: As of 10 March 2010 all items will be posted Recorded Delivery. This is due to the large number of items going missing (3 in January, 5 in February, 2 in March). I am sorry, I cannot absorb these costs and still stay in business! We are updating the cart to make all items above GBP5 recorded delivery, but until this is done, it is an across-the-board fee. I will be making a formal complaint to the regulator about this problem. The solution is buy lots at the same time, and save on postage...
Outside the UK, items go by Air Small Packet where possible, or by surface mail if not. Where items are overweight or oversize, we will employ the use of a courier. Generally, the factor governing this is weight, and since the limits vary from country to country, check with us if you need more information on a specific parcel.
We always obtain proof of posting. If a UK package is not delivered, we will attempt to help you obtain compensation from the Royal Mail (but note that we are not responsible for their failings). If you are outside the UK then you are on your own - we'll provide you with a copy of the proof of posting but cannot help at all. If you want us to send something by a more secure or guaranteed method such as "registered mail" or "datapost" please contact us first to arrange it. There will inevitably be an additional cost for this sort of shipping.
Some countries do not allow the importation of wood or animal products such as leather. We accept no responsibility if your parcel is impounded by the customs service, or simply eaten by their dope-sniffing dog because it happened to fancy the smell of Aunt Ethel's perfume on the wrapping. In short, the onus is on you to check this sort of thing before placing an order.

Descriptions

The descriptions that we give for items in this webshop are as accurate as we can make them. However, there may be minor variations from the description on the odd occasion. These wont make material changes to the item in question, however.
Being a living product, pieces of wood can expand or contract with changes in ambient moisture levels, so size may vary slightly from that stated. For this reason, the sizes given are nominal values.
Similarly, the colour of wood can change over time, and it's also possible to infinitely split hairs over the difference between terms such as 'orange brown' and 'brownish orange'. So, we do our best, but cannot make promises. We have found from experience that the root cause for many of the questions that arise over colour usually has more to do with the way that the same colour varies in appearance on different computer screens (and printers) than with any change in the wood itself.

Miscellaneous

All items are offered subject to being previously unsold. We occasionally list items on other sites - knife scales on the British Blades Forum, fishing flies on eBid, and paintings on ETSY for example. Although we've never had a problem yet, it is theoretically possible for an item to be sold elsewhere and for you to place an order for the same item here in the short interval before the database gets updated. The same situation could also arise if we attend a trade show and happen to shift a lot of stock - you might try and order something that was sold there if we've not had a chance to update the database yet. Hence this caveat.
Substitution: if we find that a product is defective - even stable wood can sometimes warp or split whilst in storage, for example - then on these very rare occasions we may have to provide a substitute item. If this happens we will endeavour to let you know first, but it is not always possible to do so - if we dont have your email address, for example. If you're not happy with the substitution, let us know.
Wood that we do send is in good condition, and it's up to you, dear buyer, to keep it that way. If you dont store it correctly when you receive it you may run into problems later, and we cannot take any responsibility for these. Make sure that you don't store wood where it can dry out, get wet, freeze, or in bright sunlight, and so forth.
"Errors and Omissions Excepted". We take a lot of care to try and ensure that correct data gets into this web shop, but we're only human and despite our efforts, occasional errors inevitably creep in somewhere. we reserve the right to correct these if necessary. If you see any, please let us know!

Re the Cutting of Wood to Order

I don't do big discounts for multiple purchases or cheap bulk orders.
You have to buy a lot from me regularly to get any discount at all.
I will cut to size - BUT - this takes time.
Do not expect a turn around of less than a week (sometimes 10 days).
After cutting, wood needs to rest and move, and then acclimatise. That takes place before I send it out. That way my customers are happy and I am not fleeced by unscrupulous people who claim the wood is defective and expect more for free. (Yes - sadly - I learned that lesson the hard way.) In a society where we import ready made goods to purchase instead of making them ourselves, we forget that making things or even just processing wood takes a lot more time than we think it does.