I am going to do my best to answer all your questions on this page and explain my what my shipping policies are and why. Please read over this entire page before emailing with a question J Thanks!
Production~ how long it takes ~
One of the biggest factors in the time distance between when you order and when you actually receive your resin is production and shipping times. I release my resins when they are *almost* complete, not in hand ready to ship. Why? Because it takes a lot of money to produce a resin. Mold material and resin itsself is very expensive, not to mention labor. I am now having 3rd parties do most of the production and I need to pay them *before* they being making the molds and casting. In order to pay for all these expenses up front, I release the horse before production begins. Sometimes it can take me up to a month to actually get the horse to the stage wher it is ready to make the mold. Here is an example of a normal release scenerio:
Release date
2-6 weeks to get the horse totally complete and ready for the mold making.
1 week to ship to MVS ( 7 days exactly from OR to TN)
2-4 weeks to get the mold complete.
2-4 weeks of production before a batch is ready to be shipped to me
1 week from TN to OR for resin transit time
A day or so for me to pack them and get them to UPS/PO
1+ weeks to get from me to you if you are a domestic customer.
As you can see, under the very best possible circumstances the soonest the first people on the list will receive theirs is around 8-9 weeks from the release date.
OK~ Email Questions
Firstly let me say that I know you want your resin to get to you as quickly as possible and believe me, I want you to have it at lightening speed. However, that is just not possible.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion that it takes between 2-6 months to get a run of about 100 traditional horses produced and shipped. That means the first people on the list begin receiving theirs about 2 months after the release and the last people, up to 6 months. Resins are shipped out in the order they are paid in full. So where you are on the list is up to you.
Here are some common questions and answers:
“When will you ship my horse?”
Unless your horse is here, prepped and ready to be boxed up, I cannot answer that. I just cannot predict with much accuracy when your resin will be ready. If I give you an estimate and your horse is not there by then, you will become worried and want to know where it is J The other thing is that completing a resin, mold making, shipping time back and forth from Oregon to MVS ( Tennesssee) MVS’s mold making schedule ( which is completely out of my hands) , casting schedule ( also out of my hands) is all very volatile. A lot of things can and do happen that throw off a schedule. I am not their only customer, so they may not get to making my mold until even a few weeks after my sculpture arrives if there are other projects ahead of it. Add the variables in my schedule to theirs and it makes it even more difficult to predict with accuracy when your horse will be shipped. The best I can *sometimes* do is give you a "give or take 4 weeks" answer. I hope this gives you a little insight as to why this question goes unanswered. If I could answer it I would J
“Where am I on the list?”
I cannot answer 100 emails with this question. I have to pull out a big 3 ring binder and look through 100 names to find yours and then email you with the answer. If all 100 people did this, I would be looking through 100 names 100 times. It all takes a lot of time away from other work that I need to be doing ( like packing and shipping your horses J I realize the above sounds really rude, and it is not meant to! I just don't know how else to explain it clearly. Also, giving you an answer ( if possible) does not speed up the date that you will receive your horse.
“My horse shipped 6 days ago and it is not here yet~ I am worried that it is lost. Where is it?”
Please allow up to 2 weeks for domestic shipments to arrive before emailing me with concerns over where it is. Sometimes the mail is delayed for reasons we cannot know.
"When did you ship my horse?"
Now this question I can answer if you know that I shipped your resin and it has been at least 2 weeks. This is of special concern if it has been over 2 weeks and you have not received it yet. We need to check the tracking number and find out what's going on.
"Where is the shipping list? I can't find it."
This is a private area on my website that only I can log into. Customers cannot see the shipping list.
What I do to help you know where your order is:
What I can do is post an update on each resin’s page as to what order #ers have shipped, the date they shipped and how many total have shipped. So this gives you an idea of how many are left to ship and you know that you haven’t been forgotten. If you take a look at the top of the resins’ page in question, you will see the latest information on how many have shipped and what date. I will not post a shipping list of names simply to protect the privacy of my customers.
Minis and Order Numbers
For most minis you will have an order number if you ordered through the shopping cart on my website. I will post the last order number shipped so you know about where we are at. ( They will ship in numerical order)
Please keep in mind that the shopping cart doesn't just count my customer's orders. It counts the orders of every other vendor that uses Mal's Ecart from *all* other websites as well as mine. This means that if two people order a resin one right after the other, their order numbers could be hundreds apart. For instance they may be 232168 and 232587.
What this means for you: Don't panic if the last order # I show as shipped is # 232168 and you are # 232587. This does not mean there are 419 resins to ship before yours! In fact, yours could be the very next one. All it means is that Mals Ecart counted 419 orders from other's websites (not mine) between your order and the person in front of you.
For Traditional resins ~let's compare:
UPS:
Free insurance up to $100, free tracking, free delivery confirmation. Cheaper by $3-$6 per box to ship. Insurance cost: =.35 cents for every $100 over the first $100. For a $195 horse: $1.60. Honors all claims quickly and efficiently with full payment, including shipping costs. Normally you get to keep the broken horse! Great/fast customer service.
USPS:
First $100 of insurance: $2.50 +. Every $100 over that, $2 per $100. Insurance for a $195 horse: $5. Shipping Cost: $3-$6 more than UPS. Has NEVER honored a claim I have filed and jacked me around for 1 year on a horse, 3 months on the other. Had me fill out the wrong paperwork *twice* (I think to stall) and still denied the claims… all 3 of them. Gave no reason for the denial. You do not get to keep the resin. In fact, when you file the claim, they take the horse.
Delivery confirmation: Not included. Extra paperwork must be filled out for this and a fee paid. Tracking: Extra paperwork + a fee paid. If you are not home when they attempt to deliver a package with delivery confirmation, you have to go to the PO and get the package ( a nightmare where I live…). Poor/slow customer service.
For the above reasons I do not track or insure US Postal shipments.
It is a waste of my time and money. You take on the full liability if I must ship your traditional resin via the US Postal Service. Once I leave it at the PO, it is no longer my responsibility. If they lose it or break it, you are out of luck. So…..PLEASE send me your physical shipping address with all orders so I don’t have to hunt you down on shipping day for your physical address and possibly delay your resin shipment. I may skip you and go on to the next person if I do.
In a nutshell: I have adopted these policies for your benefit and protection as much as mine. Even if UPS does break the horse, I will be paid for the replacement and you will get a new one from me. If US Postal Service breaks it, you have a broken horse.
For Minis:
I ship all minis via the US Postal Service. Shipping is less expensive than UPS on the smaller boxes, I can get the flat rate boxes for free and I can buy stamps for the exact amount of the postage so I don’t have to stand in line and get postage for every box. I simply drop them off and leave. I do not insure or track the minis for reasons stated above. However, I will replace your mini if you contact me immediately and let me know it arrived broken. You have 3 days from the time your mini arrives to notify me and 7 days to return it to me. I will reimberse your return shipping of $4.60 and replace your mini resin. So far, I have never had a mini break during shipping.
Shipping Policies in a nutshell
I ship all traditional resins via UPS, insured unless you have a PO Box or are an overseas customer.
If you have a PO Box, please send me your physical address for traditional resins. If I have to ship your traditional resin via the PO shipping may be delayed as I hold back PO Box shipments so that I can ship several at once.
I will not hold your package here and wait to ship it if you are not home. I ship according to my schedule and cannot be responsible for remembering when everyone will be gone or on vacation. The ONLY exception is in the case of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane.
For Stablemates, they will be shipped via the US Postal Service via Priority mail. I will not insure them, as the Post Office has never honored my claims. If your stablemate gets broken in route, contact me immediately.
Insurance and tracking is NOT included in US Postal shipments, so you will need to request insurance and pay for it if you want your traditional resin insured via USPS.
I will not track your package via the Postal Service.
I will not replace your model for free if they break it and will not honor the claim.
OVERSEAS AND INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS:
The Post Office has new policies regarding overseas shipping.
There are a tangled confusing mess to me right now, but I have shipped using 2 methods so far, so here is what I can tell you at this time:
The Default Shipping Method for all overseas packages will be as follows:
1) Default shipping method: First Class Mail International There is a 4 lb limit as well as a size limit. Insurance is NOT available for this Class. If your package is too large/heavy the next method I will use is:
2) Priority Mail International. This generally costs me about $40 to ship most models overseas. Insurance is available for this class. I am not sure of the rates and am not offering insurance at this time.
For stablemates, please add a flat rate of worldwide of $10 for shipping.
I reserve the right to claim full value on any packages.
I cannot track overseas shipments.
Once the box leaves my care at the Post Office, I am no longer liable for it in any way. If it is lost in transit or broken, I will not replace it.
Due to concerns over the really high cost of shipping back and forth to the US, risk of breakage, and the much larger than expected number of overseas customers that will have a painter in the US finish their resin I will change my policy back to allowing overseas customers to have their resin shipped to a 3rd party in the US if the rules below are followed closely:
These are the terms in which I will ship your resin to a 3rd party:
If you are an overseas customer and you want it shipped in the US.
You need to send me the address of the person you want your resin shipped to when you order. Even if you think that I already have their address or the 3rd party is also getting the same resin. I have to record it on YOUR order, not theirs. I may not ship your resin and the 3rd party's resin together at the same time. I normally do not email to tell you when your resin has shipped, so you will need to be in contact with the 3rd party to ask them when the resin arrives. I will give general updates on my yahoo group about shipping, so you may have some idea of when they will ship, but not always.
I am not responsible for it once it leaves me. If the 3rd party does not receive it, it is up to you and them to work it out and they will owe you for it. Since I ship via UPS in the US ( unless your 3rd party has a PO Box) then all UPS orders are tracked and I can find out where it's at. If it's shipped US Postal, it may be lost forever. So, it's best if your 3rd party has a physical address, not a PO Box.
If I do not have the address of the 3rd party when I am ready to ship your order, I will ship it to you. I cannot hold your resin here waiting for you to send me the address. That is why it is important that I have it right away and with your order. Please do not ask me to look up their address for your order. This takes more time for me and I will be likely to change my policy back to not shipping to 3rd parties at all.
