Frequently Asked Questions - Serendipity Crafts


	Personalized Customer Service! As small business entrepreneurs, we pride ourselves on being able to provide you with personal customer service. If you call or email us, you are contacting none other than Elizabeth & Hugh. We design, market, paint, pack and ship all the craft items pictured on this web site by ourselves. We treat our customers as we would want to be treated. If you have any any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us info@serendipity-crafts.com, elizabeth.craig@videotron.ca 514-694-5817 Frequently Asked Questions What forms of payment do you accept? I would like to order a personalized item. How do I enter personalization information (names, hair colour etc.)? Do you take special requests? What if I want a design that you don't currently offer? Can you paint Mickey Mouse or Scooby Doo or a sports team logo on your craft items? How many signatures will a platter hold? Should I order extra signature pens? Do you have plates or platters in different shapes or sizes? I would like to personalize the plate I have ordered, using a different saying than what is shown. Is this possible? When can I expect to receive my order? What shipping method do you use? Do you combine shipping? Why the high shipping prices? What is the total of my order in Canadian funds? Can you ship my order to an address other than my own? Are your plates, platters or bowls breakable? What if my order is broken during shipment? What is your return policy? Can I serve food off your plates? Are your plates, platters and bowls dishwasher safe? Do you ship outside of Canada & the continental US? What forms of payment do you accept? Pay Pal - Our clients can pay for their purchase(s), by credit card, through PayPal. PayPal is the secure, free, and easy way to pay, without sharing your financial information. Note: it is NOT necessary to create a PayPal account in order to pay using a credit card. Our Canadian customers have the choice of one of three payment methods - by cheque, by electronic bank transfer or by credit card through Pay Pal. Electronic Bank Transfer - if you do your banking on line, you may e mail money to elizabeth.craig@videotron.ca. This service is available through most of the major Canadian financial institutions. Please contact your bank (or check their website) if you are unclear as to how to do this. Please refer to our ordering information section for more details. Cheque - We can only accept cheques drawn on a Canadian chequing account. Please note: your order will not ship until your cheque has been received and has cleared our bank. Please refer to our ordering information section for more details. Back to Top I would like to order a personalized item. How do I enter personalization information (names, hair colour etc.)? Upon checkout, there is a section whereby you may add a "message to the seller". Please enter any personalization information required (names, hair colour, etc.) in this section. Once your order is received, you will receive an order confirmation by email. If we have any questions or if we require additional information to process your order, we will ask you. Please refer to our ordering information page for details. Back to Top Do you take special requests? What if I want a design that you don't currently offer? Please feel free to email us with your idea. We will tell you if we are able to make your idea a reality and if so, we will quote you a price. We will even produce and email a "digital sample" for your approval, before the item is even painted! To view our customer photo gallery, CLICK HERE. Please note: We will not copy a competitor's design. Back to Top Can you paint Mickey Mouse or Scooby Doo or a sports team logo on your craft items? While I am able to paint these things, any designs, figures or characters like that are copyrighted and as such cannot be reproduced without a license. Back to Top How many signatures will a platter hold? We are rather conservative re: the number of signatures each plate or platter will hold. The actual number will depend greatly upon your guests. If the first person who signs the plate/platter also adds a message, others who come after will tend to follow suit. We suggest that you put someone in charge of your plate/platter. This person is there to suggest that your guests sign their name only & to make sure the pen is capped when not in use. In the event that you run out of room on the front of the plate/platter, your guests can also sign the back. Back to Top Should I order extra signature pens? One pen is normally enough to last the day and beyond, but some people do like to have an extra pen "just in case". Keeping the pen capped when it is not being used, is the key. This will prevent the tip from drying and result in a better "flow" of paint from the pen. Back to Top Do you have plates or platters in different shapes or sizes? Our standard round plates are 9" or 12" in diameter. Our standard oval platter measures approximately 16" x 11.5". We do have other sizes and shapes of plates and platters available. To view our price/shape/size list (PDF format), please CLICK HERE. Back to Top I would like to personalize the plate I have ordered using a different saying than what is shown. Is this possible? Of course! If you are "stuck" to come up with your own saying, we can even provide you with a list of suggestions. Back to Top When can I expect to receive my order? Generally speaking, most orders will ship within 1 - 3 weeks from the time of purchase. Please remember that we hand paint everything that is pictured on our site. If you require a speedier service, please contact us. If we are able to do so, we will bump your order up in the queue and/or we can provide you with a quote with regard to express shipping. We will do our very best to accomodate your request. If any item is out of stock, we will tell you and provide you with an expected ship date. Back to Top What shipping method do you use? We ship via Canada Post Expedited Parcel or TNT Economy Express courier. Your order will be in transit approximately 1-12 business days, depending on your location. If you require a speedier service, please contact us for a quote on express shipping. Back to Top Do you combine shipping? Of course! We will combine shipping in order to save you money. The largest piece will ship at full price. The second piece will ship for half price. Any additional pieces ship for a quarter of the price. We will refund you the diffence in shipping costs after purchase. Back to Top Why the high shipping prices? We double box and pack every ceramic plate or platter that we ship. Bigger boxes mean higher shipping costs but, it also means that your purchase will arrive unbroken. Most of our shipments also pass across international borders and through customs. Back to Top What is the total of my order in Canadian funds? All of our prices are listed in US Funds (USD). Canadian totals are a bit higher, when converted to US funds. CLICK HERE to view currency conversion for Canadian funds (CAD) as well as any other currencies. Back to Top Can you ship my order to an address other than my own? Of course. We do require the recipient's name, mailing address and telephone number for shipping purposes. If you would like your item gift wrapped, we can also provide this service for a small additional charge. Back to Top Are your plates, platters or bowls breakable? Each plate, platter and bowl we create is ceramic and as such, may break if dropped. Under normal use, these items should last forever. Back to Top What if my order is broken during shipment? Our plates and platters are very carefully packed with tissue, bubble wrap, and other packing materials. We double box every plate or platter to ensure that it arrives intact and undamaged. In the event that you receive a broken plate or platter, please contact us within 48 hours. Please keep the original packaging material and send us digital pictures of the packaging and the damaged item. We will replace the item at no cost to you. Back to Top What is your return policy? If the item you purchased is not what you expected please let us know as soon as possible and we will do our best to correct the problem. Shipping charges however, cannot be refunded. We do our best to create the personalized gift that you have envisioned. We take pictures of every personalized item and email these pictures for your approval, before the item ships. Please check and double check your spelling carefully as we do not accept returns on personalized items. Back to Top Can I serve food off your plates? We use only lead free, non-toxic permanent enamel paints to paint our plates/platters. The plates/platters are intended to be used for decorative purposes however, if you would like to serve cold snacks from the plate/platter, we suggest that you lay down a doily or some plastic wrap over the plate/platter and set the food on top of that. This will also protect the design. Back to Top Are your plates, platters and bowls dishwasher safe? The enamel paints that we use are rated as top rack/dishwasher safe and we have successfully tested this to be true however, just to be on the safe side, we would recommend that you hand wash our personalized plates, platters and bowls. Do not use abrasive cleaners or scouring pads. Back to Top Do you ship outside of Canada & the continental US? Of course. Please contact us for a shipping quote. Back to Top