Return Policy:

Defective beads:  Beads (and other items) can be returned for a full refund within 30 days of the original shipment (if you are a little late, that's okay).  There is no restocking fee.  However, shipping costs will be refunded only if you feel that the beads don't match my pictures, or if they are defective or somehow inferior.  Broken beads:  If you receive broken beads, they most likely broke during shipment.  Please report the number of broken beads to me within 30 days, and I will issue a refund.  Missing beads:  Please take an inventory of the packets in your shipment shortly after opening it, and certainly before you use any of the beads.  That doesn't mean you need to count all the beads within the packets; just make sure all the packets are present.  Please report missing packets within 10 days.  You have up to 30 days to let me know if any beads are missing from within the packets.

Some necessary restrictions:

(1) Beads which are returned for a refund must be in original condition; if they are damaged or partially missing, the refund will be pro-rated accordingly (unless the damage occurred during shipment).

(2) Fire-polished faceted beads always have some imperfect facets.  If you are returning faceted beads because of imperfect facets, I will not refund shipping charges.

(3) If you qualify for a shipping refund, you will be paid for your actual return shipping cost up to, but not exceeding, the shipping fee that I charged you.

(4) If your original order was over $100 and you received free shipping, and if the items you returned caused the total of your original order to fall below $100, I reserve the right to deduct the cost of shipping the original order from your refund.

(5) Similarly, if your original order was over $100 and you received a 10% discount on your order, and if the items you returned caused the total of your original order to fall below $100, I reserve the right to recalculate your order without the discount, and reduce your refund accordingly.

Lost packages:

(A) My policy is to re-ship beads that are lost in transit rather than to give a refund.

(B) I do not guarantee a refund on lost packages if the tracking information indicates that the package was delivered; I handle such claims on a case-by-case basis.  I use tracking for all packages.

Incorrect address:

If a package is returned because you provided an incorrect or incomplete address, you will have to pay an additional shipping charge to have the beads re-shipped.  If instead you choose to receive a refund, the shipping cost of the returned shipment will be deducted from the refund.

The purpose of the return policy is to give you the peace of mind of knowing that you will not be stuck with beads that are defective or which look substantially different from the pictures on my site and were not what you wanted.  It is not meant to give you an opportunity to see the beads in person and then return the ones you don't want.  I understand that ending up with beads you don't want is an unpleasant risk of buying on the internet, and that's why I try to have the best possible pictures.  However, I know from my own experience as a designer that all beads can be worked into a design somehow.  You may return beads you don't like, but I cannot afford to process a large number of returns.  I run my business on small profit margins, so it is important that you not abuse the return privilege.

With polished table-cut beads, I examine each bead and eliminate defective beads before shipping.  However, imperfections which are very minor (e.g., very small pits in the glass) are not counted as defects.  If you receive any polished table-cut beads which, in your opinion, are seriously defective (malformations, cracks, partially polished windows), please contact me for a refund.

Please note that my near vision is not as good as it used to be, so sometimes I don't notice defects.  Also, my estimate of the percentage of defects may be off.  These are honest mistakes.  Please don't hesitate to let me know if I have overlooked defects in the beads you bought.

Shipping:

Carrier:
I ship all packages via the U.S. Postal Service (First Class, Priority, International First Class, Global Priority).  I do not have a UPS or Fed Ex account and cannot ship via those carriers.  I rarely agree to ship via Express Mail because it is an inconvenience for me.

Domestic (U.S.A.) customers:
A flat $3.00 for orders of all sizes.

Canadian and Mexican customers:
A flat $6.00 for orders of all sizes.

All other International customers:
$6.00 to $12.00, depending on the cost of shipping.  Thus, $6.00 is the minimum charge and $12.00 is the maximum charge.  International customers will initially be charged $12.00 and a refund will be issued for any excess paid.

The reason that International customers pay a variable amount instead of a flat rate is that the cost of International shipping varies more widely than the shipping cost to U.S.A., Canadian and Mexican customers.

Shipping insurance:
All packages are insured.

Shipping schedule:
Because Purebeads is a sole-proprietorship (meaning that one person is doing all the work), packages generally ship 2 to 5 days after the order is received.  During a sale, or after a mailing announcing new beads, the delay may be longer.  The majority of packages ship in 3 to 4 days.  There is a great deal of work to be done and I have to pace myself.

Saturday shipments:

Orders which are shipped on Saturday are usually dropped in a mailbox and may be picked up by the post office Saturday morning or the following Monday.  Most packages mailed on Saturday are picked up on Monday.

Sunday/holiday shipments:

Orders mailed on Sunday or a federal holiday are always picked up by the post office on the next business day.

Payment Options:

1.  Credit card – all major cards are accepted.

2.  PayPal – my preferred payment method.*

3.  Money order – I stopped accepting personal checks when a customer sent me a bad check.

* PayPal requires me to say this in order to get cash back on my PayPal debit card.