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How Can I Check the Status of my Order?
Delivery Confirmation?
Who does your Web Design?
Getting Started
Paraffin?
Soy? Paraffin? Palm?
Wax?
Why a Wish List?
Wish Lists?
Actual Company?
Returns, Refunds, Exchanges?
Lost Password/User ID!
Web Hosting?
Shipping Costs?
Q: How Can I Check the Status of my Order? How can I check the Status of my Order? A: Easily! You simply click on the "Order Tracking" link in the navigation menu; you will be asked to log in. Once you've logged in you can see the status of all the orders you have placed that are still in our system. We clear our system every YEAR so if you order a lot, you will see a history of your orders for the previous year. I update the status of each order as I am working on it. Usually it will look like 8:11 Complete. That means that 8 out of the 11 things that you ordered are complete! That way you know just where your order is! You will also see an expected shipping date if I am still working on your order. If your order is complete then you will see the actual shipping date and a delivery confirmation or a notation that reads "No Delivery Confirmation." Q: Delivery Confirmation? My delivery confirmation is returning results that say "Electronic Shipping Notification Received" What does this mean? Does this mean you haven't shipped my order yet?! A: Delivery Confirmation provided by the USPS is just that, a Delivery CONFIRMATION. It is NOT a tracking number, although sometimes it can be used as one. The USPS is not required to scan the package until it has reached it's destination, which in most cases this is what happens. However, there are times when it is scanned when it reaches certain facilities. There is a lot of information that can be seen when useing the DC # as a tracking number, but this is the rarity instead of the norm. So, in short, that does NOT mean I haven't shipped your package. It means that THEY haven't scanned it yet. Remember, I use Pay Pal shipping labels which are only good on the date SELECTED for shipping, when I use a shipping label, Pay Pal automatically sends YOU an e-mail explaining the details of the label, including the shipping date. So if the label was purchased, you can be your bottom dollar that it is shipped on the shipping date! :-) Q: Who does your Web Design? Your site is always changing! Who does your web design?! A: I personally do my own web design. It's not easy and it takes a lot of time with tweaking this and that (as some of you may know by visiting my site, particularly late at night when tweaking is going on.. it can look all kinds of crazy.) And before you ask.. I used to offer web design services to a few friends in the past, I no longer offer that particular service. There are millions of web designers out there, I'm sure if you do a search for the keywords "wahm eshops template" you will find quite a few! Q: Getting Started I am interested in starting my own small company, how did you get started? A: I owe my start to Hoffman's. Yes, I am aware of what all has gone on with the company and the owner but that doesn't change my feelings about her or the company. Without Hoffman's Credit program I would have never been able to get started. However, since she is no longer in business as of right now, if I had to start again I would need a start up capital. Many businesses require a start up capital (basically savings of hundreds of dollars to start your business.) If you are a parent then income tax time is the perfect time to think about starting your business, since you can realistically start an online tart business with just a few hundred dollars and grow from there. Do not expect to earn a real profit for the first year, since you will need to order supplies no doubt along the way. Running an online business is no piece of cake and it takes time and dedication, so even though you are working from the comfort of your home, you will still be busy most of the time. There are many factors to running a business but starting it is relatively easy. I started my web site for under $20 with my web host (the link can be found in another FAQ) the monthly hosting fee of $7 and I purchased my domain name (www.wintergardenaromatics.com) for $8.10 / year. And that's all it took, you need to decide what products you will be offering, the names of the products, the name of your company, how you will present your company, and how you are going to package your products. These are all important and you also have to be decent with people, civil to the end. You are after all, entering into the world of retail and customer service. You will encounter those of the.. well.. we'll be nice and say "questionable intellect" variety and must proceed professionally. This will help your business. Everything you do and everything you don't do will effect your online business. Strive to offer the best products you can and have a swift turn over rate and eventually you will catch on. You can also advertise your company easily and for free at loads of places. There are many other tips and tricks but the best top five I can offer are.. 1. Know exactly what you want to do and what you want to offer before starting. 2. Have a healthy start up capital. 3. Be creative and as original as possible! 4. Search for a good supplier of supplies by typing in search engines key words like "wholesale candle making supplies" even if you are making tarts, you use the same supplies as candle makers. 5. DO NOT OVER CHARGE FOR SHIPPING! This is a big turn away for customers, if your products are great and reasonably priced, 75% of the time they will go elsewhere to get a better deal on shipping. So it may be touch and go for awhile but eventually you will find a nice table of costs for shipping that works for you. Oh and expect to take a hit on shipping, I do 95% of the time, but make up for it in volume since people are more likely to purchase from a lower shipping cost company than a higher one. Q: Paraffin? Where does paraffin wax come from anyway? A: Paraffin wax, in it's raw form, is created by oil and oil wells. Paraffin wax is created when oil reaches a certain pressurized temperature for a certain amount of time. Raw paraffin wax is NEVER used to make candles, it is always refined and stabilizers are added. In short, it is a byproduct of the oil industry. Instead of throwing this material away, it is refined and used for wax applications. Q: Soy? Paraffin? Palm? What's the difference? A: The difference in the wax used to create tarts and candles is MAJOR. Every tart/candle maker has his or her own personal preference to the type of wax they like to use. I use paraffin and while I have nothing against soy or palm or joy wax, I personally don't like them. There are literally hundreds of tart makers out there who use soy, palm, and joy wax. In fact, you can find some of them in our "Favorite Links" section. The best advice I can give, is to try one of each out. That way you can known exactly the pros and cons. Also asking a soy/palm/joy wax user their opinions may better your decision. There are ups and downs to every kind of wax, including paraffin. Soy wax tends to be a bit softer than paraffin and can crumble somewhat more easily but that doesn't mean that it is bad by any means. Soy is very environmentally friendly and can be easily used in many applications, not just wax. Q: Wax? What wax do you use? A: I personally use IGI 4641, it is a pre blended paraffin wax. Q: Why a Wish List? What can a Wish List be used for? A: The possibilities are limitless! Wish Lists can be used for personal reasons (creating a To-Buy or I-Like list just for yourself, to easily access items that you plan to purchase.) Or you can create wish lists for Birthdays, Christmas Lists, Weddings, Etc! (However, gift registries might be best for those reasons but wish lists work just as well) Q: Wish Lists? How to wish lists work? A: Wish Lists are VERY easy and fun to use! All you do, is click on "Add to wish list" under an item that you like but aren't going to buy right now. You will be prompted to log into your customer account (if you do not have one simply click "NEW CUSTOMER" and set one up) once that is done, your item will be added to your wish list. To view your wish list or to email it to someone, click on "My Wish List" in the navigational bar on the left hand side of the web site. And that's it, you're all done. Q: Actual Company? Are you a real company.. like licensed? A: We are recognized by the IRS as a valid home based e-commerce business. WGA doesn't need a license since we operate in Texas, Texas State Law says that home based e-commerce businesses don't require licensing or zoning. They don't even require that we have an EIN, but we do. (EIN = Employers Identification Number) Q: Returns, Refunds, Exchanges? Do you accept returns, refunds, and exchanges? A: Yes I do. HOWEVER, I have very strict rules for returning/refunding/exchanging an item. You must contact me within 7 days of receiving the order. This is how the return/refund process works.. Step 1. You email me - wintergardenaromatics@live.com and request approval for a return/refund.. Return / Refund Requirements: -Item was damaged BEFORE shipping or is defective. -Item has LEAKED all over everything else (it's rare but it does happen). Step 2. If approved for return/refund then you ship me the product back (within 7 days) and I will refund the total payment via the payment source you paid with. (I will refund the sales price and the shipping to cover the shipping costs that you paid to send the package back to me.) Exchanges: Step 1. Email me at wintergardenaromatics@live.com to request an exchange. Exchange Requirements: -Wrong Fragrance -Wrong Product Step 2. You ship me back the product within 7 days. I then return to you the correct or desired product + refund you the shipping costs that you paid to return the item to me. Please be advised that if you do not obtain proper approval for the return or the exchange, you will not receive the exchange or the refund. Q: Lost Password/User ID! Help! I've lost my password and user ID! Can you give them to me? A: Unfortunately, no. I do not have access to customer's user IDs and passwords. The best I can tell you is to either just create a new account all together, or try to remember at least your user ID and use the "Lost Password" feature. Q: Web Hosting? Where do you have your web site hosted? A: I, like many other WAHM, have my site hosted with WAHM Shoppes! Their integrated shopping cart system is very easy to understand and you can produce very professional results with very little effort! Here is the link.. their hosting plans are $8 / month payable with PAY PAL! http://www.wahmshoppes.com/ Q: Shipping Costs? How much are your shipping costs? A: Winter Garden Aromatics only ships inside the continental U.S. and our shipping charges are based on the cost of your order. Any overages charged in shipping will be refunded. You will know if you paid more for shipping than was needed since we use Pay Pal's shipping label program to print shipping labels for all of our orders. That way everyone is clear on how much shipping actually cost. If you underpay for shipping, there is no additional cost, we absolve the difference. |