Understanding My Store Policies
If you are like me, reading Store Policies is about the last thing you're really interested in doing. I get that.
So here's the SUPER-BRIEF BULLET POINTS....
1. Currently my fine art paintings are the sources for everything in this store. (In the future, I plan to have my music and writings in the store too.) Not everything, but most of what I am offering here are limited editions reproductions of no more than 1000, and often less. I explain why further down the page.
2. Your order might take between 2 to 3 weeks to arrive, depending on many variables. Of course, it could arrive sooner also.
3. This is a fine art members only store which is open for anyone to freely browse --but to buy you need to create a very simple account-- which is super easy to do and absolutely not 'intrusive'. I only do this in order to have enough various means of contacting you to make sure you are absolutely fully satisfied.
4. Free shipping is included to all orders going to physical USA addresses only.
5. Barring a court order, I will never share your info.
6. I live in Oregon which has NO sales tax. If you live somewhere else, I don't charge you any taxes unless I'm required to (which means I'd need to be making a lot of sales in your state to trigger your states requirement). Lucky for both of us, so far that has not happened.
7. PLEASE SELECT YOUR PRODUCT CAREFULLY. YOU ARE ORDERING PRODUCT THAT IS GOING TO BE CREATED FOR YOU UPON RECEIVING YOUR ORDER! THUS, IT IS A UNIQUE ONE OF A KIND PRODUCT THAT CAN NOT EASILY BE RETURNED. NO RETURNS UNLESS YOU CAN SHOW DEFECT OR DAMAGE TO THE PRODUCT. NO RETURN SHIPPING WILL BE PAID ON RETURNS. BE SURE TO PHOTO DOCUMENT ANY SHIPPING DAMAGES.
END OF THE SUPER BRIEF VERSION.
OK, for now you CAN skip the rest of this reading material. It won't matter unless you order something from me anyway. But... if you'd like the full details of WHY these policies, do take a moment to read the notifications below before you order anything because...read or un-read...this is our business contract, and my explanations of them. Thank you so much.
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Welcome to DavidKenyonSeacord.com E-Commerce and Art Publishing!
First, for your information, DavidKenyonSeacord.com was launched as of January 2021. It is a "one-man limited-edition unique art product MEMBERS ONLY site" (see #3. Customer Account Policy, below) which is currently run entirely by the artist, which is me, yours truly, David Kenyon Seacord— fine art painter, composing musician and singer/songwriter, and author. Everything that you will find here are 'derivatives' of my original FINE ART PAINTINGS…which are 'award-winning' and which have earned superlatives of appreciation for decades from those who are aware of them.
Please know that even though the products offered here are not my Originals (those are sold through my fine art website [www.davidseacord.com]), they ARE personally 'made to order' FOR YOU. They are my authorized 'publications' specifically designed by me for YOU. And this store is the only place in the world where you can order them.
That said, here are my store's basic principles and business policies and my reasons for them. The subjects covered are:
1. My Limited Editions policy,
2. My NON-AUTOMATION policy,
3. My Customer Account policy,
4. My Free Shipping Within the USA policy,
5. My Customer Privacy policy,
6. My Taxation policy,
7. My Returns Policy.
(FYI, the above image is one of my t-shirt and poster designs.)
1. PREMIUM QUALITY LIMITED EDITIONS.
Most of my products are Limited Editions of 1000. This means if you buy the first one, I will only make 999 more, and so on. And when I've sold a thousand in total, I will stop making that product. In other words I am placing a voluntary limit of 1000 units upon the production of any product that I design and authorize production of (unless I specifically state otherwise in that products descriptive information).
This limited edition policy applies per product and per design for the expected life of that product. So for example, let's say the expected life of a t-shirt is 5 years…under this policy there will only be 1000 t-shirts made and sold of any single unique design, and then there will be a 5 year moratorium on that t-shirt design being produced to allow for natural attrition. After those 5 years, I'll decide whether to release a 2nd edition of another 1000 etc, repeating the cycle.
My goal is that you'll never see yourself owning a t-shirt, yoga mat, tote bag et. al that a million other people are also owning.
Why do this? Because I know you wish to have, wear and/or use articles that are unique, special, and generally rare. And fyi, yes, limited editions is part of the reason my prices are a bit higher...because if I am going to limit how many of something I sell...in other words, curtail the production volume...then those that I do sell are each worth a bit more, yes?
The only normal feature of limited editions that I cannot offer you is to 'sign and number' them. Within the e-commerce paradigm, that is unfortunately impossible, as after production, the product is shipped directly to you, and thus I have no opportunity to sign them, and so I'm not promising to do that. I'm just promising, unless specifically stated otherwise, to keep all my editions limited to 1000.
However, there IS a way around this signing issue, and that is that you follow the below 'special arrangement instructions*', and THEN, I WILL sign them for you! And, of course, when the artist signs your print, it is now unique, and the value of it is increased.
Here the instructions (for USA customers only).
*After you receive the artwork and are satisfied with it, getting my personal signature upon it does require you to reuse the mailer tube you received it in to re-ship the art to me, with 1. a return shipping label addressed back to you enclosed, and 2. also payment of a minimum $20 'combined return postage fee and signing gratuity'. Also, as I normally travel 'south' in the winter to paint in the desert SW, the timing of this signing process would necessarily be spring/summer/fall, i.e., the period when I am generally 'at home' in the NW USA.
(The above image is a snapshot from one of my past exhibitions.)
2. NON-AUTOMATION.
For many reasons I've chosen to NOT AUTOMATE this store until such time as I'm well enough practiced to be comfortable with e-commerce automation issues.
What 'Non-Automation' means is I will be personally processing each and every order that you give me. Whenever you order any of these art products from me, I will be manually passing your order on to to my vetted POD (print-on-demand) companies, who immediately print and/or fabricate the ordered product, and then ship it directly to you. I will be tracking all that process, and therefore I will be giving you my attention until it is delivered to you...and I know that you are a happy client.
Because a manual process has necessary extra steps that take extra time, I request your patience. I know Amazon has gotten us all used to 'next day delivery'. I am not offering you that. If fact, I don't even have an 'expedited shipping' option at this time. That's because to make my 'free shipping' work, everything must be sent to you via 'standard ground shipping', because that's the known shipping cost that I've built into the product price structure.
My estimate is that your order may take up to a couple of weeks to arrive at your door, occasionally even a bit longer, depending on the production time required and on what continent it is produced.
(The above is a t-shirt and poster design.)
3. MY CUSTOMER ACCOUNT POLICY
This is a MEMBERS ONLY store. That's because my well-considered business integrity (and fraud protection) policy requires the creation of a free password protected account before you can checkout. During checkout a phone number (in case there are any questions about your order) is also required.
Why I have this policy is because I'm committed to you being fully satisfied ...and that requires complete communication information. Therefore, for us to do business, it's a non-optional checkout policy. By the way, your account also makes you a recipient of all future VIP invitations and special offers.
I promise you I will never share your personal information. Also, you can unsubscribe from my emails and delete your account at any time after your order is satisfactorily completed.
(The above image [Unfinished Beauty] is available on several of my products.)
4. MY FREE SHIPPING in the USA policy.
Inside the United States, I have chosen to have a free shipping policy. Of course it's not really free, I've just built it into the price of the product as a favor to both of us. Yes, it absolutely makes my prices higher, but as there is nothing extra added to that price, it's the simplest way to go-- because the price you see is the final price you pay (unless we cannot sidestep a sales tax [see that section]). That means you will not be confronted with initially unseen charges during the checkout process.
If you are outside the United States and my geographical USA free shipping however— unique charges to your international destination will need to be calculated and added... and those rates will vary depending on your destination location and other factors. This may in fact need to be done AFTER you place your order because I will not know until the order is placed where in the world it is going, and cannot therefore pre-calculate how much the shipping will be.
Since I'm doing things manually and therefore the shipping is NOT automatically calculated by AI, the shipping charges may require your personal authorization AFTER you place your order. In other words, I may need to speak on the phone to you, which again is one of the reasons I require a phone number, as email is unacceptable as an immediate communication solution. Therefore, thank you for creating an account, and providing me a good cell or other contact phone number. It creates "workability".
(The above image is both a t-shirt and poster design.)
5. PERSONAL INFO PRIVACY POLICY
I follow The Golden Rule, and treat my collectors and clients as I'd likewise wish to be treated.
Through my emails or text messaging, I will keep you informed, I will offer you invitations and gifts and special offers and discounts. I will give you 'first looks' at my newly created artworks.
Plus, because in addition to painting I am also a musician and writer, if you say you're interested, I will invite you to listen to my new songs and piano compositions as I record and release them, and I will share the authorship's of my pen.
I will never share your personal info.
(The above is a t-shirt and poster design.)
6. MY TAXATION POLICY
It's simple. I don't charge taxes if I am not required to. Right now, I'm brand new to e-commerce and currently I'm under the 'business nexus threshold' for ALL states…and therefore right now I don't have to worry about collecting sales taxes from you-- unless YOU live in a state where one of my several fulfillment partners itself has a 'taxation nexus'. Then, they will see by your shipping address that you and they are both in the same state and when that's the case they can't ship product to you without it being taxed. If this turns out to be the case, somebody is going to have to pay the tax, which could mean we'd need to communicate on the subject. Again, this is why I require you create an account if you choose to purchase from me, and that it have good direct contact info in it, so that we can quickly resolve the issue if it occurs.
I expect this general taxation situation will change over time, because different states have different thresholds, and when I reach them and I will be therefore required to register with that state and collect a tax from you and remit it to that state.
My suggestion is, of course, buy now while it's likely I don't have to tax you.
(The above is a t-shirt design.)
7. MY RETURNS POLICY.
My sincere request is that you please don't order any of my products unless you truly desire them. Please don't just assume that you can order something and then easily return it because you happen to 'change your mind'. I don't know if such 'buyers remorse' will work out happily for you. And I do desire you and I both to be very happy.
Explaining a bit. In order to provide you these art-derived products I am necessarily contracting with reputable production and fulfillment partners... i.e., print-on-demand companies. I'm using several… some produce this product, and some produce that one…, and they each have slightly different return policies.
That means I will be dealing with them on your behalf if you should desire to return the product. My returns policy then, is that I promise I will always do my very best to resolve any product dissatisfaction that might occur that is based upon a defective product. Generally my fulfillment partners promise me that yes, they will honor returns of anything actually defective. (Generally though, they will not pay the return shipping.)
But then again...if you've just 'changed your mind', that situation could have a less happy outcome, depending upon which fulfillment company is involved. Therefore please use common sense, and unless you really are choosing it, please don't order it. Thank you so very much.