Wholesale Policy of the Sheltons (plain version)

Wholesale Rate: 40% (on all orders, large or small)

Minimum Order: NO minimum! If you want to order just one or two items, that's fine. We do have a minimum on the S/H – see below – but not on the size of your order!

Payment Options

(See further below for Canada.)

PAYMENT TYPE	SPECIFICS HOW WE OPERATE	SHIPPING/HANDLING
		SHIPPING RATE	MINIMUM YOU PAY FOR S/H
CHECK ~ OR ~ MONEY ORDER	NET 30 Pay in full within 30 days of when we ship your order. We do not have the staff to send out reminders, so we trust that you will keep track of this and pay on time.	12%	$12
CHECK ~ OR ~ MONEY ORDER	IN FULL UP FRONT As explained above, due to having been "burned" a few too many times, we are now requiring that we actually have payment in-hand before sending out orders. (Unless you are a well-established and trusted customer.) If you are paying within 30 days, please make a note on your records of when payment will be due.	8%	$8
CREDIT CARD	CREDIT CARD (We take VISA, DISCOVER, MASTERCARD, and AMERICAN EXPRESS) Please contact us by email or by phone (360-423-4912) and let us know what you want to order. We will then figure your order and take your CC number. (It is best to take your CC order by phone since email is not secure.)	8%	$8

FIRST ORDERS: Your first order from us must be paid in full up front

or by credit card to establish credit with us.







Preview Copies of Books: We are glad to send a preview copy of any book you would like to see before ordering in quantity. (Go to this page of Books by Barb Shelton for a list and write-ups of the books I have written that are available for wholesale purchase.) Due to the fact that we are a very small company, we are not able to give them away for free. However, we will send them to you without requiring pre-payment. If you like the book(s), just keep them and we'll bill you for them at the wholesale price on your first wholesale order with us. If you decide to not carry them, just send them back in the same condition in which you received them within 30 days, and you will not be charged for them. (If we do not hear from you by then, we will send a bill for the full retail price.) Please note that your first order with us must be "Paid in full up front" to establish credit with us.

* Note about the Homeschool Guide-a-log: We are unable to give the 40% discount on this book because it costs us more than that just to make it! So we sell it for $6 (making about 80 cents per book) and suggest that you sell it for $10, and also puts the $6 price right at 40% off of $10. Also, $10 is closer to the book's "market value"; it could actually sell for $12; it's much larger than the Booklet Building Book and the Jumpstart Navigator. We sell it for only $7 only because it is the "entry" to our message; we try to make it as inexpensive as possible.

CANADIAN ACCOUNTS

US FUNDS ~ Payment must be made by credit card only as our bank charges an exorbitant service fee on all checks from Canada, even if it is in US funds. Yes, very frustrating and irritating. But that's what we have to work with.

SHIPPING COST ~ For shipping a wholesale order to Canada, we charge just the cost of "actual shipping," whether it's "in full up front" or "net 30." We do not charge extra for "net 30" nor do we charge anything for handling or packaging. The reason for this is because shipping from the U.S. to Canada is so expensive! (and probably visa versa, but we're only dealing with it on this end.) It seems kinda crazy to us, with the two countries being on the same continent, but that's the way it is.

SHIPPING MODE ~ Also it's best if we send your order via USPS (United States Postal Service) rather than via UPS (United Parcel Service) because UPS charges a brokerage fee at the border. (Or at least so we have heard from one of our Canadian vendors; maybe this is only where they live?) If you have a broker in the states (as one of our Canada accounts does), that would probably be less expensive for you.

Past-Due Accounts: We are a small business operated by only the two of us ~ Dave and Barb ~ and, as enjoyable as it is (for the most part), we do not have the time or the staff to send out reminders or contact people about late payments; we need to spend that time being a family. We need you to be responsible to pay on time. If we have not received payment within 5 days after your due date, a $5 service charge will be added to your next order, which will need to be paid in full up front. (Once we are confident that your credit is re-established, orders after that may resume being paid in full within 30 days, if that is your preference. However, accounts that consistently pay "past due" will need to remain on a "must pay in full up front" status.)

We hated to get so sticky, but past-due accounts have caused us a great deal of time, money, and stress. Like yours, our family time and funds are already limited, and we don't want to have to spend it hunting down payments.

Step 2
	Paying: Due to having been "burned" a few too many times, we are now requiring that we actually have payment in-hand before sending out orders. (Unless you are a well-established and trusted customer.) If you are paying within 30 days, please make a note on your records of when payment will be due.

Step 3

Wait for your package to arrive. But we're happy to say this won't take too long! Dave is speedy! He normally sends out orders within 1 or 2 business days, three or four days at the very latest, depending on our schedule, unless, of course, we are out of town at the time you order, which is seldom; or he's sick, which is even more seldom; or he's fishing, which is not exactly seldom, but he still gets orders out before most fishing trips! He always ships either UPS or First Class!

Step 4
	Post it! Please take a moment to print out and post (or file) this information for future use. Or perhaps bookmark this page and/or keep the link with your file folder on our company. (I keep one on each company we do business with (whose books we purchase for resale), and who do business with us (who buy the books I have written for resale).

Step 5
When your order arrives... Dave takes great care to package all orders carefully so that your books will arrive at your doorstep in tip-top condition ~ as good as when they left here. So when your package arrives, please follow these steps:
	1) INSPECT: When your package arrives, please inspect the contents of the package to make sure everything is in good shape ~ literally. Check ALL books, inside each box if there is more than one box in the larger box, and all book inside each box, not just the top ones. (This must be done within 48 hours of receipt. And UPS records the actual time when packages are delivered. We say this only to give the situation some parameters.)
	2) SAVE BOX & LABELS: If anything is flawed, please call or email us and we will figure out how to deal with it in a way that you will be happy with. If anything is damaged, it is absolutely necessary that you save the box complete with all labels, ours and UPS's that came on it. It will not be possible for you to get reimbursement or compensation as there will be no proof of anything if you do not save all of these. (box and label(s)) We almost feel silly even saying this, as it just seems like common sense, but sadly, there are those who do not want to take responsibility for their own mistakes or carelessness. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NOTE: UPS's requiring proof ~ i.e. the need to save the boxes ~ is actually not at all unreasonable. In fact, it is necessary. What happened in one situation was that we had sent a large box containing two smaller boxes of books which were generously packed in puffies in the larger box. We received a call saying the books were badly damaged, which we couldn't figure out because the outer box would have had to have been completely damaged for the inside boxes to have even been touched. What happened was that the person who received the order had opened the outer box, and then dropped an inner box which is what actually damaged the books. They tossed the outer box. They then expected UPS or us to reimburse them for the damaged books ~ even though it was their own fault. We had packaged them doubly carefully, and UPS had gotten the package to them in perfect condition. So neither UPS nor us should have to pay to compensate. This is why proof is needed. (If it's UPS's fault, they are very good about compensation.) *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * So let us sum up by saying this: We will be happy to compensate for damaged books as long as you provide proof that it was caused by either our negligence or by the company that transported it.** (We want happy customers, but at the same time, we cannot be responsible for the negligence or errors of others.)
	3) If there are any damaged books, please call us first and we will work with you to figure out how to take care of it as quickly as possible as we know you probably have orders waiting. ~ If it was UPS's fault and you have saved all packaging and labels, then we will promptly and happily send you replacements for the damaged books at no cost to you as we know UPS will eventually reimburse us. ~ If it was our fault, we will still send replacements. (Probably not quite as happily as we will be busy kicking ourselves for the negligence.) ~ If it was the fault of careless handling on the part of whomever opened or handled the books on your end ~OR~ if you did not save the packaging and labels (which would have enabled us to be reimbursed), then we hope you will have the integrity to realize that the responsibility rests on your shoulders. In such cases we do not feel responsible to reimburse. You will need to purchase more books from us at the usual wholesale rate and then possibly sell the damaged books at a reduced rate.

Step 1... (two options)
	Email us at beshelton@aol.com with the same information as above. It's actually even handier for us (cuz all we have to do is print it out!), and just as speedy! (Again, don't forget to tell how when you're paying! It makes quite a difference in the shipping!) If we are home, we will respond within a fairly short time. ...OR...
	Call and leave a message on our home answering machine (360-423-4912) telling us how many of which book(s) you want. If you do not specify which method of payment you want, we'll assume you're paying "Net 30" and will calculate your order with the 12%/$12 minimum shipping rate. We'll either pick up the phone (if nearby when you call) or call you back and confirm your order. If you are paying in full up front, we'll calculate the amount due and let you know that when we call to confirm your order.