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| Frequently Asked Questions |
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| 1) Where is Blades &
Fantasies based? |
| We are based in Pretoria, South Africa (Pretoria North). |
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| 2) Does Blades &
Fantasies have a shop/store? |
| No, Blades & Fantasies is at present only available on the
internet. |
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| 3) What are the operating
hours? |
| Although I still have a full time job working in
Centurion to pay the rent, I try to answer my phone throughout the day but only start
answering e-mails at around 19:30 in the evenings. I usually try to empty my inbox before
I "clock out" for the evening. |
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| 4) Does Blades &
Fantasies carry stock? |
| We cannot and do not carry stock as our range is simply too massive
(At last count we offered 15 787 items without the 6972 discontinued). So any order placed
with us will take 5-6 weeks to fill as we have to import your order from our supplier in the U.S.
We are sure that our price makes up for this little inconvenience though :). |
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| 5) How long
does it take for Blades & Fantasies to “Deliver” an order (supply an item)? |
| To keep our prices low, we place bulk orders with our supplier at the end of every month. We (at the moment) import/order our stock from the United States and it
usually arrives at OUR door within 3-4 weeks from placement of our order. The cut of for the next bulk order is the last friday of every month. Orders placed with us after this date will be part of the next bulk order.This is subject to availability of the items you are interested in. |
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| 6) Are all
the items on the www.blades-n-fantasies.co.za website available? |
We try to keep the items and prices current but NO, all the items
are not always available. With a range of 16000 items over about 120 brands there is
continuous "movement". New items get launched/added every day and items get
discontinued every day. At the moment we try to update once a month. Items might also
simply just be out of stock for a while at my supplier.
PLEASE check with us first to ensure that we can supply your order BEFORE you
deposit any monies into our account. |
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| 7) Are the
prices on the www.blades-n-fantasies.co.za website current? |
| The prices on the website are unit rates (per single item), current
and in ZAR. We however reserve the right to check, confirm and change any prices for items
that you enquire about (want to order). |
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| 8) What do the prices on the
www.blades-n-fantasies.co.za website include/exclude? |
The unit prices on the website include all import and customs
costs. The unit prices also include all taxes and VAT. The prices are in ZAR.
The unit prices exclude all postage/courier/delivery costs from us (Blades &
Fantasies in South Africa) to you. Unfortunately we will only be able to provide you with
an accurate postage/courier quote once we have received your order and have taken it to
the post office/courier for a price. |
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| 9) How does one
place an order with Blades & Fantasies? |
| Placing an order with us should happen like this: |
| a) |
Send us an e-mail detailing/listing the specific item number(s) that you are
interested in ordering. Please inform us if you would like to pick up your order from us
or if you would like it posted/couriered. |
| b) |
We will reply to your mail after having checked the availability of
your item(s) and correctness of the unit price. |
| c) |
You make a decision within 2 days if you would like to proceed with
this order. NO RISK/RUSH/PROBLEM if you take longer placing a order!!! It simply means
that we will just have to confirm again that our supplier still has it in stock. |
| d) |
We require a 50% (of total order value) "Commitment
Deposit", before we will place any orders (your order) with our supplier. Sorry but
no exceptions to the 50% deposit rule. |
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Deposits are made into the following bank account: (Please e-mail us
the deposit slip)
Mr. AF Louw
Account number 904 332 4058
Absa savings account
Ref: B&F XXX (**this reference is important !! It enables us to identify/confirm the
deposit. We will give you the reference number to use when we confirm your order item
status)
VERY IMPORTANT
Please do not deposit any moneys into my account before I confirm that the item(s) you are
interested in is available. I need to verify that my supplier has your requested item(s)
in stock first. Some of the handmade items have a waiting list of up to 6 months. This
info could influence your thoughts on your order and I will then probably have to refund
your deposit. |
| e) |
Once we have checked and confirmed receipt of your deposit, we will place your item(s) on "hold" with our supplier to ensure that it is still available for our next bulk order at the end of the month. You may change your mind on the item(s) you ordered between this time and our cut of date. But after you order is "pulled" from the warehouse and packed, changes can no longer be made. |
| f) |
Once we have received our bulk order, we will notify the customers who have items included in it by e-mail. |
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Now you have two options of how to proceed at this point: |
| i) |
If you prefer, we can arrange to meet in the north of Pretoria
(Colonnade shopping center??) or during lunch time at Centurion Mall next to the lake. The outstanding 50% will then be paid cash at this meeting. |
| ii) |
If you order has to be posted/couriered, we will pack it and take it
the post office/preferred courier for a quotation.
This quoted cost will then be communicated to you via e-mail.
You will pay the outstanding 50% of your order value PLUS the selected postage costs into
my bank account and e-mail me the deposit slip.
We will then post/courier your order to you. |
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| 10)
Is a deposit required? Why? |
Blades & Fantasies require a 50% "Commitment Deposit",
before we will place any orders (your order) with our supplier. Deposit details are
available in the answer to question 9. The reason for the deposit requirement is as
follows:
Some potential clients would place an order and change their minds a week later. By this
time I would have placed the order with my supplier, paid them and the package should
already be on the way to South Africa. As an "after hours", web based, home
business we simply do not have the cash flow to sit with this kind of "Stock".
Sorry but no exceptions to the 50% deposit rule as I am still sitting with some items that
someone ordered on "good faith". If your order has been packed/shipped by my
supplier of received by me, your deposit will only be refundable when and if I sell this
same item(s) (i.e. your entire order) for the same price to another client. (With my
current selection of 16 000 items it might take a while for this to happen). |
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| 11)
Is this deposit refundable? |
| Yes it is possible. It is very important for my business
with the very selective and small market to be as honest and as accommodating to clients
as we possibly can. Even with this being the case, your order can be cancelled and your
deposit refunded ONLY if one of the following cases is true: |
| a) |
I have not yet placed your order with my supplier. |
| b) |
I have placed your order with my supplier BUT they have not yet
deducted the money OR packed it for shipping. |
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But if your ordered item(s) is already processed or winging its way
to South Africa, I can only refund your deposit if I sell the same item(s) (i.e. your
entire order) for the same price to another client. (Please note: With my current
selection of over 16 000 items it might take a while for this to happen). |
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| 12) Can I purchase
with a credit card or cheque? How does payment take place? |
| No, sorry, we cannot yet process credit cards and due to
a "substantially" steep learning curve, we also do NOT accept payment by cheque. (unless you are willing for us to wait 14 working days as recommended by the bank to ensure that the cheque is legit and have cleared?)
Payment will have to be cash or be made into the following account: |
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Mr. AF Louw
Account number 904 332 4058
Absa savings account
Ref: B&F XXX (**this reference is important !! It enables us to identify/confirm the
deposit. We will give you the reference number to use when we confirm your order item
status) |
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| 13)
Does Blades & Fantasies supply internationally? |
| No, because we cannot process credit cards, we can not process
international orders. Unless of course the international clients can do the direct bank
payment/transfer? |
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| 14) Does Blades
& Fantasies supply everywhere in South Africa (i.e. to Cape Town / PE / Durban /
Johannesburg / etc.)? |
| Yes, we will supply to anywhere in South Africa (Africa). As long as
we can receive payment from our clients and they are willing to pay the
postage/shipping/courier costs, we will post/courier to anywhere. (And if there is no law against it) |
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| 15) How does
delivery/postage work? Once my order has arrived in RSA, how can I get my hands on my stuff? |
When we have received your ordered item(s) from our
supplier, you are welcome to come and pick up your order directly from us in Pretoria or
in Centurion. The outstanding 50% of the order value will then be paid cash.
If you prefer (if required) we can also post/courier it to you. Postage will happen like
this: |
| a) |
We pack your order and take it to the post office/preferred courier
for a quotation. If the parcel is less than 1m long, I prefer to use Speed Service’s
counter-to-counter service. There costs are very reasonable and they deliver the
"Next day" if I manage to get the package to the counter by 9:00 in the morning.
Their costs are currently about R46.00 for up to 1Kg, R65.00 for 2Kg and R78.0 for 3Kg, etc. |
| b) |
We will then e-mail you with this postage/courier cost. |
| c) |
You pay the outstanding 50% of your order value PLUS the selected
postage costs onto my bank account and e-mail or fax me the deposit slip. |
| d) |
We will then post / courier your order to you. |
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| 16) How do I contact
Blades & Fantasies? |
For general enquiries, please e-mail info@blades-n-fantasies.co.za
For orders, please e-mail orders@blades-n-fantasies.co.za
You could also phone Andrew at +27 (0)73 315 5900.
Our fax number for deposit slips / proof of payments, etc. is +27 (0)86 617 1368. |
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