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QUESTION: Why don't you have a search engine on your web site?
ANSWER: 95% of
the items we sell are one-of-a-kind, handmade, and there is not another like
it in existence. Therefore, when an item is sold, it must be replaced
by another item which may be similar, but not exactly like the one shown.
Search engines do not work well in this case. It would be a
webmaster's nightmare to keep the search engine current. We don't want
to pay for some webmaster having nightmares. We prefer to pass that
savings on to our customers in the form of lower
prices.
QUESTION: Why don't you have a Shopping Cart on your site?
ANSWER: See the
above answer - the reasons are the same, in that 95% of the items we sell
are one-of-a-kind, handmade, and there is not another like it on planet Earth.
Therefore, if we had a shopping cart, and two or more people ordered
the same item, all would have their Credit Card charged, and we would have
only one item to ship. We could end up with two or three or more customers
being charged for something we could not ship - this is a no-no in our Trading
Post! We prefer to "do it by hand" and verify that the item is in stock
and ready to ship before your card is charged. It's
surprising how many people may order the same item in any given day, and
we can only ship it to the first person to order, as there is only one of
that item in existence! Make sense?
QUESTION: Do you furnish catalogs?
ANSWER: No. Our only
Catalog is this electronic one you are seeing right now.
QUESTION: Do you sell wholesale?
ANSWER: No. Our retail
prices are almost "wholesale" already - we cannot go lower. Plus, most
of the items shown cannot be obtained in quantity, anyway. Being mostly
hand made, one at a time, there is just not sufficient ones available for
us to offer them on a wholesale basis.
QUESTION: Do you buy from individual customers who may have inherited
Indian jewelry, or purchased it elsewhere and no longer need it?
ANSWER: Yes, and no.
We don't buy from individuals who may have inherited or otherwise obtained
Native American Jewelry unless we can actually see the jewelry. We
can't buy from photos. We buy only from known and trusted
Indian sources, or reputable Indian Traders who we've dealt with for years,
unless we can actually see the jewelry in person. There is a
lot of "Indian Jewelry" made in third world countries, and we have to be
careful. Sorry!! If we were to make an offer, it would be for
no more than we would expect to pay on a wholsale basis at a good pawn
shop. In addition, most people who have been blessed with becoming
the owner of Indian Jewelry have the impression that their jewerly is unique,
and therefore very valuable. Well, chances are, it is
unique. And, chances are, it is valuable. But,
the chances also are that it's no more unique, or no more valuable than similar
items seen here on our web site.
QUESTION: Do we sell to dealers?
ANSWER: Certainly. We do
not discriminate - we have many good customers who are dealers - but they
pay the prices shown on the web site, the same as any other
customer.
QUESTION: Will you e-mail me if someone defaults on an item
on lay-away? Or, will you e-mail me if you get an item in stock that
we have requested?
ANSWER: No. We will
forget to do so, so why lie? We will, however, put it back on the
web.
QUESTION: Can you make, or have something made, "to order"?
Custom make something?
ANSWER: No. First of
all, we do not make jewelry. The people we deal with who
do make jewelry have their own designs, their own patterns, their
own way of doing things, and they will not do this. That would be similar
to asking your dentist to give you a hair cut. Secondly, they are so
polite, they would say "yes, we will do it", but 5 years later, you will
still be waiting on it.
QUESTION: What about "white turquoise", "white buffalo", "sacred
buffalo", and "howelite" stones. What's the difference - aren't they
all white?
ANSWER: White turquoise,
sacred buffalo and white buffalo, to us, look the same. If there is
a difference, we can't tell it. We label it one way or the other depending
on what our suppliers say it is. (Remember, we trust them). Howelite
we can distinguish, and we label it as such. It is generally a cheaper,
and not quite as pretty a stone as the others.
QUESTION: Are all the stones in your jewelry authentic? Any
plastic?
ANSWER: We buy our jewelry
from reputable sources who have a longstanding reputation of honesty. None
of the stones are fake, to our knowledge, and should we find any that are
not genuine, they would be destroyed . No one in this business lasts
very long if they try to pass fake stones off on anybody. Good stones
are not that expensive - so why risk your business on junk? Now, let
me say this - sometimes it is almost impossible to tell the difference -
so we can be fooled the same as anyone else. If you buy something from
us and even think it is plastic, take it to a jeweler who knows his
business and ask! If we send you something that really
is plastic, send it right back, with a "hot" letter, and we will bend over
backwards to correct the situation.
QUESTION: Do you have a lay-away plan?
ANSWER: Yes, and a very good
one. See our "Terms & Conditions" Page.
QUESTION: Do you do repairs?
ANSWER: No, but we have a
good working arrangement with artists who do repairs. See our page
"Jewelry Repairs" for details.
QUESTION: How about the metal? Is it all Sterling Silver?
ANSWER: There are
some items that are not sterling silver - BUT - these items are labeled
as such. All the jewelry shown on our web site is, in fact, sterling
silver (as far as we can tell) unless otherwise stated. For example,
some very old jewelry may be made of "coin" silver and we say so in its
description, if we are aware of that. Also, some items contain some
gold filling or are gold plated. This part, then, is certainly not
sterling - it is a gold product. Some are made of copper, and we state
that fact on their descriptions. We do feature some nickel silver products
which are labeled as such, when we can distinguish it from
sterling.
QUESTION: What, exactly is "Nickel Silver"
ANSWER: Nickel silver
looks very much like sterling silver, and many less reputable shops sell
nickel silver and represent it as sterling. Sterling silver,
by law, must contain 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Nickel silver has
no such legal requirement. Therefore, the silver content, if any, varies.
The metal "nickel" is used in various concentrations with other
metals, and the final results are pleasing to the eye, and usually do not
tarnish as much as sterling silver. Normally the design, stones,
craftsmanship, and general appearance will match that of items made of sterling
silver.
QUESTION: What mine or mines does the turquoise come
from? Is the turquoise treated?
ANSWER: We do not
know which mines the turquoise is from - and neither does anyone else with
absolute certainty. Some turquoise has certain qualities that
INDICATE which mine it PROBABLY came from, but to say for sure
is impossible unless you saw it come from the mine yourself. Which,
obviously, we don't see. Some turquoise is treated to make it more
stable. Some people like treated turquoise, some do not like it, and
98% can't tell the difference. We are among the 98%.
QUESTION: Do you really make total refunds for merchandise
returned within 20 days, no questions asked?
ANSWER: Yes. That is
how we built our business, and is why we have repeat customers. We will refund
everything but the 10.00 S&H since we can not get that back
either.
QUESTION: Is your "Indian Made" jewelry and other items really
made by Native American Indians?
ANSWER: Much of what we
sell is brought in by those Native American Families who make the products
in their homes a few pieces at a time. Most of the rest of what we
sell is purchased by us from other Trading Posts located in, or near,
the Navajo, Zuni, Jemez, Acoma, or other Reservations in New Mexico and Arizona.
These other Trading Posts purchase from the makers, or hire the makers
to fashion the items offered, who are, to the best of our knowledge, Native
Americans. We feature items which we know not who made them,
because we are not present when they are made. When we buy these items,
we buy them with the belief that they are Native American Indian made, but
we can be fooled just as anyone else may be. That is why we trade with
long-established traders who have a reputation of honesty.
QUESTION: How soon after ordering can we expect to get our
merchandise?
ANSWER: We try to ship within
1 to 2 days unless there is a weekend or holiday involved. And mail
delivery may be delayed somewhat, as we all know.
QUESTION: Why are your prices so low, when compared to tourist traps
, and especially in nice jewelry stores in many places?
ANSWER: The Ugly Otter
and his Beautiful Wife are both retired. We do this as a hobby. We
do this to keep busy. We do this to have a purpose in life. And
(why lie?) we like the extra income. This is a family operation, with
our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, and we pay no rent, have low
expenses due to this web site, and we know the value of the items we purchase.
Therefore, our prices tend to reflect this.
QUESTION: How often is the web site up-dated?
ANSWER: Nearly every
day (or every two days at the most, unless we are traveling) we up-date it
by indicating the "Sold" and "On lay-away" items for that day (or maybe two
or three days). Once a week we make major additions, after our return
from buying trips to the Reservations. These buying trips are irregular,
and made on an "as needed" schedule. If you are a subscriber to our
e-mail list, we normally notify those on the list when we make major
additions.
QUESTION: How can I polish sterling silver items?
ANSWER: You can buy a Jeweler's
Rouge polishing cloths. Or you can buy a product called "Tarnex" at
Wal Mart for about the same price. Tarnex is a liquid that you can
use as per instructions, and we have good luck with it, except we don't use
it on coral. It can cause damage to coral, and maybe other stones.
Be cautious with it, and read and follow the instructions.
Our Mailing Address is: Phone 775 753 5396FAX 775 753 4093
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100% Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee Our "NO QUIBBLE GUARANTEE" protects you. No hassles, guilt trips, silly questionnaires, and absolutely no BS! If you do not like any merchandise purchased from us, for any reason, return it, undamaged, within 20 days, for a full refund (this is a refund, not a "Store Credit") of your purchase price NO QUESTIONS ASKED - YOU ARE THE FINAL JUDGE. No, you don't need to call us and ask for permission. Just send it back. No hassle! |