How To Order



		How To Order and Our Terms Of Service (As Of 1/2010)
		PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDER THROUGH THE SHOPPING CART, even if you pay by check or money order. Entering orders manually takes us time that we can otherwise give to getting things shipped. Here are some other suggestions for working with the shopping cart, understanding shipping methods and sending funds. Getting Estimates: It is OK to enter an order for planning a project or to check shipping costs. Your PayPal account or credit card is not charged until you authorize payment, and unpaid orders are deleted from our system every few weeks.



		Turnaround: Varies some with our order volume, the size of your order, and payment method. We are presently shipping most orders within two to three business days. The shopping cart will send an automated confirmation when your order is queued for packing, and another when we ship. TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU SEE THE CONFIRM MESSAGES, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR E-MAIL SERVER/FIREWALL WILL ALLOW MESSAGES FROM Sales@smallbearelec.com. The shopping cart provides some choices of shipping methods (see below), and we will use the fastest method that you want to pay for.


		User Accounts and Shipping Information: The cart will remember who you are by e-mail address and a password that you set. By long policy, I do not sell the SBE mailing list; I can't stop spam, but I don't contribute to it knowingly. PLEASE ENTER YOUR ADDRESS INFORMATION CAREFULLY. We print the shipping label from the information you provide, so mistakes can cost you money and grief.


		Risk Of Loss: In the unusual event that the Post Office or Fedex loses your package, we will do our best to assist you with finding it or getting reimbursement. Please read the following descriptions of shipping choices, and be sure that you arrange with us for insured shipping if you want it, with appropriate coverage.
		Shipping Charges: We are sometimes asked why our shipping charge is higher than the actual postage on the package. "Especially for small orders, the price of the parts does not nearly cover all of the costs of operating Small Bear. Part of the shipping charge pays for people (or Bears, if you like,) to do the packing, rent, and the other costs of running a shop."
		Domestic Shipping: My minimum shipping rate is $4.50. Unless you request otherwise, small packages (up to 12 ounces) go First Class Mail. USPS rates over 12 ounces cover Priority Mail. USPS rates do NOT include insurance. The PO rarely loses anything totally, but you can have insurance if you want to pay an additonal fee. Fedex Ground rates include $100.00 insurance by default. If your order totals more than $100.00 and you choose Fedex shipping, let me know if you want additional insurance!


		International Shipping: The shopping cart has internal shipping tables for all of the countries from which I have received orders. If you don't see your country in the drop-down of destinations, ask me and I'll add it. Postage is calculated by weight, plus a small charge for our handling.

		Small packages (anything weighing less than about 400 grams) ship International First Class (what the PO now calls Air Mail), Unless you tell us otherwise. International First Class is 10-15 business days to most countries. It is not traceable, nor does it include any insurance. We can't recover money for you from the Post Office when such a package is lost, so please be aware of this risk if you prefer cheaper shipping. Due to recent problems, ALL orders to RUSSIA MUST ship by International Priority Mail (see following.) International Priority Mail is trackable and insured. Present minimum post office tariff for this service is around $26.00. Packages heavy enough to make this minimum go International Priority automatically. If the shopping cart quotes less than that because your package is light (but it contains a lot of high-value ICs, etc.,) let us know if you want to pay extra for International Priority. Note that you can't insure anything for more than the declared value on the invoice. The declared value is the limit of our liability if your package is lost.

		Tracking International Packages And Getting Delivery: The USPS does not provide the seamless, end-to-end service of a courier like Fedex or UPS, but it, and most foreign postal services, have improved their on-line exchange of information considerably in recent years. When we ship by International Priority Mail, the e-mail confirm from our shopping cart will include the USPS tracking number. By entering this number at USPS.com, you will usually be able to know when your package enters Customs in your country. At that point, give the tracking number to your local post office and ask their assistance. Procedures vary from country-to-country, and may differ depending on the size/value of your shipment. The e-mail shipping confirm for a small package sent International First Class will include the "LC" number from the green Customs sticker. Up to now, we have not been able to get any tracking information from our side on such packages. Some customers say that they can enter the LC number on the web site of their postal service and know when their package is in-country, but I don't think this is universal. Stay in touch with the post office, and know your local postman if possible! When packages are returned to us, the most common reason is that the carrier left a pickup notice, but the cutomer never got it.

		Payment: I accept PayPal to smallbearelec@ix.netcom.com. From U.S. customers, personal checks and money orders (payable to Small Bear Electronics LLC) are fine.

		We don't accept credit card payments directly. However, in most countries where PayPal is available, you can register a credit card at www.PayPal.com, and PayPal will bill your card. The transaction is like any other purchase, and there is no fee to you. Go to the PayPal site for setup instructions.

		From international customers who can't use PayPal, I accept a check in U.S. Dollars drawn on a U.S. bank, or an International Postal Money Order denominated in U.S. Dollars. The payee should be Small Bear Electronics LLC. Where PayPal isn't available, you can send funds using Western Union or Moneygram; check westernunion.com or moneygram.com for the address of a local agent.

		I can accept bank wire transfers, but the "receiving" fee on my end is $15.00; if the order is large enough to stand the fees, I'll send you my bank details. Some foreign customers wrap and send small amounts of U.S. dollars in cash, but this is at your risk.

		The address for Snail Mail orders is: Small Bear Electronics 123 Seventh Avenue #156 Brooklyn, NY 11215

		Please Note: We are an on-line-only business; the address is Park Slope Copy Center, which is our mail drop. However, local customers and visitors to New York can pick up orders there. Just place an on-line order and let us know in a separate e-message that you want local pickup. We will make arrangements with you. Please be aware that we still charge S & H on pick-up orders, because it helps cover the fixed costs of running our shop. We also must collect (and pay!) New York State sales tax.