Womyns'Ware - Shipping and Returns

Contacting the Store

To complete your order by phone, or for any other questions please call us locally at 604-254-2543 or on our toll free line at 1-888-WYM-WARE if you're calling from outside the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Customer assistance is available from 11-6 on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday, from 11-5:30 on Sunday and from 11-7 on Friday (i.e. during our business hours). If you would like to leave a message or place an order by phone, you can call our toll-free line at 1-888-WYM-WARE.

Please remember that shopping online is different from walking into a retail outlet! We’ve done everything we can to ensure the accuracy of the prices listed and the availability of the products but we can’t guarantee prices or stock if or when circumstances are beyond our control. If there is a significant change in stock or if our Guide contains some horrific typo, we’ll contact you before filling your order.

In-Store Pick Up

For $5 (plus HST), we can process a mail order for in-store pickup, and have it waiting in our hold bin for you to pick up on your next visit to Vancouver. This modest handling fee is for the processing, preparation, and packaging of the order. It covers "fixed costs" associated with processing an order; things like putting it together, verify it's correct, preparing customer support information (care and use notes for the specific products ordered), packing it up, process the payment, putting an identification label on it, and then housing it pending pick-up.

A word about housing a pick-up order: we have a limited amount of space. If you don't pick-up your order within two weeks of being notified that it is ready for you, we reserve the option of charging you an additional fee of $5 to $7 plus HST (for a total of $10 to $12 plus HST depending on the packages destination) and shipping it to you by standard post. (If you're an International customer, the additional fee will be $34 plus HST.)

This is a better outcome then being charged for a storage locker and rent - a practical consideration to urge you to pick-up in a timely manner. And besides, once you've purchased your selections, why on earth would you want to wait?

Canadian Currency and Guaranteed Lowest List Price

For foreign customers, you may either pay with a Canadian dollar money order or use your credit card in which case the current monetary exchange rate will apply at point of sale.

We are required to collect Canadian taxes on Canadian orders. We are also required to collect taxes if the order is shipped to a Canadian address, even if the payor is non-Canadian (because Canadians must pay taxes on gifts they receive from out of country, so to speak). If you are outside of Canada and buying for outside of Canada, there is NO tax on your products, just on the shipping component 'cause that's a service we provide in BC so shipping is always 12% tax to anyone anywhere.

If you are in one of the Harmonized (sounds nicer than it is) Sales Tax Provinces, then you'll need to pay the full HST (BC 12%, ONT NB NFLD 13%, NS 15%) on your products and the BC HST of 12% on shipping. If you're from elsewhere in Canada, you pay 5% GST on your products, 12% on shipping ... with this exception, books and feminine hygiene products qualify for point of sale rebates, so that the tax you pay if buying a book anywhere in Canada is just 5%, and if buying our menstrual pads or sponges anywhere in Canada - other than NB and NFLD - write your MPs! - is just 5%.

International and USA destination orders only attract the 12% GST on shipping, with NO sales TAXES ON PRODUCTS purchased, subject to your country's rules on importing as discussed below.

Gift Certificate purchases (includes our Sex Toy Guide) are 0% tax to anyone anywhere.

In the event of price fluctuations, Womyns’Ware Distributing Inc. will always honour our lowest list price. This means that mail order customers will receive the lower of the store floor stock or current Sex Toy Guide price (not including the above-mentioned horrific typos!).

No Returns but Great Warranty

Due to the nature of our products, we cannot offer refunds. We will exchange a product within 60 days if it has a manufacturer’s defect and you have the original receipt. As specified throughout our website, some products have extended long term manufacturer warranties that may also apply with original receipt. Shipping costs are not refundable. If you are located outside of Canada and sending us a defective return, please put on the customs declaration "Defective Merchandise for Return" in the product description and "No Value" in the specify value section. Otherwise, we'll be charged the Canadian GST on the value! And that's no fun! If defective, products will be exchanged for the identical merchandise no later than 60 days from original purchase with till receipt. Sorry - NO REFUNDS. NO TRADES.

Cancelled Orders

Don't do it! We usually ship so fast that cancelling any order is physically impossible. In practically every case, by time we receive a cancellation request, we've already sent out the order. Since products must be considered used when they ship, this pretty much puts us in a no win situation with the No Returns rule and our having already provided all the products and services as first ordered. In short, please be sure about what you want when you instruct the Shopping Cart to place the order. Otherwise, it's highly unlikely that we can accommodate a follow-up cancellation request.

If by chance your shipment hasn't left and we can intercept the package for you, we must charge you a $5 handling + 3% of the full order (product and shipping costs) cancellation fee. This is the cost of cancellation to us in credit card processing fees and dedicated packaging that we can't "unexpend" on your order.

Colour Choices

Please note that most of our products come in a variety of colours. Variety is the spice of life, isn't it? If you do not choose a colour, WE WILL CHOOSE FOR YOU. This policy allows us to get you your package as soon as possible. We'll make our choice based on other items in your order, when appropriate.

Payment Options

We accept Cheques, Money Orders and Credit Cards (Visa and Mastercard) as payment for internet orders. Please be aware that when you pay by cheque, we must wait for the cheque to clear prior to shipping your order. This usually takes ten business days for cheques in Canadian funds but can take 30-50 days for cheques in US funds due to cross-border banking. Credit card orders ship the day the credit card charge is processed. You can specify your payment choice and provide credit card details as part of the Shopping Cart transaction, all online. If you choose, you may phone your credit card number in to the store via the 1-888-WYM-WARE number. If you opt for phone over online, please don't just 'check the box' while filling out your Shopping Cart follow through and phone in your card number. Please provide your order number as well.

Shipping

During the entire "life time" of our operations (since 1995), we have proudly shipped the vast majority (somewhere in the >95% range) of our orders within three days of receipt (excluding the wait period for folks who’ve paid by cheque). Sometimes fate steps in and knocks us down a peg or two. When that happens, we’ll contact you and let you know what kind of delay to expect and why. Please always provide your full name, mailing address with postal code and phone number with area code. Confidentiality is absolute!

Delivery Options

International Post is the only option for International delivery outside of Canada and the U.S.A. We do upgrade International customers to a 12 business day service whenever possible - currently 50 International destinations qualify for this speedier service - but the available carrier systems are still too complicated for us to outright promise this result. That's why we say "up to 6 weeks" for International post. While often delighting our International customers when circumstances favour the prompter service, we avoid disappointment when the available options are slower.

Canadian customers get the pick of Standard post, stepped up Express, or Courier (residency has its privileges :-). U.S.A. customers have the same choices, though at slightly higher prices. In most cases, Express is the fastest and most cost effective delivery method with a $15 flat rate within Canada and $19 flat rate for delivery to the U.S. and average two days between major centres turn-round. Where ever you are, if you choose the standard ground postal service for delivery ($10 within Canada; $12 for delivery to the U.S.A), please allow up to 6 weeks for "snail mail" service. We are required to charge GST on shipping charges.

We charge flat-rate for shipping, so you get a better deal than if we charged by the cost of your order. Note that taxes apply shipping (12% GST no matter the destination). We do not apply a "surcharge" for International orders! We don't make money on shipping!

As you'll see on our order form, delivery times are approximations only because your location may limit our choice of delivery service. For instance, people who have addresses with a postal box number only can't necessarily get courier service. Living in remote areas is peaceful but not always timely. If you want it faster than the 3-day Courier option, you must phone us to discuss other options. Please remember that we are operating on Pacific Standard Time. We promise to do our best.

International Shipping and Customs

We ship our products around the world and have since we opened our doors in 1995! We must inform our non-Canadian customers, though, that we can't stay apprised of the tariffs, duties, and taxes due in each sovereign nation. In other words, your country may charge you tax, duties or tariffs even though Canada will not. This means that you may be asked to pay customs duties upon the receipt of your package of toys. We cannot be responsible for these fees. If you are ordering from a country other than Canada, and are concerned, please apprise yourself of your country's tariff and duty schedule. Many countries have such a schedule available on the Web.

For our U.S. customers, the NAFTA agreement covers all merchandise we sell. Thus, no excise taxes are due or charged.

In addition, when we ship outside of Canada, we are required by law to affix a label to the outside of the package stating the contents. Now, don't worry! We certainly don't say "Great Big Sex Toy" enclosed! We are as discrete as possible within the legal requirements. For example, we describe dills as "silicone sculptures", vibrators are "electronic massagers" and bondage gear is "leather belting". The customs officials don't care what you're going to use it for; they just need to know what it's made of in order to know how much tax to assess. If you have concerns or special needs, please contact us, either by phone or e-mail. We can work with you!! Our goal is to have happy, comfortable customers.

Packaging

We are often asked if our packaging is discrete; of course it is! Standard post or courier packages go in an appropriate sized box or envelope, brown paper wrapped, and packing taped secure with a small return address stamp that is in plain type (not our logo) with our company name and mailing address. The name is necessary because of possible lost packages or insurance claims for damaged goods - no that doesn't happen a lot, less than once a year over a decade of shipping (and if your package is lost, we'll replace it for you at no extra charge). Our company name was designed to allow customers the discretion of explaining women's wares as kitchen utensils, clothing, toiletries, or sexual products according to the customer's comfort level. It has been our experience that people (postal carriers and customs officials alike) do not read into a product description any more than is necessary to deliver the product.

For customers who worry that even a 'coded' customs item will ruin their lives or reputations, we are always open to working with you to find a definition of the goods that you are comfortable with - within the constraints imposed on us by the regulators. If you have such concerns, please note them in the comments section of our online order form.

If you choose Canadian Express, the package ships in a Canada Post pre-paid shipping container with Canada post insignia on it and a way-bill with our same return address stamp.

Your Privacy Is Absolute

Womyns'Ware Inc. guarantees that your confidentiality and more importantly your privacy is absolute. Not only will we not share your information, we don't even compile internal data bases. As consumers, we've always hated the intrusiveness of unsolicited mailings and cold phone calls so we're not about to impose this on our own customers.

As customers are probably only to well aware, businesses routinely compile mailing lists, create customer profiles, and sell information regarding customers. Womyns'Ware has never done this and we never will. Not only that, we're going to tell you how to rat on businesses that do! Abuse of consumer information is the target of new Canadian laws imposing strict principles of consumer privacy protection and subjecting businesses that violate the legislation to steep fines. As of January 1, 2004, customers can expect (and seek recourse if their rights are violated) better privacy protection from all Canadian based companies. On this date, the full Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) comes into effect. This legislation offers substantial protection to consumers doing business with Canadian based businesses. The PIPEDA covers the collection, use or disclosure of personal information in the course of any commercial activity within a province, including retail stores. (The federal PIPEDA exempts only those activities in provinces that have their own privacy laws that are substantially similar to the federal law - meaning every business is covered by a Personal Information Protection Act, either federal or provincial. ) Of interest to our inter net customers, will be the provisions requiring businesses to designate at least one staff person as accountable for compliance with the legislation. Canadian privacy standards focus on: accountability, identifying purposes, consent, limiting collection, limiting use, accuracy, safeguards, openness, individual access, and challenging compliance. Consent is the cornerstone. If a business is asking for information, the uses and disclosure must be identified at the outset and consent must be limited and well defined. Businesses must justify the retention of information and it must be reasonable. Also notable is the distinction between confidentiality and privacy. It's not sufficient to say that information will be held in the strictness of confidence - information not germane to the business purposes ought not to be sought and gathered in the first place.

For now on, businesses must tell customers why they want personal information (i.e., for special discounts, mailing lists, shipping info, or database) prior to asking for the information. More importantly, businesses can only ask for information that directly relates to the stated purpose (i.e., you don't need to know gender if the purpose is to gather shipping info). Businesses can no longer use data gather for one purpose for a later purpose. They have to get consumer permission all over again. Trading customer lists is strictly prohibited. Non-compliance with the privacy legislation is not an option. Consumers have the right to (1) know why the business collects, uses or discloses their personal information (2) expect these reasons to be reasonable and appropriate (3) know that information will not be used for any purpose other than the one consented to (4) have their information protected by sensible security measures (5) see posted privacy policies that are clear, understandable, and readily available. To find out more about this legislation, contact www.privcom.gc.ca. Know your consumer privacy rights and demand that companies honour them!

For guidance in how to assess whether a shopping site's privacy policies are up to snuff, check out the general standards and guidelines from the Better Business Bureau, a well respected privacy watchdog. After obtaining help from government and private industry watchdogs, you can also warn other consumers by registering with planetfeedback.com, baddealings.com, and complaints.com.

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