Frequently Asked Questions
ABOUT OUR COMPANY
Tell me about your company.
Beads of Bali is an Indobudi LLC company. We are
incorporated in the State of California, with operations in Bali and Java,
Indonesia. This is a family owned business. Our sterling silver
and gold vermeil beads and findings are made by our family members and their
team of silversmiths in Indonesia. For more information about our
company and Bali operations, visit our
About Us page.
Why should I buy
from you?
Indonesians are modest people, but since you asked here are a
few reasons to consider:
-
Low Prices! If you compare our prices to the
competition, we're sure you will be impressed! We know of no U.S.
based company that is selling true, authentic, premium quality Bali
sterling silver beads and findings at these prices.
-
Superb Quality! Most of our product ships
out to professional jewelry makers, so we must maintain the highest
quality to live up to their high standards and expectations. This
business keeps our family members in Indonesia fed and sheltered, so we
will do everything possible to protect our reputation as a leading
producer of top-quality Bali silver. There are a lot of imitation
sterling silver Bali beads on the market that are not made in Bali and
are not even .925 sterling. When you buy from us you are getting
splendid sterling silver Beads handcrafted in Bali.
-
Unique Designs! We have our own team of
silversmiths. Many of the designs you will find on this site are not
available anywhere else. We are always innovating, and even have a
patent pending for what we believe will be a true breakthrough in
jewelry design. (Stay tuned for details!)
-
Great Customer Service! We are a small
company that prides itself on taking care of our customers.
Chances are, when you call or email us you will get a reply from the
owner. Even with our growth we have every intention of maintaining
this approach to our customers. Your orders help us to take care
of our family, after all. That makes each and every one of you
precious to us.
-
7 Day Return Policy! You have 7 days to
return your shipment for a refund. (Stringing materials, tools, and
closeout sale items are not returnable.) Please read our
Return Policy
for complete details.
-
We are a U.S. company! Why wire money or
give your credit card info to an unknown party in a high-risk country?
We are a U.S. company (California), with inventory here in sunny
California, ready to ship! Besides, once you pay those
international shipping and insurance fees you won't be saving any money.
And what would you do if you want to make a return? Returning a few
items to Bali would be prohibitively expensive.
-
We Treat Our Employees Fairly! We are
passionate about improving the lives of our employees and their
families. As such, we follow fair trade principles and practices. We
provide a livable wage and quality working conditions for our employees,
as well as the opportunity for advancement. We also provide nutritious
meals and housing for our silversmiths. We never use child labor.
-
Lots of Payment Options! We accept all major
credit cards!
-
We're Secure! Your safety is important to
us. We pay a lot every month to have this website professionally
hosted by a leader in electronic commerce. When you make a purchase
through our website, our server uses a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to
connect with you. This protocol will encrypt your personal information,
guarding it from interception and misuse. Our host is MonsterCommerce, a
Network Solutions company. If you wish to know more about
security,
please visit their security information page. You can shop
with confidence at Beads of Bali!
Do you have a storefront or showroom?
We once maintained a showroom but found it to be too much of
a distraction. We started as an Internet business and it is Internet
customers who most support us! We thus decided to close the showroom
to focus on our Internet business. The world is a big place, and with
nearly one-third of our orders shipping internationally it made little sense
to us to devote so much time to one store in one location.
CUSTOMER CARE
How can I
contact you about a problem?
You can contact us by
email.
I wish to make a return.
What should I do?
Our returns procedure is outlined on our
Returns Policy
page.
Do you have a product catalog?
No. Our approach is to offer the lowest possible prices
on the highest quality precious metal beads. Printed catalogs are
costly, not environmentally sound, and would become obsolete within a couple
of months. We rely exclusively on our online catalog.
Do you have a newsletter?
You bet we do! You can sign up by going to this page:
Newsletter Sign Up
Page! We use a professional email marketing company for our
newsletters. Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link at the bottom of
the page, should you ever decide to change your mind about receiving it.
To ensure that our newsletter gets through your spam filters, add this email
to your address book: newsletter@beadsofbali.com.
Do you give out free samples?
No. That approach works for cheap beads, but giving out
free samples of precious metal beads would surely lead to bankruptcy!
We do have a seven-day "no questions asked" return policy to make it easy
for the new customer to give Beads of Bali a try.
Do you sell electronic gift
certificates?
Yes we do. You can purchase a gift certificate by going
to this page:
Gift
Certificate Page!
Can you help me with my metric
conversions?
We know that metric conversions are a real pain to many
Americans! We thus provide both metric and American system
measurements for all of our products. Other metric conversion tools
can be found here:
Metric Converter
Pages!
MY ACCOUNT
I forgot my password. What should I do?
Go here
to have your information emailed to you. If you continue to have
problems, give us a call or send us an email. We can get you up and running
quickly.
How do I change my password?
You first need to sign in to your account. After doing so you
will see a "change password" link. Click on it and follow the instructions
provided. Click on this link to go to the
Sign In page to
start this process.
Can I review my past orders?
Yes. After signing in click on the Order Status button
above (or just click here:
Order
Status). A list of all past orders will appear.
Should I use my email address or another name for my
username?
Our system requires that you submit your email (we need to
have a way to reach you and to send emailed order confirmations), but you
also have the option of creating a more memorable username. When you
sign in, our system will recognize your email address or your username.
It is completely up to you to decide which one to use.
I have moved. How do I change my address and other contact
info?
You first need to sign in to your account. After doing so you
will see a "personal profile" link. Click on it and then update your
profile. Don't forget to click on the Update Personal Profile button
at the bottom of the page! Click on this link to go to the
Sign In page to get
started.
If I leave your site will my shopping cart be saved?
Your shopping cart will be saved for 21 days. Please
keep in mind that when you place an item into your cart, you are not
reserving that item. Reservations are not allowed as most of our
inventory would be "in reserve" on any given day. (A lot of people like to
create shopping carts that are never completed.) If you place an item
in your cart, but that item sells out before you place your order, the
system will let you know of this fact when you return to our site and sign
in.
Can I track my order?
You can track the status of your order by going to the
Order Status
page after logging in. We use USPS Priority Mail, which does not allow
for real time tracking of shipments. Even so, we rely upon them
because they are faster, cheaper and more reliable than the private
carriers. (They have lost only one package in the last three years,
and we are talking about literally thousands of shipments. Our
experience with the other big carriers has not been so positive.)
ORDERING
What is your minimum order
requirement?
Just $30!
What is your policy on returns, exchanges and
cancellations?
With a few exceptions, we accept returns within 7 days of
your receipt of your shipment. Please read the full
Return Policy
before ordering.
Do you have a restocking fee?
Yes, we have a restocking fee of 10% to cover the labor costs
we incur in returning your items to our inventory and warehouse.
Do you backorder
products?
No. Only products that are in stock show up on our
site. If we don't have it, it can't be ordered. Out of stock
products reappear once they have been restocked and our inventory for that
item has been updated.
Do you accept phone
orders?
No. All orders must be placed through out online system.
What carrier do you use for shipping?
USPS. We use USPS Priority Mail for shipments within
the United States and USPS Global Priority Mail for International shipments.
Can I get express shipping?
We can arrange for this. During the check out process,
let us know that this is what you would like us to do by placing a note in
the "Order Notes" section. We will email or call you to let you know
what the express mail charge will be and to get your final authorization for
a credit card charge to cover this cost (minus the shipping fee assessed
during checkout).
What are your shipping fees?
All shipments are based on the weight of the items ordered.
Why don't you
offer free shipping?
There really is no such thing. Companies that offer
free shipping have to pad the product price to cover their shipping costs.
We know that some customers like the feeling of receiving something "for
free," but this feeling is an illusion. We have moved to more
transparent pricing in which true costs are communicated to the customer.
What payments do you accept?
Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover credit
cards.
Can I pay by personal check?
Sorry, but we do not accept personal checks.
How long will it take for my shipment to arrive?
Orders are usually filled within 24 hours; orders placed on
Friday or the weekend are filled on Monday. Once shipped, most orders
can reach any destination within the U.S. in 2-3 days. Of course, the
post office does not guarantee arrival dates so neither can we.
Why do you sometimes require a customer to
purchase more than one of an item?
Orders get filled by real people who are paid for their
labor. It takes as much time to pull 1 bead of a particular style from
the warehouse as 10 beads. Orders consisting of just one of many
different styles of beads would be too expensive to fill. We would actually
lose money after paying an employee to fill such an order. We thus
have minimum order quantities for some of our less expensive items.
I wish to order something that is no longer on your
site. What should I do?
It's probably just out of stock. Even so, drop us an
email with the product number so we can ask our staff in Bali to make its
restocking a priority.
Do you sell at bead shows or other trade shows?
No, not at this time. Trade shows have proven to be a
quite a distraction from our core Internet business. Our focus is on
providing exceptional service to our regular Internet customers, who support
us day in and day out with their repeat business.
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS
Do you ship internationally?
Yes. Nearly one-third of our product ships to locations
beyond the United States. Of course, we have many friends in the
English-speaking nations of Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New
Zealand. We also have many regular customers throughout all of Europe
and the Middle East, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
To what countries do you ship?
Our allowed nations list can be found on our
Shipping Page.
You
do not ship to my country, but I love your beads! What should I do?
We can make exceptions on a case-by-case basis after
investigating your situation. In most cases, however, we will ask for
payment through a wiring of funds to your account prior to shipping any
product. If your country is not one we have agreed to ship to, it is
probably because it is a country know for credit card and other kinds of
financial fraud. Examples include virtually all of Africa (especially
Nigeria), much of Eastern Europe, Russia and the former Soviet states, and
Indonesia.
What are your international shipping
fees?
Our international shipping rates are listed on our
Shipping Page.
What will my duties and
tax charges be?
We ship to dozens of countries and cannot possibly know the
laws in each. It is your responsibility to investigate the duties and
taxes that your government will assess on your order.
How long will it take for my shipment to
arrive?
For International shipments this is a difficult question to
answer. We will fulfill your order within one business day of
receiving it. The USPS will probably get your shipment to your country
within a week. Thereafter, there could be delays depending on how
quickly your government's customs office processes your shipment. Sometimes
they can be very fast. Sometimes they can be painfully slow. The one
thing we can't do is make them work more quickly! If your
nation's customs office processes orders slowly, don't take it out on us!
PRICING QUESTIONS
What Is your price per gram on sterling silver
items?
We don't price by the gram. The reason is simple.
We pay our silversmiths based on their labor, not the weight of the final
product. A small but elaborate sterling silver bead can take much
longer to make than a large and simple one. To pay the maker of the
petite, elaborate bead less would be unfair and exploitive. This is
why price per gram selling is impossible for those of us who follow fair
trade practices. After all, "price per gram" pricing assumes a
constant cost of labor across all beads.
Even so, we encourage you to compare our prices to the
competition, bead for bead. We are very competitive!
Do you offer designer discounts?
The prices on our website are our wholesale prices. No
further discounts are available. Nor do you need to be a professional
designer to get these great prices. They are available to everyone.
Do You Sell Wholesale?
The prices on our website are our wholesale prices. We
are "wholesale to the trade and public." You need to do nothing to get
these great prices. A resale permit is required only of California
business customers.
Do you offer volume discounts?
No. Our prices are our wholesale prices and you don't
have to buy a lot of any one bead to get these prices. We encourage you to
compare our prices. Our competitors' largest volume discount is usually
higher than our baseline price.
What happened to the pricing discounts you once
offered on large orders?
In the past, we offered retail prices and then gave customers
discounts when they spent more with us. We have since changed our
approach and now offer our lowest possible wholesale price to everyone.
You no longer have to spend $1000 to get our best price. You can have
it for an order as low as $25!
Do you ever have sales?
On occasion. Join our
Newsletter email
list to be notified of any such sale.
Do I have to pay a sales tax?
California residents have to pay California's sales tax.
However, if you are a California business person buying for resale purposes,
send us your resale permit to have your account sent to tax free. Our
fax number is: 510-428-2869.
A few Bali-based companies have prices that are almost too good to be true. What gives?
You get what you pay for. If the price is too good to
be true, it probably is. Common strategies include selling
"sterling silver" that is not truly .925 silver, plating base metal with a
thin silver layer, or using alpaca silver (a fake silver made of nickel,
zinc and copper). If you get ripped off, what can you do? Not
much if the company that defrauded you is in India or Indonesia. They
might say, "if you are not happy send us the shipment back for a refund"
knowing full well that your shipping costs will prevent you from doing so.
Be on the look out for misleading advertising. We know of one company that
advertises a very low price per gram, but when you read the fine print you
learn that you have to spend several thousand dollars (plus hundreds more
for shipping) to get that price! We wonder how many customers have placed
orders with them without reading the fine print!
Be especially
cautious of companies that give you a great price only if you buy several
thousand dollars in product though a direct wiring of funds. If you
are going to buy directly from a foreign country, insist on paying with a
credit card so that you will have the protection of the credit card
companies.
And remember, Indonesia is second only to Nigeria in financial fraud!
SECURITY AND PRIVACY
Is your
site secure?
Very secure! We pay a lot every month to have this
website professionally hosted by a leader in electronic commerce. When you
make a purchase through our website, our server uses a Secure Socket Layer
(SSL) to connect with you. This protocol will encrypt your personal
information, guarding it from interception and misuse. Our host is
MonsterCommerce, a Network Solutions company. If you wish to know more
about this platform,
please visit their site. Shop with confidence! Note also the
GeoTrust seal on the bottom of this page.
What is your privacy policy?
We keep your information in the strictest of confidence and
do not sell your name or other information to others. Visit our
Privacy Policy
Page.
Does your site use cookies?
Yes. We you place items in your shopping cart, this
information is stored on your computer so that you can build your order over
several visits and days. Your personal identification and financial
information is not included in this cookie, of course.
Is my credit card number secure?
Yes! The provider and host of our shopping cart
software,
MonsterCommerce, has put together a system that exceed industry standards for the protection of credit card data. Security features include the encryption of sensitive data transmissions, multiple firewall's, access restrictions to hardware equipment storing credit card data.
Your credit card information is not stored on any local computer in
electronic or printed form. When you enter your credit card
information, it is encrypted and passed on to the credit card company's
system without being retained by ours. We use USAePay as our
transmission gateway, which is partnered with all major credit card
companies.
WHOLESALE
Do you sell wholesale?
The prices on our website are our wholesale prices. We
are "wholesale to the trade and public." You need to do nothing to get
these great prices. A resale permit is required only of California
business customers.
Am I allowed to resell your items on
EBay, at trade shows,
and through other means?
Of course! We have several customers who have built
successful businesses reselling our items through EBay and other means.
Do you do custom manufacturing?
We accept custom manufacturing jobs on a case-by-case basis.
Our minimum order is 5 kilograms, plus set up fees, design fees and shipping
charges. Please do not ask us to copy other companies' designs.
We won't do such a thing.
Can you make a
signature tag for me?
We accept such jobs on a case-by-case basis, depending on how
busy our people are in Bali. Our minimum order is 2 kilograms for
signature tags.
BALI-RELATED
I am going to
Bali! Can I buy from you in Bali?
Congratulations! We wish you a splendid time in
Paradise!
We do not maintain a showroom in Bali. Our people there
produce for export only.
Can you give me
information about a company in Bali?
It is our policy not to comment on any particular competitor.
I am going to Bali! Can you help me with my
travel arrangements?
Sorry! We're not travel agents!