Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
| Do You Accept C.O.D. Orders? | Do You Offer Production, Private-Casting or Other Services? | IMPORTANT HOLIDAY ORDERING DEADLINE INFORMATION |
| Multiple Charges? |
Do You Have a Catalog? Can I Get a Catalog?
The #1 Most-Asked Question!
It’s the digital age and we’re trying to save the trees! -- The site IS our catalog. Because our product lines move and changes so quickly, we do not have a printed catalog.
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Do You Have a Storefront
I Can Visit?
Our Brick-and-Mortar Storefront closed in 2010. We are now On-Line Only.
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I Live in Arizona & Don't Want to Pay the Sales Tax.
-- If you are a resident of Arizona and wish to be tax-exempt for resale purposes, we will need both of the following documents Mailed or eMailed ( Sales [at] SilverEnchantments.com ) to us:
1 - A copy of your STATE RETAIL RESALE CERTIFICATE** with Business License Number -- This is the State-issued License that is filed by a business Authorizing and Compelling it to Collect State Sales Tax.
AND
2 - A completed Arizona Form 5000A
IMPORTANT: - If Snail-Mailing Documentation, Please Be Sure to Write Somewhere FORM 5000A the eMail Account Address you Registered with on our Website. -- If e-Mailing Documentation, Please send the file attachments from the eMail Account You Registered With on our Website.
Please fill out an Arizona Resale Certificate (Form 5000A) and send along with a Copy of your Resale Certificate to:
Silver Enchantments / Attn: RESALE / PO Box 1136 / Benson, AZ 85602
OR
eMail the form and your business license (.jpg or .gif format, please) to : Sales (atsymbol) SilverEnchantments.com
Form 5000A in PDF format can be found by clicking here.
You Fill out the 'Purchaser Information' Down and We'll Take Care of the Top, 'Seller Information' Section. Please Be Sure to Date and Sign...
**A state resale license is issued by the state in which you do business and registers you as a wholesale business with your state tax agency. This permit is called different things in different states. For example, the California license is called a Seller’s Permit issued by the State Board of Equalization. In New York, it’s called a Certificate of Authority issued by the Department of Taxation and Finance.
A Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) is not sufficient for setting up a wholesale account. We require the resale permit number issued by your State tax agency. If you live in a state that does not collect sales tax, like Alaska or Oregon, we will accept your city business license. For international customers, the number of the business license you have in your country is sufficient.
Even if a wholesale customer is only selling their finished jewelry wholesale (and not retail, so therefore is not charging or collecting sales tax), we still require a wholesale customer to have resale license to make wholesale purchases.
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Is My
Credit Card Information Secure?
Yes, it most certainly
is.
We are VERY SERIOUS about Security and Privacy here at Silver Enchantments.
Also Please Notice We Have an Enhanced Security Lock
AND a GREEN BAR when You Checkout!!!
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Do You
Accept C.O.D.s?
No.
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Do You Offer Production,
Private-Casting or Other Services?
Sorry... No, We Do Not.
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Do All Items
Come with a Hanging Loop | Jump Ring?
Unless bailed in casting (the mold
has an attached bail or hidden bail), all
Precious Metal Charms
and Pendants come with a jump ring. Basemetal / Pewter items Do Not
(if you need jumprings for these items, please see the jumprings section
in the jewelery findings
area). Jewelry Findings, jewelry making centerpieces, necklace &
rosary y's, links, etc. also do not come with a jump ring.
Custom-Cast Copper items come with Solid Copper Jumprings.
Custom-Cast 14k White Gold items come with a Solid Sterling Silver Jumpring
(the body of the piece is custom-cast in Solid 14k White Gold). Custom-Cast
14k Yellow Gold items come with a 14k-GF Jumpring (the body of the piece
is custom-cast in Solid 14k Yellow Gold). If you'd like to order a bail,
it can be found at the bottom of each page or in the jewelry
findings section. If you'd like to purchase
jump rings, click here to order.
To see how to attach a jumpring (which is very easy), click here.
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What is Sterling Silver?
Sterling Silver is 92.5% Pure
Silver.
The other 7.5% is a hardening agent which is usually copper or sometimes
zinc.
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What is Fine Silver?
Fine silver is 99.9% Pure Silver, with no other
metals.
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What is Nickel Silver, German Silver, etc?
Nickel/German Silver (and recently appearing 'Tibetan Silver') is the generic name for any of a range of Non-Precious bright silver-grey alloys composed of copper, tin, nickel and/or zinc. Don't Be Fooled!! - Despite the name,
It contains NO REAL Silver (as in precious-metal)!
Other names for Nickle or German Silver are: Nikel Silver, Nickle Silver, "Silver", Afghan Silver, Austrian Silver, Brazilian Silver, Alpaca Silver, Mexican Silver, Nevada Silver, Potosi Silver, Silverite, Sonara Silver, Tyrol Silver, Venetian Silver.
Please remember, NONE contain REAL Silver.
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What is Vermeil?
Process developed in France in
the mid-1700s. France banned production of vermeil early in the 19th
century because the process involved the use of mercury. Present-day
vermeil is 22k Gold over Sterling Silver produced by a safe electrolytic
process.
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What is Gold Filled?
A layer of 10kt (or better) Real
Gold Bullion is mechanically bonded under heat and pressure to one or
more surfaces of a supporting base metal, then rolled or drawn to a
given thickness. In the jewelry industry, the quantity of Gold Must
be at leas 1/20th by weight of the total product!! Our Items which contain
Gold Filled rings (chain-maille
jewelry) are 14kGF (higher than industry standard) and are considered
LIFE-TIME PRODUCTS, and the Gold layer WILL NOT Wear Off, as it will
in electro-plated products!
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What is PMC (Precious Metal
Clay)?
Relatively new to the USA &
jewelry media, PMC is made of finely powdered Pure Silver, water, and
binders. When heated to 800-850 degrees C. the organic binders burn
off... leaving Pure 999 Silver!
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What is Niobium?
Relatively new to the USA &
jewelry media, Niobium (Nb) is a pure element & is known as a refractory
metal. The colors result from a coating of oxide over the metal surface.
The metal appears colored because the oxide coating is transparent,
and causes interference in the light rays reflected from the metal...
just like a prism. A similar effect can be seen in the colors on soap
bubbles, butterfly wings, bird feathers, and oil on water! Niobium is
Hypo-Allergenic -- good for even the most sensitive skin -- and very
light-weight. Niobium's name is derived from the Greek Goddess Niobe,
daughter of Tantalus! Due to limited quantities geologists have found
in the Earth's crust, this Beautiful Metal has a value Higher than Silver
!
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What is Dichroic Glass?
Dichroic Glass was created for
use by NASA. The glass is coated with metal oxides such as magnesium,
titanium and silicon in a vacuum furnace. Dichroic glass magically reflects
multiple shades of color depending on the angle from which it is viewed!
The word "Dichroic" means "two colors"-- referring to its transmitted
color and reflected color. Dichroic coatings are high-tech optical coatings
that selectively reflect away certain wavelengths (color) of light,
and allow the remaining wavelengths to transmit through. This same effect
is seen in nature (peacock feathers, opals, etc.). Dichroic is not inexpensive:
it can run $100 to $200 per square foot!
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How Do I Care for Sterling
Silver or Other Jewelry?
Great Question!!!
Click Link Below to find some helpful information we've compiled at:
www.silverenchantments.com/jewelry-care-101.html
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I'm
in a Hurry.... (aren't we all?!?) ... When Will My Order Ship?
Please
Click Here for Ordering & Shipping Information
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What
Items are Backorderable?
With the release of our new site (01/21/2012), backorders are no-longer an issue as our site lists the number of items we currently have in stock.
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What
Does Custom-Cast Mean?
It mean's it's Custom Cast just
for you upon ordering.
Volume Sterling Silver, 14k Gold, Copper & non-prefix items where
a qty break occurs are considered custom-cast.
These are non-cancelable, non-refundable, non-returnable items &
take 4-6 weeks before shipment.
To Gain Access to the Custom-Cast Pricing Section, please REGISTER as a Verifiable Reseller.
What
Do Your Prefixes Mean?
Non-prefix items & SE-prefixed
items
are generally available in Solid Sterling
Silver & Copper (e.g., #2007, #8435).
These are Manufactured by Us here @ Silver Enchantments LLC in Good
Ol' U.S. of A.
U & H prefixed items
are only available in Solid Sterling
Silver (e.g., U1007, H1023).
The 'H' Series & 'U' Series are being phased out.
F-prefixed items
means "Found"
Generally once they are Sold Out, They're Gone
(e.g., F1136) unless we can find them again.
SPC-prefixed items
means "Special Purchase"
Once these items are Sold Out, They're Gone!
B-prefixed items
means "Base Metal" (non-precious materials
are used - e.g., Nickle or No-Lead Pewter - e.g., B1003).
Generally once these items are Sold Out, They're Gone!
BD-prefixed items means "Beads".
Once Beads are Sold Out, They're Gone!
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How
Do I Convert Millimeters (mm) to Inches (in)?
Please Click Here for Conversion Chart
Information
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Do
You Offer Free Samples?
Sorry, No
...
This is why we offer pricing @ only 1 piece on most items.
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Do You Sell Wholesale?
Our site is discount and wholesale pricing made available to the public. Silver Enchantments LLC is no longer taking on any new business-to-business wholesale accounts at this time
Pricing is AS SHOWN throughout the site, and are subject to change without
notice.
Discount Schedule is located at : Discount Schedule
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Do
You Have Any Further Discounts
Please
See our
Discount Codes page if You
are a Volume Purchaser.
Given the Fluxuation of the Silver & Gold Markets (see : Kitco.com), combined with Ever-Rising Postage Costs we can no longer offer any further discounts other than those already posted on the site. Please see our Ordering Terms and Policies.
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Do
You Drop-Ship? / Do You have Drop-Shipping Services?
Sorry, No Longer (as of 2003) -- thanks to
'Bad Pennies' out there!
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Are All Your Items
Quality Marked?
In the USA, The National Gold and Silver Marketing Act does NOT require precious
metals to be marked with quality. For many reasons, not all jewelry items are
marked. The size or design of some pieces do not lend themselves to quality
marking. Findings and components are often not quality stamped leaving the assembler
the choice of attaching a mark, perhaps on a jewelry card or chain tab, to the
finished piece.
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Multiple Charges? - Declined Transactions : Funds on Hold
Also see: Address Verification System (AVS) on Wikipedia.com
A common question from clients who experience held funds from the first time,
is that their card worked at other online and local merchants, therefore it
must be our problem. That is not the case however, as it is entirely possible
the other merchants do not perform as many security checks against the card.
A majority of merchants only check against the credit card number, and expiration
date. This lack of due dilegence is a leading cause of identity theft.
MY CARD WAS DECLINED AS THE BILLING ADDRESS DID NOT MATCH (aka Failed AVS)
If the billing information you submit does not match the information on file with your financial institution, the credit card will be declined. We recommend that you contact your financial institution and review your account information before attempting further transactions. This is a common problem for:
Corporate Customers - generally the billing address is the corporate address, not the branch office
Customers That Recently Moved - many times folks forget to update their financial institutions with their new address. Simply having your mail forwarded does not update the banks AVS.
PO Box Customers - most of the time, the authorized billing address or address used to verify AVS is not the PO Box address. Other times its a matter of punctuation, PO is different then P.O.
IF MY CARD WAS DECLINED, WHY DOES MY BANK SAY I WAS CHARGED!
YOU HAVE NOT ACTUALLY BEEN CHARGED. This is an extremely frustrating situation for our customers as well as the eCommerce industry, as a whole. This problem amounts to the way that banks verify billing information and reserve funds from consumers for online transactions - specifically Debit / Check Cards. The financial industry requires fund verification/fund reservation BEFORE address verification (AVS) occurs. It works like this:
You enter your credit card information into the payment page and submit for payment
Your bank or credit card company is electronically contacted to verify if funds are available.
If funds are available, the bank or credit card company authorizes the amount, reserves that amount, and attaches an "authorization code" to the amount.
AFTER the funds are verified, your name, address, and billing info is then sent electronicaly to a separate Address Verification System (AVS) for validation.
If you entered any incorrect billing information, the AVS system rejects the verification and the card is declined.
The Result: Multiple attempts means multiple authorizations from your bank, appearing as multiple charges. These are not acutally charges, but temporarily holds that automatically expire based on your bank's policies. SilverEnchantments.com , nor any other merchant, has absolutely NO CONTROL over the fund verification/AVS process or this specific problem.
The Solution: eCommerce is a still a new frontier and many of the problems / legal issues still need to be ironed out. We feel that federal legislation should be in motion to require financial institutions to reverse the current AVS/Fund Authorization process so that funds are not held prior to AVS.
I DONT CARE ABOUT AVS, I JUST WANT MY MONEY BACK.
You need to understand there is no charge from us. No money has transferred hands. Instead, your bank has placed a hold on funds. They and only them control the hold. The merchant is powerless to alter, credit, or void the authorization placed by your bank. Only your bank and release the hold. The customer must contact the bank and request that the funds be release ---OR---- the bank will release the funds once the authorization expires. This can be 24 hours or as long as several weeks. It all depends on the bank.
Needless to say, this really bothers the customer. This whole scenario is huge pie in the face for the merchant. We are powerless to prevent it, and powerless to correct the matter after it has occurred. To make matters worse, the bank statements make it appear that the online store requested the authorization or hold. All the merchant can do is try to educate the customer during the checkout process. Luckily the majority of customers know their own address, and such a situation only occurs a few times a year. But for those that encounter it, it is extremely frustrating.
MORE INFO:
Credit Card / Debit Card declines due to AVS Mismatch: the authorization code,
along with the hold on the authorized funds, will remain on the customer's card
until the card issuing bank removes the authorization. As a result, the held
funds may be subtracted from the customer's available balance, and an online
statement may reflect the authorization request which might be mistaken for
an actual charge. Most card issuing banks will remove authorizations within
24 hours to -7 days if they are not claimed for settlement.
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Credit cards are processed in real time, on our website, when the order Submit button is pressed. This real time processing is similar to using your credit card at most retail locations. Given the increased security risk of CNP (card not present) transactions, additional security checks are performed to ensure the purchaser is indeed the card holder.
These security checks include checks against (but are not limited to):
Name
Expiration Date
Addresss Verification (AVS)
CVV2 (Security Code)
BIN (Bank Issuing Number)
Chargeback Databases
Stolen Card Databases
IP Address
In the event of a failed transaction (address mismatch, CVV2 mismatch, expiration
mismatch, etc) your issuing bank may place funds on hold for each declined transaction.
The amount of funds placed on hold, is different which each financial institution,
but most place a hold in the amount of the actual failed transaction.
Clients may notice the held funds (via online banking statements, etc) and assume a charge was issued by SilverEnchantments.com. This is not the case. These are funds placed on hold by the issuing bank, for failed transactions.
These held funds are not charges by SilverEnchantments.com, but again are holds
by the issuing financial institution for failed transactions. These holds automatically
expire within a few hours or a few days, depending on the issuing bank. Held
funds can not be released by SilverEnchantments.com, as there is no actual charge
in place. Clients may elect to wait for the holds to expire, or call their bank
to cancel the hold.
To avoid held funds for declined transactions, naturally the easiest method
is to not create failed transactions. The issuing bank expects the client to
know their own Name, Billing Address, Credit Card Number, Expiration Date, Security
code, etc.
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Did You Know that A Portion of Your Purchase
Goes to Benefit:
Several Animal Welfare & Rescue Organizations in Southern Arizona.... Click
Here to Learn More.