The submission of an order, whether in person or by telephone, fax, mail, E-mail, or the ASW Order Form on this website, indicates that the customer has read and agreed to all of the Terms of Sale as outlined herein.
All customers should rightfully be concerned about the privacy of personal information which they submit to mail order merchants, particularly on the Internet. Please be advised that Antique Sound Workshop uses the information which you provide on our Order Form solely for the purpose of filling your order. We do not sell, rent, exchange, or in any other way provide names, addresses, or any other information about our customers to any other businesses, organizations, or persons. Furthermore, we do not buy, rent, or exchange mailing lists from or with any other firms, groups, or individuals. We do no direct mail or E-Mail advertising whatsoever, either to current or prospective customers of our workshop. We do not place cookies on your computer, track your browsing habits, or use invasive third party shopping cart, payment, or credit card verification services. We deplore the current epidemic of unsolicited junk mail, telemarketing calls, and spam as much as you do. You may rest assured that the information you send us will be kept in confidence and that your privacy will be respected.
All prices are subject to change without notice. Please check our current catalogue or call us for current price quotes before placing your order. Purchase orders from institutions are welcome, but all prices will be quoted FOB our workshop; packing, shipping, and insurance charges will be added to institutional sales invoices if the order is not prepaid. Please note that our minimum order is $25.00 exclusive of shipping costs.
We pay for packing, shipping via UPS Ground Service (see map for delivery time from ASW), and insurance on all prepaid domestic orders over $500.00. Smaller orders and all international orders will be billed for shipping at cost. Expedited air shipment services by USPS or UPS are available at additional cost.Your order will be invoiced immediately upon receipt. The actual shipping date, however, will occur one to ten days after invoice date, depending upon the amount of custom work to be performed on your instrument and our workshop production schedule. Deliveries during holiday seasons are typically more protracted, and we ask that customers please place their gift orders as early as possible in order to insure timely delivery.
In the unlikely event that the instrument you have ordered is temporarily out of stock or is a special order item, you will be immediately notified and asked whether you wish to wait for the original item, accept a substitute, or cancel your order.
In the interests of conservation of natural resources and environmental protection, we are making a concerted effort to recycle packaging and shipping materials. If the carton containing your order looks used, it probably is. Second-hand boxes don't look as nice as new ones, but they do save a lot of trees. We urge our customers in turn to recycle our shipping materials for their own use if at all possible.
Our ASW Layaway Plan is easy, cost-free, and allows you to budget your purchases, take advantage of special offers, and "lock in" sale prices for future delivery. If you wish to place an item on layaway, please enclose a minimum down payment of at least 25% with your order. The balance due may be paid at any time and in any amounts convenient within the following four months — you determine your own payment schedule. The items ordered will be shipped when paid for in full. If the balance due is not received within four months from the date of the original order, the order will be cancelled. There are never any interest or carrying charges.
We want you to be fully pleased with the instruments you purchase from our workshop. If for any reason you are not satisfied, please call us first for a return authorization and then return the instrument to us no longer than one week after receipt, suitably packed and insured, via United Parcel Service. Instruments kept and played longer than one week will already show signs of use and wear, and are therefore not returnable nor resaleable as new instruments. We are not able to make any exceptions to this policy. However, we will accept return of used instruments purchased from our workshop for resale on consignment or other terms at our discretion. Return shipping costs are the customer's responsibility.Provided that the instrument has not been damaged by improper use (including overplaying beyond the recommended amount during the trial period), handling, storage, or packing, and can be resold as a new instrument, we will gladly exchange the instrument for another or refund the purchase price. Purchases charged to a credit card and subsequently returned for refund will be assessed a 10% restocking fee to offset the processing costs and shipping charges incurred on your behalf. The restocking fee will be waived if the purchase price is applied to the purchase of another instrument of equal or greater value. If the replacement instrument is of lesser value, a 10% restocking fee will be assessed on the difference in value. Purchases paid for by check or money order will be refunded in full, less shipping charges.
Please note that it is not our policy to send out multiple instruments on trial, as do some other dealers who sell unserviced instruments off the shelf. If we did so, our inventory would soon consist largely of used instruments which had been sent out, played, and often abused by any number of different people over a period of time. Each instrument is custom-serviced before delivery to the customer's wishes and is guaranteed to play optimally within the design parameters of the specific make and model. We don't resell "lemons" returned by other customers as unsatisfactory. Our customers have a right to expect that, when they pay for a new, unused instrument, they are getting a new instrument, not somebody else's reject.
We prefer to consult extensively with our customers before making a purchase in order to help them determine exactly which model is best suited to their needs, tastes, and budget; we then send them that instrument, fully custom-serviced, performance-optimized, and guaranteed. Such unique personalized service may seem to be labor- and time-intensive, but it is in fact quicker and more efficient both for us and for the customer to help him/her make an informed purchase decision. If the customer does not like the first instrument, it may be returned and, after additional consultation, a second one sent out. However, we find that, after forty years of experience in advising customers, we can usually get it right the first time.
We will not accept instruments returned to us for refund, exchange, resale, or repair without prior authorization by telephone; we are also not able to accept instruments returned via Fedex or the United States Postal System unless by mutual agreement. We are not able to accept returns of plastic recorders, sheet music, reeds, mouthpieces, and strings. Special or custom orders are in general not returnable. Given the litigious nature of present-day society, we also regretfully find it necessary to add that we cannot be responsible or held liable for any injury, loss, or damage, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from the use of, or inability to use or maintain properly, any instruments or other merchandise that we sell.
The extensive custom service which we perform on each and every instrument before delivery enables us to guarantee the voicing and tuning of every woodwind instrument to the original owner for the useful life of the instrument. This guarantee assumes that the customer is using the correct fingerings, as indicated on the custom fingering chart supplied with the instrument, and is able to play the instrument with proper breath support and technical control. If you are experiencing difficulty in playing an instrument purchased from our workshop, please contact us immediately by phone. In most cases, the problem can be easily and quickly identified, and the tools provided to remedy the problem.We are happy to provide you with the necessary advice and information to learn to play well an instrument purchased from us. Please note, however, that we cannot guarantee the ability of the customer to play the instrument properly and ask for your understanding in that regard. We can only provide you with information based on our experience, expertise, professionalism, and fiduciary responsibilities to the customer.
In the unlikely event that your instrument requires further attention, please first obtain a return authorization by telephone and ship the instrument to us, suitably packed, wrapped, and insured, via United Parcel Service. We will make any necessary voicing and tuning alterations without charge and will return your instrument promptly. However, we cannot be responsible for instruments damaged by the customer through misuse, including overplaying, or lack of proper care or storage. Such damage will be repaired, if at all possible, at nominal rates. Any attempt by the customer or other unauthorized persons to alter or modify the instrument in any way will render our warranty null and void. We will refuse to repair altered instruments.
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