Billing Shipping

General Purchasing and Billing Policy:

  Our billing and shipping policy is that all orders are shipped ONLY AFTER we receive full payment!  There are exceptions to this policy but such exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are subject to the final approval from MFG Auctions Co.

When purchasing specimens from our auctions or our Minerals For Sales Pages you will receive an invoice by email that gives all of the details of your purchase.  We allow a week (7 days) from the date that the invoice is sent out (the official date that appears on the invoice) for either making your payment or other making other acceptable arrangements (all arrangements are subject to the final approval from MFG Auctions Co.).

If payment or arrangements for payment are not made within the 7-day period you may forfeit your right to your purchases.  Customers who have multiple forfeitures are subject to removal from our membership database and may be barred from future participation in our auctions.

The fastest and easiest way to pay for purchases is by credit card.  Using a credit card allows us to process your order in the shortest period of time, often the same day. 

IMPORTANT!!!!

A note concerning issues of security and privacy:

We are running the Apache SSL Secure server. This Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) server uses 128 bit keys and RSA encryption technology.

Vital information will not be transferred from our site. This gives our customers one of the safest purchasing environments on the Internet.

All Information provided on the registration form can be modified in the future by going to the Account Update Area.

Interest Free Extended and Multiple Payment Options

Please note that we will work with you on setting up any reasonable multiple or extended payment plan.  There are no interest charges for this service provided certain conditions are understood and met.    The number of payments and the intervals between payments are completely negotiable, however, they are subject to the following rules and restrictions:

 

1. For extended or multiple payment options we require a minimum of a 20% down payment. 
2. For cumulative billing totals less than $200 there is an interest-free six-month (6) period of time.
3. For cumulative billing totals between $201 and $500 there is an interest-free nine-month (9) period of time
4. For cumulative billing totals over $501 there is an interest-free twelve-month (12) period of time.
5. We may extend the above time periods if acceptable arrangements are made (subject to approval from MFG Auctions Co.), however, a 1% per/month interest fee will be charged on unpaid balances beyond the initial time limits.
6. There is an eighteen-month (18) maximum limit for multiple or extended payment options unless acceptable arrangements are made before the 18^th month (subject to the approval of MFG Auctions Co.).
7. All extended or multiple payment options are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
8. Orders will be shipped only AFTER full payment has been received, unless prior arrangements are made (subject to the approval of MFG Auctions Co.).

For more information and details please contact us at info@minmarket.com

Payment Methods

We accept credit cards, cashiers checks, money orders or personal checks.  We also accept payment through Pay Pal (Email &ndash info@minmarket.com).

Accumulating (Compiling) specimens from Multiple Auctions to save shipping costs

We offer the option of accumulating  purchases over time (for multiple auctions etc.) and have them shipped in a single larger shipment later.  Choosing to accumulate or compile your specimens can save a lot on the cost of shipping.  There is no time limit for the compiling of purchases (this is determined and controlled by you), however, payments must be made on all purchases (within the 7-day time period) the same as if shipped without compiling.   When compiling specimens you will not have shipping charges assessed until the actual shipment is made.  If you choose the compile option and your INDIVIDUAL purchases meet our free shipping purchase limit then your shipment will be sent immediately (since the shipping is free anyway).

Shipping Methods and Costs

Domestic Shipments

We normally use the US Postal Service and ship either by First Class mail or by Priority mail (which ever is less expensive).  We will, however, honor any custom shipping requests.   First class mail will usually take from 3 to 5 days to arrive while Priority mail will normally arrive in 2 to 3 days.  

Our policy is that the customer is responsible for all shipping and handling costs, however, we do have reduced shipping costs or no shipping costs if the total purchase cost is high enough.  The following is our New shipping cost schedule effective as of January 1^st, 2002:

For individual purchases of $50 or more there are no shipping charges (shipping is free).

For individual purchases between $30 and $50 the customer pay 50% of the shipping costs.

For individual purchases than $30 the customer pays 100% of the shipping and handling costs.

The costs for Custom requests (such as UPS or FedEx) are the sole responsibility of the customer.

Insurance is available upon request and the cost of insurance is the sole responsibility of the customer.

Foreign and Overseas Shipments

fFor Foreign and Overseas shipments we use the US Postal Service and ship by First Class airmail.   The shipments generally will arrive within 6 to 10 days however, there may be additional delays depending on whatever postal and Customs regulations are in affect for the destination Country.  We very rarely have any difficulties.  For foreign shipments the customer is responsible for all shipping and handling costs.    We will honor any custom shipping requests.  As with domestic shipments insurance is available upon request (insurance costs for foreign shipments are actually not all that expensive).

Note!!

  MFG Auctions Co. is NOT responsible for lost or damaged shipments that are not insured!!

The one exception to this rule is cases where specimens are broken or otherwise damaged resulting from packaging, handling or other problems directly associated with MFG Auctions Co. in which case reimbursement for MFG Auctions related problems will be made ONLY upon the return of the damaged merchandise. 

Generally, shipping insurance is relatively inexpensive and is very worthwhile for valuable shipments.

PLEASE NOTE!!  YOU MUST REPORT PROBLEMS (DAMAGE ETC.) WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE TIME WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR SHIPMENT!

MFG Auctions Company guarantees complete customer satisfaction and will do everything within their power to correct problems to your complete satisfaction provided that you do contact us within the 30-day time period.  

Photography

We consider our specimen photographs as one of the most important parts of our Auctions and Minerals for Sale pages.  We use a digital camera a Nikon camera with a Kodak digital body component, model DCS 460.   The Kodak DCS 460 has one of the highest resolutions for any 35 mm digital camera.  We use fluorescent lighting that is balanced to 6500K which is the equivalent of Day Light.  We then process all of our photos using Adobe Photo Shop (version 6.0).   Our goal is to visually present specimens in a way that will give our customers the maximum amount of visual details for each specimen. 

It is important to understand that viewing specimen photographs is very different than viewing the actual specimen in your living room.  Mineral specimens would be best viewed using a daylight balanced (6500K) light source but unfortunately they rarely are.  The type of light that is used to view mineral specimens will determine how the specimen appears (especially the color).  It is important to remember that photography generally uses optimized lighting conditions to maximize the true beauty of each specimen.  When people hold these same specimens in their hands they very rarely view them under these same ideal lighting conditions that are used in the photographic process.

Another very important factor to consider, which can dramatically affect a specimen photographic appearance, is the computer monitor itself.  Regardless of what model of computer monitor you use, it is always best if your monitor is calibrated to a white point (the brightest white color that a monitor is capable of displaying) of 6500K.  Almost all of the more recent monitor models can easily be adjusted to the proper calibration.

                We have optimized our Web pages for viewing at a resolution of 800 x 600 however, our site can be viewed at other resolutions as well without any difficulties.  Additionally our Web pages are best viewed using the following browsers:

Netscape version 4.6 or higher  or  Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or higher

New Features

The following are just a few of the newest 'features' that we have added to our Web pages:

'Interest Free' Extended and Multiple Payment Options

Please note that we will work with you on setting up any 'reasonable' multiple or extended payment plan.  There are no interest charges for this service provided certain conditions are understood and met.    The number of payments and the intervals between payments are completely negotiable, however, they are subject to the following rules and restrictions:

 

1. For extended or multiple payment options we require a minimum of a 20% down payment. 
2. For 'cumulative' billing totals less than $200 there is an interest-free six-month (6) period of time.
3. For 'cumulative' billing totals between $201 and $500 there is an interest-free nine-month (9) period of time
4. For 'cumulative' billing totals over $501 there is an interest-free twelve-month (12) period of time.
5. We may extend the above time periods if acceptable arrangements are made (subject to approval from MFG Auctions Co.), however, a 1% per/month interest fee will be charged on unpaid balances beyond the initial time limits.
6. There is an eighteen-month (18) maximum limit for multiple or extended payment options unless acceptable arrangements are made before the 18^th month (subject to the approval of MFG Auctions Co.).
7. All extended or multiple payment options are 'negotiated' on a case-by-case basis.
8. Orders will be shipped only AFTER full payment has been received, unless prior arrangements are made (subject to the approval of MFG Auctions Co.).

For more information and details please contact us at info@minmarket.com

 

Mineral, Fossil & Gem Screensavers

Mineral, Fossil & Gem Screen Savers are now available CLICK HERE to go to our new screensaver page.

All of our screensavers Contains 30 to 35 full color 'full size' images from a variety of minerals, fossils and gemstones from around the world.  The screen saver settings are fully adjustable including 36 'special effect' image cycling transitions, an image caption option, image selection option, random order and many others.  The display times are fully adjustable.  The present version is for Windows 95, 98, Windows Millennium, and Windows NT (a Mac version will be available soon

We offer a variety of different screensavers and we will be adding a whole lot more in the near future.  We presently have a number of different screensavers available.

1. World Minerals version 1.0 ' This one has 35 images of a variety of colorful minerals from around the world.

2. Thomas Range Mineral Screensaver version 1.0 ' This one contains 33 images of beautiful topaz and the other minerals from this world famous location.  It was produced to go along with our, A Field guide to Topaz and Associated Minerals of the Thomas Range.  For more information on this book CLICK HERE.

3. Insects in Amber Screensaver version 1.0 ' This one has 30 beautiful images of a variety of insects that were trapped in Amber millions of years ago.

4. Trilobites of the World version 1.0 ' This one contains 33 images of some of the most unusual trilobites from around the world.

5. World Fossils Screensaver version 1.0 ' This one contains 33 images of some of the more aesthetic fossils from worldwide location.

Link List

Our links page has been designed to provide general information (educational as well as informative) on a variety of mineral, fossil and gem related topics.  It also includes carefully selected links to a variety of other interesting Web Sites (both commercial & non-commercial).  If you are interested in exchanging links with our site please contact us at: info@minmarket.com Please include a brief description of your Web site.