"What are FAQ’s?"
Frequently Asked (not Ax’t) Questions. Hey if you
don’t ask sometimes you’ll never know.
"What makes us
"seem" more expensive from the
"cheaper" guys out there?"
A. We use real antlers
for the main structure*. Some
other companies use fabricated plastic / resin from
Asia, that only "looks like"
antler. With real, natural antlers, each antler is “REAL” and is uniquely
different which makes every antler lighting fixture unique.
B. Some companies
glue there wires on top of the antler. This is quick,
cheap, and very noticeable. We go to the extreme
of drilling out the antler and run all the wiring inside, so all you see
is the natural beauty of the antler.
C. Some companies use
a junction box in the center of their chandeliers.
They drill a short way into the antler and then wire
nut a junction in the center of the
chandelier. They then pack that junction with “bondo” (body putty)
or some type of wood filler painted
brown to hide its ugliness.
This is a shortcut way of wiring an antler
chandelier. Many times they will use an antler button on the base to
hide some of the "Bondo" but it is
still very noticeable. Again, this is very noticeable and takes away
from the natural beauty of the piece.
D. All of our antler
lighting products are UL Listed. This means that our product is backed
and insured by Underwriters Laboratory, Inc.,
built under their strict regulations which are verified by periodic,
spot inspections by UL Labs.
E. We locally made in the USA. Not Asia. Nuff said!
Just a couple of the Underwriters Laboratories
requirements;
- Each fixture is tested during and after construction
for voltage leakage @ 1200 VOLTS (10 times the voltage in your house)
with a "Hi-Pot"
testing device for electrical safety.
- Also, our scales are verified to be extremely
accurate for weight, and the hanging hardware of our fixtures is
verified for suspension safety.
This ensures your safety and the quality
of the
product for years to come.
No need to have
your electrician install a
$10, UL, "lumber yard"
light fixture for your
“new build to pass building inspection”,
and then install some, non-UL listed and
lesser quality antler fixture later
after
the inspector leaves (yes, believe it or not, that actually happens).
Our products insure you are “doing it right the first time”. We would
rather explain a somewhat larger investment
upfront once
instead of
repeatedly apologize for cheapness later.
In a nutshell,
our chandeliers are different for two main reasons.
- We build them to be
“SAFE” for any install over the long haul
- We artistically
“judge” each piece as if it were to be in a competition.
Of course like most quality things, ours will usually require more of
an investment and we know you will agree that
we take the
time to do things right!
*The exception to this is for the lamp
sockets. They are resin cast for fire / heat reasons.
"Why
are your packing / shipping costs higher
than many?"
Just as you can have superior products, you can also have superior service
and a huge part of any mail
order / web retail business is the ability to safely and successfully get
your goods delivered to the
customer in the same condition as when they left. We have seen all too
many times the consequences
of inadequate, inappropriate, unprofessional, un-safe and incorrect
packing. About one
third of the items we receive from senders (almost always individuals) are
damaged or destroyed
due to inexperienced packers. What good is it to save a
few bucks
on packing, insurance
and shipping only to receive damaged goods. We had
one week a while
back when everyone of about half a dozen items we received from
individuals to us arrived damaged
or completely destroyed due to inadequate or inappropriate packing. Most of our antler lighting fixtures require custom
palleting that we also do here, on the premises.
"Why
does it seem that lately everyone's prices have
dramatically increased on 'antler lighting' products?"
Believe it or not, you can blame
'your dog'! Well not directly, but the 'dog chew' trade is literally
'chewing up' much of the 'shed antlers available for sale. So much so,
that it has essentially doubled the cost of 'raw antler', at least at
the time of this writing.
You would think that the 'antler dog chew' products would be utilizing
'seconds' or lesser antler, but the demand is so great that they are
taking 'all they can get'.
"Why do I not see a “Secure Server” or
Shopping Cart program on your site?"
We do have "Buy Now" buttons
on some of our "repeat / drop ship" products, but for our more
"unique" and custom made items, such as Antler lighting, we do not and will not add
that. We want to
have a “one-on-one”
conversation with the purchaser. We still like that. A phone call will
usually route out any
potential issues or maybe make the customer aware of a
"plus" they weren't aware of, with a purchase
prior to shipping. While the customer is always
"The Boss", we have nipped many potential "issues / disasters" in the bud
by 'correcting' some mis-information / mis-calculations on the
purchasers part.
A
phone call will usually allow
us to insure that the customer / item “fit” is right on the front-end
of the purchase.
"Why must I phone with my credit card info?
Can’t I just email it?"
Since email is not secure, we wouldn’t recommend it.
See also above.
"It's
been 15 days, 20 days, 90 days, etc. Where's my stuff?"
Depending on the design / size
/ build difficulty of your 'Antler Creation', level of 'unique' parts on
hand to build-it, stock levels of correct and
quality of antlers, shop schedule, and freight company pickup schedule,
custom made antler fixtures can take 2-10 weeks to complete (usually
6-8).
As far as delivery / freight issues, in 12+ years of business and
with almost 16,000 shipments under our belts, we have so far not
had ONE package go missing. NOT ONE! (well there was one where we put
the wrong suite number one it, but that was my fault).
That is an incredible statement and
fact (probably just jinxed it though by writing this).
Not many shippers can claim that!
"You've built my "one of a kind"
antler creation. Now how safely will it be packed?"
Most are too large for standard corrugated
packaging so must be trucked on a pallet. Creation is first secured to a
pallet. Then any
loose or potentially loose or separate components are secured. Next a
superstructure frame is built around the antler artwork. Next the
entire structure is stretch filmed to protect against dust and dirt. See
photos below of a recent shipment. The pallet contains 2 units. The one
is suspended above the other and secured from movement within the
superstructure. We put almost as much effort into our packaging as
some of the "cheap" guys put into their light fixtures.
SOLD fixtures awaiting final
packing / truck pick-up.
