In this part of the web-site, we try to answer the questions which arrive on our doorstep most often. If you don't find yours here, then you can contact us by email by clicking on the hotlink at the bottom of every page. By reading the questions listed below and clicking on the one(s) which interest you, you'll be taken instantly to the answer. Scroll down to see all the questions. About Ordering & Shipping Is your ordering process secure? What's the best way for me to place an order? How do I pay for my order? How soon will my order ship? Can I track my order? How do you handle backorders? What's your policy on returns? Do you ship to foreign countries? How do you charge for shipping? I work for a non-profit and want to order a couple of dozen of [fill in the blank]; can I get a discount? If yes, how do I get that done? About The Nash Company What's the history of The Nash Company? Where are you located? Tell me about your customers. Do they say nice things about you? What are your opening hours? Miscellaneous How are your t shirts and sweatshirts sized? Do you do any custom work for individuals or groups? Is your web-site secure? Security is everybody's first concern when shopping online, and we continue to make improvements to protect you (and us). Under a recently passed Minnesota law (the Minnesota Plastic Card Security Act), we cannot retain any credit card information for more than forty eight hours, so we must process all charges within that time line. This means that we are no longer able to wait to charge your credit card until your order ships (as has been true in the past) and will do so immediately. When your order is entered into our internal bookkeeping system, we no longer maintain a record of the number and expiration date, just the last four digits and the expiry date, so that a) we conform to the law and b) we can identify the card you used if you inquire about your order. When your credit card is processed, both receipt copies, the one you receive and the one we keep, do not have any information about your credit card, except the aforementioned final group of digits for identification purposes. Any records we may have - online copies of orders and notes taken for telephone orders - are shredded every day. As to online security, we're on the Yahoo! ecommerce configuration, and here is what Yahoo! says about their security strategy: "Secure Socket Layer (SSL): Yahoo! Store uses SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption when transmitting certain kinds of information, such as financial services information or payment information. An icon resembling a padlock is displayed on the bottom of most browsers window during SSL transactions that involve credit cards and other forms of payment. Any time a Yahoo! Store asks for a credit card number during checkout for payment, it will be SSL encrypted. The information you provide will be stored securely on our servers. CISP Compliance: Yahoo! Merchant Solutions is certified CISP-compliant. Created by Visa and MasterCard, the Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) outlines a standard for security procedures for merchants and service providers that store, process, or transmit cardholder data." In all the time we've been online, we have yet to have a problem with security of any aspect of customer information. We also guarantee that you will be reimbursed up to $50 should there be a problem with your credit card order. Additionally, we don't make any of our customer information available to anyone else. Period, or if you're British, full stop. If you have additional concerns, please contact us. What's the best way for me to place an order? The internet is best because it allows you and us to follow your order from the time it's sent to us through our secure technology to the arrival of your order at your home or office. We know that some people are uncomfortable with the internet, and if that's the case, we encourage you to call your orders in, fax them, or even send them via the post office. The disadvantage to not using the internet is that you won't be able to track the progress of your order and to track the order itself, and because we are designed to be an internet business, other forms of ordering may result in a slight delay in processing your information. How do I pay for my order? We accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. You may also send us checks or money orders, and if you are ordering from outside North America a postal or bank draft in US Dollars. We do not accept COD orders, except from qualified wholesale (trade) customers. When will my order ship? Typically within a day. Sometimes our inventories get out of whack - we're not perfect - but we will contact you and review the options if there's a problem on our end. Can I track my order? Yes, if you place your order on the web-site, you'll get both shipping and tracking information via email. How do you handle backorders? We hate backorders, but they happen. We ship what we have and generate an automatic backorder. If you've ordered online, you'll be updated both as to the backorder and when the backorder ships. You are not charged for shipping on any backorder. What's your policy on returns? We like returns about as much as we like backorders. But sometimes an item is not the right size, right color, whatever. Within thirty days of delivery you can return anything - and this is the important part - provided it is in resaleable condition. That means that if your significant other spilled chip dip on the sweatshirt at the party, you can't return the item if it's stained (Yes, it's happened here.) Some items we cannot accept for health reasons - e.g., nose flutes, kazoos, slide whistles, and ocarinas. If they've been played, then we have a problem, and although you may cross your heart and hope to die when you aver they have NOT been played, we cannot take that chance. Do you ship to foreign countries? Yes, we ship almost anywhere, generally by airmail. We're getting very careful about orders from Southeast Asia, especially Singapore, as well as certain African countries because of a number of highly suspicious orders from that part of the world, so we treat each one on a case by case basis. We may ask for additional information to ensure that any order is not fraudulent. Foreign residents are responsible for any customs and duty charges, imposed upon the order's entry into their country of residence. How do you charge for shipping? We've tried several approaches and have been unhappy with all of them. For American customers, we're now returning to a rate based on the our best guess of the shipping weight of the order and the service level of the shipment. We make our guess when the order is placed, and if there is an enormous discrepancy, we undertake to make adjustments. Our goal is to be fair to the customer - Our present system asks you to choose how quickly you want to receive your order, and the calculation is based on the total weight of the order. An order of four nose flutes costs as much for us to run through our bookkeeping system as an order of 500, and the new rates reflect that, but only by a bit. Foreign shipments are a slightly different story. Recently our Post Office took the same approach used in other parts of the world - that is, the cost of a shipment is based on a calculation of the size of the package and its weight. The service levels offered changed as well. Now we have International First Class for orders under 1.9 kilos (inexpensive, but no specific delivery day commitment and no insurance) and Priority Mail International (more expensive, insurable, and a quicker delivery commitment, as well as tracking. When in doubt, choose Priority International. If you are in a real rush, please consider International Express (very expensive, very fast, and very quick delivery). Shipping is not designed to be a profit center for us; we just want to break even. Many customers will note that we reduce charges from what the computer program says we will charge because we want a fair charge and a happier customer (no one is happy about shipping costs these days). I work for a non-profit and want to order a couple of dozen of [fill in the blank]; can I get a discount? If yes, how do I get that done? Any retail customer buying in quantity, according to our definition which is at least a dozen of something, qualifies for a discount. The best thing to do is to call us or email us directly with your estimate of what you'd like to order, how it is to be shipped, and so on, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible with a firm quotation for you to consider. What's the history of The Nash Company? The Nash Company opened for business in 1985 in the basement of Nick Nash's house with a couple of musically humorous products, and gradually we developed other designs and products based on the most popular classical composers. In the late 1980s, we began to import music-related gift products from England, relationships which continue today. Broadway products, particularly emphasizing the work of Stephen Sondheim, entered the line in the early 1990s. Like the classical line, products are focussed on composers rather than shows and frequently rely on original manuscripts as the basis for design. Unhappy with the authoritarian approach to living practiced by Martha Stewart and her followers, we developed a small group of semi-subversive designs in the mid 90s. The "Martha" designs led the company to fool around with other humorous items - some have succeeded, some have not, but the company's interest in thoughtful humor continues to grow. Where are you located? From 1993 through April, 2008, our offices and warehouse were in The Avalon, a rehabilitated movie theatre in downtown White Bear Lake, Minnesota, about thirteen miles north northeast of Saint Paul, close to the shores of beautiful White Bear Lake. On April 14th, part of the building collapsed, and the landlord and we agreed it was best to move to another location. We're now two blocks away in what used to the the town's fire department, city hall, and jail. We know we'll feel very secure there. Tell me about your customers. OK. Our retail customers are cultured, thoughtful, and intelligent persons with a sense of humor. That probably includes you. We also sell to such wonderful organizations as The Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, The Chicago Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony, and The Kennedy Center. You may have seen some of our items in catalogues like The Paragon, Signals, and Wireless. Do they say nice things about you? Yes, for the most part....our ratings include such observations as "friendly, fast and efficient" "Excellent service, merchandise as advertised...a very pleasant experience" "The customer service is excellent. I emailed a question and got a response immediately." This is not to say that we don't make mistakes - and sometimes customers don't understand our sense of humor - but we try very hard to correct our mistakes immediately to ensure the customer's satisfaction. What are your opening hours? They vary. The proprietor is rapidly approaching his anecdotage and likes the benefits of working at home (an advantage to an internet business), but somebody generally answers the phone and checks voicemail every day. Typically we're around from 10-ish to 4-ish, Mondays through Thursday, and typically not around on Fridays, but we do succumb to the vagaries of beautiful summer days, holidays, blizzards, illness, and our individual commitments in the community and to our families. In fact, from the end of May through the end of August, we're nearly always never around on Fridays. So you may not always find us right next to the phone, but we'll get your order out quickly. How are your t shirts and sweatshirts sized? Our shirt sizes are as follows: M = 38-40 inches/ 97-102 cm chest L = 40-42 inches/ 102-107 cm chest XL = 44-46 inches/ 112-117 cm chest XXL = 48-50inches / 122-127 cm chest Our shirts are oversize to allow for some shrinkage. If you like a generously sized shirt, for the gymnasium or exercise class, for example, order one size larger than you normally wear. To confuse matters, every blue moon or so, we use a shirt which is smaller than our norm. We say so quite clearly in the copy, so adjust accordingly. Do you do any custom work for individuals or groups? Yes, we do. We can name drop names and artwork on almost all of our shirts and totes. But we can help you with mugs and trivets as well - you can see some of the items Nick produced for his family's reunion on the Nash Family products tab. There are minimum quantity and artwork requirements, but the process starts by contacting us. We welcome your suggestions, comments, even product ideas. Just email us. Nick Nash |
If the hotlink above doesn't work (it happens), create and send your email to: nashcompany@mac.com |