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PANGEA VEGAN PRODUCTS:COMMON QUESTIONS |
| The most commonly asked question--Is it Vegan?--can
be simply answered: "Yes, it's vegan!" |
| We stock many items which feature alternatives to commercially
produced animal products, but we meticulously check to ensure that all
our products are made only with vegan components or ingredients. We won't
bore (or horrify) you with the exhausting number of questions we ask our
suppliers regarding ingredients, but some common offenders we avoid include
products with honey or beeswax, bone-char-processed sugars, casein and
other dairy derivatives, animal-derived gelatin, carmine coloring, vitamin
D-3, silk products. . . the list goes on. Don't be alarmed if you see an
ingredient that you have heard is animal-derived. We have found that alternatives
or synthetic sources exist for many ingredients previously thought to be
solely animal-derived, and our products often contain these alternatives.
For example, lactic acid, commonly thought to be dairy-derived, is found
in a few of our body-care products in its vegan form (derived from fermenting
vegetables!). If you have a question, feel free to ask. But rest assured,
we are strict vegans ourselves, and carefully research each and every one
of the products we carry. |
| Please note that we do not recommend that individuals with
severe allergies to dairy, eggs, nuts, or other ingredients consume our
products. Despite the fact that all of the products we sell are made with
totally vegan ingredients, the vast majority of commercially produced food
items are manufactured on shared machinery or in shared facilities, which results in a risk of
possible cross-contamination with minute amounts of allergenic ingredients
(even when machinery is thoroughly cleaned between production runs). |
| What types of payment do you accept? We accept Visa
and Mastercard (sorry, no Discover or Amex, since these cards are much
more expensive for a business to accept). We also accept money orders in
US funds. We can accept personal checks, but as a result of numerous bounced
checks, all first orders paid by check will be held for 10 business days
while we wait to make sure the check will clear. |
| What shipping method do you use for orders in the continental
USA, and how much does shipping cost? For orders shipped to street
addresses within the continental USA, we ship by UPS GroundTrac to ensure
that your package can be traced. UPS transit time usually takes 1 to
6 business days, depending on how far you are from our location in Maryland.
For these orders, our shipping charges depend on the cost of your order: |
| Order between $9.95 and $20: $6.99 shipping |
| Order between $20 and $50: $7.49 shipping |
| Order over $50: $7.99 shipping |
| Order under $9.95: $8.99 shipping (includes an extra $2 fee over our lowest shipping rate; otherwise we will lose money processing very small orders) |
| Packages can be shipped by US Mail (Priority Mail with
Delivery Confirmation) to a PO box or even a regular street address, but
please note that shipping by US Mail will be more expensive and is dependent
on package weight. The cost will be at least $6.99 and can be much higher.
We will contact you for approval if the shipping cost is over $20. Packages
shipped by this method are sent out twice weekly, so USPS Priority Mail
will not likely be faster than UPS Ground. |
| Do you offer express shipping? We can ship packages
by UPS 3-Day Select, 2-Day Air, or Next-Day Air. Please note that these
shipping options are more expensive--sometimes much more so. Since the
cost varies based on package weight, box size, and shipping distance, we
calculate the costs of these shipping options after we gather your
order. As a result, the actual costs for shipping by express methods are
not listed during the checkout stage! We will contact you for approval
if the cost for 2-Day Air will be over $30, or if the cost for 3-Day Select
will be over $20. We will need approval from you for any Next-Day-Air packages.
We give a higher priority to processing orders when express shipping is
selected. |
| What about Hawaii, Alaska, PO boxes, or military addresses? Orders
going to any of these locations are shipped via the US Postal Service,
and the shipping charge will vary depending on the weight of the package.
If you want insurance for a package to any of these destinations, please
be sure to tell us! Please note that these orders will generally take longer
to arrive. In addition, because of the greater chance of temperature variations in transit, we can't guarantee that chocolates or other perishable items will arrive in good condition! |
| What about orders to Canada? For shipping to Canada,
packages are sent via US Mail and the shipping & handling (S&H) charges depend on the weight
of the package. Some estimates are as follows: |
| Order weight less than 1 lb: about $7.00 S&H |
| Order weight between 1 and 2 lb: about $10.00 S&H |
| Order weight between 2 and 3 lb: about $13.00 S&H |
| Order weight between 3 and 4 lb: about $17.00 S&H |
| Order weight between 4 and 5 lb: about $23.00 S&H |
| Order weight between 5 and 6 lb: about $25.00 S&H |
| Order weight between 6 and 7 lb: about $27.00 S&H |
| Order weight between 7 and 8 lb: about $29.00 S&H |
| For example, a box of shoes typically weighs about 3 lb,
and a single belt weighs less than 1 lb. We will contact you via email
with shipping details, and we will need approval from you before the order
can be processed and shipped out. Please note that these orders will take
longer to arrive. |
| What about orders outside the USA and Canada? These
orders are shipped by the US Postal Service and will take longer to arrive.
The shipping cost is based on the package weight and destination. We will
email you with shipping costs, and we need approval back from you before
we can process and ship out your order. Please note that we are unable
to track orders shipped outside the United States. Therefore, although
we do keep records of these orders and guarantee that they will be shipped
by US Airmail, we cannot accept responsibility for the safe delivery of
such orders. |
| I see some items on your site marked as "Unavailable" or "Back
Ordered." How do these labels affect my order? |
| Items marked as "Unavailable" are presently out of stock.
In the interest of filling orders in a timely manner, these items should
not be put in the shopping cart and will be dropped from orders we receive.
If you would like to place a separate pre-order for these items, to receive
them when they come back in stock, please call us at 1-800-340-1200 between
11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern time. |
| Items marked as "Back Ordered" are also currently out of
stock but can still be ordered by our shoppers; these items will then be
shipped out when they are back in stock, with no additional shipping charge. |
| What is your privacy policy? Pangea never sells or
otherwise discloses customer information to any outside party. We respect
your privacy, and we will never provide your information to any other company
or organization. |
| How soon will my package be shipped out after I place
my order? Most orders are shipped either the same day we get them
or the day after. If your order will be shipped by UPS, you should receive
an email notification when your package has been shipped. If three full
business days have passed and you haven't either gotten a shipping confirmation
or heard an explanation from us about a delay, please contact us! We
make every effort to keep our customers informed of their order status. |
| I can't get my shopping cart to hold more than one item.
What's going on? The shopping cart program we use on our website
requires the use of computer files known as "cookies." If a shopper has
the cookies feature of their web browser turned off, they won't be able
to place an order online. In Internet Explorer 6, for example, cookies
can be enabled for our website by choosing Tools / Internet Options /
Privacy / Edit, specifying "veganstore.com," and clicking "Allow." |
| Do you have vegan marshmallows? Yes! Just go to a
shopping page on our site and type in "marshmallow" in the Search box in
the upper left corner. |
| Do you have my size? Different manufacturers have
different variations on sizes. If you're concerned about whether something
will fit you, feel free to contact us for assistance. |
| What is your return/exchange policy (e.g., in case the
shoes I order don't fit properly)? |
| For orders within the continental United States: |
| If you're not satisfied with any product you order from
Pangea, just return it in unused condition within 30 days of receiving
it (along with a copy of your receipt) for an exchange, refund, or store
credit. In particular, any returned shoes must have been tried on indoors
only (briefly, with socks on). Shoes must be returned in resaleable condition,
i.e., no scuff marks, tags still attached, and in original box. |
| If the item you're returning is defective or not what is
listed on your invoice, Pangea will reimburse your shipping costs to send
it back to us. If you simply need to exchange an item (say, shoes or a
t-shirt) for a different size, you would pay the cost of returning the
item to us and we will pay for shipping the different-sized item to you. |
| Please note that if you wish to exchange a product for an
item with a different product code (rather than, say, just switching to
a different size of the same item), regular shipping charges will apply
for the new item(s). |
| Also note that special-ordered items, custom-made canvas/hemp
belts, food items, and opened body care items cannot be returned. |
| For orders outside the continental United States: |
| The policy is the same as with continental US orders, except
that the customer is responsible for any shipping costs incurred (unless
the wrong item was delivered or the item is defective). |
| How can I contact you? You can use any of these methods: |
| *E-mail: info@veganstore.com |
| *Mail: 2381 Lewis Ave., Rockville MD 20851 |
| *Fax: 301-816-8955 |
| *Phone: 1-800-340-1200 |
