ZEPP Country Music, Inc.

P.O. Box 306
Wendell, NC 27591-0306

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Our Policies, etc.

1. Payment: We accept personal checks (shipping after the check has cleared), Money Orders, Cashier's Checks, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Sorry, but we do not ship C.O.D., and we can not accept credit card orders from Indonesia.

2. Placing a "Hold" on an Instrument: I am happy to place a "Hold" on an instrument upon your commitment to its purchase. However, please understand that an instrument on hold is one that I cannot sell, so if you subsequently change your mind or decide to buy something else, you have cost me lost sales potentials. Therefore:

   • a "Hold" will only be placed on an instrument upon our receipt of a 10% non-refundable deposit

   • For in-stock items, a "Hold" will be honored for one (1) week after receipt of said deposit, after which, if full payment has not been received, the deposit will be forfeit, and the instrument again offered for sale. If we are waiting for the delivery or repair of the item, your "Hold" will be honored for one (1) week after your notification of the item's availability.

   • Use of a credit card is the most expeditious means of placing your deposit; if you must send a cashier's check or money order, I highly recommend use of an overnight courier to assure that the instrument will, indeed, be held for you. (Please bear in mind that a personal check will only hold an instrument after it has cleared the bank.)

   • Special Order Deposits: If you wish us to order an item especially for you, a deposit will be required. The minimum amount varies depending on whether the item is a normal stock item, what the supplier requires from us to accept an order, or how "special" your order is.
     • Typically, to merely gain "right of first refusal" for a normal stock item, there is no deposit required. If there are a number of people waiting, placing a deposit will move you to the head of the list (unless others have also made deposits). Such deposits will be refunded if you wish to withdraw from the waiting list.
     • The minimum deposit amount for a special order for which the supplier requires a deposit will be that set by the supplier, and cannot be refunded unless we are able to recover it from that supplier. (Simply put, if I can't get the money back, neither do you.)
     • Items customized in such a way as to make them non-sellable to anyone else (e.g., your name or likenesses of your family inlaid into the fingerboard) will require 100%, non-refundable payment before work can start on the instrument.
   • If 100% payment has been made as deposit, we will guarantee to honor the selling price agreed to when the item was ordered. If less than full payment has been accepted as a deposit, we cannot guarantee the selling price, as costs to us can change at any time and are totally beyond our control. If you have made a 50% or greater deposit we do, though, promise not to raise the price beyond any increased cost, i.e., we will not increase profit on the item, but merely pass along the cost increase.

3. Layaways: We are happy to put any item on layaway. We require 20% down payment, and will hold an item for 90 days thereafter. Layaway cancellations within the 90 day period will incur a restocking charge of 20% of the total amount. No refunds will be given after 90 days have expired, and the item(s) will again be offered for sale.

4. Shipping & Handling:

   • Instruments and large orders are usually shipped UPS, unless you specify otherwise (Instruments going to Alaska or Hawaii are shipped via Priority Mail). Instruments ship within the United States at the following rates:

     
     

   • Small orders are shipped via USPS Priority Mail which, including Delivery Confirmation, costs $6.00 for 1 pound and under anywhere within the 50 States. The cost of Priority Mail for packages heavier than one pound varies with distance involved, so we'll have to let you know what the cost will be when we know where you are. On most mailed items, orders will be shipped the morning following your order.

   • International orders are welcomed; we will calculate your shipping rate at the time you place your order.

5. Returns:
   Our long-standing policy on returns is left below, as it represented our efforts to treat customers as we, ourselves hope to be treated. However, as we are going out of business and liquidating stock at prices that are often well below cost, please understand that ALL SALES ARE NOW FINAL, no returns can be accepted, and no refunds made.

   Herewith our now-superceded policy on returns:

   I fully understand the dangers of buying instruments (or other merchandise) sight-unseen; I also assure you that I do not want anyone to be "stuck" with an something he doesn't want. Therefore:

   • We will happily accept standard merchandise returned within 72 hours of its receipt--and in the condition it left here--for a full refund. This is not a stop-watch calculation: We're happy to work with you to be sure you have adequate time to evaluate the goods--just give me a call. To return items for any reason, please call or email for an RA number. Items not having a valid RA number will be refused.

     • If the purchase qualified for promotional free shipping, the price of shipping it to you will be deducted from the amount refunded, in accordance with the shipping chart above, i.e., shipping is "free" only if the purchase is not returned to us.
     • Custom-ordered work is generally non-returnable, for obvious reasons. We very well may accept such returns, though, on an ad hoc basis, depending on an item's saleability, so please don't hesitate to ask.)

   • Unused items returned after the 72 hour approval period but before 2 weeks will not qualify for a refund, but they will still be accepted and you will receive store credit for their purchase price--again, simply call or email us for an RA number.

   • Your risk in this is the cost of the shipping, i.e., you pay the shipping if you send it back, and I will refund or credit the item(s) purchase price, less the charges for originally shipping to you, i.e., you pay shipping both ways.

   • N.b. Please do not register the warranty on any new instrument until you are sure you will keep it. Most of the instruments we sell have lifetime warranties for the original owner; once you send in that little card, the instrument is no longer considered "new," and I can thereafter accept its return only as a "used" instrument, regardless of its condition. Trust me: this will cost you big-time.

   • Damages on returned goods: If you damage an instrument that you have received on approval, yet still wish to send it back, please call me. I'll happily work out the amount you'll be charged for these damages. Bear in mind, of course, that damaging a used instrument will be far less expensive to you than your damaging a brand new one.

6. Consignment: We do accept some items for sale on consignment. By definition, these items remain the property of the seller, and it is the seller who sets the price, etc. As part of the consignment agreement, though, our return policy is the same as for instruments that I own (see above). Other points concerning consignment:

   • Sellers:

     • Not all items will be accepted for consignment; e.g., items of poor quality and/or items that compete directly with instruments that I have for sale are usually not accepted.

     • Instruments accepted on consignment must remain in the store for a minimum of four (4) weeks, after which, you may reclaim the instrument at any time.

     • While I am happy to advise you, pricing is your decision--you can change your pricing at any time. I encourage you to set your price as the lowest you will accept; I do not haggle over my own prices, and simply won't do it when it's not even my instrument!

     • We charge a 25% commission on items sold through the store.

   • Instruments in need of new strings, repair, setup, or basic cleaning do not sell well, if at all. We shall recommend any such attention needed upon receipt of your instrument. Such costs will be detailed for your approval, and later subtracted from your portion of the sale proceeds after the instrument is sold. Should you choose to withdraw the instrument from sale, you will, of course, be expected to pay these charges when you collect the instrument or before we ship it back to you.

   • When you sell on consignment, you agree that buyer has the right to return the item for a full refund within 3 days of its receipt for a refund, or within 2 weeks for store credit. This means that will not be considered "sold" for at least three days, and possibly as long as two weeks (instruments shipped to the west coast often take over a week to get there. Allowing the three-day inspection period can extend us out close to two weeks). If an instrument is returned within its 3-day inspection period, you will probably never know. If it is returned after that for store credit, you may already have been paid, in which case the instrument will become the property of ZEPP Country Music, Inc.

   • After it is clear that the buyer will keep the instrument, i.e., immediately after the approval period ends, payment of your funds will enter our 30-day A/P cycle, and your check will be queued for printing such that you should receive payment within ca. 4 weeks.

7. Buyers:

   • Please understand that I do not own consigned instruments. I will tell you in complete honesty and candor whatever I can about them, but pricing, etc., is not mine to determine. And, as stated above, please understand that I do not haggle over my own prices, and simply won't get involved in it when it's not even my instrument!

   • Trade-ins are tricky, because I have to pay the owner in cash. If you trade an instrument to me, I must, essentially, buy out the seller with my own cash. In general, therefore, I do not usually take trades on consigned items, but I have been known to do so when I'm feeling flush or when your trade is something I really want.

   • Our full return policy applies to consigned items.

8. Satisfaction: Please give me a call if you ever have questions or problems. I want my customers to be more than satisfied, and will do everything in my power to achieve that.

Thank you!
Donald B. ZEPP,
President