Ordering information and FAQ's

Ordering Information & Frequently Asked Questions
PLEASE READ ALL INFORMATION BEFORE ORDERING.

Frequently asked questions:

About our pricing
Do you sell wholesale, and or give discounts?.
Is there a minimum order?
How may I pay for my order?
How can my order be shipped?
How fast will I get my order?
What about backorders?
What about returns?
What are my ordering options?

Frequently asked questions about our products:

How can I tell what size the charms are ?
Does it have a hole or loop to hang it or not ?
What is raw brass?
Can I get the charms in other finishes ?
What Is Copper Brass ?
About electro plating your charms ?
Can I paint on the brass ?
How do I antique the brass ?
Should I wash the charms ?
Should I Seal the charms ?
Are there tools to help make my jewelry ?
Do the charms contain Lead or Nickel ?
Additional Information

DOES IT HAVE A HOLE OR LOOP TO HANG IT OR NOT:
      Items in the 1000, 3000, and 5000 series all have a hole or loop for hanging.
      Items in the 2000, 4000 and 6000 series do NOT have a hole or loop for hanging.
       Items in the 8800 series are miscellaneous
       Items in the 9900 series are findings

ABOUT OUR PRICING\DISCOUNTS & WHOLESALE
There is a price break on items ordered in quantity
Single piece price
       from 1 to 11 pieces each item number ( full retail price )
       from 12 to 143 pieces each item number ( discounted price )
       144 pieces or more each item number ( * true wholesale price )
Different item numbers may not be combined in order to receive a discount. Discounts are per item only. Our shopping cart automatically figures the discount for the quantity of that item.

No further discounts are given.

Quantities of (4) dozen or more pieces are weighed on a counting scale and not physically counted so there can occasionally be more or less than you ordered ( we try very had to make sure if there is a variance it is in your favor)
 

WHAT IS RAW BRASS?
The charms and embellishments in this catalog are RAW BRASS.
RAW BRASS can have scratches, blotches, spots, tarnish, etc. Most of our brass does not, but occasionally this is what we get from the manufacturer, it is beyond our control.
Raw brass items must be washed before antiquing or painting to remove oil that is left on them from the machines that stamp them out. (see instructions). Some pieces may need to be polished if they are tarnished, or have the tarnish removed depending on what you want to do with them. We recommend using Hagerty 100 metal polish which may be purchased from MANY places online.
If they will be handled a lot, or used for jewelry, they should be sealed to prevent tarnishing.

WHAT ARE COPPER BRASS ITEMS?
Raw brass can vary in color from yellow, pink, to a coppery red (coppery red like a penny).  If you need all of one item number to be the same color, please inform us (this may not be possible). It is almost impossible to have all of the different charms match in color unless you have them plated. If you need plated items, take a look on our Other Sources page.
Color variations are beyond our control, no 2 production runs are exactly the same.
Items that are always copper colored are marked as such
If you do not want to receive copper colored items, please specify when ordering.
All brass pieces and many of the findings are made in the U.S.A.

CAN I GET THE CHARMS IN OTHER FINISHES?
Not from us. If you wish to purchase charms in other finishes check with the companies listed on our other sources page.

ABOUT ELECTRO PLATED CHARMS?
Charm plating and oxidizing is accomplished by sending your charms to a company that provides electroplating and/or oxidizing services. We can send your charms to a plater for you, but you have to set up an account with the plater before we will ship your order to them. Once your order leaves here, we are not responsible for losses or plating mistakes that may occur once your order reaches the plater. We have found that there is a minimum of a10% loss of your product at the plater is common, so you should order extra product to make sure that you end up with enough to complete your project.
We suggest that you request samples from the plater showing the different finishes they offer BEFORE you have an order sent to them. Finishes will vary from plater to plater, and they usually have minimum requirements.
Here are the platers that our customers use most often, however, if you already have a plater other than those listed, we will be happy to ship your order to them.

Anton Enterprises                        
430 Wallington Ave.
Cranston, RI 02910
401-781-3120

Ideal Plating and Polishing (they do not have a web site)
175 Public Street
Providence, RI 02903
401-455-1700

HOW MAY I PAY FOR MY ORDER?

On our website you may pay with a Visa Or Master Card.
If sending an order in the mail and
you are in the USA you may pay with a
                         Visa;
                        Master card;
                        PayPal
                        Discover and American express through PayPal
                        Personal check or money order (This may delay your order until your check clears),
you are a foreign customer  you may pay with a
                         Visa
                        Master card
                        PayPal
                        Discover and American express through PayPal

Your Credit Card is NOT automatically charged when you order on our web site. For security reasons ( both yours and ours ) your credit card is charged only when your order is assembled and ready for shipping. You are only charged for items that are being shipped. Back orders are charged separately.
We do not retain your credit card information after the charge has been accepted., or until any back-order is ready for shipping.

We do not accept
      C.O.D. Orders;
      any other internet based money transactions

HOW CAN MY ORDER BE SHIPPED?
Orders are shipped via U.S. Postal Service.
There are shipping options to choose from when checking out on our web site
IF YOU ARE SENDING AN ORDER IN THE MAIL please remember to add SHIPPING CHARGES see the shipping pages
and please use our order form available here
Continental USA:
Items may be shipped
             USPS (United States Postal Service)
Items shipped to Alaska & Hawaii
Items may be shipped by      
           by priority mail through the USPS.
EXTRA shipping charges will be added to your order.
Canada & Overseas
There are shipping options to choose from when checking out on our web site
Orders being sent via the mail make sure you add shipping, please see the shipping page
and please use our order form available here

For Canada and foreign shipments are through the USPS via the following
             Priority international
             Express International
* Orders over $1000.00 are subject to package weight.

HOW FAST WILL I GET MY ORDER?
Once you place your order it can take several days before we ship it. This all depends upon our current work load. If you need emergency processing, please call (607)849-6870 or email (fancifuls @ frontier . com) to let us know you are in a hurry, and we will expedite your order. Choosing Priority mail does not mean you will get priority processing!
( during certain times of the year, extra priority processing fees may apply ).

HOW CAN I TELL WHAT SIZE THE CHARMS ARE ?
 All of our items have a size reference in the picture

IS THERE A MINIMUM ORDER ?
There are No Minimums!!! You may order as few or as many pieces as you need for your project.

HOW MAY I PLACE MY ORDER ?
                 This website and our secure shopping cart system
                 by mail
If by Mail and you have our catalog please use the enclosed order form If no order form then write your  name, address, phone #, the item #(s), description and the quantity desired on a piece of paper and send it to: Fancifuls Inc. 1070 Leonard Road Marathon, NY 13803 or use our order form available here
IF YOU ARE SENDING AN ORDER IN THE MAIL, and are paying by check or money order, YOU MUST CALL OR FAX  (607) 849-6870 US TO GET A SHIPPING CHARGE to add to your order total. If you do not include shipping charges with your mailed in order, it will delay your order until we receive the additional funds to cover the shipping charge. 
If you are paying with your credit card, Please Include your card number, expiration date, and the name on the card, (your name or the name of the person paying for the order) the 3 digit security code on the back of the card, and your signature.
        You may order by calling, (607)-849-6870, Monday - Friday 9am to 5pm Eastern Standard Time for phone orders, anytime for fax orders. There is also an answering machine at this number to leave a message.

WHAT ABOUT BACK-ORDERS?
We will NOT automatically back-order out of stock items unless you request it.
If you request a back-order, when your merchandise arrives we will either email you or call you to let you know and see if you would like to add additional items.
Back-orders may take up to FOUR (4) weeks to fill.
Back-orders will be charged at the most current pricing when we receive the new stock due to the current volatility of the price of brass ! (which may be higher than the original price listed at the time you made your purchase).

Shipping charges will apply to back-orders based on actual weight & value
There is an extra charge for next day, 2 day, & 3 day UPS or priority mail on back-orders

WHAT ABOUT RETURNS ?
            Merchandise may NOT be returned without prior approval.
            Any returns without prior authorization will not be credited.
            All returns must be accompanied with a copy of the original invoice.
            All returned items must be in original condition
            All sales are final after 30 days of receiving your items
            There will be a 15% restocking fee for merchandise.  Merchandise that we shipped in error will not be charged this fee.
            Return credit will be for merchandise only The customer is responsible for shipping costs for returning merchandise UNLESS It was our error.
            Please notify us with any problem that you have with your order ( shortages, damaged items, etc. ) within 10 days of receiving your order

Click her for further information on shipping

Tips and Tools

All of our charms are LEAD FREE, made in the U.S.A., and made from solid brass. For the M.S.D.S. of our brass please go HERE.

WASHING INSTRUCTIONS FOR RAW BRASS ITEMS:
Wash the brass charms & other brass items in a solution of dish detergent and warm water to eliminate oil residue from the manufacturing process. An old toothbrush works great for scrubbing the charms. Rinse thoroughly in warm water. Dry the charms immediately to prevent water spots. If you are making large quantities of jewelry, you might want to invest in a bullet casing cleaner. This is an electric vibrating machine filled with a cleaning media ( ground corncob or walnut shells), and brass polish. You can clean several hundred pieces in about 2 hours. The only drawback is that the media gets inside the puffed charms and is hard to get out. It is available from Midway ( see sources page for address & item number). Raw brass items that have spots or a dull finish can be cleaned with Hagerty 100 brass polish, this polish removes the most stubborn stains on brass. We have not found any other brass cleaner that works as well as this one. After using the polish, wash the piece with dish detergent & water, then rinse and dry it  (do not let it air dry, water spots will form on it) before antiquing and painting it.

ANTIQUING:
Items may be antiqued with dark brown or black acrylic craft paint for
a traditional look. ( I use DecoArt soft black available through us on the Metallic Paint Page .) Coat the entire piece. with paint ( I do one side at a time, and if it is a large piece, Ill do one half at a time ) and immediately wipe off the excess paint with a paper towel or soft rag, ( old tee-shirts work well ) leaving paint in the crevices. If it is too light , simply repeat the process. If it is too dark or you just don't like the way it looks, you can scrub the paint off with a toothbrush, and start over. For a different look, you can pickle the brass pieces with white acrylic craft paint, or experiment on your own for a unique color effect.

PAINTING:
Items may be painted with acrylic, or metallic acrylic craft paints after antiquing them. I recommend putting one (1) coat of spray lacquer on the pieces (after antiquing them) before painting them. The paint seems to stick better .

SEALING:
After antiquing and / or painting, the brass pieces must be sealed to prevent tarnishing. Either a spray or brush on sealer may be used. You may use any brand of water - based varnish or polyurethane, or spray lacquer from your local hardware store. Use a satin or gloss finish, depending on how you want your pieces to look. I have found the best way to spray items is to lay the pieces on a piece of newspaper in a large, low sided box. Change the newspaper between each coat of spray.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION :
The rings can be broken off many of the charms by bending it back and forth. On the heavier charms, the ring must be cut off with a pair of side cutters. This sometimes leaves a rough edge that must be filed off or ground off with a Dremel tool. The puffed charms can be taken apart by cutting off the ring and opening the charm up. I do this when I want to use a puffed charm on a collage pin. If a piece doesn't have a ring on it, you can drill a hole in it with a Dremel or high speed rotary tool, or use a glue on drop loop tab. ( Available on the Findings and accessories page ). Embellish your projects with faux pearls and rhinestones. Add a little sparkle with powdered or liquid glitter. To use a powdered glitter, brush on a light coat of water based varnish and while it is still wet, sprinkle on the glitter. Let dry. Shake off excess glitter and put several coats of water based varnish over it to keep the glitter from flaking off. This looks great on angel and fairy wings. Clothing can be embellished with charms - antique, paint and seal your charms before sewing or gluing ( with E6000 adhesive ) to your clothing. Embellished clothing can be machine washed on the gentle cycle, inside out. Line dry. You can make some really cute pins by combining the brass charms with pre - painted resin pieces that are available in craft stores. Either hang the charms off the bottom of the resin piece with a glue on drop loop tab, or glue some charms directly to the resin piece. For example, I found a bird cage that I glued some birds to, and a flower in a pot that I glued a bow to and a bee and butterfly to the flower. To keep your chain from twisting while you are making a necklace, lay it on a cork-board and pin it down at each end. When using glue on drop loop tabs, I recommend gluing them on with an epoxy, available at your local hardware store. I use a product called Sno-Tex on a lot of my winter and Christmas pins.

RECOMMENDED TOOLS:
I recommend the following tools to make your jewelry creating an easier job.
Needle nose pliers

Side cutters

Round nose pliers  (these are great for bending loops into head and eye pins)

Dremel power tool ( for drilling holes, grinding, polishing, etc.) Can Be Purchased At Local Hardware Store
 

PLEASE BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ON ALL TOOLS, PAINTS, SRAYS, CLEANERS, ETC., AND WEAR APPROPRIATE ATTIRE AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT.