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Coup de Foudre
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is all of your "for sale" inventory on-line?
What forms of payment do you accept?
Do you have gift certificates?
How much do you charge for shipping? Do you ship internationally?
What about returns?
What merchandise is not returnable?
What do you do about errors in catalogued prices?
Can you please tell me more about an item?
Can you send me wine?
Aren't some of the things you sell illegal?
What's the best way to view Coup de Foudre's internet site?
What do the words Coup de Foudre mean?
Is all of your "for sale" inventory on-line?
In a word, no. Our future goal is to offer all of our merchandise for sale on our web site with photographs and descriptions. Much of our stock, excepting the Asian material, is on-line now, though not everything is pictured. Please visit our site often to browse through our newest offerings. Of course you can always contact us directly and inquire as to our holdings in your area of interest. We hope to get everything on-line and up-to-date by 2009.
What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept checks or money orders denominated in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. (Checks must have a valid nine-digit bank routing number (ABA code), located on the bottom of the check.) We also accept international money orders in U.S. dollars, Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express and PayPal.
For a comprehensive look at all the payment options we provide, read about our systems here (and join our many happy customers!)
Do you have gift certificates?
Yes, we have an easy to use gift certificate program! Find out more on our Payments page. [Gift Certificates have a 2-year expiration date and no cash value.]
How much do you charge for shipping? Do you ship internationally?
See the complete description of our shipping policy.
We ship anywhere in the world and have several international shipping options.
Within 7 days of receipt of your order, you may return for a full refund:
- any book, map, print, manuscript, or work of art that we sell as long as it is in the same condition as when we sold it and it is free of any claims by third parties (such as might be the case if you have re-sold the item.)
- any carpet or textile as long as it has not been worn or soiled.
We do require that you notify us of a pending return. And we ask that you keep the packing materials until you are satisfied with the condition of your purchase. (Packing materials may be required if you have any concerns regarding the condition of your merchandise.) See our Returns Policy for information on how to make a return.
- We do not accept returns of wine unless the bottle is described as returnable in the catalogue.
- Occasionally an item in one of our catalogues may be specifically listed as non-returnable.
- Some items may not be returned because their importation into the United States is forbidden. This may be true even if their export from the U.S. was not illegal. See the section on illegal items below.
- See our Returns Policy for more information and a complete list.
What do you do about web site price errors?
Despite our best efforts, an entry in a catalogue may contain an inaccuracy, typographical error, or incorrect price. However, we always verify prices as part of our receipt of your order, as well as when we notify you of our shipping procedures.
- If an item's correct price is lower than our stated price, we charge the lower amount and ship you the item with a note on our correction.
- If an item's correct price is higher than our stated price, we contact you for instructions before shipping.
If you've paid by check or money order and we owe you a full or partial refund, we will send a refund check for the difference between what you paid and what you owe. If you paid using PayPal we simply refund your money to your PayPal account. If you have paid by credit card we issue a refund to the card you used. If you have underpaid for an item we contact you asking for more money!
Can you please tell me more about an item?
We attempt to give as much information as we can (or that we know) about merchandise in our catalogues. Sometimes we are accused of being too wordy in the details! Nevertheless, we also recognize there are times when you will want to know more.
- For books, pamphlets and manuscripts we provide: author, title, city of publication, publisher, publication date, size, type of binding with any special aspects of it, number of pages, illustrations, edition and price. We then provide our description of its condition. Finally, we note something about the book and its importance. A digital photograph is often provided and where it is not we are happy to do so.
- For prints, paintings, photographs and sculpture we provide: artist, title, medium, size, date, whether it is framed and glazed, condition and price. We then note something about the item and its importance. A digital photograph is usually included.
- For furniture we provide: maker or area of probable origin, date of manufacture, composition, price, condition and any technical information we might have as to its construction. A digital photograph is included.
- For rugs and textiles we provide: area or tribe of probable origin, material of composition, date of manufacture, colors, and condition. We may note something about the makers or the item's importance. A digital photograph is included.
- For wine we provide: producer, appellation, vintage, bottle size, level of fill, label condition and either our own or an authority's tasting notes.
If you need to know more about an item it is always best to send an email, write a letter or telephone us and get an answer to your question. We will be happy to help you.
State wine laws are varied, non-uniform and just plain wacky. Some of this is a hold-over from the grand days of the prohibition movement. Much of it, however, is the stifling of free commerce by the large distributors who don't want to see you, the consumer, do an end run around their vested interests, i.e. avoid putting profit in their pockets. Some, of course, argue they are just trying to limit easy access for under-age drinkers -- a laudable cause, but anyone of you who was ever under age and wanted to grab a drink knows how easy it was (and, presumably, still is.) And, how many kids are able to plan ahead for their fine booze needs, whip out their credit card and order for home delivery, anyway? OK. So enough of the lecture.
Check the lists below to find your state and see whether we can ship to you. [For a detailed state by state analysis of what you are allowed to have shipped, go to the the Wine Institute's Internet Site. Also check out Free the Grapes!]
States where wine shipments are legal via Ground or Air
AK, CA, CO, IA, ID, IL, MO, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OR, RI, WA, WV, WI
States where wine shipments are limited by law
AL, CT, DC, HI, LA, ME, MI, NJ, OH, OK, PA, VT, WY
We ship to these states via Ground only. Expect at least 5-7 days for delivery. If you request a shipment to one of the states above, with receipt of your order, we assume you have met the criteria required by your state and can legally receive a shipment of wine from another state. Contact your state's liquor control board for specific information. You may also provide an alternative shipping address from one of the less restrictive states in the first list.
States where wine shipments are prohibited AZ, AR, DE, FL, GA, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MS, NH, NY, NC, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA
We are prohibited from shipping wine to any state in this list -- the so-called 'felony states.' Please provide an alternative shipping address from one of the states in the first (or second) list.
Aren't some of the things you sell illegal?
We do not sell merchandise that we know or believe to be illegal. We keep current on the laws and regulations governing trade in items manufactured from elements of endangered species. Having stated this, we have sold, and continue to sell, legal, vintage tribal items carved in ivory, pieces containing feathers and the like. These ethnographic materials are either antique or were made before current laws and enlightened practice made them illegal. While it is not against U.S. law to sell many of these things it is, in many cases, now illegal to bring them into the U.S. regardless of their age of manufacture. For this reason, international sale of feather headdresses and breastplates, ivory carvings, and some other items are sold not subject to return. It is impossible for us to legally re-accept them even though we sent them abroad in the first place. Clients contemplating a purchase of any questionable items are urged to contact us before placing orders.
Due to wide-spread 'potting' and illegal excavations we have suspended sales of much Chinese and Pre-Columbian material and African terra-cottas. Unless a Tang horse, for example, comes from a provenanced collection there is a high probability it may have been exported from its point of origin illegally.
What's the best way to view Coup de Foudre's internet site?
This site is best viewed with a monitor resolution of 800 x 600 with the font size set to medium and a Javascript capable browser such as Mozilla Firefox 3, Netscape 4+ or Internet Explorer 4+. You can adjust the font size setting through the "Tools/Options" menu in Firefox, "Edit/Preferences" menu in Netscape or the "View/Internet Options" menu in Internet Explorer.
If you need a capable browser, you can download one free of charge by your vendor of choice: Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.
If you didn't find the answer to your question on this page, you may ask us by sending an e-mail to info@coupdefoudre.com.