Our General Policies

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Our web site is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for your convenience. However, the rest of us need to to sleep occasionally, and play a little.  We try very hard to maintain and promote a healthy work-life balance.  Our store hours change seasonally based on demands of the business and available staff levels.  Hours are posted on our main homepage, and we also try to provide plenty of notice when we will be closed for extended holidays.

HOW TO PLACE ORDERS:

If you have never placed an order with us before, please do read our "what to expect section."   We accept order online or by phone, mail, fax, or e-mail. When picking up an order at Bracker’s (in Lawrence, Kansas) please allow sufficient notice for materials that need to be weighed out and assembled. For a small order (for example: a couple of weighed out chemicals or 500# of clay) we might only need 15-20 minutes, but as orders get larger and more complex, we need more advance notice. Our website now allows you to select a pick up date, but please still wait for the email letting you know your order is ready.  We try very hard to have it ready by the day and time you select.  Please consider giving us a day or two warning to prepare large orders during busy days or the back-to-school busy season (mid-July to mid-September).   As of Jan 1, 2022, we are requiring all orders to be paid at the time of the order.  This is due to high order volumes coupled with extreme supply challenges.  If you submit an order with call me back as your payment method, we will not begin processing your order until we receive payment.  Thank you for your understanding.  

 

HOLD HARMLESS/Errors on posted pricing (aka the Cassella Clause) 

 We try very hard to keep prices up to date on all of our items, both here online as well as the prices posted in our physical store.  However, we are all human beings who occasionally make mistakes or (more likely) may not be able to keep up with the rapid changes on the 5,000+ items we sell, which come from 50 or more vendors.  It would be a bad and unsustainable business practice for us to sell things below cost or at a profit below the amount needed to pay our rent, utilities and hardworking staff.  

Here's our policy:  If the discrepancy is less than 10%, the posted pricing will be honored.  However, .  Significant price differences will be disclosed to you prior to processing your order and you may chose to pay the correct current price or cancel the item.   Please note, we do apply this policy in BOTH directions.  If a price listed on our website is too high, or if an incorrect weight on an item results in a really high shipping cost (or if we can find a cheaper and better alternative), we will reduce your total prior to charging your card.  We consider this fair, equitable and common sense business practice.  

BULK DRY CLAY COMMENTS:

Most of the bulk dry clays are available in 50# or 100# bags (there are a few exceptions, like 55# bags). Please order the number of bags you want. 

SALES TAX:

The State of Kansas requires us to collect sales tax based on the destination of the order, so if you live in Kansas and we ship to you, we will charge your local sales tax and YOUR community will get the benefits of those tax dollars.  If you shop here in our store, we charge Douglas County sales tax.

INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO SCHOOL ORDERS:

If you are ordering for a school or institution, include a purchase order number. In most cases, we cannot do anything with the order when a purchase order number is not given. Some schools now issue purchasing credit cards to their teachers or administrators. Most schools, as well as other organizations such as PTOs or PTAs are sales tax exempt by statute. Check with your state Department of Revenue if you are unsure. School orders are only exempt when the payment comes from the school (a check or purchasing card issued by the school or district). If you pay for a school order with personal check, cash, or a personal credit card, we will have to charge sales tax. Although we trust you, apparently the government doesn’t. Sorry! 

CANCELING ORDERS:

We don’t often have to deal with this, so we don’t have a real set policy.  If you need to cancel an order, please contact us as soon as you can. If we are able to cancel it, we will do so, no problem.  If possible, we will void your original payment as well.  If it has already been “settled” (subject to the processing time frames for various providers), then we probably will need to convert that payment to a store credit for future use.

EXCHANGES & RETURNS:

Here’s our official policy:  A minimum 15% restocking charge may be levied when the order was filled correctly following the customer’s instructions and return is requested by the customer. Please take the time when you receive your order to verify that it is correct immediately upon arrival. If you have a question or problem with any shipped or delivered order, notify us within 10 days of receipt of your order to make appropriate, authorized arrangements for return. A return authorization number must accompany any returns or exchanges. Returns made without an authorized number will be refused. Returns need to be made with the receipt within 60 days for store credit only. No monetary refunds. We reserve the right to determine the validity of exchanges and returns. Special order items are non-returnable.  Large equipment such as kilns, kiln shelves, wheels, slab rollers, extruders, pug mills or mixers are non-returnable.

Here’s the reasonable person version – let us know what’s up and we’ll work with you.  Returns are pretty infrequent around here, so we are able to be fairly loose with the official rules.  Sometimes there are good reasons to return things even outside of the “normal” window.

PRICING, DISCOUNTS & BIDS:

We welcome the opportunity to submit competitive bids for institutions and qualified dealers on any or all of the equipment, materials, and supplies for your ceramic needs. Our prices and the availability of materials are subject to change without notification.

PRODUCT LIABILITY:

All descriptions, advice, or information, written or verbal, is given for general guidance and to the best of our abilities. Any guarantee, with the exception of warranties or guarantees specifically offered by manufacturers or suppliers, is not implied. Bracker’s Good Earth Clays, Inc. does not guarantee the merchantability or fitness for purpose of these products, and is not liable for any injury, loss or damage (direct or consequential) arising out of the use or misuse of these products. Caution should be taken with most ceramic materials as they may contain toxic or siliceous materials and can enter the body through inhalation, ingestion, and/or absorption. Material Safety Data Sheets are available upon request for all materials purchased through Bracker’s Good Earth Clays, Inc. Testing is recommended for all materials. Use of a NIOSH approved dust/mist respirator (dust masks) is strongly encouraged and recommended when working with any dry materials or when spraying glazes.

A SPECIAL NOTE TO INSTRUCTORS:

Due to OSHA specifications for toxicity, we reserve the right to substitute items that do not comply with regulations.

IT IS A FEDERAL LAW THAT ONLY AP NONTOXIC PRODUCTS BE USED IN SCHOOLS WITH KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 6TH GRADES.

LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO:
This is where we should place a stern warning about copyrighting our web site and describe the gory details of any consequence if you try to use anything without permission. But basically, we trust that you won’t use anything from our web site for nefarious, dangerous, or otherwise untoward uses and that you are generally an honest person who understands how hard we worked to create this site. If you want to copy information for your own use, that’s fabulous, go right ahead. We even encourage teachers to use whatever they want as handouts for classes or teaching materials. If you want to use something on our site for other purposes, contact us. And if you’re one of those types who uses this type of stuff willy-nilly without any regard to gory consequences, you probably aren’t even reading this in the first place. However, keep in mind that if you do use our information or products in the aforementioned willy-nilly style, you may be subject to fifty (50) lashes with an extruded, wet, noodle of clay. Said lashes will be carried out within fifteen (15) days of the violation by staff members or a contracted security firm. If the violation is not punished within the allowed time frame, the violation is forgiven and you will be placed on indefinite artistic probation.

We don’t sell, give, or auction our mailing list (nor any other personal information you provide to us during the usual course of doing business) to anyone else, nor do we provide specific demographic information – not even if someone asks us really politely, offers us tons of money, or gives us lots of chocolate (although our own e-mail addresses can easily be bought with Godiva chocolate). Any information that you provide to us is for our own sordid and sundry uses, such as figuring out what items to stock or finding new potter’s toys to carry. However, if you really, really feel the need to have your e-mail account flooded with spam, just send us your e-mail address and we’d be happy to forward you all of the junk mail that we get.