HOME | NEW SPECIMENS | BEST OFFER MINERAL AUCTION | SPECIMENS FROM PAST SHOWS | CONTACT US
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q - Can I purchase
specimens through layaway?
A - Yes! We offer a layaway option for the more expensive
purchases and it's a very popular with our clients.
Q - How does the layaway
option work?
A - A down payment is made first (usually about 25% of the price) and then the remaining
payments are
made over a number of months. Time is determined by the client since they know how to best
fit their own budget.
Q - Can a layaway
specimen be returned?
A - No. Layaways are considered sold since they are placed aside for a number of months. A
layaway
can always be traded back for another specimen however. Cancelled layaways forfeit the
down payment.
Q - What is your return
policy?
A - We offer a 3-day / 10-day return policy. This means notification of intent within
three days of the
specimen's arrival at your address and then up to ten days to return the specimen to our
address.
The specimen must be repacked and insured in the same manner in which it arrived.
Q - Can I return auction
specimens?
A - No. This is to maintain the integrity of the auction process and confidence of all
bidders.
Q - Do you offer a
trade-back policy for the specimens you sale?
A - Yes! We encourage trade-backs for all collectors who wish to upgrade their
collections. The
specimen being traded back must be of a lesser value of course (usually 1/2 as much or
less) and we
prefer to trade the same minerals (Topaz for better Topaz, etc.). This rule isn't written
in stone however.
Q - How often do you run
auctions and how long do they last?
A - We usually have two mineral
auctions per month and they last anywhere from one to two weeks.
Q - What is a Best Offer
Mineral Auction?
A - A Best Offer Mineral Auction will feature fine minerals from online showrooms and new
minerals
from current mineral shows. They will usually be offered with a suggested
"reserve" of half the original
retail value but this reserve is for educational use only. Bidders are always free to bid
below the reserve.
We encourage everyone to make their best, most realistic offer to increase their odds of
winning.
Q - Do you offer a
secure online form for sending personal information and credit card numbers?
A - Yes. We have a secure order
form which is located at the HOW TO ORDER link at the top of every page.
Q - How secure is this
form?
A - All information is completely encrypted and safe from second party viewing.
Q - How do you determine
shipping charges?
A - By weight and USPS shipping guidelines. We can ship via any service that is requested
however.
Q - How do you usually
ship?
A - We usually ship via FedEX, USPS, and occasionally UPS.
Q - Will you ship
overseas?
A - Oversea orders make up a large percentage of our business and we ship to almost
anywhere on the globe.
Q - How long will it
take for my specimen to reach me?
A - We generally ship out most specimens within five days of order but sometimes they may
be
shipped faster or take a bit longer depending on the backlog. For U.S.A. orders, the
shipping
time is usually anywhere from three to seven working days. For international orders, it
may
range from one to three weeks but usually takes about twelve working days on average.
Q - What are the
accepted methods of payment?
A - We accept VISA, MC, Discover, AMEX, personal checks, money orders, international money
orders, and Western Union.
Q - When I open a credit
card account, will you keep the information on file for future orders?
A - Yes. All credit card information can be kept safely on file. This makes future
ordering much easier and quicker.
Q - What are your "EXCEPTIONAL SHOWROOMS"?
A - These rooms contain specimens of a higher grade and or rarity. If you are a collector
of museum grade
specimens or wish to upgrade to higher quality pieces, these rooms are the place for you
to start!
Q - Do you have another
website besides The Mineral Gallery?
A - Yes! Our other website is "www.exceptionalminerals.com".
Q - Do you have a search
engine for your website?
A - Yes! And the search engine covers every mineral showroom on both of our mineral
websites!
Its link can be found at the top of the every website page and it works off of key words
or phrases.
Q - What are your
Specialty Mineral Rooms?
A - These are rooms devoted to specific minerals. They include Rhodochrosite, Elmwood
minerals,
Beryls (Aquamarines, Morganites, Emeralds, etc.) as well as Gold and Silver specimens. The
links
to these rooms can be found at the bottom of every website page.
Q - Why do some
specimens remain SOLD for a period of time without being removed?
A - Because we wait for the ten day return period to expire before removing any sold
specimens.
Q - Why don't you use
thumbnail photographs instead of the large mineral photographs?
A - Several reasons. We actually held a poll a couple of years ago as to which format was
preferred and found that the larger mineral photographs were more popular with our
clients.
They said that they liked the better quality of image as well as the detail in the larger
photos.
Thumbnails were rejected because our clients said they were too tedious to click through.
Most agreed that would rather wait a bit longer for the photos to load to receive better
quality
and with high speed internet connections, the waiting time is much less than it used to
be.
Q - Do you have an
e-mail list that I can sign up with to receive notification of when you update?
A - Yes! It's located at the bottom of the home page on this website. Sign up to receive
all update
notices and early notification of new mineral auctions as well as news from the shows!
Q - Do you buy
collections?
A - Yes! Contact us if you have a collection to sell or are interested in selling. If I
find that I'm
not interested, I can always submit your e-mail to another dealer that probably is.
Q - Do you take
specimens on consignment?
A- Yes! We have an excellent record of selling specimens for our clients and welcome new
consignments
all the time. Our commission is set at 25% which is the industry norm and this can be
added to the
desired selling price. We pay for all expenses and high resolution photography from our
commission.
Q - Do you purchase
specimens for clients at the mineral shows?
A - Yes! We frequently track down and purchase minerals for our clients who can't attend
the
various mineral shows. Our fee for this service is only 10% of the specimen price.
Q - What are the "HALL OF FAME" rooms?
A - These are rooms where the better specimens of both past and present are displayed for
everyone to enjoy. Accreditation is given for specimens which have sold and are in
personal collections.
Have any additional questions that should be added?? E-mail me and let me know!
Additional Mineral Showrooms of Collector Interest....
GOLD SHOWROOMS | SILVER SHOWROOMS | BERYL SHOWROOMS | RHODOCHROSITE SHOWROOMS | ELMWOOD SHOWROOMS
All Photos are © 2000 - 2014 Kevin Ward and The Mineral Gallery, Inc.
PO Box 91448 . Mobile, AL 36691 . USA