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Nautilus Imports &
Exports
FAQ's
Frequently
Asked Questions
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I
realize you offer marble artwork and stonework products with extensive
selections, do you have a showroom? Do you have them in stock?
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How do I order your
giftware products?
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I
cannot I find the prices for marble sculptures and structural and
decorative stonework, how do
I order?
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I
am a director of a small local museum, we need a custom marble bust, can
you make that for us based on archive photos?
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What
types of material do you use?
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How long does it take to carve sculptures and custom
stonework?
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I
need a marble gazebo quickly. Do you have any that is already
made and ready- to ship?
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How is
smaller merchandise shipped?
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How
are heavy stonework and marble statuary shipped?
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Do you have any minimum order requirement?
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What is your return policy?
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What is your customer privacy policy?
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I am the general buyer of a gift store and I like to
carry your product in my store, how can I proceed?
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I
received a pair of marble book ends I ordered by UPS.
Unfortunately it is broken. What should I do?
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Do you support fundraising?
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1.
I realize you offer a great variety of marble statuary and stonework products with extensive
selections, do you have them in stock ? Do you have a showroom where
I can see the products?
As
a matter of fact the images you saw online in this web site are archive
images of the artwork and stonework we produced in the past. From
these you can get an idea on the quality, workmanship, and selections of
our products. However, due to the range and flexibility of our
offering we cannot and do not stock items here in the
US except for giftware such as collector's cabinets and Pakistan marble stonework.
Our business model is to offer custom sculpture and stonework at
affordable price. We do not have a
store front and a showroom which would otherwise be
costly to operate considering even a spacious one cannot even showcase 1% of our
products. We do not have heavy-duty truck and folk lift for
stonework (such as gazebos) loading and delivery.
By focusing on importing and keeping our operation lean and efficient we provide the
most
extensive quality artwork and stonework products tailored to your
specifications. We welcome you to do comparison shopping by which you
will immediately appreciate our competitive pricing. Our only
disadvantage is time which require planning in advance.
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2. How do I order
your giftware products?
When you choose an item during your visit,
click on the "Add to Shopping Cart"
button. This brings your
shopping cart content page. From here you can change item quantities, delete items
or even empty the whole cart. At any time you can continue to browse the product
pages. When you are done shopping, send in your order. At this point, you are
asked to enter your billing address and optional shipping address, as well as payment
information. Now you can check out by clicking on the "Send Order Now"
button. This brings you the Confirm page, where you can view your order and total
amount, correct the information you entered earlier, and select the shipping method.
The shipping cost is automatically calculated for you based on the total weight, shipping
method, and your shipping zone (zip code). You are effortlessly in control.
When the order is confirmed, an order number will be assigned for you. Please write
this down for further reference.
Payment can be made by check, money order, or
COD. Please send payment to: Nautilus
Imports & Exports, 122 Longleart Dr.,
North Wales, PA 19454, USA.
We are
in the process of setting up secure credit card transaction on line, it will be ready in a
month or so.
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3.
If I cannot I find the prices for marble
sculptures and structural and decorative
stonework, how do I order ?
The
images you saw are
archive images of
our products in the past. If you are happy with what you see,
please contact us for price
lists.
If
you decide to order, we will carve one for you. We have carved
several marble lions this way for customers
worldwide. If you want to make changes to better fit your project,
that is absolutely OK since our products are individually hand
carved from natural, quarried stone,
not mass produced artificial cast-stone.
We offer all the imaginable flexibilities like marble and
granite types, colors, dimensions and styles. You can even provide
archive images or your own design schematics. That is the beauty
and freedom of custom order. We are very proud to provide this
service at affordable price. Based on your requirements, a quote
will be provided as soon as we discuss
with our sculptors and carvers.
In Nautilus
Imports & Exports, sky is the limit, not the thousand plus images
posted in this site. Just let your imagination
fly, and get the best for your project. We will do the hard
work to make it happen.
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4.
I am the director of a museum. We need a custom marble bust, can
you
make that for us based on archive photos?
After
years of successful service provided to Italian customers, we introduced
this service to North America two years ago.
The step-by-step process of our custom marble
bust services are:
1. You provide the archive images of this
historical figure (the more the better) or photos of the figure taken at
six different angles. Please click on our Custom
Bust Studio page for more details.
2. Decide on the details on style, marble type,
color, and dimensions.
3. The photos/specifications are relayed to our
sculptors for a quote.
4. If you agree on the quote, a 35% nonrefundable
deposit must be made in advance.
5. Carving starts with a clay model whose images
will be provided for your approval.
6. Carving follows on the marble of your
choice. Images are provided to you for
approval. Master
sculptors make changes before it is finalized.
7. Upon final approval, the finished bust is
shipped by sea.
8. Our broker clears the customs and arranges
trucking to your address. The balance must be paid before
delivery.
9. The whole meticulous process takes 4 to 6
months.
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5.
What types of material do you use ?
Unlike our competitors,
we only use natural, quarried granite or
marble or sandstone in 100% of our artwork
and stonework products. Each one of our artwork and stonework is
meticulously and painstakingly hand carved by our sculptors in areas with
thousand-year carving tradition.
Needless to say, natural marble offers the best quality
and value as art piece. Natural granite
offers the best resistance to weather
elements which is critical for outdoor
decorations like Japanese garden lanterns and fountains. For
structural stonework, it is essential, period.
We welcome you to do comparison shopping to find
out our competitors' pricing. We are sure that you will come
back. The fact is our prices are
similar to or even lower than those cast stone products
which are not water resistant, which do not carry value, which do not
offer selections (in terms of color, dimensions, or style) and which are
not even enjoyable to look at.
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6.
How long does it take to carve custom statuary and stonework ?
When the design
details are finalized and a 35% deposit is made, our sculptures will start
their hard work.
Our sculptors are skillful and productive. It typically takes merely
two
to three months to finish a container load of stonework products. Sea transportation then takes another two
months including clearing the customs.
So typically four months is the time table to deliver the products if
the quantity justifies a shipment to New York.
When your location is far away from New York, we
might consider to ship your artwork to the sea port closest to your
location to minimize the trucking cost. It might take longer to
consolidate a shipment to that port or the separate shipment will be more
costly. We will cooperate with you in every possible way to make
time and cost manageable.
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7.
I need a marble gazebo quickly. Do you have any that is already made
and ready to ship?
Yes, we always have something in every category
that is already made and ready to ship. For the gazebos, we typically
have five to seven that are already made and can be shipped on short notice.
Similar situation exists for other products. If you have a tight schedule
and must have something quickly, please contact us for a list of available
items. But beware they are not in our location in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, US, so sea transportation must still be arranged. It takes
three weeks to LA, and five weeks to New York.
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8. How is
smaller merchandise shipped ?
Standard shipping is by UPS ground unless you prefer
faster delivery. In that case you can choose either UPS
3-day select or UPS
2nd day air. The shipping cost is calculated
automatically by our Shopping Cart software based on the total weight of the merchandise
you checked out, and of course, your shipping zone (zip code).
The costs of all these three UPS shipping methods will show up
in related Shopping Cart pages before you confirm your order; therefore you can compare
the costs and choose the one most suitable for your needs. There is no minimum order
requirement.
You can have a shipping address different from your billing
address; so we can ship your gift directly to your loved ones without delay.
Please call or e-mail us to inquire about shipping outside the
continental US.
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9. How
are the heavy stonework and statuary shipped?
The
stonework and marble sculptures are heavy. For example a 10' x 10'
marble gazebo, crates included, can be as heavy as 7000+ lbs. UPS
does not handle these heavy items. Typically they first arrive to
New York
harbor, our customs broker clears the customs and arrange
trucking directly to your address. Comparison shopping is done to
minimize this cost.
If you are far away from New York, the trucking
cost from New York can become unmanageable. In that case we will work
closely with you to find a most cost-effective solution. If the
quantity is justifiable for a separate shipment we can arrange
direct sea
transportation to the sea port closest to your location so the trucking cost is
minimized. We have so far ship items to
Baltimore, Miami,
Charleston, Los
Angeles, and San Francisco, etc. for customers in the south and the
west. For customers in Europe and other continents, direct shipping
is arranged to these regions.
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10.
Do you have any minimum order requirements?
For
giftware customers, we don't. A girl even order a single eggs from
us. However, shipping rate is slightly higher for small quantity.
For orders of heavy sculptures and decorative
stonework, you can still order smaller quantity. When it goes to New
York, we can consolidate the shipment. If your location is far away
from New York so we must ship to a sea port closest to you, we encourage
certain quantity to justify a separate shipment so that the fees and
shipping cost are manageable. An order at a container load or higher
will be cost effective in terms shipping cost and other
fees.
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11.
What is your return policy?
As
our customer, your satisfaction is our primary concern. For giftware
orders, you have our 30-day money-back
guarantee. Just contact us
for a return merchandise authorization # (RMA# ) and get full refund when
we receive the merchandise.
For sculptures and decorative/structural
stonework, we send you images of custom artwork or stonework for your
approval before delivery. Before the item is finalized, we make
changes based on your opinions. Upon your final approval we deliver
your custom order by sea and truck. Thereafter you do not entitle a
full refund.
If the merchandise is damaged during sea
transportation, it is cover by the insurance we pay for. Even though
it is a very rare occurrence, we will cooperate in every possible way to
supply the damaged parts to complete your project.
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12.
What is your customer privacy policy ?
We take this
very seriously. Under any circumstances, you can be assured that
your name and contact info including your phone numbers will not be
released to any third party for financial gain. Since our five plus
years in this business, this has never happed.
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13.
I am the owner-buyer of a gift store and I like to carry your products in
my store, how can I proceed ?
Dealer inquiry is very
welcome. Please send us an e-mail describing the products you are
interested in and the quantity. We will reply with details and
attach our wholesale price lists. To qualify for wholesale pricing,
your Federal Tax ID # must be provided.
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14.
I received a pair of marble book ends I ordered by UPS.
Unfortunately it is broken. What should I do?
If
this happens, contact us immediately to report the damaged
merchandise. Since the merchandise shipped via UPS is automatically
covered by insurance up to $100, you will be worry free for the damaged
merchandise.
Please don't ship the damaged item to
us. UPS
might needs to examine the damaged merchandise in person so keep your
damaged merchandise for that purpose. Please send us an email to report
the case. We will do our best to cooperate with UPS, and to replace
the merchandise.
Customer satisfaction is our priority.
In case the merchandise is more than $100 in value, we will purchase insurance up
to the value of the merchandise to make sure it is covered by the policy.
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15.
Do you support fund raising?
High school
teachers contacted us about the possibilities to supply our beautiful
candles, candle holders and small Pakistan marble stonework for fund
raising. Since 1999, we supported good courses as well as oversea
orchestra trips. Everybody turned out to be a winner. Ever
since we continue our support by supplying products at or below our
wholesale prices. Please contact us if you have such a need.
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