HELP - Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the questions we get asked every day, along with the answers. If you can't find your question here, our e-mail address is at the bottom of this page.

• What's your minimum order? And why do you have a minimum anyway?
  
• I don't like using my credit card online. Can I call in my order?
  
• I don't have a credit card. Can I send you a check?
  
• Is your website secure?
  
• How wide are your fabrics, and what is the fiber content?
  
• Do you ship to my country?
  
• Do you have a catalog?
  
• Do you send swatches?
  
• What the heck is a fat quarter?
  
• What is your privacy policy?
• What is your return policy?
• Do you accept PayPal?

   

  • What's your minimum order? And why do you have a minimum anyway?

    A. Our minimum is $10, with the option of ordering less and paying a $3 handling fee.

    It costs us about $2 to charge your credit card, and it costs about $3 to print your order, pull your item(s) off the shelf, check your order, and pack it up. This doesn't count the cost of cutting fabrics. And of course, we had to buy the item you're buying, and pay postage for it to get to us. With that kind of overhead, orders under $10 just don't pull their own weight, and would cost us money to process. We want to stay in business. We hope you want us to stay in business, so please forgive us for imposing this minimum. Since everything we sell is at a discount, and since adding a small item or two usually does not increase your postage charges, we hope it's not too much of an inconvenience to add a spool of thread or pack of needles to your order if necessary.

    If you do place an order under $10, you'll pay a $3 handling charge, plus shipping. You'll have the choice of shipping by First Class, which can cost as little as $.43 for one pattern. That way, if you really just want a $5 item, you can pay a total of $8 to $10 for the item, the handling, and the postage. We still don't think that's very economical, but it probably beats driving to the store to pick up the same item, especially if you don't live near a quilt shop.

  • I don't like using my credit card online. Can I call in my order?

    A. It's better if you use the shopping cart to place your order, and just call us on the phone to give us your credit card number. Choose the option "I will call with my Credit Card information." We'll keep your credit card info on file and each time you place another order, just put "card number on file" into the comments box, check the box for "I will call with my Credit Card information," and we'll use your credit card number on file. Call 888-204-4050 to give us your credit card information.

    We will take the entire order on the phone if you insist, but there will be a $4 telephone order charge. There is NO extra charge just to give us your credit card number by phone.

  • I don't have a credit card. Can I send you a check?

    A. Yes, but we don't recommend it.

    While we're waiting for checks to arrive or to clear, we have to make sure we don't give the customer's fabric to someone else, but we also have to keep accurate track of exactly how much fabric is on the shelves for our other customers. It's a nightmare and someone is often disappointed.

    So, you may send a check and we'll do our best to keep your items in stock, but please don't yell at us if something is not in stock by the time we can ship to you.

    You can send your checks to us at: The Craft Connection P O Box 1088 Onley, VA 23418

     

  • Is this web site secure?

    A. Absolutely. It is simply impossible for anyone to get your credit card information from your using it on this web site. In fact, it's far more secure than using it at a restaurant. Media hype about the dangers of using your card on the Internet ignore the facts that (a) a smaller percent of fraud occurs through Internet shopping than mall shopping, and (b) only sites that are not secure can leak your information. When you check out on our website, you will be entering your information safely on a secure site.

     

  • How wide are your fabrics, and what is the fiber content?

  A. All our fabrics are 44"/45" wide, except for quilt backs and some others that are wider than 44", listed on their own page and are also marked on their pages with the width.

  All our fabrics are 100% cotton except for specialty fabrics like lace, velour, or metallics.

   

  • Do you ship to my country?

  A. Yes, we ship internationally, to every country in the world. We charge $.75 postal insurance when shipping to every country to insure the package ourselves. This is quite a bit cheaper than the insurance charged by the Post Office.

  We ship by Priority Mail International or First Class Mail International, whichever you choose, and you should receive your order in about a week. The cost to most countries is $17.65 for each Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope, and this includes the $.75 insurance fee. At the present time, we can put about 8 yards of regular cotton fabric into a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope, and it's also useful if you are buying a book or a few patterns. For large orders, we can ship your order using the Priority Mail International Flat Rate Box, which holds about 20 yards. That is $27.95 (USD) for Canada and $45.95 for all other countries.

   

  • Do you have a catalog?

  A. Our catalog is on-line. Because we add new products every day, a printed catalog would be obsolete before it came back from the printer. Also, printed catalogs are very expensive and if we had one, we'd have to raise our prices.

  We hope our category pages and our search feature make the website as easy to use as a print catalog.

   

  • Do you send swatches?

  A. We send up to 8 free snippets of our fabrics (except UltraSuede and fleece), if you send us a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The snippets are roughly 1-1/2" by 2-1/2". If you need a larger piece, or if you can't wait for your mail to get to us before we send out your sample, then you'll need to order a fat quarter. This is a piece 18" X 22", and it's the smallest piece we sell.

  Mail your SASE to us at:

  The Craft Connection
  P O Box 1088
  Onley, VA 23418

   

  • What the heck is a fat quarter?

    A. A fat quarter is 1/4 yard of fabric. But instead of cutting a long skinny piece that's 9" by 44", we cut it more square, so it's 18" by 22". This is a more useable piece for most uses, especially if th e fabric has large motifs on it, which would be cut in half by the skinny strips.

     

  • What is your privacy policy?

    A. Under NO circumstances will we share your personal information with anyone for any purpose. We also will not add your name to our own mailing list except at your express request (we do have a newsletter and you may subscribe if you like.) If we should sell The Craft Connection to another party, the new owner will be required to abide by our promise to you, and they also will not share or use your information except to fill your orders.

  • What is your return policy?

    A. We don't want you to keep anything you don't want. If we send you the wrong fabric, or if the fabric is defective, you may return it at our expense (normally we ask you to pay the postage and we refund it). If you order something but then change your mind for any reason--you discover you already have it or you decide you don't like the color in your living room, whatever--you may return it at your expense, and there's a 15% restocking charge.

  • Do you accept PayPal?

    A. Yes. Use our shopping cart to select your items and check out. When you get to the payment page, select "I will call with my credit card information." This allows you to place the order without entering any credit card info. The computer will send you an order confirmation by email, with the total including shipping. Pay this amount on PayPal to orders@craftconn.com. When we get the payment notification, we'll ship your order.

  If you have any problems using the site, or if you have any comments, please e-mail us at customerservice@craftconn.com.