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Policies

  • GUARANTEE – PRIVATE SALES
  • GUARANTEE – EBAY SALES
  • PAYMENT ON SALES
  • SHIPPING DETAILS

All saxophones sold by Just Saxes are guaranteed to be in tip-top playing condition, without leaks, and are guaranteed to be as described in these webpages (as well as in any eBay listing by Just Saxes). I make every effort to ensure that the horns I sell are at their very best when they’re shipped, and that they’ll arrive at your doorstep in the best possible condition. Once you have your horn in hand, I’ll be happy to answer any questions I can, and to provide you with helpful hints on horn care.

I’m never satisfied that a transaction is completed until I hear from the buyer that s/he is fully comfortable and pleased with the horn. It’s extremely important to me that every buyer is completely satisfied at the end of a transaction, and I make every effort to ensure that that’s the case.

GUARANTEE – Private sales

Any item sold by Just Saxes may be returned (postmarked) within 7 (seven) days of confirmed receipt for a full refund of the selling price, minus any shipping, insurance, taxes and/or additional fees stipulated in the original sales agreement.  In the absence of an explicit waiver, a 0%-10% restocking fee may be applied at Just Saxes’ discretion.

On any valid return, merchandise will be received by Just Saxes properly packaged and insured, without damage of any kind (please click on this link to go to “cybersax.com“‘s page on proper saxophone packaging/shipping).

In short, proper packing for shipping (using saxophone example) includes at least the following:

  • 1) Saxophone completely and securely shimmed into place, within the case, with pliable materials. If the area of the case that received the neck plug is unpadded, some kind of padded insert is necessary where the neck plug contacts the case. Without these precautions, saxophone can (& actually is likely) to suffer damage from contact with the case, when package is dropped in handling.
  • 2) Neck plug or viable substitute securely & safely in place (to protect neck joint & octave key mechanism)
  • 3) neck and accessories individually wrapped, or securely padded into place, in accessories compartment, & shimmed into place so that they cannot bang around, or get loose in the case. Failing to do this is likely to cause damage to both the neck and the body of the horn.
  • 4) if possible, gently seal all key cups closed; lacking clamps or key shims, plastic “Saran Wrap” will suffice. To secure keys, close keys down with normal finger pressure (starting the first wrap under the fingers) and wrap entire keyboard, in turn, with plastic wrap.
  • 5) make sure case is securely shut, so that it will not pop open during shipping; tie with string, or bind with ties, if necessary.
  • 6) entire case must be suspended in at least 3 inches of soft, pliant materials, on all 6 sides of the case. Also, if peanuts are being used, they must be shimmed into place with other materials (e.g. newspaper) so that they do not all shift to one side or another in shipping.

Taking these precautions, I’ve not had a horn damaged, beyond slight upsetting of adjustments, in the past year. About 2/3 of the time that I have received horns (when buying online, or by mail), however, and any of these precautions are skipped, meaningful mechanical damage has resulted.

Please note: I would prefer not to have to charge any restocking fee at all, but I’ve found that I have to have some measure of protection in place, simply in order to avoid having my return policies abused by persons who are only looking for a “free trial” or cost-free (or shipping cost) rental. Just Saxes is a one (and occasionally 2) man operation that has no administrative person, hired at a low wage, to handle shipping & receiving; I simply cannot afford the risk involved, and the labor, in shipping horns to those few folks who would be apt to abuse a no-penalty return policy. The restocking fee is preventative, rather than punitive, and is in place only to promote greater communication prior to completing a sale, in the interest of making sure of a good fit, customer to saxophone. To date (of this writing, in 2013), the return policy has not actually been exercised by any client.

GUARANTEE – eBay sales

Any saxophone or mouthpiece sold by Just Saxes through an eBay auction may be returned within 7 (seven) days of confirmed receipt for a full refund of original price, minus shipping and insurance fees, and any restocking fees that may apply.

In some cases, additional fees, such as eBay charges and/or PayPal (see below) may apply (on purchases over $100, the fee will be the actual eBay commission and relisting fee). If there are to be any additional fees that are not covered by Just Saxes’ eBay return guarantee, they will be mentioned explicitly in the content of the item-listing itself (there will be no surprise fees, on any purchase).

On any valid eBay return, saxophone and/or mouthpiece will be received by Just Saxes properly packaged and insured, without damage of any kind (please click on this link to go to “cybersax.com“‘s page on proper saxophone packaging/shipping).

Please note: returns based on “taste” may be charged a 0-10% restocking fee. I would prefer not to have to charge any restocking fee at all, but seemingly recent economic instability and other causes has inspired a rash of “window shopping” in the marketplace. In order to keep my prices low — i.e. so that I don’t have to raise them to cover the labor expense involved every time a person buys a horn merely from curiousity (as opposed to need) — I’ve added this restocking fee policy. The fee applies only to returns based on taste, and may be waived in many circumstances (at Just Saxes’ discretion). To date (of this writing, in 2013), the return policy has not actually been exercised by any client.

Payment on Sales

U.S. Postal Service Money Order is preferred method of payment for domestic sales. International money order and direct wire transfer are preferred for international sales.

Cashier’s check, money order, and personal check are also all acceptable, but transactions paid for with personal checks will have to wait 10 days to ship (in order to allow time for check to clear). Similarly, any check paid to Just Saxes for merchandise that has a wait-time preceding “hard posting” of funds to Just Saxes will have to clear prior to shipping (cashier’s checks, for example, require 5 business days to “hard post”).

Direct wire transfer is also acceptable. On domestic direct wire transfers, there is a $10 fee (to cover my own bank’s charges to my account, on domestic transfer transactions). On international direct wire transfers, there is a US$15 fee (to cover my own bank’s charges to my account, on international transfer transactions). Direct wire transfers usually require 2-3 days to “hard post,” international 4-5 days.

Credit cards may be used to pay for purchases from Just Saxes through “PayPal” services. On payments through PayPal, there is a 3.1% (of transfer total) surcharge to the buyer, to cover PayPal’s charges to Just Saxes. This fee will occasionally be waived on transactions under $200, and in such cases the waiver will be explicitly stipulated through Just Saxes’ communications and/or advertisements, whether sale is transacted through eBay or privately. Unfortunately, I have been the victim of PayPal fraud, in the past, and to best take into account PayPal policy, and common sense, the following must be observed, in order to complete a sale or purchase through PayPal: (1) the amount must not exceed $975; (2) PayPal will be accepted only from “confirmed” accounts; (3) shipment of items purchased by PayPal will be exercised only to the confirmed address for the account of the name purchaser; (4) shipping for items purchased by PayPal will be allowed only to residential and business addresses — I cannot, unfortunately, ship by PayPal to a post office, or other remote mailbox, except by express, prior agreement. In no case will an item valued at over $350, purchased by PayPal, be sent to a post office box.

Shipping Details

Just Saxes exercises the utmost care in packaging any item for shipping. FedEx ground shipping is recommended for domestic shipping, and USPS Express for international, but other options may be discussed at the customer’s request. FedEx is recommended for domestic because I have had the best success with them, long term. The only saxophone I’ve had damaged in years was damaged by UPS, and the damage was a function of the horn being heavily dropped. USPS Express International is the choice for international because its cost is lowest and insurance can be purchased for full value; I have had a saxophone stolen while in USPS custody, so international shipments must be fully insured, and this is figured into the shipping cost.

All responsibility for safe shipping, on Just Saxes-represented items, is Just Saxes’. If any item is not delivered to the customer in represented condition, all return guarantee conditions are valid, and the buyer is not obligated to wait for damage claim to be filled in order to receive reimbursements.

Mouthpieces and accessories will be shipped in sturdy boxes, surrounded by pliable packaging materials in order to protect against cosmetic and structural damage, and will be insured for the amount of the purchase (rounded up to nearest $50 or $100 increment).

All saxophones will be shipped in sturdy boxes, as per comments above (under “Guarantees: Private Sales”): padded in the case (except where there is no case for the saxophone itself), keys and key cups securely fastened down to protect the pad seatings and adjustment, with the case itself suspended on all sides in pliable packaging materials. All saxophones will be insured for the amount of the purchase (rounded up to nearest $50 or $100 increment).