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how to make a purchase from the ikebana shop


Sorry, we are not a complete online store.  Think of us more like an old-fashioned mail-order shop ...with an electronic catalogue!  

The order process.  Collect items you'd like to purchase in the shopping bag.  When you're done, proceed to Checkout.  Enter your name, shipping address, email, and billing address (if different). Note that shipping and taxes are initially set to zero. These will be quoted later on. Review your order. Click on "Place Order."

What happens is that an email will be sent to us with your shopping bag contents.  We will prepare all the items and send directly to your email a quotation complete with shipping costs and applicable sales taxes (if you are in Canada.)  Once you agree to the quotation, then we settle payment and we ship!

We normally respond within two business days. If you don't hear from us, it means something went wrong somewhere. Do send us a follow-up email and we'll be on top of it!

Why do we do it this way?  It is not as convenient as real online shopping but we prefer it this way because: 
(1) We have diverse products. Estimating shipping costs automatically is not feasible. We prefer to give the correct shipping cost rather than make a robotic estimate that would, more often than not, be skewed to be conservative, which would only add unnecessary cost to you.
(2) We like to give each customer our personal attention. Sometimes you have follow-up questions about our products. We try to answer all queries the best we can.

Taxes and Duties. All Canadian purchases are subject to the appropriate GST/HST of the destination province.  Purchases from outside of Canada are not subject to Canadian sales tax.  However, any customs duties and local sales taxes charged by the destination country will be the purchaser’s responsibility.  Thank you for your understanding.

Shipping.  We use Canada Post, normally.  We will ship to anywhere that Canada Post services.  If you prefer a different courier, please let us know.

Local Halifax Curbside Pickup. If you would like to pick up your order at the shop, please choose the “Store Pickup” option at checkout. We will contact you directly to arrange payment and pickup time.

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Payment methods.  For customers in the U.S. and Canada, payments can be made by Visa, MasterCard or PayPal.  For customers in Canada only, we also accept payment via Interac e-Transfer.

Please do not write your credit card number on email.  Provide us a phone number and we will call to get your card details.  Alternatively, you can call us during shop hours at your convenience.  (Note: We do not keep your credit card numbers on file unless specifically requested.)

For customers outside of North America, we accept PayPal payments only.

For large orders (value more than $500), we may ask for a wire transfer in advance.

Is PayPal safe?

  • PayPal is secure.

  • No need to give us your credit card number.

  • No additional charge to you.

  • No credit risk to us.

  • No need for a PayPal account to pay. We'll send you an electronic invoice.

Returns/Refunds.  All items sold online are considered final. Returns/refunds are not accepted for products sold in good faith and delivered in good condition. We do ask that you please take the time to check the final order confirmation before paying to ensure that your order is correct.

If it is our fault....
We take great care in getting to you the exact product you ordered. But sometimes accidents do happen. We will replace damaged/defective items at no cost to you. If we shipped the wrong item, we will take responsibility in correcting the situation. If a replacement is no longer available, we will issue a full refund.  

Claims of damaged, defective or wrong items must be made 7 calendar days after delivery date. We may ask for photographic proof to verify damage, etc.

Hope you enjoy our store...and remember, we are just an email away if you have any questions.  Happy shopping!

Click here to start shopping!