Dreaming Gates--Help File
including help with orders

Questions and Answers: Cart-related

Troubleshooting: Using Cart

            Questions and Answers: General Questions and Answers: Order Form / Checkout Troubleshooting: Sending Orders             Sending Orders:
Line-by-line Assistance



Questions and Answers: Cart Related

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Question: "What is a shopping cart?"

Answer: A shopping cart is a program that makes a list of items that you want to purchase, then sends that list to the store when you "check out" or finish shopping.  Our shopping cart runs on Javascript, using Cookies to keep a list of what you want to buy.

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Question: "How do I add something to my shopping cart?"

Answer: First, find an item you want to buy in our website.  Second, beside that item's name, find the small box with "Qty" beside it.  Type into that box how many you want (use numbers only).  Third, press the "Add to Cart" button.  A small message will pop up saying that the item has been added to your cart.   Click Ok, and continue shopping.

Note: some browsers may have difficulty with javascript.   If your cart does not seem to work, you can always e-mail a list of what you want to purchase ([email protected]).

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Question: "How do I see what is in my shopping cart?"

Answer: Find the button or link labeled "View Cart."  (There is at least one on every product page, and one on the left-hand menu.)  Clicking this will take you to a list of what you want to buy--i.e., what's in your shopping cart.

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Question: "How do I check out (buy what I want to purchase)?"

Answer: Once you are done shopping, visit your shopping cart by clicking any "View Cart" button or link (see question above for help).  On that page, beneath the list of items you want, are two links: "Continue Shopping" and "Check Out."  Click the link that says "Check Out."  After that, enter your name, address, phone number, e-mail, and how you would like to pay for your items.  The total will be calculated for you, according to which options you select.  Once you have your total, click "Submit" to send the order to us.  Afterward, you can send your payment either online or via mail.  (If you need help, please e-mail us for assistance.  Make sure to print your cart, so as not to lose it.  You can always mail it if all else fails.)

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Question: "How do I find my way around (navigate) the website and cart?"

Answer:

Using the Menu--At the upper-left of most pages there is a menu with words and pictures in it. Clicking on any of the above will take you to the corresponding page.   Clicking the tiny books will also open sub-directories with more links.

Using the Cart--At the top-left of most pages there are links separated by ">" that indicate how deep in the website you have gone.   In addition, most pages have links near the big picture at the top that describe what can be found on that page.   Lastly, in the page itself, clicking the picture of any product (or category) will take you to a page that describes that product (or that category's products).

Using the Drop-Down List--At the top-right of most pages there is a drop- down list containing some of the most important pages in our site.   Selecting any of these from the list will take you to the corresponding page.

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Question: "How do I know if a link opens a new window / what do the symbols after links mean?"

Answer: You may find a symbol after some links in our website:

--> The symbol "-" means that the link leads to a different page within the shopping cart (usually not in a new window, unless it is a help page).

Most other links do not open a new window, unless it is to a page completely outside our cart.

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Question: "What is javascript?  (Why must it be enabled?)"

Answer: Javascript is a language that most recent browsers can understand (including Netscape 6+ and Internet Explorer 6+).  This language is used to run simple programs right on your browser (rather than downloading them from elsewhere).  Like most programs, javascript uses special words and numbers to store and manipulate information, such as how many items you want to buy.  Javascript is not java; they are two different languages.  Javascript must be enabled in your browser; otherwise our shopping cart cannot function (for instance, add up how many items you bought).

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Question: "What is a Cookie?  (Why must it be enabled?)"

Answer: A "cookie" is a tiny file that a website creates on your hard drive, to store information.  In our case, we store what products you want to buy, how many, and what it costs.  Nothing more.  This file is automatically deleted once you check out or close the browser.  Cookies must be enabled in your browser, because otherwise our cart cannot keep a running tab of what you want to buy.

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Question: "What does 'banish menu' and 'summon menu' mean?"

Answer:    (Internet Explorer)   If you click the button called "banish menu," it will make the menu (that window on the left side of the screen) disappear.  Clicking "summon menu" will make it reappear.  (If clicking the button does nothing, then make sure that javascript works in your browser.)

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Question: "What is 'fie' and 'wastrel'?"

Answer:   If you see the message "Fie on thee, wastrel!" it means that your cart does not contain anything.  It is archaic English, and roughly translates to, "Shame on you, stinker."  So get shopping!  :-)

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Questions and Answers: General

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Question: "How do I know you got my order?"

Answer: For your security, we confirm all orders via e-mail prior to shipping them.  If you do not hear from us within 24 hours, please contact us.

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Question: "Do I have to send payment right away?"

Answer:  Yes.  We must receive your full payment within ten (10) days of your order.  Otherwise, your order will be permanently destroyed.  Also, our computer system may flag your name, causing a delay with your next order.

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Question: "Is there a minimum order?"

Answer:  No.  We never tell our retail customers they have to buy a certain amount.  (The only exception is with special-orders, where a low minimum may apply, depending on what it is.) 

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Question: "Is there a maximum order?"

Answer:  Not really.  Our company does not have one, but the shopping cart will cut you off at a certain level.  However, when we installed and "tweaked" the cart, we raised the maximum to 1,000 items.  So if you do get an error that "your cart is full," just check out and start a new order.  (No new shipping charges will apply.)
--> Important:  Orders larger than $100 cannot be shipped C.O.D.

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Question: "How do I get wholesale rates?"

Answer:  Most of the prices in our cart are already wholesale.   No matter who you are, you can get wholesale prices!  (Resellers with a valid tax id number and license may apply for an additional b2b discount schedule--please see the b2b information page.)

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Questions and Answers: Order Form / Checkout

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Question: "How do I send shipments to an international address or an alternate address (rather than my billing address)?"

Answer:  You can ship products anywhere in the world, even to a P. O. Box.   Just write the full address in "Special Instructions" with the words "Ship to:" above it.   (International shipments must pay international shipping; please contact us for an exact quote.)   Important: for security reasons, orders shipped to an alternate address must be paid with a money order or gift certificate.

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Question: "What do the question marks on the order form mean?"

Answer:   You can click the small question marks ("?") for more information about a specific line in the order form.

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Question: "What does 'Adjust' and 'Banish' on the order form mean?"

Answer:   You can click the "Adjust" button to change how many of that item you want to buy.   You can click "Banish" to remove the item from your cart.

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Troubleshooting: Using Cart

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Problem: "I can't add anything to my cart / my cart stays empty."

Solutions:

  1. Make sure you enter your quantity, then click the "Add to Cart" button.  Important: pressing 'return' will not add items to the cart.
  2. If you are using a browser that can't handle Javascript (such as older AOL, Netscape, and Internet Explorer programs), these systems cannot understand our cart.  Please copy and paste (or type) what you want into our plain text form.   (You can also update your browser; Netscape 6.2 and IE 6.0 work fine.)
  3. Make sure that both Javascript and Cookies are enabled in your browser.  Both must be on for the cart to work correctly.
  4. For each item you want to buy, make sure to enter a quantity then click the "Add to Cart" button beside that item.  If you forget to click the button, that item will not be added to your cart.

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Problem: "The cart won't accept the quantity I typed in."

Solutions:

  1. Please make sure to put only numbers into the Quantity box.  (For example, type "24" instead of "2 dozen," or "300" instead of "three hundred.")
  2. You may have too much in your shopping cart (there is a maximum, although very high).  Please send your current order, then continue shopping in the new, empty cart.  (Extra shipping and fees will not apply, except for insurance--remember to buy extra coverage for the new products.)

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Problem: "I can't see some words or pictures, because they overlap or the colors are weird."

Solutions:

  1. Make sure your browser can understand "Cascading Style Sheets."  Our pages may display incorrectly without them.
  2. Sometimes browsers are quirky.  Try reloading the page, to see if that clears it up, or download a newer browser.  (For example, we know that Netscape 4.77 sometimes overlaps the menu with the rest of the page.  We cannot fix this bug, because that version of Netscape is too old to understand our newer code.  However, Netscape 6.1 works fine.)
  3. Make sure your browser can understand "iframes" (contact your browser help file, internet service provider, or browser technical support for more information).  Without iframes, our menu may not appear, and/or the rest of the page may overlap with the menu.
  4. If all else fails, print out our Price List.  This file contains most of our products, with their codes and prices.  You can then type what you want and send it by e-mail or mail.

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Troubleshooting: Sending Order

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Problem: "I clicked `submit' but the cart did not send--nothing changed, or all I got was a 'File Not Found' message."

Solutions:

  1. We use an external CGI server to handle our form submissions.  There is a small chance that the server may be down--try clicking "reload" a couple times.  If you still have no luck, please see solutions for #2, below.
  2. If you are using a browser that can't handle Javascript (such as Netscape/ IE older than 4.0), these systems cannot understand our order form.  Please choose one of the following: (1) copy and paste your cart contents into a blank e-mail, add your personal info, and send it to: [email protected], or (2) print and mail the form, or (3) use our plain text form.
  3. Make sure you are connected to the internet.
  4. Make sure you can send non-encrypted form data (consult your browser's "help" file).
  5. If all else fails, you can always "Print" the page and mail it to our physical address (listed on the form).

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Problem: "I filled out the form, but it keeps telling me to fill out all the 'required fields'."

Solutions:

  1. Look over the form and make sure you have filled out all the fields with an asterisk (*) in front of them.  These include: Name, E-mail, Phone, Street, City, State, and Select Payment.
  2. If the form still will not send,  please see above, "I clicked 'Submit' but it did not send."

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Problem: "I want to pay electronically, but no window opened to let me do so after I submitted the form (or I accidentally closed it, or the site is down)."

Solutions:

  1. For electronic checks, go to https://paybycheck.com/payment.pl?id=98437018 .  Fill out the electronic "check" that you see there.
  2. For credit cards, go to http://www.paypal.com.  Create a free secure account, log in, and send your payment to: [email protected] .
  3. If either of these sites say "Error 404" or "this site is down" or anything to that effect, please try again later.  Both these companies are very reliable, but on occasion they do go down for maintenance.

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Problem: "I don't have a current phone number / e-mail address."

Solutions:

  1. List someone else's phone number and/ or e-mail address where you can be reached--i.e., a friend, relative, etc.
  2. If you have absolutely no contact information (it happens), please get a free e-mail account before submitting your account.  (For example, you can get one free at http://www.hotmail.com, http://www.mail.com, or http://www.yahoo.com [these are suggestions, not endorsements].)
  3. If for whatever reason, it is absolutely impossible to give a phone number or e-mail address, then type "none" in those spaces.  However, for security reasons, you must pay with a money order until your contact information is updated.

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Problem: "I filled in the form, but the total seems wrong."

Solutions:

  1. Please re-check your math, making sure to include any tax, discounts, shipping, insurance, or fees that may apply.
  2. There may be an incorrect price listed in our database.  Please contact us with the product name/ code, and we will correct it.
  3. It may be a problem with your browser.  Please contact us with your browser type, operating system, and computer type.  Then go ahead and submit the form.  (Because we enter the orders into our system individually, we will catch any math error and let you know.)

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Sending Orders: Line-by-line Assistance

- Product Code: You do not type this field; it automatically lists all the codes for the products you put in your cart.

- Name / Description: You do not type this field; it automatically lists all the names of the products you put in your cart.

- Quantity: You do not type this field; it automatically lists how many of each product you put in your cart.

- Price: You do not type this field; it automatically lists all the prices of the products you put in your cart (if a price is incorrect, please contact us).

- Amount: You do not type this field; it automatically lists the price of the products times how many you put in your cart.

- Remove Item: Click the "Remove" button beside any product you want to permanently take out of your shopping cart.

- Continue Shopping: Click this link if you want to add more things to your shopping cart.  (You can also click "Back" on your browser.)

- Check out: Click this link if you are done shopping, and want to finalize your purchase.

- First Name: Enter your first name (middle initial optional).

- Last Name: Enter your last name or surname.   This field is required.

- E-mail: Enter a valid e-mail address where we can reach you.  To confirm your order, or to ask for more information, we will contact you by e-mail.   This field is required.

- Phone: Enter a valid telephone number where we can reach you (in case your e-mail doesn't work, for whatever reason).   This field is required.   (We will not call unless there is a problem.)

- Street: Enter your street address.  (36 Heavenly Lane, etc.  P. O. Boxes are fine.)   This field is required.

- City: Fill in your city name.   This field is required.

- State: Fill in your state abbreviation (or the whole name, if you can't remember the right abbreviation).   This field is required.

- ZIP: Fill in your ZIP or ZIP+4 code, or your country's equivalent.

- Country: Fill in your country of residence.  Germany, U.S., etc.  (Not whether you're in a rural area!)

- "Options - Check all that apply" :  Select on the left any fees or options that may apply to your order:

- Total Options: You do not fill this field; it calculates automatically.

- Special Instructions: Enter here anything special you want to say about your order, including special requests.

- Questions:

- TOTAL: You do not type this field; this is automatically calculated.

- Select Payment: Pick a way to pay (this field is required):

- "SUBMIT": Click this button to e-mail your order to us.

- "Print Form": Click this button to print a copy of the form for yourself, and/ or to mail to us.

Links: Welcome Page * View Cart

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Services, goods, and information for entertainment purposes only.
For serious medical conditions, consult a medical professional.

Updated 5/21/02