F.A.Q.

We've recently revised our FAQ - I am so over the traditional question-answer format with its clumsy condescension. We're moving ahead by addressing your concerns by topic. Find all the answers you could want below!

• International Orders:

  Yes! We take all international orders, and will ship anywhere. We will ship via USPS First Class Mail International or Priority Mail International (depending upon the weight of your order), and the shopping cart will generate an accurate shipping quote based on your location. A caveat, we cannot trace orders shipped via USPS First Class Mail International. For what it's worth though, we have an amazingly successful track record with the USPS and feel confident about shipping without traceability.
  
  In addition to the payment methods available to international users through PayPal, we also accept credit cards, and international money orders (although we cannot accept personal checks through international banks). We do not charge any additional fees for non-US customers. As for customs forms... let's just say we know how to fill them out to your best advantage.
  
  We no longer offer Free Shipping to non-North American destinations, and would be happy to redirect you to a vendor on your continent.

• Payment:

  Villainess accepts US dollars by both land mail, PayPal, and traditional Credit Cards. You can use your PayPal account to pay with a credit card, debit card, checking account, or PayPal balance - the shopping cart will redirect you to the secure PayPal site. Personal checks (where orders will be held for 10 days before shipping) or money orders are both viable land mail payment options. If your land mail payment does not arrive within 10 days we will not hold your order any longer.

• Shipping & Tracking:

  We ship all orders by USPS, by weight to your location. For stateside orders we use First Class and Priority Mail services that arrive in 2-3 days. For international orders we offer the comparable First Class International and Priority Mail International rates, that can take anywhere from 6-10 days to arrive.
  
  All orders will receive a tracking number via e-mail (comparable to USPS Click 'N Ship) to follow their package's progress. This e-mail will read "Villainess has sent you a package" in the subject line, and will be from Stamps.com. If you don't receive your tracking notice, you may want to check your spam filter. Smaller international orders shipped via First Class Mail International are assigned tracking numbers automatically, but in our experience these packages are not traceable as they're not routinely scanned on their journey.
  
  We currently ship orders on the first Tuesday after payment arrives, but are constantly working to expedite our shipping process. If you need a given order shipped sooner, please make a note in the comments field and we'll see what we can do.
  
  If, by chance, a package with tracking goes missing we won't be able to replace a package with "delivered" status, as this is something you'll need to take up with your local postal workers.

• Add Ons:

  We cannot make additions to orders after they've been placed. We'd love to, and we have in the past, but we're currently dealing with an order volume that makes this impossible.

• Returns/Refunds:

  Due to the nature of our product, we cannot accept returns of any kind (that includes exchanges). Should a product arrive damaged or in some sort of unsatisfactory condition, we love to work with customers to provide refunds or replacements.

• All About PayPal:

  We are using PayPal only as a payment processor, not an order processor. If PayPal says your transaction is complete, then yes, we have received your payment. We do not use PayPal to process your order and will not rely on their (truncated) invoices to fill your order or inform you of status. We don't have access to your PayPal transaction when filling your order, so any notes about addresses, gift messages, or samples must be entered in the comments form while you're still on the Villainess site.

• Contact:

  For customer service questions, order followup and wholesale/reseller inquiries (short answer, yes we do!), we offer the contact form on this site, and can be reached via e-mail at "orders" or "service" @villainess.net. We monitor our customer service e-mail Monday - Friday during business hours, and will respond as soon as possible. Our phone services are not closely monitored (our offices double as production facility and fulfillment center), so e-mail remains our primary means of contact for time-sensitive inquiries.
  
  Offices:
  Villainess
  121 Mill Street
  Waverly, TN
  37185
  
  Fax: 866-285-9357
  
  Phone: 931-209-3261
  
  Order Followup: orders@villainess.net
  
  General Inquiries: service@villainess.net

• Perks:

  We know that everyone loves a big box of loot. So each Villainess customer will be pleased to find a pair of our signature Black Cherry Candy Stripes in every order. Even better? We include two free samples (of your choice, mind you) with every order. The icing on this cake of goodness? Shipping is on us for every order over $100 - in North America.
  
  (We no longer offer Free Shipping to non-North American destinations, and would be happy to redirect you to a vendor on your continent. )

• Gift Giving:
  

  We would love to send a gift to your friends, family or swap partners! Just let us know where it's going via the "Shipping Address" field. If you'd like to include a greeting with your gift, just leave a note in the "Gift Message" field - all gift orders will ship anonymously otherwise. We'll send you the invoice, so your recipient will be surprised. Plus, this way you don't have to pick off any sticky price tags!

• Gift Certificates:
  

  Gift Certificates are available as both E-Gifts and as Land-Mail certificates. Land-Mail certiifcates will be processed along with our regular order queue and ship by First Class Mail. E-Gifts are sent to their recipients instantly when you submit your order - there is no "window" wherein to make changes.
  
  In order to protect the privacy of recipients with whom givers may only have a virtual relationship, we can only confirm that E-Gift Certificates were, in fact, redeemed, but not by who.

• Living With Soap:

  Villainess soaps have a ridiculously high glycerin content, which makes them humectant and nourishing on your skin, and extremely water soluble. If you leave them in a hot damp steamy shower, they will disappear much too quickly. We recommend a soap dish with good drainage.
  
  If your soaps do end up sitting in puddles, you'll notice that they melt the exact same colour of the solid bar. Most of our yummier fragrances with vanilla, amber, honey or chocolate tend to discolour soap to varying shades of caramel, but you'll find that they lather white and rinse away cleanly and won't stain your soap dish or tub ledge.
  
  If you're worried about drain cloggage or don't care for botanical bits in your bath, you may want to brush away some of the decorative herbs and flower petals that garnish our suds before you take them in the tub.

• Goth?

  Ok, we/I are/am So. Not. Goth. Sure, we have macabre preferences and morbid tendencies, a fascination with poison and all things archaic. But I also delight in absorbing UV rays, prefer Death Cab For Cutie to The Cure, and wear sneakers every bit as often as the combat boots you'll have to pry off my cold dead feet. So, labels? We prefer "Villainess" above all others. Besides, real goths wear fur, chaine maille, and a winter's worth of filth while terrorising the Romans. Do you see us terrorising any Romans?

• Vegan?

  Some time ago we quit actively labeling our products as "vegan" because the label suggests more than I can stand behind. It also leaves no room for a cruelty free ingredient like Tussah Noil Peace Silk, and we couldn't pass up that kind of decadence. We have not changed our stance on animal cruelty, and are constantly looking for ecologically sound ingredients that haven't been sourced through animal testing. Have something to contribute or suggest? Try our Vegan Objective thread.

Still have questions? Then try our Q&A Forum for a veritable wealth of information.