About Our Replacement Guarantee
"If it chips, cracks, or breaks, we replace it for free"
At Wildabout Wampum we believe in the quality of our products – and in the durability of Mother Nature’s creations.
The shells we use are among the hardest shells to be found and it is because of that strength that we are able to offer our replacement guarantee. We believe that under normal wear and care our Wampum pieces will stand the test of time.
These shells, however, are not indestructible. We do not encourage people to mistreat or abuse them, and we certainly do not encourage you to do anything to “test” their strength.
Treat your Wampum jewelry with care and respect and you should have it to wear and enjoy for a lifetime.
Remember, our guarantee is intended to replace pieces which under normal conditions have for some reason chipped, cracked or broken. And to compensate people who, through an unfortunate accident, have had their piece damaged in some way.
There are, however, some guidelines which apply to our replacement guarantee – from responsibilities for shipping costs to factors that would nullify the free replacement.
Please read these guidelines carefully to ensure you are aware of both our responsibilities and yours.
REPLACEMENT GUARANTEE REGULATIONS
Due to a few incidents related to our replacement guarantee, Wildabout Wampum has had to implement a series of regulations which will now apply to that guarantee.
Though we regret having to do so, we believe these rules will help curb any problems related to possible abuses of our guarantee.
Because of the natural strength and durability of the shells we carve, very few of our creations ever require replacement. To date only a few dozen out of more than 15,000 pieces have suffered damage.
In most cases, breakage occurs as a result of tiny hairline fractures inside the shells themselves. Though we select only the thickest, most beautiful shells from which to carve our jewelry, these hairline fractures are so small, or so well hidden inside the shell, that they cannot be seen. And even then, breakage will only occur if the piece is dropped on a hard surface such as concrete or ceramic tile.
We would point out however, that because we are using a natural substance (rather than man-made, manufactured, or engineered substances), there can be flaws in the coloration or surfaces of the shells. Usually we eliminate these during the carving and sanding processes, though there are cases where the finished piece will contain one of these flaws. A small brown spot in the middle of a purple stripe, for example, is the type of natural flaw we are speaking of.
These natural flaws would be similar to the “flaws” you might find in a piece of wood, such as a small knot or scar from damage the tree sustained during its growth.
It is not Wildabout Wampum’s policy to replace pieces because of such flaws, as they are not the result of damage but rather a natural element of the shells themselves.
Our policy is still that if a piece of Wildabout Wampum jewelry cracks, chips or breaks we will replace it with a new one. However, this replacement policy will be regulated by the following guidelines:
1) Color patterns – Exact colorations cannot be duplicated.
If a piece must be replaced, we always do our best to match the color patterns on the original piece with the color patterns on the replacement piece. We do this by selecting a shell whose colors closely resemble those of the original.
Please note, however, that is impossible to exactly duplicate these color patterns because the colors and striations are the natural colors and stripes which exist in the shells.
What we try to do in most cases is send a photograph of the replacement piece, by e-mail, once we have completed it. In this way the customer can approve the replacement piece before any mailing costs are incurred.
However, it will be within Wildabout Wampum’s discretion to determine if additional attempts must be made to match the colors on the original piece. In other words, we can only carve so many pieces in the attempts to match colors. Otherwise, a particularly finicky customer could have us carving several replacement pieces before ever approving one for shipment.
If we determine at any point that we have sufficiently attempted to match the replacement with the original, and the customer wishes us to continue to carve additional replacement pieces for approval or rejection, there will be a $25 fee per additional carvings made after that point.
Again, we try very hard to match the colors closely. But please keep in mind that the same “one-of-a-kind” nature of our work which makes every piece unique also dictates that we will never be able to exactly duplicate the original.
1) No Tampering - Any tampering with any piece will render the guarantee null and void.
It has come to our attention that in a couple of instances customers have tampered with their jewelry, and that tampering is what has caused the breakage.
For example, if a customer tries to transform a pair of earrings into two pendants, breakage can occur. The holes needed for earring findings are simply too small to accommodate the size and type of jump ring necessary to hang the piece on a chain.
Similarly, we have had occasions where a customer has tried to replace a jump ring on a pendant with a larger jump ring, again causing breakage.
Additionally, damage can be caused by someone attempting to fit an oversized chain on one of our bead pieces. “Bead” pieces are those in which the chain passes directly through a hole in the piece, rather than through a jump ring attached to the piece.
Due to the nature of the shells we carve, we deal with limits on thickness and that is why we sell the sterling silver chains available for all of our pendants. These chains are small enough to pass through the holes we bore in our bead pieces.
There have been occasions where customers have wanted to save themselves the extra cost of purchasing a chain from us, and then have tried to force one of their own chains onto the piece – a chain which was simply too big for the hole.
Unfortunately, shells do not stretch and trying to force a chain through a hole not designed to fit the chain can cause the piece to break. In these cases our replacement guarantee will not apply. However, in some cases the piece may be thick enough for us to enlarge the hole to accommodate a larger chain and in those cases we may try to do so for a customer, again at our discretion.
Please keep in mind that any and all desired adjustments should be directed to us here at Wildabout Wampum. Within reason we will try to accommodate such changes. However any indication that there has been tampering with any piece will render our replacement guarantee null and void.
2) One replacement only – Should a pendant or earrings break and have to be replaced, the guarantee will have been satisfied.
We have had occasions where a customer’s piece has broken, and we have carved a replacement, only to have the replacement piece break.
Unfortunately, we have reason to believe that the customers involved in these instances have intentionally damaged the replacement piece in an attempt to obtain yet another new piece with different color patterns.
As noted above, it is impossible to exactly reproduce the color patterns from an original piece to a replacement piece, and any effort to obtain a third piece by intentionally damaging the replacement piece will now render the guarantee null and void.
We attempt to eliminate such problems by sending photographs for approval, but if this cannot be done (for example, if the customer has no access to e-mails) then it will be Wildabout Wampum’s discretion to will determine if any additional attempts will be made, without cost to the customer, to duplicate the original.
3) Shipping costs - All shipping costs will be the responsibility of the customer.
In all cases where it is possible, the customer may provide us with a photograph of the damaged piece in order for us to both confirm the damage and attempt to match the color patterns.
In these cases, with our approval, the customer may not need to send the original back, thus eliminating any shipping costs for the return of the original piece.
In some cases, however, the damaged piece may be large enough that we can recycle it by carving it into beads or pearls and in these instances we will require that the broken piece be returned to us, at the customer’s cost, as part of the terms of our replacement guarantee.
Similarly, if a photograph of the damaged piece cannot be supplied to Wildabout Wampum, the customer will have to bear the cost of shipping the damaged piece to us.
As well, the normal shipping cost of $10 ($15 to the
Please note that unless previously agreed to, Wildabout Wampum will not pay COD charges.
On one occasion we had a customer who had accidentally broken her pendant, and under such circumstances we replaced the pendant with a new one.
However, the customer sent the broken pendant to us COD, and we were then forced to bear the cost of shipping.
On another occasion a piece which had been ordered from our website was broken during transportation to the customer and we agreed to send a new one. Should a case like this arise again, we feel it is our obligation to cover the shipping costs of having the broken piece returned to us. We will not, however, allow the piece to be returned to us COD – it must be sent regular mail and we will reimburse the customer for the shipping charges.
Again, we apologize for any inconvenience these regulations may cause. It is our belief that only in the rarest of cases are customers attempting to abuse our replacement guarantee policy, however it is necessary for our continued viability that these regulations apply.
In the final analysis it all comes down to common sense. Simply put, if you treat your Wildabout Wampum pieces with the care and respect that any piece of jewelry demands, they will last you a lifetime – or longer, allowing them to be passed on as family treasures. We hope you will do so.
But we also understand that honest accidents can and do happen. And it is for those cases that we offer our replacement guarantee.
Please believe that we do our utmost to keep our customers happy. It is a truth, not just a marketing slogan, that without our customers we simply would not be able to continue to do what we love doing – creating and selling unique, one-of-a-kind Wildabout Wampum jewelry.
Thank-you
Marcia and Dave,
Wildabout Wampum