This is our receiving and/or freight policy
Damages during transit are a common when transporting whiteboards or chalkboards. However, you can do your part to help prevent it and OptiMA, Inc. will be happy to replace any display board damaged during transit IF YOU FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS and SIGN FOR THE BOARDS AS DAMAGED UPON RECEIPT.
Many of our boards are large and bulky and sometimes very heavy. A delivery driver will need assistance in unloading your order or you will have a greater chance of getting damages.
Never sign for any package before you inspect it carefully and fully. You must look at each package to see if there is any damage such as holes in the carton, dents or dented corners, rips or tears in the packaging etc. If you see these then there may be damages to your order. We recommend opening each package and fully inspecting your order while the driver is still there. Once the driver leaves it is too late and it becomes your responsibility to file a claim. Call the trucking terminal immediately for instructions or visit the web site provided to you in our email.
Note any damages to the packaging on the bill of lading or receiving slip as follows: "There are the following damages to the package (list damage such as holes in box, badly damaged corners, ripped packing materials, etc.) and the contents may be damaged." If you know that the contents are damaged then mark the bill with the number of boards damaged and the sizes. You can ask the driver to take back any damaged board or hold them aside for inspection and pick up at a later date. It is always best to refuse any damaged pieces and send them away with the driver if he will take them.
Check the contents of the packages. The biggest problem is concealed damages. You never know what has fallen against your order in the back of the truck or if your order was crushed as a load shifted. Open each package and inspect it no matter what the outside of the carton looks like. If you suspect hidden damages and the trucking company will not wait for you to inspect the contents of the box then note all carton imperfections on the receiving slip as describe in #3 above. A small wrinkle in the box can indicate damages. You must also indicate that the contents may be damaged, to do this simply write Possible Damage - Pending Inspection.
All claims to OptiMA Inc. for damages or shortages must be made within 14 days of delivery. No claims can be accepted after that date. Freight carriers all have their own restrictions and time limits so please check with your delivering carrier for their rules.
If you have damages and you have signed the bill of lading as such then please call our office toll free at 866-366-1500 or fax us a copy of the packing slip to 508-393-6688 showing us what was damaged so that we can get a replacement order in the works for you. Orders delivered by FedEx ground do not require you to sign for the boards as damaged since FedEx will often times leave an order without any signature. In this case simply call us and notify us of the damages and that it was a FedEx ground shipment and we will take care of it for you. Please have your order number available when calling.
If you do not make note of the damages on your bill of lading while the truck driver is there (this does not apply to FedEx ground shipments) you will be responsible for filing the damage claim with the delivering carrier. There will be no exceptions. We will work with you on the cost of a replacement board if this happens but there will be a charge for another board to be sent out.
Just for your information. The trucking company is only responsible for taking the freight to the back of their truck. It is your responsibility to take the freight into the building. Your freight charges billed through the OptiMA Companies only cover you to this point.
If you request INSIDE DELIVERY, there is an additional charge from the trucking company and you are 100% responsible for these charges regardless of the size of your order. The charges are determined and controlled by the trucking company. OptiMA has no control over this charge. You can make arrangements with the delivering carrier directly for inside delivery and they will collect the fees from you accordingly. OptiMA does not get involved with this process.
Who are some of the customers of OptiMA, Inc. &
MyWhiteboards.Com?
We have had the honor and privilege to work with many fine schools,
universities, government agencies, military branches and companies small and
large. Here is a sampling of some of them over the past few months.
Agilent Technologies, AOL, AOL Time Warner, Applied Control Technologies, Baker
County Emergency Services, The BBC, Blue Silicon, Boeing Commercial Airplane,
Bose Corporation, Boy Scouts of American, Brass Ring, Bureau of the Public Debt,
Cameron & Barkley, CE International, Cisco Systems, Collective Communications,
Credit Suisse 1st Boston, Cynet, Discovernet, Dow Chemical, E-Center.Net,
Ericsson, Exxon-Mobile, Ford Motor Company, Fox College IL, GE Medical Systems,
Genzyme Corp, Georgia Tech, Glemser Technologies, Honeywell, International
Audio Visual, Lear Jet, Lockheed Martin, The Masie Center, Metropolitan Water
District CA, Mgen Inc, Microsoft Corporation, Mirror Plus Technologies, NASA, The New England Patriots,
Raytheon, RR Donelly Financial, Microsoft, NBC, San Diego Convention Center,
Southern IL University, Steris Corporation, Teralogix Inc, Thermo Electronics,
TRW, Multiple Universities, Colleges and public schools, US Army, USMC, USDA,
USVA, USAF, US NAVY, The Walt Disney Company, World Airline Dispatcher
Schools & Yahoo Inc. to name a few!
Can we add your name to our wall of Fame?
What is the freight cost to ship my order?
Our freight policy is very simple. OptiMA Inc. and
MyWhiteboards.Com will pay all Freight Charges on orders totaling
$850.00 shipped within the continental United States. There is a $45.00 fuel surcharge added to the order.
If your order includes any board over the size of 33
˝ x 45 ˝ your order must ship by common carrier
(truck). Your freight charge for your entire order will be $100.00.
If your order does not include any board over the size of 33
˝ x 45 ˝ choose UPS in the shopping cart and your
freight charges are computed from the UPS standard ground shipping charts. It is very important that you take time to read the Receiving Instructions above.
What is your Return / Cancellation Policy?
Orders for stock items can be canceled up to 48 hours after your order has been placed or as long as the item has not been crated and / or shipped from the factory. Custom items such as Conference Cabinets, Fabric Bulletin Boards or other modified products can be canceled as long as production has not begun on the item. Once the item is started, finished or shipped it cannot be canceled because it was created specifically for you. Custom items include Conference Cabinets, Enclosed Bulletin Boards with fabric or lighting, Custom sized whiteboards, chalkboards or others and any item to which you are adding an accessory.
MyWhiteboards.Com will accept any "stock" item back for credit if it has not been used and is returned in the original shipping carton with the original packing materials within a period of 10 working days from time of receipt.
A return authorization number must be obtained from OptiMA customer service prior to any returns being sent. You can reach customer service toll free at 866-366-1500. Please have your order number and or invoice number ready to assist them in locating your paperwork.
There will be a 20% re-stocking fee. The units will have to unpackaged, cleaned, inspected and repackaged in a new carton prior to being resold to another customer. This fee also covers the paperwork necessary to create the original billing and then the follow up credits, etc. associated with your return.
The customer is responsible for all freight charges. This includes both inbound to your location and outbound back to the manufacturer. The items must be shipped back to the manufacturer Freight Prepaid by the customer. No Freight Collect Shipments will be accepted and the shipments must be insured for the full value of the board. Customer service will provide you with the proper address.
Once the items are received, inspected and found to be in good order, a check will be issued for the amount of the items less the 20% restocking fee and outbound freight. We do not issue a credit to your credit card. Credits of this nature are too difficult to track and can take up to 2-3 months to appear on your credit card statements where as a check can be sent out very quickly and be tracked quiet easily.
If the items are damaged in transit by the carrier the bill of lading will be signed for as “damaged” during inspection prior to receiving at the factory and you will be able to file a claim with the delivering carrier for the full cost of the items damaged.
Custom orders ARE NOT returnable. This includes the custom length Opti-Rite materials, 5', 6'tall, 8' tall boards, enclosed bulletin boards or letter boards with custom fabric backgrounds, fabric bulletin boards any many other items. It is best to check with customer service prior to ordering if your item is considered a custom unit. We will always provide fabric samples, etc. free of charge so that you know exactly what you are receiving prior to ordering.
What is your average lead time?
Our normal lead time for magnetic items and accessories is usually 3 to 5 business days. Our normal lead or production time
for boards is 10 to 15 Working Days. This means that your order will leave the
factory in 10 to 15 working days. You still need to add transit time to your
location. Some of our boards are denoted as "Quick Ship" items and we try our
best to ship these boards out in 3 to 8 working days. Quick ship items are
NOT guaranteed to ship in this time frame. At certain times of the year, we
are so busy trying to keep up with school orders and exceptionally high demand
that even "Quick Ship" items may be delayed. Summer months of June -
September our lead time may increase to as much as 3 to 6 weeks on certain
products because of increased demand. We do our best to build our inventories
before the rush season begins. Please plan accordingly.
If you have a combination of both "Quick Ship"
and Non-"Quick Ship" items your order will be held until it can ship complete
unless you are willing to pay the freight for two separate orders. We will
not pay freight on a split order regardless of the dollar volume if you request
a split shipment.
What
if I don't have a credit card and want to order using a purchase order?
We accept purchase orders from Schools and government offices ONLY. You can
choose to Pre-Pay your order by choosing "Pre-pay by corporate check" in the
payment options. We will e-mail you a copy of your invoice and you can Pre-Pay
for your order with a Money Order, Cashiers Check or Company Check. We will
process your order as soon as we receive your payment.
How
do I place an order with OptiMA, Inc.?
Use the drop down menus at the bottom of each product page to select your
board sizes and any other options such as color, frame style etc.
Highlight the item you want and simply click on the GRAY "Order Now"
button found on each product page. You can update your quantity on the
following page.
Is there a charge to change my order?
You can change your unless it has already been
started in the production sequence. Once your order has been started you cannot
make any changes unless you are willing to pay for production materials already
used to produce your order. There is a flat $10.00 fee for any changes made to
your order. This includes changes sizes, frames or shipping address.
How
can you remove permanent marker from a whiteboard?
Don't try to clean with any cleaning chemicals...simply re-write over the
marker with an erasable marker and let if dry. Now erase and most if not all of
the marker should remove from the board. A second application may be required.
How
far will you ship?
MyWhiteboards.com will ship anywhere in the world and anywhere out of this
world if you happen to be building a space station! However, it really isn't
cost effective for customers other than the US, Canada and Mexico to purchase
boards for export. We can ship Opti Rite at a reasonable rate anywhere in the
world by UPS World Wide Express.
My
boards seem to be ghosting. How can I repair them?
How to repair: To remove any build up on the Opti-Rite surface, OptiMA
recommends the use of a 50/50 compound of water and alcohol. Clean the surface
thoroughly with the 50/50 compound and then rinse with clear water. If the
ghosting is very heavy, increase the portion of alcohol in the compound. This
procedure will restore the ETFE surface.
Our Company Information:
OptiMA Inc.
16 Gale Street
Northborough, MA 01532-1807
Phone: 508-393-2727
Toll Free: 866-366-1500
fax: 508-393-6688
sales@mywhiteboards.com
OptiMA Inc. is a Woman Owned Small Business
