Ipso Facto: Frequently Asked Questions:

Answers to Your Questions On Ordering, Shipping, Payment Methods, International Orders, Exchanges, Stylist Pulls, Etc.

How do I place an order? Just click the "buy" button next to the item you want. Use the drop down menu (if available) to select size, color choice or other options. This process generates an order form with many payment options, including credit card, money order. Just fill out the form and your order will be emailed to us. You will get a confirmation email with a total and list of items ordered. If paying by money order, just mail us a copy of the order from your confirmation email with your payment. Sorry, no CODs or phone orders are accepted. Please note that we easily identify fraudulent card use by using an AVS system which determines if a card billing address is not the same as the delivery address. The card holder him/herself should be the purchaser, otherwise we will attempt to contact that person via phone for permission. Cardholder needs to have same address as purchaser as no alternate delivery addresses are accepted.
Foreign Orders Use the "buy" button/drop down menu on any page next to the item you want. An order form will be generated which you need to fill out. A confirmation email will be sent to you and the order will be emailed to us as well. Since we do not accept non-U.S./Canadian based credit cards or Paypal most of our foreign customers use Western Union, Moneygram or a money order drawn on a U.S. based bank in U.S. dollars as payment, since we do not accept foreign credit cards (except Canadian or APO addresses with U.S.-based billing) nor Paypal. The best and fastest method is Western Union or Moneygram. You can use your credit card at Western Union's or Moneygram's site for an extra fee and they will send us payment. Just choose the "money in minutes" transfer option to "Terri Kennedy" and payment will be sent to an office near us. Please email us when you receive the control number so we can pick up the money and process your order.
Why do you not accept Paypal? We've had too many fraudulent payment attempts using hacked Paypal accounts. There is no protection for sellers who unknowingly receive funds which the buyer has obtained fraudulently.
Length of Shipping Time? We do our best to ship the same or next day after payment is received unless an item is out of stock, which can happen since we usually only stock one per size/style/color of each item. We will contact you for your choice of waiting for restock (if this is possible, though many clothing items are not recut by the supplier) or to choose another item or cancel that item. Domestic orders are usually sent via Priority mail (or insured first class for small light items) so shipping time runs about 2-3 working days up to 7 working days, depending on your proximity to a large metropolitan area and the efficiency of your local postal service. Shoes or very heavy items may take slightly longer. Foreign orders are always sent airmail so the maximum wait is about 14 working days (though 5-10 working days is average) depending on the efficiency of your local postal service and your proximity to a large metropolitan area.
Does my purchase come with order tracking and insurance? Yes, We insure and track each domestic package. You should get an email with tracking info after mailing. Foreign orders may or may not have tracking/insurance depending on the cost and what is offered by USPS. Canadian packages are particularly tricky. For non domestic orders, if the item is small or light, it is too expensive (often more than the item's value) to offer this service.
Is my credit card info safe/secure server? Yes, we use a seperate secure server at AIT which is accessed only by the owner via password. When you go to pay for your order you will notice that the cart link will take you to the secure server where sensitive credit card information can be entered.
Auto Email Reply to Orders Just Placed That is the auto reply letting you know your order has been received by our secure server. It is not confirmation of shipping. Since we process orders manually in our retail store it does not mean your card has been charged yet, nor that your order has shipped. Give us 24-48 hours to charge your card and ship your order. We only charge when we ship. For money order payments, we will not ship until your payment is received. We do not send an email at the time of shipping, but since most orders ship the same day or next, the time between the auto email reply and physical processing/shipping of your order is minimal. We will only contact (usually by email) those whose orders are delayed if the item is unavailable or if there is a problem with the credit card (billing address v.s. delivery address is the most common delay.)
Can I have my order shipped to a work or school alternate address? No, because our merchant service agreement requires us to do AVS (address verification which determines if there is a match between the credit cardholder's billing address and the order delivery address). If the two are not the same the order is cancelled and the card is not charged. (We contact the customer of course.) This protects the cardholder and us by preventing credit card fraud. If you need to have an order delivered to a work, school, or other non-billing address please use your card on Western Union's website or choose the money order payment option on our order form. If we get an error message indicating a non-matching address, but you're certain you've given us the correct one, it may mean that your bank/card issuer does not have the correct info in their files upon which our database is based. You may have to contact your card issuer/bank to update or correct their records before we can get a match. Your patience is appreciated for this slight inconvenience. Using someone else's card is prohibited as the order will not go through with a non-matching address. The card holder him/herself should be the purchaser. Orders using parent credit cards (with permission only, of course) should show the parent's name as cardholder, so we can call them for permission.
Order Questions/Email Response Time We only answer email once a day, or twice if possible. The owner, Terri, personally answers all email, usually in the mornings. The rest of the day she is busy doing a variety of owner-related tasks such as helping customers in the retail store, shooting pictures for ads, placing orders, picking up shipments, doing accounting, etc. So please give her 24-48 hours to reply, particularly if the answer requires some research or if there is a trade show going on the lag time may be longer. If you absolutely cannot wait 24 hours, then feel free to call the shop at 714-525-7865 during business hours (Mon-Th 11-7; Fri/Sat 11-8; Sun 12-6). Remember we are on Pacific time.
SIZE CHART Info Our SIZE CHART is here or click the "SIZE CHART" link from our main page menu. Specific size info can be obtained by emailing us as to what item interests you with your measurements (not numeric size.) We have over 300 suppliers, therefore SIZE CHART specs can vary greatly between these manufacturers and also if item is made of stretch or non-stretch fabric.
Special Orders Sorry, we are not manufacturers, and our suppliers typically do not make more of an item after the current season's offerings are sold out. The one exception is that current season Demonia/Pleaser shoes may be special ordered if our supplier has stock in the item desired. Customer pays in advance and there are no exchanges allowed, except in case of defect. Please inquire for details.
Wholesale Sorry we do not offer wholesale pricing or offer discounts. We offer our best prices to everyone. We buy from wholesalers and sell to the public. For stores who wish to contact our suppliers, we have listed a few of our suppliers who also do retail on our links page but with the exception of these, we do not give out supplier contact info to anyone.
Sold out Items Sold out items disappear from the site and be replaced by new stock as it comes in. In the retail fashion business, merchandise is ordered months in advance and then arrives as ready. Most styles are generally not recut unless my suppliers get huge reorders or something becomes a staple item (like a particular style of plain jeans). We share your frustration, but because many of our offerings are made overseas, our suppliers cannot do small runs or immediate recuts given that some unique fabrics (especially those milled for a particular style group) are in limited supply. The quantity of a style being manufactured is decided many months before you see it here. Also there are minimum order requirements, so we cannot reorder one item as needed, but have to put together an order comprised of other needed items, which can take time if a manufacturer doesn't have anything else we need in stock. If there is a particular item you are interested in please EMAIL US and we can try to find out if our suppliers plan to remake the garment in the future, or if it is already on its way. But typically our vendors design and manufacture new styles for each season and delete the old.
Exchanges/Refunds Sorry, but as clearly stated during the ordering process, refunds are not an option, but we will happily exchange any unworn item within 7 days (in store purchases) and a two weeks of receipt (mail order). See our TOS for the legal details of the contract you agree to when you place an order with us. Please note that the customer must pay freight costs both ways. (Shipping costs on the replacement item and the return of the item originally sent.) Of course the freight charges are waived in the event we make an error or the item has a defect, but we typically do not refund return freight costs. Remember, the owner herself answers all email so please remember to be civil as if you were speaking to a live person because you are! Rudeness will not get you better customer service!
Shoes sizing/British size conversion Many of our shoes are stamped inside with British sizing. U.K. sizes are typically one (men's) or two (women's) sizes smaller than U.S. (ie. a British 8 is a U.S. Men's 9 and a womens American 7 is a U.K. 5.) Check the shoe box for the item you received as often times the conversion to U.S. sizing is listed there.
Order Received Incomplete If an item is sold out at the time of your order we will send what we have and only charge for what is shipped, adjusting the shipping cost as applicable. We do not charge for items we cannot ship and do not ship backorders. Since we typically only have one of each size/style in stock and only update the website weekly, occasionally we may sell out of an item before we get your order or can remove it from the website. A printed receipt which accompanies the order will state which items we were unable to send and show the adjusted total. We will usually contact a customer to inform of this and offer similar items that we do have in stock which may not appear on our webpage.
Rush/Express Delivery We can usually provide USPS Express/rush shipping by request, just mention it in the notes section of your order. Please note that we cannot guarantee rush delivery without enough notice for overnight delivery due to local post office cut off times (especially during Halloween.) Also note that the customer pays the additional charge for Express, which shows as a separate charge on your credit card. If you call or email us your request for rush delivery we will let you know the charges and delivery time to expect. Our standard shipping charges include shipping via Priority Mail or 1st class mail depending on weight, with ship time of 2-7 days. Shoes are sent either parcel post or priority depending on weight and destination and freight amount paid. Just read our customer testimonials page, and you'll get an idea how fast we ship! Please note that we do not use UPS/Fedex, only USPS.
Special Delivery Instructions Sorry but we do not ship via UPS/Fedex, only USPS (usually via priority mail or 1st class depending on weight), so you'll need to advise your postman of any specific delivery instructions. We insure all packages and always ship via signature confirmation. In your absence the postman should leave a yellow slip in your mailbox indicating that you will need to pick up your package at the main post office in your area. Packages which are shown to have been delivered by the USPS tracking system cannot be claimed as lost, and as such we have no recourse for items received by other members of your household or stolen from you mailbox. You can make other requests via our "comments/special requests" line on the order form such as an express shipping request.
Do you insure/track all orders? Yes, and send with signature confirmation. The only exception is for something of less value than the cost of insurance or very light/small Canadian bound packages under 1 pound. The cost of the next class of airmail is over $15 and since we only charge a small amount to ship items under $20.00 we can't insure these.
Are printed catalogs available? Sorry, No.
How often do you update your website? Daily.
Sponsorships, Stylists, Photographers, Renting/Borrowing Merchandise, Freebies, Advertising Trades Sorry but we do not offer any rental services, loans, sponsorships, discounts or donations of our merchandise under any circumstances. Ipso Facto is a small, understaffed sole proprietorship with limited resources, and with the economic downturn, increased costs, fraud and theft, we struggle to stay in business. We get many requests for loans, donations, sponsorships, television stylist pulls, discounts, etc. We do not have the resources to accommodate any of them. Our one of a kind merchandise is needed for sales both online and in the shop. It is strongly suggested that stylists contact manufacturers for tv costuming pulls. Our links page is a great resource for this. Please do not call us for supplier contact info.
Ipso Photos/Models Many, but not all images are created in-house by Ipso Facto's owner, Terri. Note that our models are store employees and friends. The following manufacturers supply us with images: Alchemy, Lip Service, Tripp, Sourpuss, Too Fast, Shrine, Hell Bunny/Spin Doctor, Folter, Silverstop, Punk Rave, H & R London, though we may have an Ipso Facto exclusive image for some of these items. All Ipso-generated images/logos are copyrighted and cannot be used except by permission giving full credit. We also have a Federal trademark on the "Ipso Facto" name. Our webserver and many of our suppliers whose images we use prohibit the use of hotlinking, so please do not link your Ebay auctions directly to our images. We do Not pay models for our website or advertising. We do not use outside photographers. Everything is done in-house here at the store. Our models are usually just friends or employees who are local to our shop in Fullerton, Ca. We are always open to new local models who would be interested in working with us for exposure and experience (and fun!)
Feel free to ask for Terri if you are shopping in the store.
Regarding web designers wanting to redesign our site Sorry, but the website is maintained in-house by the owner so please do not solicit us for website design or maintenance.