FAQ
Common Questions, Warranty & Policies
Here you will find the answers to questions, general information and pointers to where to find what you are looking for.
= Yes we do ship world wide =
- - Free postal shipping for all orders over US$30 (courier upgrades are available) - -
Click on the questions to show or hide the answers
Payment Options & Security
We accept most payment methods via four well known and highly secure payment gateways, eWay, Stripe, shopify payments and Pay Pal.
- For Visa and Mastercard & Amex choose the standard credit card payment option.
- For Diners, JCB and just about every other card choose the Pal Pal credit card option.
(You don't need to have a Pay Pal account or log into Pay Pal to pay by credit card via their gateway. Just choose the "Pay By Credit Card Instead" option at the bottom of the Pay Pal Login window)
- For Pay Pal. If you have a Pay Pal account also choose the Pay Pal option.
- Bank transfer or internet banking direct to our account, choose the bank transfer option.
- Sezzle afterpay is available with 4 interest free installments.(Currently only available for customers in the USA and Canada)
- Apple, Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay are all available at checkout.
We do not accept Western Union, checks, bitcoin (or bit. anything else) or COD
Yes absolutely. We use a highly secure and PCI compliant system hosted by Shopify who are one of the biggest providers of shopping cart services in the world.
In addition credit card payments are processed via high security gateways at eWay, Strip and Pay Pal so even we don't get to see your card details or personal info, its all done directly with your card company.
There can be a number of reasons for this so contact us and we will help sort it out for you.
Contact us for assistance at sales@boneart.co.nz
From time to time we offer special discount codes to our Facebook followers and/or our newsletter subscribers.
Only one discount code can be used at a time so you can not combine codes for a larger discount. If you have more than one valid discount code offer, simply use the largest one for your order and save the other one for another time.
Use the links at the bottom of this page to join our semi regular newsletter and/or follow us on Facebook
Using my discount code or gift card code?
- It's really easy, after you have finished adding items you want to your cart click on the "Check Out" button.
- Enter your discount code in the box at the top right of the checkout window and click the "Apply" button to lock it in.
- If you are using a mobile device you may have to click on the "Show Order Summary" link at the top to see the discount code box. There will be an arrow to click to apply the code instead of a button.
Christmas Operations:
---Christmas Operations---
Shipping:
Our online store is open and receiving orders all through the Christmas period.
Between December the 24th to January the 3rd however, orders will not be processed and emails/phone calls will not be answered or replied to until we start back on Jan the 3rd
December 23rd (New Zealand Time) - This will be the last day of normal operation. We will process and ship out all orders received by 10:00am New Zealand Time.
December 25th - We will be accepting orders but no emails or phone calls will be responded to and orders wont be processed until boxing day (26th December).
December 26th - We will be operating this day, replying to emails phone calls and sending out orders as we are having a boxing day sales and want to get orders out ASAP.
December 27th to January 2nd - Our online store will be accepting orders and payments as usual, emails will be on auto responder mode, the phones will be on answer service and no orders or queries will be processed until January the 3rd
January 3rd - The Bone Art Place returns to full operational mode from this day. We will also begin working through our email backlog from this date. Please be patient as our phone and email responses may take a little longer than usual due to the backlog.
NOTICE: Expect deliveries to take longer over the holiday period.
We are in New Zealand way down here in the South Pacific Ocean so stuff can take a while to get to the USA, Europe and UK over the Christmas period.
Unlike many online retailers who conveniently won't mention the Christmas mail slowdowns, we don't want you disappointed by unexpected delays so we give you the estimated Christmas delivery cutoff dates in our shipping info and even in our cart.
For our shop hours and the cutoff dates for the various regions and delivery methods go to the Christmas Delivery page HERE
We ship to over 160 countries.
We have free world wide postal shipping on all orders over $30
We also offer a number of upgrade options available including tracked post, economy courier and express courier.
For our full shipping rates list along with lots of useful information on delivery times, customs and tracking go our shipping page HERE
Standard international tracked post is approx 10 to 15 days.
International Express courier and NZ shipping is approx 3 to 4 days.
Obviously there can be delays beyond our control due to local mail service issues or customs clearance particularly over Christmas.
We are very proud of the high quality of our work so we are happy to provide a full refund no questions asked 60 day return policy.
If on receiving your order you are not 100% happy with your carving for any reason at all, we will provide a full refund of the purchase price (excluding shipping) on return of the carvings.
If due to a fault we will also refund the shipping charges or provide a replacement at your option.
For more info go to our terms page HERE
Contact us straight away.
It is rare but occasionally a parcel is held up by slow postal systems (particularly over Christmas) or in customs. Contact us and we will trace it for you.
If after investigation it is found to have been lost along the way we will invoke our shipping insurance policy and refund or replace it for you.
For more info about shipping times and regional issues etc go to our shipping page HERE
Having to pay customs import duties on your standard postal package when it arrives is not common in most countries. For higher value items or those shipped by courier however customs charges are not uncommon.
If you are ordering anything (not just from us) from outside your own country there is always a possibility that your customs service may inspect the parcel and may charge import duties or other fees.
As the recipient is the "Importer of record" you are responsible for any duties imposed by your local authorities.
For more info go our shipping page HERE
The Art, the Artists & What's in the Package:
Much of the work in our featured artist galleries is one-off or limited edition work. Once sold these pieces will be removed from our site permanently.
For one-off pieces the photo you see on our page is of the actual piece being sold, for limited edition and other work the photo is of a representative example.
No, While many are Maori, New Zealand is a true multicultural society like most small nations in the Pacific so our artists reflect that cultural diversity.
We have Maori, Part Maori, European and Pacific Island carvers.
What is most important is that the artists are masters of their craft and that they are totally passionate about their craft, their heritage and their culture whatever that may be.
Most of our contributing artists are based in New Zealand but we also sell work by artists and carvers who live and work in other countries in the wider Pacific region.
We represent the best of ethnic art, craft work and artists from all around the Pacific region but our main focus is on New Zealand
Every pendant carving is supplied with a traditional waxed braid or platted cord with a loop and carved toggle fitted, a woven presentation pouch and information on the meaning of the design.
The average cord is approx 21 inches long but we can custom make the cords to any length required at no extra charge.
You can find more info or order extra cords etc HERE
Yes you can
You can order extra cords etc HERE
Every design has a meaning and by combining elements such as spirals and hooks etc the carving can tell a very powerful story.
Most meanings are based on Maori legends and the profound respect Maori have for the natural world.
You can learn about the meanings of each style by going HERE
The Materials Used:
Our artists work in a wide range of materials so the short answer is "almost anything"
We work in jade, bone, shell, mammoth, wood, tusk, silver &gold, stone and much more.
You can learn about the materials we use and their care by going HERE
The short answer is yes and no.
These names are more about where the jade comes from.
Pounamu is the Maori name for jade and is very strictly New Zealand jade only.
Greenstone is a common name New Zealand jade.
We have lots of info about these names and the jade used in our materials section HERE.
It is illegal to import whale bone items into most countries, they will be destroyed by customs as soon as they cross the border.
We have a great love and respect for our natural world and strongly support conservation in general and the protection for whales in particular.
We do not sell any carvings in materials taken from whale or other protected species.
We support CITES which is an international treaty to protect wildlife against over-exploitation, and to prevent international trade from threatening species.
The Legal Stuff:
Go to our Terms & Conditions page HERE
We are very proud of the high quality of our work so we are happy to provide a full refund no questions asked 60 day return policy.
If on receiving your order you are not 100% happy with your carving for any reason at all, we will provide a full refund of the purchase price (excluding shipping) on return of the carvings.
If due to a fault we will also refund the shipping charges or provide a replacement at your option.
For more info go to our terms page HERE
More to come:
This is the answer to question #1.
This is the answer to question #2
A few words on Authentic Ethnic Art
Traditional Maori style carvings have become very popular in recent years as has art from many other indigenous peoples including the Australian Aborigine, Inuit of the Canadian Arctic, Hawaiian tribes and many more.
This has resulted in a lot of companies now making knock-offs with little or no understanding of or respect for these peoples or their cultures.
Unfortunately most of the carvings offered on the Internet (and even in many shops in New Zealand) these days are in fact very poor quality fakes which we believe are doing huge damage to the reputation of real New Zealand craft work and artists. Much of the work being sold as "Genuine Maori Carving" has in fact been factory made in Malaysia, India, Philippines or China and a lot of it is not even carved but is stamped out by machines from a bone and resin paste.
To add insult to injury these same people have stolen their designs from the real artists.
The poor carvers who make these fakes in the sweat shop factories in some of these countries are paid a couple of dollars a week if that and have to work long hours spitting out as many carvings as possible. The retailers and manufacturers who take advantage of the subsistence pay rates in these countries often try to justify it by saying they are Maori designs or local carvers can't keep up or even that somehow the use of raw materials exported from New Zealand to these factories somehow makes them the genuine article.
Be realistic, if a company in America is selling complex bone or jade carvings at $15 each and making a profit after buying, importing and shipping them to customers, what do you think the artist will be getting paid?
Would you be prepared to work for that kind of money? so why would you expect skilled craftsmen and artists who treasure their culture and their craft to accept a few cents an hour for their work?
We are approached almost weekly by these carving factories in Malaysia, India, Philippines or China trying to sell us their "Maori" carvings and the average price they charge for these knockoffs is around $3 each.
To put that in perspective, that's less than we pay our local crafts people just to make the cords let alone what we pay our real artists for their beautifully crafted genuine bone carvings.
Yes we are passionate about our culture and our craft, we make no apologies for that. Our carvers are paid well for their skill and dedication which is the least they deserve.
If you are looking for exclusive, high quality, genuine bone and jade carvings, The Bone Art Place is where you will find them. If however you are looking for cheap, mass produced machine cut replicas, there are a number of companies in Asia and India who can supply those for you.
Either way, you will get exactly what you pay for.