Customer Service

Payment Methods
Conservation Resources will automatically open accounts for museums, archives, galleries, historical societies and government agencies, and will gladly accept your purchase orders. All other accounts must be prepaid by check, or by the use of a credit card. We currently accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. If you are a business seeking to open an account, we will help you to do so. Our payment terms for open accounts are net 21 days. Shipping charges will be added to your order unless alternative arrangements are specifically made in writing.

Prices
We pledge to maintain prices for as long as we possibly can. We do not follow a pattern of annual price increases. We seek to purchase conservation tools and chemicals directly from their manufacturers, avoiding middlemen which allows us to offer you the lowest price possible. Prices on the website will always be current so you may feel comfortable using them when ordering or gathering information for proposals. Nearly every item we offer can be sold in the exact quantity you need, so if your collection requires 183 18 x 24 map folders, you are welcome to order that quantity. For most items, price breaks are offered as the volume you order increases. Please contact us to inquire about further discounts if you need especially large quantities exceeding those shown online.

Dimensions

Unless noted otherwise, all dimensions for boxes are the inside dimensions of the bottom of the box.

Security

We understand that protecting your personal and financial data is essential. That’s why we’ve taken every measure to ensure our website is secure so that you can shop with us with the utmost confidence. We use the industry’s best security tools to protect your data and our security measures are regularly reviewed to make sure you can stay safe while making purchases on our site. We use secure socket layer (SSL) technology to encrypt all of your personal and financial information before it’s transmitted to our servers.  Your credit card information is never stored by our website or our credit card processor. 

Bids
We appreciate the offer to bid on your agency’s necessary supplies. Please include a contact person’s name, telephone number and email address as well as a specific street address for the delivery. Any special instructions should be specified on the bid (including inside delivery, lift-gate truck, and special packaging requirements)

Quotes
We will be happy to quote special prices on large orders, or to help you figure out how far your budget will go at the end of your fiscal year. We can always estimate shipping if we know how many of what items we are shipping to what location. We will always require a zip code for shipping quotes.

Resale Pricing
We can offer resale pricing on most archival storage supplies as we are the manufacturer. We do have some minimum, and minimal, requirements that distributors or resellers must meet. We will be happy to discuss quantities and prices with you at any time. We are able to drop-ship orders to your customers as well, using your packing lists if requested. These must be submitted at the time the order is placed.

Shipping
Conservation Resources ships “FOB origin” and employees a variety of shipping methods, based on both the cost and the safest transport of the material. Be sure to provide a physical (street) address with your order. Most orders will ship via either UPS or Federal Express ground. For small orders, such as books, we can often ship using the US Mail.

For small orders to Alaska, Hawaii, and international destinations (including Canada) we do try to use the mail when possible as the rates are sometimes better. Any customs fees will be billed to the recipient. Large orders, in either volume or weight, must often ship via motor freight carrier.

We are happy to ship via expedited methods as well and if this is requested we will do our best to ship immediately. We do not add any fees to “rush” your order. Please let us know if your shipping address has any restrictions, such as a requirement for inside delivery or the need for a lift-gate truck if you don’t have a loading dock and the order is too large to ship UPS or FedEx.

We will be glad to try to give you a shipping estimate when you place your order, just ask! Be aware that certain chemicals will have to ship as hazardous materials, which means the carrier has an additional charge which will be added to the base rate. This fee is roughly $40.00, so it is significant. HazMats generally can not ship by air, which means you should allow sufficient time for ground transportation.

Additionally, during the colder months we may have trouble shipping some chemicals and adhesives which are sensitive to freezing conditions found in trucks or freight terminals. We try to ship these on warmer days and time the shipping days so that they will not be subject to weekends languishing in unheated terminals going nowhere. Consider not only your winter conditions, but ours outside of Washington, D.C. when you plan your orders for products which may be sensitive to freezing weather.

Returns
Conservation Resources will accept materials for return under the following conditions:

  • the item is in new, original, unused or unopened condition
  • we are notified of your desire to return it within 30 days of the shipping date
  • customer is responsible for shipping both ways  

We can not accept special order items (such as special sizes or cut sheets of paper or board) for return. Material returned in its original condition may be exchanged for a different size or the sales price of the material (less the shipping) can be refunded as you wish. Please be sure to let us know your preference. A restocking fee of 15% will be assessed.

Damage to Shipments
While we try to ensure that all material leaving our factory is packed to arrive in perfect condition, damage does sometimes occur. We ask that you inspect your shipment before signing for it, looking at all boxes and skids and at all sides or angles. Note crushed corners, holes or gashes in cartons, any signs of moisture or anything else which looks suspicious on the ticket the driver will provide for you to sign.

Get a copy of your receipt from the carrier before they depart. If you are unsure whether the gash in a carton led to damage to the contents, open the boxes and do a quick inspection and then notify us should you have a problem. Please be able to tell us the order number (found on your packing list), the item number of the damaged merchandise, the quantity you need replaced and describe the problem.

Please do not dispose of the damaged material, including the packaging, until after you have spoken to us. In order for us to replace damaged material, it must be reported promptly so we can file a claim with the shipping company. A delay in reporting will result in the carrier declaring the damage has occurred after the cartons were received and thus refusing responsibility.

Product Support
We are a manufacturer. We believe the quality of our boxes and paper products is the best in the world, and we want you to agree. Subtle variations in color are unavoidable as different runs of paper may show slight variations in shade. If you note a problem with metal corners being unusually sharp or glue lines not being complete, please contact us and we will make things right. We guarantee it!

We make every effort to ensure that our literature is correct and that suggested uses of conservation materials, such as chemicals and adhesives, is accurate. However, we are neither conservators nor consultants and therefore must advise you to check products for suitability prior to extensive use or treatments, and to stay abreast of current information by following books, articles in periodicals and journals, and professional online forums.

For issues ensuing from damage during shipping, please see “shipping” for instructions regarding steps to follow.