Purchasing information for ordering minerals from John Betts - Fine Minerals, mineral dealer in NY, NY.

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Aesthetic Fine Mineral Specimens, Crystals, Gemstones for Rockshops, Rockhounds, Collectors and Mineral Clubs with Articles on Mineral Collecting, Mineral Locations, Mineral Research, Mineral History, Earth Sciences, Geology
John Betts - Fine Minerals, New York, NY 212-678-1942
Dealers of Fine Minerals and Natural Crystal Clusters since 1989.

Ordering Information

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Online Orders

Following is the simple step-by-step process for purchasing items on this site. We accept credit cards and PayPal as payment. Simply follow these steps to make a purchase:

Step 1. - Review the galleries on this web site and select the items to purchase.

Step 2. - Go to the Order Form and fill out completely.

Step 3. - Within 48 hours we will send a confirmation via email of your order availability and total amount due. (New York State residents must pay local sales tax.)

Step 4. - Credit card purchases will be shipped the next business day.
PayPal payments must be sent within 5 days of placing your order. Once your payment has been received we will ship out your order.

Want to know what others think of this site, the service, or the minerals? Visit my Customer Feedback page.

International Orders

All of the above applies. In addition to credit cards, payment may be made with International Postal Money Orders, International Bank Draft (with A.B.A. number), or wire transfer. Shipments will be shipped airmail, fully insured with full value declared on the package.

If the customer requests to avoid the full value declared on the package AND assume all risk for loss or damage, the package will be sent uninsured with the contents labeled "Geologic samples for scientific study. No commercial value". International customers must request this at the time of shipping.

Phone Orders

If you prefer to call to speak to me directly you may reach me during regular office hours at 212-678-1942. However, please note that I do not have all of any minerals at the office (most are in the warehouse) and may not be able to answer specific questions. Email is still preferred.

Pickup

If you are visiting New York City or one of the mineral shows on my schedule you may arrange to pick up you purchase in person. Please order 2 weeks prior to your visit to allow time to retrieve the specimens from our warehouse and prepare your purchase.

Return Policy - 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

If you are not completely satisfied with the specimens you may return them within 2 weeks for a full refund. We are sorry, no returns after the 2 week grace period.

Click here for details and procedure for returning purchases.

The Common Reasons Minerals Are Returned

Minerals are returned for two reasons: they looked larger on screen than in real life; and the mineral does not look like the photo.

The first problem is easy to remedy in advance. Simply print out the photo to match the size listed under overall size. If you are not adept at printing photos to scale, go low-tech. Measure out the dimensions on a piece of paper and find another object the same size. See if that size will be acceptable. Is it what you want to own? If not, do not order the specimen. We have provided a page of all minerals on this site sorted by size to help you focus on the specimens that meet your size requirements.
The second problem is dependent on your environment where you keep your collection. All minerals on this site are accurately represented with photographs prepared under optimum conditions. This includes reflective backgrounds, custom support stands, color balanced spot-light sources and photographed from a single point of view. If minerals are displayed under less than optimum conditions (i.e. fluorescent lights, diffuse panel lights, incandescent lights, etc.) do not expect the full beauty of the mineral to show. For more information on how to properly illuminate and display your minerals see my article on display lighting.

Photo Quality vs Display Quality

We have worked hard to make sure the minerals are accurately represented. The images on this website are optimized for viewing with a any browser or Adobe Photoshop on a PC computer. Also, your computer monitor should be properly adjusted to yield accurate color rendition. It is highly recommended that you use various commercial software packages to set the gamma on your display (This is built-in to Photoshop for PCs). I have had minerals returned because they were not as white as on their computer display. It turned out the brightness on the buyer's monitor, and therefore the image, was turned up too bright making all minerals look white. This is exactly what the gamma control programs help avoid. Mac users beware: your screens are inherently brighter and minerals appear lighter than on PCs.

Other Pages for more information:

FAQ page - Frequently Asked Questions

Shipping Costs

Wholesale Lots for Dealers

Quantity Discounts

Returning Items for Refund

Damaged Packages

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