About our Yahoo Secure ordering system

1st Quality School Supplies and Yahoo! Shopping uses secure servers to protect your personal information, including your name, address, and credit card information. We use the Stronghold secure server, currently the second-best selling secure server software and, in our opinion, the best product technically. It supports industry-standard 128-bit SSL encryption.

When you enter your credit card number into the order form, it is transmitted across the Internet in an encrypted (scrambled) form and not decoded until we receive it. For added security, we also encrypt the credit card number when it is stored on disk .

Shopping online is considered fairly low-risk. According to CNN, "The prevalent opinion... is that online credit card use is actually no riskier for consumers than traditional 'low-tech' transactions." You should feel as safe as you would using a credit card in a store or restaurant, if not more so.

School Supply Ordering Information

Open to the Public
We accept orders from private individuals along with daycare facilities, private and public school systems, religious organizations, businesses, doctors offices, hospitals and government agencies. We are happy to supply you with all of your school supply needs.

Payment Methods
We accept Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, Paypal, and your corporate or personal check as payment. Checks must clear our bank before any items are shipped. There will be a $25 returned check charge for any check that does not clear our bank in addition to any charges that your bank may charge.

Purchase Orders
We accept purchase orders from public schools and government agencies. Purchase orders must be faxed from your purchasing department. Please include all contact information including buyers names and phone numbers so that we can contact you if there are any questions.
Please fax your purchase order to: 813-661-1412

Bid Requests
We accept bid requests by email or fax. Email bid requests to bids@1st-quality-school-supplies.com or fax to 813-661-1412. Be sure to include item numbers, descriptions, quantities, and ship to information (city, state, zip code, commercial or residential location) along with contact information if we need to contact you to clarify any items. Also include any other information that will help us in preparing the bid such as time or budget constraints.

Quantity Discounts:
Not only do we offer everyday low pricing on our products, we also offer quantity discounts on large orders of products from the same manufacturer. Several of our manufacturers offer discounts on orders at specific spending levels and we are glad to pass the savings on to you. To qualify for quantity discounts your order must meet certain purchase levels, usually over $5000. Please contact us if your order may reach this level so that we can get you the best pricing available. Some manufacturers offer free freight in lieu of discounts at this level which also represents significant savings.

Damaged Shipments:
Inspect all packages at time of delivery. If your items are delivered by a freight company such as Estes, Yellow Freight, Fedex Freight, etc., open and inspect all items for hidden/concealed damage before releasing the driver. If the driver will not wait for your inspection, mark all items as damaged on their delivery receipt. Damaged merchandise that was not inspected at the time of delivery may not be replaced free of charge. If your items were delivered by UPS or Fedex and left without signature, please inspect immediately and contact us if there is any damage. Items delivered without signature cannot be reported as damaged after 2 business days of merchandise receipt. We reserve the right to repair or replace damaged products at our discretion. Damaged products returned for refund or credit will incur a 20% restocking fee and shipping may not be refunded.

Defective Items:
Most items carry a manufacturers warranty. Defective items will be replaced or repaired according to the manufacturers warranty. Defective items returned for credit will be handled as a normal return and will incur restocking fees.

Closeout Items:
Occasionally we offer items that are labeled "Closeout". Closeout items usually occur when a manufacturer has a limited supply of a product and will no longer be manufacturing that product, or they are changing the model and are trying to deplete their inventory of the discontinued items. Closeout items are new, never used and are still backed by the full manufacturer's warranty except where noted. You will find that closeout items are highly discounted and quantities are limited. Due to their nature, sales for closeout items are final. If a closeout item is defective, it must be reported within 30 days of receipt in order to receive a replacement. Returns are not accepted on closeout items.

Returns:
Most items carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you would like to return an item please email  returns@1st-quality-school-supplies.com to get an RA# (Return Authorization Number). Returns will not be accepted without a return authorization number. Returns without prior authorization will be returned to the sender. When requesting authorization to make returns please include billing invoice number. Materials being returned must be in new condition and unused. PLEASE DO NOT SHIP ANY RETURNS TO OUR BRANDON FLORIDA ADDRESS - IT WILL BE REFUSED. When you receive your RA# email from us, it will include the proper address to send the return. You will be required to email us a tracking number when you send your return so that we can track its progress to the warehouse. When your return is received your account will be credited the purchase price less a 20% restocking fee. Please Note: Inbound and Outbound Shipping charges are not refundable or reimbursable under any circumstance, if your item was delivered using our free shipping promotion, you will be refunded less the actual shipping charges to your location. You are responsible for the shipping charges to return items to our warehouses. The items returned should be insured since you are responsible for all materials invoiced. Some custom or made-to-order items cannot be returned. Most items that have color choices are considered custom including bulletin boards, and certain chairs and tables with non-popular color combinations.

All sales to resellers are final.

Cancellations:
Most orders can be cancelled before they are shipped with no penalty. Cancellations must be made by speaking directly with one of our customer service representatives. Emailed cancellations or messages left on our voice mail system cannot be guaranteed. Once an item has shipped it cannot be cancelled and will be handled as a return. Custom or made-to-order items cannot be cancelled without penalty once production has been started on them. Most items that have color choices are considered custom including bulletin boards, chairs and tables.

Backorders
We attempt to fill backorders as quickly as possible but occasionally some items are unavailable for extended periods of time. In order to help our customers keep track of their orders and to ensure receipt supplies in a timely fashion, we cancel most backorders not able to be filled within 30 days of shipment. All cumulative backorders under $25.00 will be cancelled at time of processing.

School Supplies Shipping Information

Shipping charges to Continental U.S. destinations:
Due to the various locations of our warehouses all over the US. shipping charges calculated on this website are only an estimate. If the website shipping estimation is different from the actual shipping charges, you will be contacted for your approval before your order is processed or shipped. A shipping quote will be supplied for items that need to be shipped via freight truck, you will be contact with the quote as soon as it is available.

International Orders:
Due to the sizes of most of our products, we currently do not ship outside of the continental US. We do however ship to Forwarding Companies who will in turn ship to you.

Shipping Times and time in transit:
Orders are usually processed within 1 business day of receipt. Shipping time depend mostly on the products ordered, time of the year and delivery distance from the warehouse. Shipping time and time in transit are two separate things. Shipping time is the time it takes from order approval and processing until your item is ready to be put on a truck at our warehouse to be shipped to you. The time in transit is the time that it takes UPS or whichever carrier is delivering the items to pick it up from our warehouse and deliver it to your location.

• Smaller items such as learning materials and school supplies usually ship out within 1 or 2 business days from our Alabama warehouse. Delivery time depends on your distance from that warehouse, transit times are usually within 6 business days. If you need your smaller items quicker than the normal transit times expected, please contact us for other shipping options.
• Furniture and larger items usually ship out within 1 to 4 weeks from receipt of the order. Most furniture that is custom made such as items that have color options usually take 2 to 4 weeks to ship out. All furniture is shipped factory direct from different warehouses all over the US, transit time once shipped is usually 3 to 6 business days.
• Christmas Holidays - As would be expected due to the volume, shipping times around the Christmas holidays are longer than during the rest of the year. If you need your products before Christmas, order early. Although our goal is to have all orders processed and shipped in time for Christmas delivery, we cannot guarantee Christmas delivery.
• School Supply Season - The peak school supply buying season is from May through September, please allow extra time for orders of furniture during these months.

Damaged Shipments:
Inspect all packages at time of delivery. If your items are delivered by a freight company such as Estes, Yellow Freight, Fedex Freight, etc., open and inspect all items for hidden/concealed damage before releasing the driver. If the driver will not wait for your inspection, mark all items as damaged on their delivery receipt. Damaged merchandise that was not inspected at the time of delivery may not be replaced free of charge. If your items were delivered by UPS or Fedex and left without signature, please inspect immediately and contact us if there is any damage. Items delivered without signature cannot be reported as damaged after 2 business days of merchandise receipt. We reserve the right to repair or replace damaged products at our discretion. Damaged products returned for refund or credit will incur a 20% restocking fee and shipping may not be refunded.

Freight Truck Shipments
A lot of the products that we sell are too large for UPS or Fedex Ground to handle. Items such as tables, furniture, bulletin boards or chalkboards with a side that is 48 inches or longer, or items that weigh over 150 pounds all have to ship via freight truck. These items must ship via a freight company such as Estes, Yellow Freight, Fedex Freight (formally RPS) among others.

Here is some important information about Freight Truck Shipments to residential addresses:

• Phone number is essential as the freight companies usually call before residential deliveries to assure someone is home to accept delivery
• Lift Gate and Inside Delivery Service: When you are given a freight quote, it does not include lift gate service or inside delivery service. Delivery is made to the end of the truck, the receiver is responsible for taking the products from the end of the truck. Lift Gate service is needed if the item is too heavy for the driver to get off the truck alone, lift gate service can be arranged for a fee. However, if you are willing and able to help the driver to get the product off the truck, there should not be a need for Lift Gate Services. Inside delivery is also not included in the freight quote, if you need inside delivery please let us know. Inside delivery is to the first floor only. Please let us know if this is the case when you are placing the order.
• Problem Delivery Areas: There are some places that freight trucks cannot deliver to, for example, if the delivery is in a "No Truck Zone", or if there are low hanging wires or cables crossing the road, or it is a narrow street, etc., a freight truck cannot deliver. Ask yourself if a semi truck and trailer can drive on your street. (Just because UPS can deliver there, does not mean a semi-truck can deliver there). If the freight company cannot deliver to your address, they will want to deliver to a different location such as a business or warehouse location or have the customer pick up the merchandise at their local terminal.

Free Shipping Promotion for orders over $70
We are offering free shipping on orders over $70 excluding items that are oversized or have to ship via Freight Truck (FOB). Furniture, Tables, Chairs, Chalkboards, Bulletin Boards and other such items are oversized and do not qualify for free shipping. Click here for more information on our free shipping promotion.