Welcome to Charlotte Mason Beehive International, the cosy little nook set up especially for our international customers.
To meet the growing demand from our customers around the world, who live outside of the United Kingdom, we have established this website in order to provide a better customer experience, economically speaking.
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What are the benefits of having an international version of your website?
Excellent question. There are three chief benefits, as laid out below:
1. Significantly cheaper shipping costs.
This is the number one benefit of our new international set up. International shipping costs can be high, and in many cases prohibitive. We wanted to be able to offer the print versions of our products to our worldwide customers without them incurring such high additional charges.
We have therefore arranged to have our products shipped out to international addresses directly from the printers. This means that the products sent will be printed on demand.
As a result, the shipping costs incurred will be, in many cases, less than half what you may have been required to pay on our U.K. site.
2. Items sold in USD ($)
Another benefit to our new website is a currency that better reflects its demographic. As the majority of our international customers live in the United States of America it is only fitting that our international shop trades in United States Dollars. This is great as it means there need be no guessing the cost of a product or googling the conversion rate. There will be no unpleasant surprises. What you see is what you get when it comes to cost.
3. No more out of stock notices
As all orders will now be printed on demand, one need never worry that we will go out of stock. Order whatever and whenever you like and it will be fulfilled.
Are there any downsides to the international shop?
Yes, as great as the new benefits are, sadly some sacrifices to our operations have had to be made. Please see below for details.
1. Longer shipping and dispatch time
As our shipping costs are greatly reduced, the dispatch time has been impacted. Whereas previously we have endeavoured to dispatch items within 2-3 workings days, orders placed through our international site may experience delays of ten to fourteen working days. Please note that while this is not ideal, we feel that it is a small price to pay for the cheaper shipping costs. We also have no control over this time frame.
2. No more quality checks
As we will not be receiving your products prior to your receiving them, we no longer have any control over quality. If you do receive a damaged or defective item, please follow the procedure in our Delivery and Returns policy so we can make it right with as little inconvenience to you as possible.
3. Items not available
As most of our products are books, they will all be available through our international site, but there are certain items, such as the Paper Folding Material Supply Packs, that can only be purchased through charlottemasonbeehive.co.uk. In such cases, you are of course very welcome to place an order through our U.K. site.
4. Impersonal customer experience
The saddest part for us is losing the personal aspect when sending orders to customers. One of the most enjoyable parts of sending out parcels is being able to add a personal touch or include little extras in the packages. This is one of the main reasons why we have always determined not to be a print on demand operation. We want to connect with our customers and ensure all our parcels and products are welcoming and enticing, and it is with a heavy heart that we have had to give this special benefit up.
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In conclusion then, we are thrilled to be able to offer our international network this new way to purchase from Charlotte Mason Beehive, and trust that you will continue to enjoy the same positive customer experience shopping with us. We will always be on the look out for new ways to make our processes simpler, more efficient, and beneficial to all concerned, and we thank you greatly for your patience, support, and kindness while we streamline our operations. And please remember that our U.K. store is always open to international customers who wish to use it.
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
