Help Is Here!

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  1. I keep getting a message saying my credit card was declined, and I know that my credit card has room on it!
  2. My shopping cart is empty-even though I've selected something.
  3. What is a cookie?
  4. Why does your site give me so many cookies?
  5. How do I accept cookies so I can order?
  6. How will my order be shipped?
  7. Can I ship to a P.O. Box?
  8. When will my order be shipped?
  9. I'm looking for a specific item-how do I find it?
  10. How do I order from your site?
  11. I can't seem to find that special item.
  12. I tried to order multiples of something, but your shopping cart won't let me-why?
  13. I can order items, but I can't get to the secure server area to complete my order.
  14. Ok-I ordered my items, received them and I want to return them. Now what?
  15. Why does the checkout seem slower than the rest of the site?
  16. When I clicked "continue" I got an error saying "server timed out". Now what?
  17. Do you carry clothing?
  18. I think my site deserves an award! How do I apply?
  19. Do you accept money orders?
  20. Do you accept Personal Checks?
  21. Do you ship outside the United States?

     

    1. CREDIT CARD DECLINED: There are many reasons that you may get this message, most of which would pertain to your address. In order to prevent credit card fraud, this shopping cart system is set to automatically verify your billing address through the AVS (Address Verification System). It will reject the following types of transactions:
      Address information not provided for AVS check
      AVS error
      Non U.S. Card Issuing Bank
      No Match on Address or ZIP
      Retry - System unavailable or timed out
      Service not supported by issuer
      Address information is unavailable
      If you have moved within the last 60 days, even if you have changed the address with your bank, it may not be updated in the AVS system yet. Press your back button, fill out the billing address section again, and re-submit your order. Even if your order is shipping to another address (or to your new address), the billing address MUST exactly match what your bank prints on your statement. This is for YOUR protection as well as mine. There are two sections provided, one for billing address and one for shipping address. These addresses do NOT have to be the same, but the billing address MUST pass the AVS anti-fraud check in order for your order to go through. Dark Fire Gallery also collects your unique IP address in order to track fraudulent orders, and cooperates fully with police, postal inspectors and authorities in matters of credit card fraud. Fraudulent orders CAN and WILL be prosecuted. If something raises a flag to me about an order, I'll hold the order until I feel confident that it is a legitimate order, or I will simply cancel the order. Your safety is my top concern, and there are safety features on this site that most merchants don't bother with.You should insist on that high level of concern from EVERY merchant with YOUR money.

    2. EMPTY SHOPPING CART: If you are clicking on the "add to basket" and your item(s) do not showing up as a purchase in your shopping basket, you probably don't have cookies turned on in your browser.

    3.   COOKIES-WHAT ARE THEY: A cookie is a very small text file of information stored on your computer. The vast majority of shopping carts these days utilize cookies to track your purchases through checkout. A cookie does not "do" anything to your computer or track you at other websites you visit. It does not put viruses on your computer or anything nasty like that. It's simply a tool that helps the system at our website keep track of your purchases by noting what items you put into your shopping cart.

    4.   WHY COOKIES: We use cookies to keep track of your purchases. We also use cookies to keep track of which items are being viewed most often. This helps us continue to create the kind of store you want...easy to navigate, easy to purchase from, and a large variety of the products you want to see offered. Note: Even though they are completely safe little pieces of text, some people prefer to not have cookies stored on their computer. In the interest of providing the best shopping experience for you, we have set up our system so the cookies used for your shopping convenience are deleted once you have completed your visit.

    5.   ACCEPTING COOKIES: (If you do not know your browser version, click on help and then click the About... option.)
      Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0
      Select Tools - Internet Options and click on the "Security" tab. The default selection, "Medium", supports cookies, but you can click on the "Custom Level" button to check. Scroll down until you see the word "Cookies" and verify that the radio button next to "Enable" is selected in both options.

      Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
      On the PC: select View - Internet Options and click on the "Advanced" tab. Scroll down until you see the word "Cookies" and verify that the radio button next to "Always accept cookies" is selected.
      On the Macintosh: select Edit - Preferences and scroll down until you see "Cookies" under Receiving Files. Make sure that "Never Ask" is selected.

      Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0
      Choose View - Options and click on the "Advanced" tab. Make sure that "Warn before accepting a cookie" is unchecked.

      Netscape Communicator 4.0
      Choose Edit - Preferences and click on the "Advanced" option. Select the radio button next to "Accept all cookies" and click "OK".

      Netscape Navigator 3.0 Open "Network Preferences" under Options. Next click on the "Protocols" tab and ensure that the box next to "Accepting A Cookie" is unchecked.

      If you prefer, you can always re-set your browser back to not accepting cookies once you are done purchasing from Dark Fire Gallery. NOTE: if you want to shop online, you may want to consider keeping your browser set to accept cookies, as most shopping cart systems require cookies to store your purchases for checkout.

    6.   HOW SHIPPED: Items are shipped discreetly (yes, in a plain, unmarked box!) from San Antonio under the name DFG. The name that appears on your credit card statement will be DARK FIRE GALLERY.

    7.   P.O. BOX: Dark Fire Gallery will can ship to PO Boxes. Formerly, this was not possible, but now is perfectly fine.

    8.   WHEN SHIPPED: I usually ship within 48 hours excluding weekends. I am not at this time shipping anywhere but the U.S. Dark Fire also cannot accept foreign credit cards.

    9.   WHERE SHIPPED: Even though I'd love to be able to accommodate this type of order, it is impossible at this time. Dark Fire is a one person operation, and the possibility of Princess K getting familiar with all of the customs laws in all other countries is a daunting task. Another problem that has happened is that every time it has been attempted in the past: The order never made it to the desired recipients and refunds had to be issued (there are probably some very happy customs agents out there somewhere!). Tracking while stuck in customs somewhere is next to impossible, so this became an expensive waste of time for Dark Fire and for the customers. Dark Fire is a small company, and cannot afford to issue refunds for every order that is placed and not received, so a choice had to be made. Please accept Princess K's sincerest apologies. I also cannot accept foreign credit cards due to the high number of fraudulent transactions from other countries. The credit card processing system is set up to decline foreign credit cards.

    10.   SEARCHING: Use my "search" button at the top of the page. Just type in the author, name or description, ie: "cuffs" or "leather paddle", etc. and a list of items that match your search will be provided. You can then click on any item in the list to read about it and see a picture.

    11.   ORDERING: The various categories are listed on the left. Select a category by clicking on one and a list of products in that category will be provided, including thumbnails of the items. If you want to read about it or see a larger picture, just click on the item name or picture and it will take you to a more detailed page of that item. Some items are listed in more than one category - and of course, there's always Princess Krista's recommended favorites!
      Once you've found the product you want, click on the "add to basket button". It automatically goes into your basket to be saved for when you check out. When you're done shopping, click on the "checkout" button at the top and fill in your information (this area is encrypted for your security). Click "continue" and select your shipping and payment options. Now click continue again and fill in your credit card information. Once this is done, click the "continue" button and you will see a "Thank you" screen. You will be e-mailed a copy of your order (minus any credit card info) for your records.

    12.   MONEY ORDERS: I used to offer this option as a service to people who did not have credit cards, and sadly, there were just too many people who put Princess through the time, expense and trouble of taking items off the shopping cart, and holding them for extended periods of time. When these items were put aside for an order, they were not available for other online customers who might have purchased them. 99 times out of 100, people 'forgot' to send the money order as promised. This was very expensive for a small business such as Dark Fire, not to mention very time consuming for Princess (who still runs the store all by Herself!) when orders had to be cancelled and added back into the cart manually. It ended up costing more than it was making, so I simply had no choice but to discontinue this practice. My sincerest apologies to the few sincere people out there that actually would have followed through and sent a money order as promised.

    13.   PERSONAL CHECKS: At this time, we do not accept personal checks or PayPal. When PayPal was taken over by E-Bay, they decided that money from adult oriented businesses did not spend as well as those they approved of, so Dark Fire was no longer allowed to accept PayPal. Dark Fire DOES accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.

    14.   CAN'T FIND ITEM: I believe in only selling what we actually have in stock , so if you see it here, it won't be backordered for 6-8 weeks like other companies do. This system will not allow orders of an out of stock item (except clearly marked special order items), which avoids unnecessary delays to you! I may very well carry the item you're looking for, but just don't have it in stock at the moment. You can stop back later and see if we have it, or you can contact Dark Fire Gallery and inquire about the item you're seeking. There are no plans to expand the limited lingerie selection, as Dark Fire is a TOY store. The few lingerie items are offered to enhance the toy selection.

    15.   ORDERING MULTIPLES: This system will not allow orders of an out of stock item, which avoids unnecessary delays to you! If you are trying to order, for example, 3 of something but it only lets you order 2, we only have 2 of that particular item in stock at the moment.

    16.   SECURE SERVER TROUBLES: If you are having trouble getting to the secure server area, you are probably using an older browser. Netscape 2.0 and IE 3.01 and newer versions all have secure socket layer capabilities. If you are using an older browser, it most likely is not SSL capable. To enable you to enjoy online shopping here, as well as anywhere else online, you will need to upgrade your browser. If you go the the "help" button at the top of your browser you should see an "about..." option. If you click on that it will tell you what version you have as well as give you the URL to upgrade your current version.

    17.   RETURNS AND EXCHANGES: Any non-personal item returned un-used within 10 days will be accepted for full credit or refund minus shipping cost, as shipping is non-refundable. Please let me know that it is coming before you send it so that I can verify the address that it is being sent to. Unexpected packages may get refused. If it wasn't quite what you expected or has workmanship or quality problems, I'll do my best to make it right! PLEASE know your measurements before ordering. There are no returns accepted on books, lingerie, sale items, special order items, personal items or anything that may have associated health restrictions. EXCHANGES: "I ordered the wrong size and would like to exchange it for a size..." Due to the unique policy of only selling items that are actually in stock, I do not offer exchanges. I credit the price of the returned item as soon as I receive it, and ask that you place the order again through the shopping cart. Shipping is non-refundable.

    18.   SLOW CHECKOUT: This site uses the most advanced encryption methods available. Dark Fire Gallery supports your right to privacy and security. When you reach the checkout area, all information from that point forward goes through our secure server. Be sure to look for the little padlock on the right hand side of your browser and the 'https' in the URL on your browser. We feel your right to privacy and security is worth all of the lengths we go to.

    19.   TIMEOUT ERROR MESSAGE: If you see a timeout error message it could be for several reasons:
         Ocassionally, you may lose your Internet connection. Whether due to fluctuations in your connection, modem, your ISP or gremlins, it does sometimes happpen.
      What to do:
      * Click the back button and try again.
      * Press your "refresh" button.
      * Try to connect to a different website. If you can't, you've lost your connection and will probably have to re-boot your computer.
      If this this doesn't work,       contact Dark Fire Gallery and let me know.

    20.   DO YOU CARRY CLOTHING: At this time, I have no plans to expand my clothing offerings. I had originally hoped to expand into carrying clothing, but space and finances won't allow it.

    21.   I WANT TO APPLY FOR AN AWARD: Ok...Apply here.

    If this help guide doesn't answer your questions, please contact Dark Fire Gallery with your question or problem and I'll address it as soon as possible.

    Copyright ©1997-2005 BND Enterprises. All Rights Reserved.
    Any unauthorized use of the images, text or audio content is prohibited, and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

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