Sales Policies

Last Update: 2024.1.18

We are currently working on multiple projects trying to restructure our operations and increase the capacity of our small dedicated team. Because of the limited capacity and increased interests, our replies to all international inquiries have been delayed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We will appreciate your kind understanding and patience while our small dedicated team has been working hard to increase our capacity.

We would be grateful if you could read through the following Sales Policy before sending us your order inquiry so that we can help with all customer inquiries as smoothly as possible. Thank you for your cooperation.

Order Placement

Please see the directory of Registered SAORI Studios available on our Classes page to check if there is one in your country. If there are any Registered SAORI Studios in your country, please contact one directly for more information about placing an order there as we do not sell our products directly to customers in countries where there are already registered studios. However, if you are located in a country where there are none, please contact us so we can try to assist you directly from Japan.

Before contacting us to place an order, please read carefully our Product Catalogue linked on our SAORI Looms and Resources page . Please scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the image of the catalogue to view its content.

Please also read the frequently asked questions and answers listed on the FAQ page before sending us an inquiry.

When sending us an order inquiry, please contact us through the online form prepared on our Contact page. Please include the following information on your order inquiry.

List of the items you are interested to purchase
Your delivery address (necessary for estimating the shipping costs)
Your telephone number (necessary for arranging international deliveries)

Purpose of Use

We distribute our SAORI products to support the personal SAORI practice continued by individuals all over the world. Based on this reasoning, as a general rule, we can accept up to one SAORI loom per order. If you are placing an order of multiple looms, please provide us with your intended purpose of use. If you are ordering on behalf of a business, please also provide us with the business profile such as business name and the website, so that we can fulfill your order with confidence.

We will decline any and all purchase orders intended for activities that have infringed or hold an intention to infringe upon our trademark and intellectual property rights at some future date. We also reserve the right to decline any and all purchase orders by any individuals and/or organizations not complying with our Intellectual Property Policies communicated on our FAQ page.

We will also decline any and all purchase orders by any individuals and/or organizations serving as representatives for different brands that may be in competition with SAORI. We will not sell our unique SAORI products to those who are selling products supplied by competing brands or who are offering classes using non-SAORI equipment and accessories. This policy aims to avoid creating any conflict of interest for SAORI.

Delivery Method

All international orders will be delivered by DHL Express. We must arrange all DHL deliveries using our own DHL account set up in Japan. We appreciate your understanding that DHL Express is the most reasonable and reliable shipping method we can currently provide. We are not able to deliver our products by other shipping methods and the quote we provide for each international order is the best effort we can present at this time.

We request purchases be made through our official sales channels

We will decline any international orders involving other entities located in Japan (which include but are not limited to), friends, relatives and third-party international shipping services. We have this important sales policy in place to prevent delivery problems such as delays, losses and damages of our valued products

Purchasing products through our official sales channels, such as SAORI Global LLC and Registered SAORI Studios, contributes to maintaining consistency for the quality of services provided within our network. Additionally, it helps us establish and sustain a stable network to distribute our SAORI products and resources internationally. We sincerely appreciate your understanding and cooperation in placing orders through the official sales routes. Thank you.

Please refrain from sending direct inquiries to the SAORI Studio locations in Japan, as they are not in a position to assist with international purchase orders. SAORI Global LLC has the exclusive right and responsibility to handle international purchase orders on behalf of all SAORI Studio locations in Japan. This arrangement aims to maintain the consistent policies as we distribute our unique SAORI products internationally.

Import Tax and Duties

Please also understand that you are responsible to pay the duties and tax charged when the shipment is imported into your country. We, the exporter, are not able to estimate the amount of tax or duties to be incurred at the importer’s end, because they are decided by the customs in the importing country on a case-by-case basis. In many countries, the tax such as VAT and GST would be charged on the total custom value (calculated in importing countries based on the total invoice value including the costs for the goods and shipping) when the goods enter your country. For more information about the custom tax and duties, please refer to the information provided by the custom offices in your own country.

Payment Method and Currency

For customers in Europe: We settle the costs for your purchase in Euro. We can accept your payment through remittance to our bank account set up in Europe collaborating with Wise (formerly Transferwise) or via PayPal. If you choose to pay via PayPal, please note that we must add a 3% fee on top of the total invoice value.

For customers in other areas: We settle the costs for your purchase in U.S. Dollars. We can accept your payment through international remittance to our bank account in Japan or via PayPal. If you choose to pay via PayPal, please note that we must add a 3% fee on top of the total invoice value.

Please let us know which payment method would work best for you when you confirm your order.

Production Lead Time

We will release your order for production after we receive your payment. It usually takes about 1-2 weeks for us to prepare most of the orders, and then 3-7 business days for the shipment to reach many destinations. Please understand that we may require longer production lead time for orders with a larger volume and/or when we work on many orders simultaneously.

Cancellations and Returns

Due to the complications involved in the international money transactions and trading goods across borders, once your order is paid, we will not be able to accept any order cancellations or make refunds. We cannot accept any returns of the goods that you received under any circumstances.

Damages & Defects

Please inspect all shipments immediately upon arrival to review the items within your order. We will accept the exchange of any unused goods that have been wrong, damaged or turned out to be defective within 7 days after arrival. If you believe you have received wrong, damaged or defective goods, please send us a request for replacement parts or products together with visual documentation and evidence, such as photos of the actual damages on the packages and products. In addition to identifying the parts to be replaced, this information also helps us to identify which elements of our production and fulfillment process could be improved in the future.　We will cover the shipping costs that are charged to deliver the replacement for the wrong, damaged and defective products.

If we receive the information of damages later than 7 days after arrival, we will not be able to accept exchanges. We have all international deliveries fully insured to add our capability to accept exchanges. In order to receive the compensation from the insurance company, we must submit the valid evidence of the damages on deliveries to the insurance company in a timely manner. We will not be able to prove whether the items are damaged or defective at delivery or they turn into the condition while in use, if we cannot receive the information within 7 days after arrival. We appreciate your understanding.

Discounts

We do not make any volume discount on our products, because of the nature of our production methods which involve hand made processes. We also decline requests for wholesale discounts, because we do not appoint any sellers who are not officially registered as SAORI instructors, and we do not have a plan to do so in the future.