Frequently Asked Questions

What forms of payment does The Magickal Cat accept?

We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express directly through our secure online shopping cart.  A pre-authorization will be put through to your credit card at the time your order is placed to ensure that the information you provide is valid and that you have funds available.  Your bank may put a temporary hold on the funds at that time, but we will not charge the card until your order ships (with the exception of 14K gold and custom jewelry orders, which must be prepaid). 

We also accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, electronic checks, and payments from PayPal available funds through Paypal using payment address payments@themagickalcat.com.  If you are making any type of PayPal payment, please select "PayPal" as your payment option at checkout.  Upon submitting your order, you will be taken directly to PayPal to submit payment for your order.  Please note that PayPal orders can ONLY be shipped to a confirmed address on the PayPal account.  The address that you choose in PayPal when making your payment is the address where the order will be shipped.  We will not accept requests to change the shipping address on PayPal orders.

Money orders can be used by selecting the "Money Order" payment options. Payment should be made out to 'The Magickal Cat' and sent to our mailing address:

The Magickal Cat
365 Boston Post Road # 253
Sudbury, MA 01776-3023

If you are paying by Money Order, your order will NOT be processed until your payment is received.  Payment must arrive within 10 days of the date the order is placed or your order will be automatically deleted. 

We will accept cash, but we strongly advise against sending cash by mail. If you choose to send cash, you do so at your own risk -- we will not be responsible if unscrupulous postal workers pocket your payment. Cash sent by mail must be concealed so that you cannot tell it is cash by looking at or touching the envelope (coins are usually a dead giveaway and should be taped to an index card or small piece of cardboard, all cash should be wrapped in heavy paper -- magazine paper works well - to prevent it from being visible). Cash payments will be accepted in U.S. currency only. As with all mailed payments, be sure to include a printed copy of your order or, at a minimum, your name and the order number so that we can match up the payment with the order.

Does The Magickal Cat accept personal checks?

We will no longer accept personal checks for orders placed after September 1, 2007.   After years of accepting personal checks without a problem, we noticed a sharp increase in the number of bad checks being sent in as order payment this year.   Our choice was either to raise prices to cover our bank fees and recovery costs or stop accepting personal checks.  If you wish to pay by check, please consider using a PayPal electronic check. 

Do I have to provide credit card information online or can I fax it to The Magickal Cat instead?

While credit card information submitted on this site is secured through Verisign, we understand that some people are just not comfortable providing this information online. To fax in your credit card information, select the 'Money Order/Cashier's Check' payment option during checkout and put a comment on the order indicating that credit card information will be faxed in. You may then fax your information to us using the instructions below.  For faxed payments, we require the following information:

• Your order number
  
• The full name on the credit card (must match the billing contact name on your order)
  
• The type of credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express)
  
• Your credit card number
  
• For Visa or Mastercard, the three digit verification code on your card (listed in the signature panel on the back of your card following all or a portion of your credit card number). For example, if the number in the signature panel reads 1234567891012345 777, then 777 is your verification code).   For American Express, the four digit verification code printed on the front of the card (separate from the account number itself).  
  
• The expiration date (month/year) of your card
  

To fax your information, send the information above to our toll-free fax at 1-877-805-1428. 

After placing my order using the real-time credit card payment method, I received an e-mail requesting the billing address and verification number for my credit card. Why?

When we process the authorization on credit card orders, we receive information back from the processor indicating whether the billing information that you provided on your order matches the cardholder billing information on file with the credit card company. Orders that fail this test are generally flagged as potentially fraudulent. When this happens, we send out an e-mail requesting the correct billing information and the verification code from the signature panel on the back of the credit card. The order will not be processed until we receive this information and confirm that it matches the records on file with the credit card company.

We apologize for the extra effort involved on your part, but please understand that we do this to help protect you (and us!) from credit card fraud.

If you attempt to use a stolen credit card on this site, we will work with law enforcement and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL ANY ORDER THAT WE SUSPECT TO BE FRAUDULENT.

Our domestic (USA) shipping charges are set at $5.00 plus 7.5% of the value of the order. For example, shipping on a $100 domestic order would be $12.50 (calculated as a $5.00 flat charge plus 7.5 cents per dollar on the $100 order total). Shipping on a $25 domestic order would be $6.88 (calculated as a $5.00 flat charge plus 7.5 cents per dollar on the $25 order total).

International shipping is typically double the domestic shipping cost, or $10.00 plus 15% of the value of the order. For example, shipping on a $100 international order would be $25.00 (calculated as a $10.00 flat charge plus 15 cents per dollar on the $100 order total). Base shipping on a $25 international order would be $13.75 (calculated as a $10.00 flat charge plus 15 cents per dollar on the $25 order total). Please note that our shopping cart system always calculates shipping costs using the domestic rate, so you will need to double the shipping amount shown when determining your total order amount. Additional shipping charges may apply for heavy packages or very remote locations.  For additional information on international shipping, please see our Non-USA Orders page.

What shipping method do you use?

Our primary method of shipment is USPS Priority Mail, although in rare instances we may use UPS Ground.  At the time of shipment, we will send a shipping confirmation e-mail indicating what shipping method was used and providing you with a delivery confirmation or tracking number for your package. 

Please note that we will not ship to hotel/motel rooms under any circumstances.

Most orders ship out from our warehouse within 1 to 3 business days of the date the order is received (or, for orders paid by money order/cashier's check, within 5 business days after payment receipt).   During peak order periods (typically around Sabbats), high order volumes may add delays of 2 to 4 additional business days.  Our system sends an automated shipping confirmation e-mail at the time of shipment so that you know your package is on its way.  All orders ship from our Massachusetts facility. 

Some 14K gold and larger size jewelry items are custom made and take up to 8 weeks to process -- these will be noted in the item description and/or in the shopping cart.

If an item is unavailable, it will be cancelled from your order. We generally do not backorder items unless there are extenuating circumstances (for example, a special request from the customer or items that are custom made and will ship separately from the rest of the order). If we know when the item will be back in stock, we will try to pass that information along so that you can optionally reorder the item at a later date.

How can I check the status of an order I have placed through The Magickal Cat website?

Order status for online orders can be checked any time using the Order Status link on our Shopping page. If you registered, you can sign in to check the status of any of your orders. If you did not register, you will need to provide your order number and e-mail address to obtain status information.

Do you ship outside of the United States?

Yes -- we have shipped to customers in over 50 countries worldwide.  Please see our Non-USA Orders page for information on international orders.

Do you ship to APO/FPO Military addresses?

I need my order FAST. Is it possible to get overnight shipping?

We are willing to ship via USPS Express Mail (usually overnight, sometimes second day depending on distance from Massachusetts).  The minimum fee for this service is $25 (standard shipping charges still apply in addition to this fee). The fee may be higher depending on the weight of the package and the distance it must travel.  Please note that this affects shipping time only -- it will still take up to 5 business days to process the order and get it to UPS or USPS. If you wish to have a package sent using overnight shipping, please send us an e-mail to make special arrangements.  

What is your returns policy?

We accept returns within 10 days of the day your order is delivered (based on shipper delivery confirmation information). We do not accept returns of Jane Iris jewelry, items that can be tampered with (oils, perfumes, herbs, bath items, etc.), books, cloaks, or sealed items that have already been opened. You are responsible for all shipping costs (both the shipping that you paid to get the order and any shipping to return items). All returns are subject to a 15% restocking fee.  Refunds will be made in the original form of payment for credit card/PayPal orders or, for orders paid using offline money orders/checks, in the form of a store credit.

To place a return, please e-mail us at returns@themagickalcat.com and explain the reason for your return and what items are being returned to us. We will respond with an RMA number that you must write on the outside of your return package. Items returned without this authorization will NOT be accepted.

Do you sell wholesale to retail stores?

We are a retail store only and do not sell our items on a wholesale basis. Wholesale inquiries will not be answered.

What are the rules for custom orders?

Certain items (Jane Iris Designs 14K gold items and rings in sizes 11+, altar shrines, carpets, etc.) are marked on the site as custom orders. Custom order items must be prepaid and cannot be cancelled from an order or returned. Once you order a custom made item, you own it. If you order other items on the same order, the rest of the order will ship according to our normal site policies. The custom item(s) will ship separately within the time frame specified on the item detail and in the shopping cart page for your order.

Do you have a mail order catalog?

When catalogs were provided, we found that we were spending more on postage and labor costs to send out the catalogs and keep them up to date than we were making on catalog sales. In order to keep prices low and provide the best possible service, we are no longer offering catalogs.

If you are looking for items that you do not see listed on the website, drop us an e-mail with a description of the item(s) you need and we will let you know if we can obtain them for you.

The shopping cart asks for a promotion code.  How can I get a coupon code?