FAQs - 12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) WHO IS BEHIND ROAMING OYSTER ®?

Roaming Oyster ® is the brainchild of marine engineer Roland Evans, who hails from the valleys of South Wales in the United Kingdom, and his wife, China specialist Bonnie Girard. The couple, who met in China in the 1990s, are the partners of China Channel Limited (www.chinachannellimited.com), which has been providing services to foreign companies in China since 1996.

Bonnie went to China in 1987 as a student and stayed on a full-time basis for the next 14 years, including through the tumultuous events of 1989. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and uses Chinese in all of her commercial and personal dealings in China. Bonnie was the first American woman to do business in post-1949 Shanghai. She was also the first American in post-1949 China to open an independent consulting company assisting foreign firms in matters of due diligence, business establishment, and ethical issues related to doing business in China. In total, she has spent half of her adult life - 19 of the last 27 years - in China.

Roland is the strategic and creative force behind Roaming Oyster ®. He is the creator of Jeremy, the Roaming Oyster (pictured on this Website). He has been working in China since 1992 and spends a great deal of his time there still on client projects.

Through Roaming Oyster ®, the couple support some of their pet projects in China each year:

i) Lending support of supplies and books to students in schools for migrant workers in Beijing (schools which do not receive government support because the families are considered "illegal" residents of the capital).

ii) Lending support of supplies, books, and scholarships to students in schools from which Roaming Oyster ® crafters come.

2) WHAT IS ROAMING OYSTER'S ® BUSINESS MODEL?

We own and manage the whole process by which we are able to offer you Roaming Oyster ® jewelry. We source, design, make, import, and sell all of our jewelry ourselves, so there are absolutely no middlemen. All of the jewelry you see here is made by us. We don't buy off shelves.

With our fluency in Chinese, we negotiate and build relationships directly with the suppliers of our glass beads and other materials, and with the pearl farms and their representatives. Such direct relationships between foreigners and Chinese suppliers is rare in any industry.

Our business model is also designed to give you the reassurance that the jewelry you buy from Roaming Oyster ® is made by people who are making more than a living wage, that working conditions are safe, healthy, and ethical, and that products are inspected by responsible people for suitability and safety. We care as much about the quality of life of the people who work with us to create our jewelry as we do about the quality of our products.

Jewelry doesn't need to be expensive in order to be of high quality. Our pearls are selected and designed for everyday women who love the look and feel of a genuine and natural product, in all of the new styles, designs, and colors into which pearls can now be fashioned. Our glass bead jewelry is created for the woman who wants both cutting-edge as well as classic accessories at a reasonable price.

3) WHY DO YOU ONLY HAVE A FEW PEARL NECKLACE AND EARRING SETS ON YOUR SITE?

We have an in-house catalogue of literally hundreds of designs, and are constantly adding more, but for now we are keeping our Web Store stocked with only our best-sellers and new featured products.

We will be adding new items regularly. Please browse and choose your favorite pieces now, and come back often to see what's new.

4) I WOULD LIKE TO BUY YOUR PRODUCTS FOR MY STORE(S). WILL YOU SELL TO ME ON A WHOLESALE BASIS?

Absolutely! Contact us by email here and ASK FOR YOUR WHOLESALE COUPON. We offer very affordable wholesale pricing to distributors and retail stores alike. Thanks in advance.

5) I AM A DISTRIBUTOR AND WOULD LIKE TO BUY ROAMING OYSTER ® JEWELRY FOR STORES IN MY DISTRIBUTION AREA. WILL YOU SELL TO ME UNDER DISTRIBUTOR PRICING?

Delighted to! The more the better! Contact us by email here and let's discuss it.

6) I AM A STAY-AT-HOME MOM / DAD. WOULD YOU SELL ME A KIT OF JEWELRY AT WHOLESALE PRICING THAT I CAN SELL IN MY COMMUNITY AND AT HOME PARTIES?

Sure! Send us an email here and let's get started.

7) I WOULD LIKE TO BE A REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR YOUR PRODUCTS. CAN I WORK FOR YOU AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR?

By now you know the answer! We'd be honored. Contact us by email here

8) WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY ORDER?

We won't make promises we can't reasonably keep. If your order is in stock, we will in most circumstances ship to you within 3 business days of receiving your order. If we are out of stock, we will make the jewelry piece for you! The delivery time is 4-8 weeks. We trust you will feel that it is worth the wait! Thank you.

9) MAY I RETURN MY PRODUCT FOR A REFUND?

Absolutely. We will give you a full refund on regularly-priced products for any reason if you return your purchase within 30 days of receiving it. Products sold at reduced pricing are excluded from the refund policy.

10) WHAT IF MY JEWELRY BREAKS OR IS FAULTY?

If your jewelry breaks anytime within one year, we will send you a replacement piece once we receive your broken or faulty piece back. However, we will only restring or repair the original piece if you give us loads of time to do so.

11) WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT YOU?

The very best way to contact us is email:

Contact us by email here

You can also contact us Toll-Free, by either Fax or Phone, at:

8555-OYSTER

If we don't answer, please leave a message. Your Voice Message will come through to our email (!), and we will respond as soon as possible.

You can also write to us at:

ROAMING OYSTER (R) P.O. BOX 390 PETERSBURG VA 23804-0390

Thank you.

12) WHAT IS YOUR PRIVACY POLICY?

This site is hosted by Yahoo! Store. Yahoo! hosts the store pages, ordering system, and order data. Yahoo! automatically collects order information but may only use this information in the aggregate. If you accessed this store through Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! also automatically collects information about your shopping experience. Please see the Yahoo! Privacy Policy for more information about how Yahoo! uses this information.

Our Commitment To Your Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy the following notice explains the information we collect, how it is used, how it is safeguarded, and how to contact us if you have any concerns.

What Information Is Collected:

As part of the order process, the following information is collected from shoppers:

Name Shipping/Billing Address Email address Phone number Credit/Debit Card Information

How That Information Is Used:

This information will be used ONLY to fill your current order, and will not be used, transferred, or sold in any way to anyone for marketing or any other purpose.

If you allow us to send you special offers and updates by email, we will be very happy to do so, but we will always ask you first.

You have our utmost commitment that your personal data will be kept secure.

Contact Us

Contact us by email here for any questions you may have.

From all of us at Roaming Oyster ®, thank you for your business.

sales@roamingoyster.com

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