The Gate Swings In: A Swedish Tale by Nora Burglon, Updated by Reg Down

Order Processing & Shipping

Processing orders usually occurs in 2 to 4 business days. Business days don’t include weekends or federal holidays. 

Processing can take longer, especially for special order items, musical instruments, lesson books, large art paper packs, bicycles and other specialty or large or bulk items or during peak/holiday shopping. 

Processing time doesn’t include shipping time. When given a shipping estimate at checkout, this is in addition to processing time.

Most items ship from Washington state. Some items may ship from the vendor on demand.

We work hard to stay within our estimate, but as a small family business rather than a large company, it is simply an estimate and not a guarantee.

International and USA Shipping

At this time, we are no longer shipping internationally. Shipping within the United States is confined to the contiguous USA and, with some small exceptions, Alaska and Hawaii.

USPS and UPS

Shipping at checkout is connected directly to USPS and UPS and includes their live rates and shipping times based on a combination of your products box dimensions, weight and how far your delivery address is from us. If your item ships via UPS Groundsaver, they deliver your package to the USPS in your zip code. USPS then completes the delivery.

Shipping Insurance & Liability

USPS and UPS automatically include limited insurance coverage for up to $100 in value for loss, theft, or damage during transit to your destination when selected at checkout. Claims for this coverage are handled through USPS or UPS. Please note that insurance through these carriers does not extend beyond $100 with our available shipping methods and does not cover your package after it's been delivered.

For added protection, Route Package Protection is available at checkout for all orders, including those valued over $100. If Route is purchased and your package is lost, stolen, or damaged during transit, Route provides a quick, digital claims process.

If you decline Route coverage for orders over $100, your purchase is not eligible for replacement or reimbursement in the event of loss, theft, or damage during transit. In such cases, Alder and Alouette, USPS, UPS, and Route are not liable.

Please note that USPS, UPS, Route Package Protection and Alder and Alouette are not responsible for theft, loss or damage that occurs after delivery. It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure a secure delivery location.

Order Cancellations

Order cancellations must be requested within two hours of placing your order. Cancellations cannot be guaranteed after this time window has passed, as processing may have already begun.

Returns

Returns can be made for eligible items through the customer return portal within 30 days of the purchase date.

For health reasons we're not able to accept returns or exchanges for wind instruments, like recorders and flutes, or their accessories—such as oils, wax, tone blocks, swabs, leathers, bags and so on.

Some sales are considered final, such as high value items, musical instruments, liquids, pastes, certain baby/infant items, oral hygiene items, certain paper products and more; please see full return policy for more information.

Follow these links to read our full policy for returns, exchanges, refunds and shipping.

Return Policy

Shipping Policy

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

Alder & Alouette sells arts and crafts materials, as well as toys, games, and puzzles, in compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). 

CPSIA addresses, among other things, lead, phthalates, toy safety, third-party testing and certification, imports and SaferProducts.gov. You may view a pdf of the law here and learn more about the law here.

Our arts and crafts materials are additionally Art + Creative Materials Institute Certified (ACMI) + AP certified as nontoxic.

Our internationanl products also meet the European Union's CE and the United Kingdom's UKCA requirements.

Conformitè Europëenne (CE) 

The Conformitè Europëenne (CE) Mark is defined as the European Union's (EU) mandatory conformity marking for regulating the goods sold within the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985. The CE marking represents a manufacturer's declaration that products comply with the EU's New Approach Directives. You can find out more about this requirement here. 

 

UKCA Marking

UKCA Marking – The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is the UK conformity marking used for certain goods (including toys) being placed on the GB market, in place of the CE marking which is the conformity marking used in Northern Ireland and the European Union. You can read more about the UKCA marking here in sections 10 and 15.

 

USDA Organic

Some products are certified organic. If they are certified by the USDA, you can read more about that certification here.

 

GOTS Certified Organic

Global Organic Textile Standard certified (GOTS) is an International Standard, and you can read more about GOTS here, as well as look up and confirm GOTS certification numbers for individual products.  

BIOLAND Standards

Many of our products are certified organic as part of the Bioland Standards. This is a German product only certification and includes some of the highest organic standards in the world. You can read more about the Bioland standards here. 

OEKO-TEX Standards

Products that are not necessarily organic may carry an OEKO-TEX or OEKO-TEX 100 safety certification as proof of non-toxicity. You may be more likely to see this in items that were dyed with non-plant dyes in order to verify that the dyes are nontoxic and free of or within a safe range of elements and other contaminants.

You may also see this on non-organic textiles to verify that the textile is free of or within a safe range of certain chemicals or elements. You can read more about OEKO-TEX standards here. You can verify if an OEKO-TEX label is valid or not here.

Q: The item I want to order is out of stock. How long will it take to be back in stock?

A: If you’d like to find out when something will be back, send an email to info@alderandalouette.com, and we’d be happy to look that up for you. In your email, include the item and any sizes or colors, if applicable. 

 

Q: May I pre-order an item that is out of stock?

A: Yes, you may (if it has a preorder button)! If there is no preorder button, send us an email at info@alderandalouette.com, and we can set up an order for you.

 

 

Pre-Order Policy
Purchase preorder items separately from in-stock items if you don’t want your items held waiting for the preorder to come in. If you purchase them together, they will ship together, in most cases. If you separate your orders, they will ship separately. 

 

Q: May I special order items?

A: If you’d like special quantities or colors, or if you don’t see what you want, contact us by email or text to see if we can find and order these items for you. We’re happy to help! info@alderandalouette.com or 360-358-3387

 

Q: Do you offer gift wrapping?

A: At this time, we don’t offer gift wrapping. 

 

Q: Do you sell gift cards or certificates?

A: We do! We sell physical and electronic gift cards. Once an electronic gift card is purchased, we send the gift card code through email to the email address you provided at checkout. You may then forward the code to whomever it is intended. Physical gift certificates purchased will be mailed to the shipping address provided. 

 

Q: Can a sale price be applied to an order placed before or after a sale?

A: We can’t apply discounts to orders placed before a sale began or after a sale ended. 

 

Q: An item I wanted to buy sold out during a sale. Do you offer rainchecks for the sale price?

A: We don’t offer rainchecks, and sale prices are limited to items on hand during sale dates. 

Discounts and Promo Codes

Q: I found a discount code for your shop online but it doesn’t work. Why?

Only Promo Codes and Discount Codes sent through official Alder & Alouette communication channels are valid. Promo and discount codes found on other websites that we don’t own are not valid and were transmitted or created without our knowledge or permission. 

Canceling Orders

Q: May I cancel or change my order after it’s been placed?

A1. : Whether or not the cancellation is possible depends upon where your items are in the processing and shipping process.

If you placed an order and then changed your mind, please contact us in writing via e-mail as soon as possible info@alderandaloeutte.com. You may also text us at 360-358-3387. We will see where your order is in the process and let you know if it’s possible or not.

A2: Cancellation if Your Order Hasn’t Shipped Yet

If your order has been processed, but not shipped, there may or may not be a small restocking fee to cover the cost of card processing fees if we cannot recover them during your cancellation. This can occur if the transaction was finalized through the payment gateway that communicates with your bank or card company.
If there is a fee, it’ll be deducted from your refund when we cancel and refund your order. Currently, this fee can be up to 3% of your purchase price. An example is a $10 purchase that is canceled may incur a fee between $0.00 and up to 0.30 cents.

A3: Cancellation if Your Order Has Already Shipped

If the order has shipped, we’re unable to cancel the order as it’s already on its way. See the return policy after this point to find out more information about returns.

 

Sales Tax

Q: Do you charge sales tax?

A: Currently, we only charge sales tax in Washington State. If you’re in a state where we don’t charge sales tax, you’re required to keep up with that purchase total and report it to your state under their State Usage Tax system.  

Credit Card versus Debit Card

Q: Why do you recommend paying with a credit card instead of a debit card?

A: We recommend paying with a credit card instead of a debit card for a couple of reasons. Many credit cards offer extra insurance on products when purchased with a credit card. This is a nice, extra perk on your side in case the postal service or other delivery service loses or damages your package. We’re not responsible for loss or damage caused by the shipping service. 

In addition, because of internet fraud, some orders may be declined through our payment processor as a security feature to protect you based on certain filters, like address verification. If this happens and you used your debit card, your bank may put a hold on those funds until the transaction is no longer pending. This could take several days and during that time, those funds won’t be available to you. We don’t have control over this and unfortunately, can’t help you if this occurs. Using a credit card instead doesn’t impact your bank account if your card is declined for any reason.

This also applies to order cancellations and refunds. If you’re paying with a debit card or using something like PayPal or Venmo or other payment services connected to your bank account or a debit card, even though refunding or canceling your order is quick on our end, it must be referred back through card processors and the payment service before making it back to your bank account. This could take several days and during that time, those funds won’t be available to you. We don’t have control over this, and what we can do ends as soon as we hit the submit refund button. 

Shipping

Q: Do you cover my package if it’s lost, mis-delivered or damaged during shipment?

A: The shipping services we use are separate companies from us, and we relinquish our responsibility to them once they pick up your package and leave our facility.  However, when we send your package, it includes limited standard carrier insurance against loss or damage that occurs during transit up to $100. Please use your tracking number provided to file a claim with USPS or UPS if they lose or damage your package during transit.  USPS prefers to communicate with you, the buyer, whereas UPS will prefer to communicate with us, the seller. Neither service (nor Alder and Alouette) covers theft, loss or damage AFTER delivery so please ensure you have a safe delivery spot at the address you provide.

If your purchase is over $100 or if it's under $100 but you prefer a quicker, easier, digital claims process and more expanded coverage, we offer Route Package Protection for you to purchase at checkout. If you decline Route Package Protection and your package is lost, stolen or damaged during transit, neither Route nor Alder and Alouette are liable for refunding or replacing your items. If you choose Route Package Protection at checkout and need to file a claim, please visit Route's digital claims page to get started here. Please visit as soon as possible to view Route's date range restrictions for different situations (theft, loss or damage). 

Q: Do you ship Internationally?

A: Currently, we are only shipping to the United States.

 

 

Q: Do you offer free shipping discounts?

A: Occasionally we may offer free shipping. When we do, you usually need to meet a price point. As a small family business who relies on USPS or UPS, free shipping can be too costly for us to manage long-term. 

If we do offer free shipping, the price point is often lower for residents of Washington State and parts of Oregon simply because they’re so close to us resulting in much lower shipping cost overall. 

We also occasionally offer free local delivery within our “neighborhood” for purchases over a certain amount during certain times of the year, such as the holiday season. 

 

Q: What do you charge for shipping?

A: Our checkout is connected directly to USPS and UPS and so our shipping prices are determined by them. They base the shipping off a combination of factors, such as package dimensions, weight and the distance your package will travel. 

 

Q: How long does it take to receive my order?

A: There are two different times that affect this answer: Processing Time and Shipping Time.

Processing is usually between 1 to 5 business days, but can go out the same day as well depending upon how many orders are in front of yours. During peak shopping it can also take a bit longer!

We process the orders in the order they come in regardless of size, and it really comes down to how many orders we have to process in front of yours and what day of the week it is when we get to your order. As a small business with a small handful of family employees, we are closed on holidays, Saturdays, Sundays and evenings to take care of our own kids and selves. 

Shipping time is dependent upon USPS or UPS’ schedule too. Orders falling on Thursdays, Fridays, holidays and weekends can take longer to be picked up or head out.

UPS can be quicker than USPS during the week but much slower than USPS on the weekend (any UPS package ready on a Friday or Saturday or Sunday will not leave until Monday, for example, unless Monday is a holiday and then it may be Tuesday; whereas a USPS order ready on a Thursday or Friday could go out that Saturday instead.)

Please see our shipping policy HERE for more information.
 

Q: Will I receive a tracking number?

A: Once a shipping label has been created, you’ll receive a tracking number via email, though it may be the next business day before your package is actually picked up. If you can’t find a tracking number email sent to you, check your spam or junk folder.  You can also log into the customer portal at any time to see the status of your package. 

Q: How do I return or exchange a product?

A: See our Refund & Exchange Policy HERE for requirements and which items do not qualify for an exchange or return.

NOTE: We reserve the right to change our policies as needed and without warning or notice to you, the customer. Information on this page is not a guarantee.

Still have a question? 

Send an email to use at info@alderandalouette.com or fill out the form on our contact us page and someone will be in touch as soon as possible.  

 

 

 

Special Order Items

Items marked as Special Order are not kept in regular stock due to space limitations (e.g., large harps, Waldorf play stands, or bulk quantities of lesson books). These items are ordered on demand from our distributor in the Pacific Northwest.

Once shipped from the distributor, they typically reach us in about 3 business days during non-peak times, after which we promptly ship them to you. The distributor usually processes orders within 2–3 business days, though this may take longer during busy seasons. Please note they are closed on weekends, holidays, and from mid-December through mid-January.

High-quantity orders may also be treated as special orders. For example, small orders (e.g., 1–3 boxes of crayons or lesson books) are shipped from our current inventory. However, large orders—such as 20 boxes of crayons or three 10-packs of lesson books—may be ordered as a special order items instead from our distributor, which can add 1–3 business days to processing.