General Tips

We try very hard to photograph our art under optimal light, and correctly describe it on our website so that you get exactly what you expect. If you are not certain about the general qualities of a certain work, please contact us before making your purchase so we can answer any questions first.
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For best viewing results on our website, maximize your browser window by clicking the "square" icon on Windows, or the green icon (not shown) for Mac. This makes looking at larger-sized images more convenient because you typically will not need to scroll down or sideways in order to view the whole image.
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Our website is optimized for a minimum of 1024 x 768 computer screen resolution, which means that most monitors larger than 13" diagonal viewing area will show pictures and discriptions with a minimum of wrapping or cropping.

Purchasing
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We find that customers are best served either directly through a gallery or via a phone order. If you're interested in making a purchase, or want to ask about a commissioned work, let us know and we'll get right back to you.

Prices are in US dollars, which we've found to be the most helpful when displaying prices online. We will be happy to provide a price quote in Canadian dollars to Canadian customers. Customers ordering from outside the United States and Canada may contact us for a quote in either US dollars or Canadian dollars.

We use PayPal's secure ecommerce-platform as our merchant account provider which allows us to accept most major credit cards.
You do not need a PayPal account. You can choose to pay with credit or bank card without registering with PayPal. In order to process your order, please contact us and we will process it for you. In our experience, the nature of making a fine art purchase is best supported by manually processing an order. If you are in the Vancouver area, we will be happy to fill your order in person so you may see your artwork at the time of purchase.

For those paying with established PayPal accounts set-up with your local currency, currency conversion is performed by PayPal. We have found PayPal to be both convenient and quite competitive in its exchange rates. If you are using a credit or bank card, currency conversion rates are set by your card provider.

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Taxes_
Good News! No orders from Robertson Gallery are currently charged any sales tax, whether they are international or domestic. However, please be aware of the following proviso, particularly if you live in Canada.


Updated July 2010
The Province of British Columbia implemented the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in July 2010, which combined the old sales tax structures of Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) into one system.

The Robertson Gallery currently qualifies under the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) definition of "Small Supplier". This volume-based definition excludes us from the requirement to collect HST. As a result, all purchases currently made from the Robertson Gallery
exclude sales tax of any kind. However, should we trigger the CRA requirements for charging HST, then this policy will have to change.

If we have to begin charging HST in the future, we expect to have plenty of notice on the website, and certainly you would always be notified at the time of purchase, but we reserve the right to collect HST if required. If and when HST-registered in the future, Canadian residents would be charged 12% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on all artworks and supplies. International orders -- basically shipping to anywhere outside Canada and its Territories -- would not be charged Canadian sales tax, but you are responsible for determining if you owe taxes to your local tax authority.

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Shipping_
Shipping rates are based upon order value and ship-to location. We try to keep our shipping prices as low as possible, and have found this to be the simplest way to assess prices. Prices include insurance where available.

Orders may ship from our Vancouver, BC or Orlando, FL locations. We may use Canada Post, US Postal Service, UPS or Fedex, depending upon where from and to the order is shipped, as each provider's price varies widely on these factors. We will ship the equivalent of Priority, which we find to be the best balance between cost, time and handling. If you wish to have your shipment sent sooner, please contact us so we can determine the precise difference in cost.


We use the following shipping zones:

Canada Domestic
Includes all of Canada, including all Provinces and Territories.


United States 48 Domestic States
Includes all US 48 domestic states and the District of Columbia.


US Alaska and HI
Includes Alaska and Hawaii.


International
Includes US Territories, Europe, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and most other countries in South America, the Middle East and Africa. Please contact us if you cannot fulfill your order directly on PayPal. International shipping times can vary widely. Please allow sufficient time for goods to arrive.


Download
The simplest way for us to offer you these products is to email image files to you, or at your request, CD-ROM via traditional mail. We have use automated digital downloads before, but have found that the small delay in processing your order manually and emailing you provides a much more secure and trouble-free delivery. If ordering MS Paint postcards, please contact us and we will fulfill your payment and email the postcards right away.
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Shipping Rates_
Prices are in Canadian dollars. Here's a basic currency converter here for you to see approximately how much your order will cost you in your own currency (use the Browse All link to search for currencies not shown on that page).

Order amounts below $15 CAD are intended for downloads. If you are ordering physical goods and downloads together, and the total does not qualify you for free shipping, we recommend ordering the downloaded goods separately to ensure the amount does not increase your shipping rate.

If your order is over $500 CAD, we offer free shipping to Canada and US, and a $40 shipping credit to all other locations.

Unlike many e-vendors, we have tried hard to keep our shipping prices as minimal as possible. Because of the value of the art you are purchasing, we must package the shipment thoroughly and insure it, which typically adds cost. This is necessary as so many of our purchases are one-of-a-kind works that if they should become damaged, are irreplaceable in their original form. However, by choosing carefully which shipping provider we use, we can usually keep shipping prices lower than if we chose a single provider.

We also use shipping price ranges which do not "just happen" to fall slightly below the next shipping threshold, possibly denying you the opportunity for free-shipping for lack of a couple dollars more order value, or just nudging the order into the next higher shipping bracket. Most purchases usually fall comfortably within the middle of a range, which helps ensure that you, our customer, are getting the best shipping value we can offer.
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Purchase Amount
(CAD $)


0.00 - 15.00
15.01 - 300.00
300.01 - 500.00
500.01 - 700.00
700.01+
Canada
Domestic


Free
25.00
35.00
Free
Free

International

Free
35.00
40.00
Free
Free
US 48
States


Free
30.00
40.00
Free
Free
US
AK, HI


Free
35.00
40.00
Free
Free
Copyrights_
Your Rights
When you purchase a work of art from us, whether an original work, giclee, print or download, you have the right to use that work for your own personal enjoyment in your home, workplace or give the originally purchased work as a gift, or to sell the originally purchased item to a third party, just as you would any asset you have purchased from any vendor. For example, if you purchase 1 giclee, you may later sell that 1 giclee. If you purchase 1 digital postcard computer file, you may later sell that 1 digital postcard computer file once, and no longer use that file yourself because you have sold the one copy you originally purchased.

You have not purchased the right to reproduce or make more copies of the art, or sell commercially, or gift multiple copies to others. This activity is illegal distribution. While this may be common sense to the majority of our good customers, some people feel they have purchased all legal rights of a work for a few dollars. You have not. You are only purchasing a copy for your own personal use. We hope your understand, and the vast majority of our customers do. However, our attorney says that we reserve the right to recover any damages from illegal distribution. If you wish to publicize, or purchase more than one copy, let us know. We'll be happy to discuss terms of an agreement with you.


Non-Copy Policy
Duplication of Robertson Gallery works for any reason is strictly prohibited. This includes but is not limited to making your own prints, duplicating works through electronic or mechanical means, or distributing by electronic means any computer files that contain images our works in any format -- proprietary or otherwise. Please note, this does not mean you cannot take a photo of your new painting in your own home and show it off to your friends! We are simply trying to apply a reasonable limit to what a small minority may try to do and unduly give out or sell multiple copies of an artwork. Also, see the Exclusion for Insurance below for an exception to this policy.

We know the vast majority of our customers are honest. We hope you understand that because electronic files are especially easy to copy, we must apply such a non-copy policy. For the small subset of those who breach the terms of this agreement, we may use all legal remedies available to us to recover losses for unauthorized copying.

We have tried to price our electronic post cards very competitively, and hope that our customers will find them easy and inexpensive to make a purchase. You are supporting a small studio, and by doing so, your small purchase makes it possible to bring you more and new choices all the time.


Exclusion for Insurance
All of our paying customers are granted a license to make high-resolution photographs of their purchased original works, giclees and physical prints for insurance purposes, provided such photographs are made solely for the purpose of providing proof to your insurer that you actually own the work. Such photographs are not to be used to display, sell, gift or otherwise duplicate the work. This exclusion does not apply to downloaded purchases.


Multiple-User License
If you wish to obtain a multiple-user license, please contact us and we can give you a competitive quote.


Media Requests
Photographs of Robertson Gallery works for use in media such as television, the internet and newspapers are allowed with the written permission (traditional letter or email) of the Robertson Gallery. Please contact us to obtain such written permission in advance of using such photographs.

Exception: You may use up to three images from the http://robertsongallery.com website for news reporting purposes without first obtaining such written permission, but you must place a caption beside such images crediting the Robertson Gallery, and if practical, a hyperlink to the website. For example, a caption might read something like, "Photo courtesy of robertsongallery.com".
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Problem Resolution_
We pride ourselves in our practices and art works. If something should go wrong with your order, such as damage during shipment, please contact us as soon as possible so a claim may be filed. If you are signing in person for your shipment and it is clearly damaged, do not accept the shipment. Let the carrier know the product is damaged, and contact us so we can file an insurance claim.

It is unusual, but if you should have another type of issue or question that affects your satisfaction, please
contact us so we can find out more and work with you. Small problems like paint or varnish chips are rare, but we can usually correct these quickly and easily if they do occur. We want you to be pleased with your order.
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Returns and Warrantee_
We try very hard to photograph our art under optimal light, and correctly describe it on our website so that misunderstandings do not occur in the first place. If you are not certain about the general qualities of a certain work, please contact us before making your purchase so we can answer any questions first.


Sales Policies

Most sales are final. We must adhere to such a policy because, like music or video, a work of art can be easily damaged, unscrupulously copied, altered, or otherwise abused in ways that are beyond our control.

As a result, we cannot accept a return because the work is slightly under- or over-size, or the colours appear different than on the website, or is printed or painted on the wrong type of media, or for other reasons where the art is in good condition but does not meet a certain assumption made by the purchaser. We encourage you to ask us any questions you may have before making your purchase.


Accepted Returns
We will accept returns for the following reasons. However, you must contact us for an Return Merchant Authorization (RMA) first.

  • Purchase has been damaged during shipment. We may require the original shipping container to allow this type of return so our insurer can inspect the damage. We strongly suggest you photograph the damaged shipping container with a digital camera or cell phone, as photos are almost always required when making a claim.

  • Purchase is clearly different from what invoice indicated (wrong product shipped, invoice description details are clearly in error from what was shipped, etc.)

  • Items that fall within the terms of the Warrantee category below.


Return Shipping
We will provide you a shipping invoice with your RMA. If you have not been issued an RMA by us, we cannot accept responsibility for any return, whether we receive it or not.


Commission Work
Commission-based work requires a significant degree of input from the purchaser, but also involves a significant degree of creative latitude by the artist. Once a commission work is finished, should it not immediately meet to your satisfaction, we permit one re-touch of the work at no additional cost to you.


Warrantee
Though quite rare, a canvas can split due to imperfections during its manufacture. We will warrant all canvas-based purchases within one (1) year of the original shipping date against damage due to splitting caused by natural imperfections in the canvas. Please note this warrantee does not cover purchases where the canvas has been improperly handled or abused, such as through improper mounting technique or subjected to a hard blow. In order to process such a warrantee, we may ask to see the damaged work, and will choose to refund or replace (in the case of a print) the work at our discretion. Canvases that show signs of stretching, distortion, depressions or other types of abuse cannot be included within the terms of this warrantee.

Certain other items such as picture frames or artwork that we have mounted for you are warranteed for a period of one (1) year from the original shipping date. This warrantee includes breakage of picture frame junctions, stapling of canvas to picture forms, mounting of a canvas within a picture frame, or other services we may have performed during the preparation of the artwork.

All of our customers are very happy with their art, and we want you to be too. If there's a problem, we want to make it right. See the Problem Resolution section above for how we can help you with a problem if one occurs.
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