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Q. Do you have a mailing list to send out email updates?
Q.
How do I find additional information such as dimensions, condition and pricing
for an item I have interest in ?
Q. Do
you offer appraisal services?
Q. Do
you offer a designer or artist biography?
Q.
How is the condition of each item described?
Q. Why are some items restored and some items are sold
“as found” or in “ good, very good, or excellent original condition” ?
Q.
Who does your restoration and what types of finishes do they use?
Q. Do you sell originals or reproductions?
Q. Do you have a shop or gallery? I see you have
exhibited at Modernism shows and Antique Shows, Do you have a current show
schedule?
Q. Do you sell to the trade or retail ?
Q.
What does Net price mean ?
Q.
Why do your sold items not have prices?
Q. What types of payment do you accept?
Q.
Where are you located?
Q. How soon will my item be shipped?
Q. Can
I make payments?
Q. Do
you ship worldwide ?
Q. How do you ship your items?
Q.
Who packs the merchandise and is it insured?
Q. Do you have a return policy?
Q. How long have you been in business and where else do
you sell your collection ?
Q. Who is Premier Designs?
Q. Who owns Decodame.com?
Q.
Do you have references?
Q.
Can we use your images in our publications or auctions ?
Q. Do you have a mailing
list to send out email updates?
A. Yes, we send out occasional updates, about 3 or 4 times a year. We do
not send an email each time we post a new item. We generally post items on a
daily basis and many of our clients check our “new arrivals page“ each day to
see the new items listed. Many items sell within the first 48 hours of being
listed on the website, so we suggest checking this page often so that you do
not miss out on something you are looking for. Some of our clients bookmark
this page and check it each day as part of their daily routine. You can join
our mailing list here. We are not affiliated with
any other website, catalog or retail location. We sell only from this web
address. If you wish to purchase from the Decodame collection, you must
purchase through this website.
Q. How do I find
additional information such as dimensions, condition and pricing for an item I
have interest in ?
A. Each item is posted within it’s own ‘box” on a main category page. Within
that box you will find a photo and brief description of that item, including
the approximate year of manufacture and country of origin, if known.
You will then note the item # and a text link, in
BLUE
that says “View Details…”. If you click on “View Details…”
it will take you to an individual detail page that has been created for that
specific item. On that detail page you will find the price, dimensions,
condition report, any history related to the item and designer name, if known.
We take extra time and special care to supply you with additional detail
photos and measurements up front to help you make a quick and confident
decision.
Q. Do you offer appraisal services?
A.
No. We are not certified
appraisers,
therefore we do not offer free evaluations or appraisals of your items.
Our time is reserved for bringing our clients a fresh selection of varied
merchandise that is available for purchase. Emails asking for
appraisals or estimates will not be answered.
Q. Do you offer a
designer or artist biography?
A. Whenever possible, we try to present you with as much information as
possible. Many of the designers will have a biography on the page, under the
item description. We will soon offer a biography listing of many of the
designers we carry.
Q. How is the
condition of each item described?
A. We personally photograph and write the descriptions of each item on our
website. There are no third parties involved in the design of this
site or the work involved to bring it to you. We do our best to give an accurate report of the condition on each
item. However due to our extensive inventory, most condition reports are
stated in general terms, if we note damage during our inspection, we do our
best to include a photo of the area in question. Remember, these are not new
items, and you should expect a certain amount of age. Generalized condition
reports are common in this business and we follow those traditional standards
and descriptions. We are happy to answer your questions regarding specifics on
condition.
Q. Why are some
items restored and some items are sold “as found” or in “ good, very good, or
excellent original condition” ?
A. The majority of our items are at least 80 years old, in some cases they are
up to and over 200 years old. We do our best to buy merchandise that is in the
best possible condition, original or restored. Sometimes we buy things that
have had previous restoration and sometimes we offer them ‘as found’ so that
we can restore them after they are purchased, therefore the finish choices can
be selected by the next owner of that object.
Chandeliers are an excellent
example. Some of the chandeliers we purchase are already restored and we post
them as such. Some are in original condition and need restoration. One
customer may prefer polished nickel, another may want copper or satin brass.
Furniture finishes are also personal, and color changes are often requested.
Another issue is that some collectors are purists and prefer no restoration,
they only wish to purchase items in original condition. Some customers prefer
to have the piece restored by their own expert, or wish to do it themselves.
Whenever possible, we try to accommodate our customer’s requests, by offering
the merchandise prior to restoration, we can give our clientele numerous
options.
Q. Who does your
restoration and what types of finishes do they use?
A. Some of the items have been restored in Europe, prior to our purchasing
the item, or shipping it here to the United States. If
an item is restored here, we have one of our specialists restore the item. Our
furniture restoration is done by European Craftsmen that have studied and
apprenticed in the Old World methods. They take pride in their work and are
experts at handling special antique items. They do traditional finishes such
as French polishing that would have been found originally on the piece.
A French Polished finish is more expensive, but can be touched up at a later
time and is considered by collectors the best finish for wood furnishings. Sometimes a thin clear lacquer will be applied to tabletops for durability and
function. They do not do the thick high gloss “car finishes” as they are not
appropriate for the piece and diminish the value. Our experts are careful to
give the proper 'respectful restoration' methods to each item, they do not
'over restore' an item.
Q. Do you sell originals
or reproductions?
A. The majority of our merchandise is period, unless otherwise noted. The
item will always have an approximate date of manufacture.
Q. Do you have a shop or
gallery? I see you have exhibited at Modernism shows and Antique Shows, Do you
have a current show schedule?
A. We do not have a storefront,
We sell online only.
We are not affiliated with any other website,
catalog or retail location. We sell only from this web address. If you wish to
purchase from the Decodame collection, you must purchase through this website. Prices shown are NET, which means our best price is already listed on the detail
page. Our website now serves as our online gallery, open 24/7. We no longer have
the need for a retail shop location or show schedule. This frees our time and
energy so that we may offer our worldwide clients the best possible
merchandise and pursue our interior design schedule. Our time is now focused on maintaining the website and work
involved in bringing this merchandise to you in an online gallery format. We update this site daily. We
feature the Modernism show photos and show schedules strictly as a convenience
for our clients.
This
website serves as our retail gallery and, as such, it is designed to sell from
providing as many photos and details as possible. Please feel free to email us
with your questions or more photos
Q. Do you sell to the
trade or retail ?
A. We sell to everyone…interior designers, architects, museums, the
entertainment industry, antique
dealers and private collectors. Net pricing applies to all. We do our best to
offer a variety of items in style and price range.
We offer mid-range items as well as very rare museum quality items, suitable
for those with advanced collections.
Q. What does Net price
mean ?
A. Net price means the price shown on our website is our lowest trade
price. There are no additional trade discounts available for dealers,
architects or designers. We have found that this policy works well, as
designers and collectors can quickly determine if a piece in in their budget
and make an informed decision to buy or look for something else that may
better suit their needs and budget. If time is spent emailing back and forth,
much time can be lost and an item could be sold to another client in the
meantime. Our customer's interests are best served if our time is spent on
finding and presenting new merchandise for the website. This net pricing policy is for everyone’s benefit.
Q.
Why do your sold items not have prices?
A. We have a firm policy on
sold items;
we do NOT reveal prices of sold items, as a courtesy to our clients. There are no exceptions and we will not respond to emails asking us to reveal
this information.
Q. What types of
payment do you accept?
A. US Funds: Personal checks, business checks, Bank Wires.
International Funds: bank wires that are converted into US Funds.
Because of identity theft / fraud issues, we DO NOT accept credit cards or
paypal.
Q. Where are you
located?
A. Beautiful Naples, Florida, on the southwest
coast. Zip Code 34108.
Q. How soon will
my item be shipped?
A. Items will be shipped on the Monday following the clearance of your
payment.
Out of state checks take 10-14 BUSINESS days to clear our bank.
If you are in a rush for your item, a bank wire transfer will offer the
speediest method of payment.
Furniture items will be released after payment is cleared, and pick up is
dependant on the schedule of that shipper.
Once an item has left our hands, we are not responsible. We request that you
have your item picked up within 3 weeks of your payment clearing, or a storage fee
will be charged, unless otherwise agreed upon in advance.
Q. Can I make payments?
A. No, we do not offer a lay-away program.
Q. Do you ship
worldwide ?
A. Yes ! We have clients that we ship to all over the globe.
Q. How do you
ship your items?
A. Depending on the item’s size and the delivery location, we generally
ship with UPS, large items shipped within the United States can be
shipped with Vintage Transport or your choice of shipper. For small items such
as jewelry we use either UPS or the United States Postal Service. Because of
Fed ex's limitation on insurance ($ 100.) we do not use them to ship items
valued at over $ 100.
Q. Who packs the
merchandise and is it insured?
A. Most items are professionally packed by the company shipping the item.
If the item is of a fragile nature, the UPS store will professionally pack the
item (and crate if needed). Larger furniture items are packed by the shipper
as well. All shipping and packing fees are to be paid by the buyer, direct to
the shipper. If the UPS store is packing and shipping your item, you will pay
them direct, either by email or phone with your credit card or send a check.
If Vintage Transport or another shipper is handling your furniture, you would
pay them direct, either in advance or C.O.D. All items must be fully insured
for the price paid. These folks are professional packers and it is in your
best interest to have a professional pack your item.
Q. Do you have a return
policy?
A. We guarantee our items to be as represented. In order to save
on the costly expense of shipping, we do our best to provide you with numerous
clear photos and descriptions of each item, in order for you to make a
confident decision. We are happy to supply you
with additional photos and answer any questions, prior to your purchase.
Please note that this guarantee is for the item being as described. Otherwise
all sales are final.
Q. How long
have you been in business?
A. We have been online as the original Decodame.com since January 1998. Previously we
were known as Premier Designs, since 1990. We have owned the domain name
Decodame.com since
January 1998 and are the original and only owners of this website.
We are not
affiliated with any other website, catalog or retail location. We sell only
from this web address.
We do not sell on any online auction or through any
other dealer. We have seen our named referenced in online auctions, and even
our images used-this has been without our permission and we cannot take
responsibility for those dealers.
If you wish to purchase from the Decodame collection,
you must purchase through this website.
Q. Who is
Premier Designs?
A. Premier Designs was the name of our original design firm, however, when
the website was started in 1998, the domain name was taken, so we took the
domain name Decodame.com, hoping our clientele would find it easy to remember.
Since Lorial was in the design business for so long, and specialized in Art
Deco, the name Decodame.com seemed like a natural fit. See the
about us page for more information. Premier Designs
was used in conjunction with the domain name for many years, we recently
dropped the name to avoid confusion, however, some links to us from other
websites, still list us as Premier Designs on their Links page.
Q. Who owns
Decodame.com?
A. Bryan and Lorial Francis
Q. Do you have
references?
A. Fellow dealer and Customer references are available upon request. The
Detroit Art Deco Society and other Art Deco organizations support our website.
Decodame.com is sought out by publishers and authors such as Tony Fusco (
Author of several Art Deco, Vintage Poster books and President of the Boston
Art Deco Society) and Antique expert Judith Miller, to contribute to their
recent books. Judith Miller has published Decodame.com in 10 of her books in
the last 2 years. See our Publications
page for more information…
Decodame was sought out by design producers to participate in 2 episodes of the prime
time network Television show, "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition", seen on Sunday
nights, at 8 pm Eastern time on ABC ; Episode # 404 that aired October
15, 2006 and and a second episode, # 416 that aired on March 4th, 2007.
See the ABC web pages for more info on these episodes:
ABC Extreme Makeover, Home Edition
episode 404 in Minot, ND
ABC Extreme Makeover, Home Edition
episode # 416 in Tampa, FL
Q. Can we use your
images in our publications or auctions?
A. No. All content included on this site, such as
text, graphics, logos, and images, is the property of Decodame.com and is
protected by United States and international copyright laws. Any reproduction
of any materials from this website is forbidden without the express written
authorization of Decodame.com. Please see our
Copyright information for full details.
We do send press kits to approved
legitimate publications and welcome the inquiry. Simply
email us
with your request. In addition, if you see our images or name used improperly,
please notify us immediately.
