And this week (Dec 12-16), since BuyChimes is on the East Coast (Virginia), we’re bumping all West Coast deliveries to the front of the line – and at no extra cost. No worries, East Coasters and Mid-Westerners, you folks really have lots of time! Standard FedEx (free on most orders) shipping takes just 1-3 days for most deliveries up and down the Atlantic seaboard, and 2-3 days for the Midwest. The West is 4 days; and California, Oregon and Washington are 5 days. (Note: For orders of Grace Note chimes, since they ship directly from Grace Note in California, the reverse is true. (East Coast is 5 days, West Coast is 1 day…)

So go ahead, select that free shipping option and relax! We really do have this covered.

The text reads “Season’s Greetings!” How perfect for this weekend!

- Carolyn
BuyChimes, LLC

Miss Manners responded so graciously – check out her thoughts here. But we’ve got some thoughts for the chime aficionados out there:

First off, buy good chimes! And by “good chimes,” we mean hand-tuned, musical wind chimes. There are many, many metallic-sounding chimes out there. They’re cheap and they are, quite literally, everywhere! Most of these are produced outside the U.S. – and frankly, it shows – both in craftsmanship and sound. So shop around and look for the best wind chime you can afford. All the chimes we sell are made in the U.S. and hand-tuned, which means they sound melodic when the wind blows.

And secondly, if you love chimes, but your neighbor does not, then you may want to simply move your chime. I know from talking to many of you – you visually want that chime in a specific location (I confess, I’m the same!). But if it’s a top-quality chime, it will look good anywhere. And, of course, it will sound good anywhere too!

If you do have a neighbor issue – call us. We’re pretty confident that we can find a chime that works for you, your budget & your neighbor too!

No more! Last spring, we engraved a select number of very special chimes for Mother’s Day to test the idea once again. And again, we discovered the market was there for the idea. An engraved chime makes a true and deeply personal gift, whether it’s for a new home, wedding, birth of a child or memorial.

Since the spring, we have partnered with a local (Fairfax, Virginia) engraver that now does all our engraved chimes. We charge $10 for one-sided engraving and folks simply love it! The engraver is happy for the business; and we’re happy to offer this to customers. It is offered on Corinthian Bells and Shenandoah Melodies chimes only (because they have such a perfect wind sail for engraving).

Since it is a unique service that we want to get 100% correct, you will not see it as part of the check-out process. Instead, we ask customers to please email or call us. We’d like to discuss all details with you prior to placing the order. We don’t mean to complicate things – we simply want to get it right. (And ssshhhh – we’ll even surprise you with an emailed picture of the engraved sail if it’s going as a gift to someone else. Because we know that you’d love to know exactly how it turned out!)

Over and over again, we hear from customers that one of the main reasons they order from BuyChimes is our personal service. We are simply not a big company with a big warehouse and a big staff – we’re small, we’re personal and we will absolutely stay that way.

We promise – your order (engraved or not) will not get lost in the shuffle. We work tirelessly to get your order “just right.” And of course, we hope you agree!

- Carolyn
BuyChimes, LLC

As you may know, Keegan Bradley, a 25-year-old rookie golfer who hails from Vermont, just won the 93rd PGA tournament last Sunday. Congrats to him! And to celebrate his golf wins, his mother (don’t you just love proud moms!) “runs up and down the street like a crazy woman with wind chimes.” How delightful! (If you want to read more, check it out here.

And it is true. Chimes are so versatile. People think of wind chimes as simply hanging from a hook in the front yard. Yet, here are some unusual ways that customers have told me that they use and hang wind chimes:
- feng shui for the inside of home
- house blessing for new home
- memorial at the graveside of a relative or friend
- wind catcher in tractor-trailer
- calming force for mentally challenged family member
- harmonize with melodies of Mother Earth (no kidding – one customer is very into connecting with the Earth)
- AND NOW – victorious celebration of son’s PGA win!

I love to hear how customers use wind chimes! Even better, I’d love to hear how YOU use and/or hang your chimes. Send me stories and pictures – I’m busy creating a section on the site that features stories and pictures just like yours.

- Carolyn
www.buychimes.com

As many of our customers who are also business owners know, it can be difficult to manage vacations and time away from the business. The summer is a wonderful time to take a break – but for us, it’s also a busy wind chime season! In the past, BuyChimes has often closed down for shipping, but the phones and support services remained open. This year, despite a successful summer selling season (or is it because of it?!), BuyChimes is simply closing for week. (And then a few extra days to catch up on things!)

As Jeff put it so well… “If we’re so focused on sales for a single week that BuyChimes can’t REST, we’re missing the bigger picture, Carolyn. Sales are good. Life is good.” Well-said. Rest and time away is important. And we know that you agree!

We promise – we’ll be back before you know it! August 11. Until then, we do hope that you also have a chance to rest this summer season. And if you think of it – tell us what you did! We’d love to hear your favorite summer 2011 moments!

- Carolyn
BuyChimes, LLC

Earlier this summer we began offering Free Gift Wrap on any order. We knew some folks would appreciate this, but we have simply been astounded at the number of customers that are taking us up on this offer! We are, quite frankly, thrilled. And the best thing – we’re hearing back from recipients of these gifts – they are every bit as delighted as we are – both in the wind chime AND in the presentation of the gift.

You see, if we’re going to offer Gift Wrap to our customers, we’re going to take the time to do it right. We know that a gift reflects back on the giver, and as our customer, you deserve to have that reflection be appreciation and thankfulness (and hopefully, a bit of surprise and delight too!). We never want a recipient to get a box that’s been poorly wrapped or shipped. And so we make sure (and then check again) that there’s no pricing information with the gift, that the paper and card match the occasion for the gift, that the outer shipping box adequately protects the gift, and so on. And from customer feedback, it appears that we’re doing it right!

Not to worry – we’ll keep wrapping gifts for free for the rest of the summer. And remember, if you’re not quite sure which wind chime to select as a gift, just call! We’re happy to help you pick out just the right chime.

- Carolyn
BuyChimes, LLC

And, as you might tell, we’re quite partial to their chimes. They’ve had a commitment to keeping the company U.S.-based for years, which we love. And they’ve produced beautiful chimes in lovely colors and designs, while consistently keeping the high-quality workmanship for which they’ve been known. They’re located about 15 miles west of BuyChimes, in Manassas Park, Virginia.

Here’s an excerpt from the “About Us” section of their website…. “QMT Windchimes originated in the Florida craft show circuit in the early 80’s. Mike Throne camped in the back of his van and traveled to craft shows selling different products, including windchimes from a local producer. When his source for chimes dried up, Mike began to fabricate his own windchimes, with an eye toward continually improving his designs. Working during the week in a 10’ x 20’ warehouse, he produced the chimes that would be sold on the weekend. Mike was determined to offer the buying public a chime that was as beautiful to see as it was to hear. And it worked; the demand for his windchimes soon overwhelmed his ability to manufacture chimes so he took a deep breath and became a young entrepreneur following the American dream. He hired his first employees, found our facility in Manassas Park and set down roots in the community to produce windchimes for wholesale trade shows.”

With such a fantastic American success story, BuyChimes has been delighted to promote their chimes for the past ten years – and from the sheer volume of sales we experience year after year, our customers are clearly delighted as well. It’s a winning combination!

- Carolyn

Americans like me and you all over the country have tremendous pride and certainty in our nation. I know – I talk to them (you) every single day. Folks like Wanda just outside Richmond, VA who was happy to find a wind chime made in the U.S. and even happier to learn they are made here in her native VA! Or a customer in California who clarified that she only buys American products – if there was any question as to the country of origin, she needed to cancel the order. There are many, many other customers just like this.

Our customers’ fortitude in all that is right about the U.S. (despite the gloomy times) – and their choice to buy U.S. – this is why there’s no place for my cynicism. You all inspire me to keep doing what we do here at BuyChimes – sell only U.S. made wind chimes. It’s tough competition, let me tell you. There are PLENTY of chimes made outside the U.S. that could boost our company profit. But that’s not who we are.

So on this July 4, 2011:

Laugh deeply with friends and family.
Marvel at the fireworks.
Dive for candy at the parade (it IS for the kids, right?!).
And most of all, celebrate the U.S.!

I know I will be.
- Carolyn

Many customers call wondering just how long our free standard FedEx shipping will take. Most are under the impression that it will take at least 7-10 days. And if they’re on the West Coast, they assume it will be at least two weeks. So imagine their delight when we answer that with standard FedEx, anything shipped to the East Coast takes 1-3 days. In fact, most of the country takes less than 3 days from us here in Virginia. FedEx standard is just that fast!

Over the holidays last year, I was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, that massive road which slices east-west through the state. I was simply shocked at the number of FedEx Ground trucks that dominated the road. They were everywhere! I wondered which customer’s order was on that truck – or that one – or that one.

So a big shout-out and thank you to FedEx for speeding our boxes to the right customer at the right place for 10 years strong!

(Hey FedEx, how ’bout four free Redskins tickets to FEDEX FIELD this fall?  Hmmmmm?!)

- Carolyn
www.buychimes.com