How to order ...

It couldn't be simpler:

• browse the product pages
• use the order forms on each page to select products and add them to your 'cart'
• 'product quantity' amounts are provided in a popup menu, but if the exact number you want doesn't show there, note that the quantity can be changed once you get to the shopping cart
• when your order is complete, head through the checkout. You can make payment by Paypal or with a credit card. After you have finished, you will receive an automatic email from the system, confirming details of your order.

How do I pay?

[Baren] does not actually 'exist', in the sense of having an office and a corporate structure - it is a non-profit organization that is simply a gathering of people with an interest in woodblock printmaking. It does though have 'officers', members who handle various executive jobs, one of which is of course finance.

Orders placed here in this [Baren] mall are all processed by the group treasurer, and your payment will be made to this person, who will then directly contact the appropriate supplier and arrange for the shipment to be sent off to you immediately.

If you are paying by credit card, the charge to your card will appear in the name of the group treasurer and mall manager Barbara Mason. Note that we do not use an 'instant charge' system - after you send the order, your credit card will be processed manually by the mall manager, after checking over the order for errors, etc., and confirming any questions with you by email first. (If you elect to pay by Paypal, your payment is or course processed instantly, in the normal Paypal way.)

If you do not wish to use Paypal or the on-line credit card payment system, you may of course send your order by email, snail mail, or whatever method you choose, along with payment made by more traditional means (e.g. Postal Money Order for international customers, personal cheque for US residents). A printable order form is provided for this purpose; follow the instructions in the Checkout section ...

Important note: products in these pages are priced in US dollars, but [Baren] must make restitution to the suppliers in Japanese yen. Because of this, we must monitor international exchange rates closely, and adjust the prices here as it becomes necessary. Please don't be surprised to see that prices have changed (up or down) as you make repeated visits here. We have no control over this, and simply have to follow the fluctuations as they happen. (Prices will not be changed after you order, of course.)

This also explains why many of the prices are 'funny' amounts: $17.43 for example. The prices are internally coded in Japanese yen and then converted automatically for display in the HTML pages in US$.

How is shipping charged?

The products in the Mall are all encoded with their weight, and as you accumulate your order, the shipping charge is adjusted accordingly - you will see the shipping amount increasing as you add more items to your shopping cart. This shipping charge reflects the actual cost of shipping the products from Japan (by air), and is not inflated by artificial 'handling' charges.