FAQ

(Frequently Asked Questions)

BOWS AND BACKINGS

1. WHAT TYPE OF BACKINGS ARE ON THE BOWS? WILL YOU ADD BARRETTES OR CLIPS TO THE BOWS?
All 3/8", 5/8" and 7/8" bows are created with the standard double bands as backing. However, there is the option of having me add a different backing - for instance, a French barrette, alligator clip, plastic barrette or alligator clip with GripZie. If you want different backings on your bows (instead of the double bands), all you need to do is add the backing of your choice to your shopping cart as well. For instance, if you purchase 6 bows and want barrettes on them, then you would add 6 barrettes to your cart as well. If the number of backings ordered match the number of bows ordered, I always assume you want them attached and I automatically do so for you.

If you are interested in different backings, they can be found in the Barrettes/Clips category. This category is also easy located on the left menu bar of the website.

There are a few other products on the website that do have other types of backings however they are clearly marked as having barrettes or clips already attached.

2. WHAT IS THE BEST TYPE OF BOW BACKING? HOW DO I KEEP A BOW IN MY FURBABY'S HAIR?
This a question I get asked often! There really is no "best backing" nor is there a magical answer to keep a bow in your furbaby's hair. A lot depends on your bow training, the temperament of your furbaby (what they'll tolerate), the type and amount of hair they have, etc. See the Bow Training Tips page for helpful pointers about keeping bows in place and also a description of various bow backings. This may help with your decision making.

3. I'M NOT SURE WHAT SIZE OF BOW TO ORDER. CAN YOU HELP?
Check out the Bow Sizing Information page for some helpful hints & tips to assist you in deciding what size of bow would suit your furbaby.

4. HOW DO YOU SUGGEST I PUT IN MY DOG BOW?
I recommend hair be tied with a separate band or two before attaching a bow. The bands on the bows are best used only for holding the bow on, once the hair is in place. I have found using a separate band to make the topknot first works best. However, naturally, how bows are attached is an individual choice. See "Placing Bows" for more detailed instructions on how to put in a dog bow. You may also be interested in "Bow Training Tips".

5. WHAT SIZE ARE YOUR BOWS?
I specialize in 3/8", 5/8" and 7/8" (ribbon width) single looped dog bows. These sizes are ideal for most puppies and smaller long haired breeds (Yorkie, Maltese, Bichon Frise, Poodle, Lhasa Apso, Shih Tzu, and more). See the Bow Sizing Information page for more detailed information. I also do create other bow styles (for instance, boutique bows, mini boutique bows, korker bows, etc. You can find these on the left menu bar of the website. The dimensions of these different bow styles can be found on each individual product page.

6. WHAT TYPE OF GROOMING BAND (ELASTIC) DO YOU USE?
Each BowBiz bow has two strong, durable, quality elastic bands securely handsewn on the back. My 3/8" Tiny Topknots have two 1/4" elastic bands, and my 5/8" small dog bows and 7/8" adult dog bows have two 5/16" elastic bands. If you want a specific size on your bows (either 1/4" or 5/16"), simply specify it in your 'order comments' at checkout, and I will be happy to accommodate you, at no extra charge.

7. HOW ARE YOUR BOWS PRODUCED?
Each of my bows is completely handmade and constructed with great attention to detail. Bows are shaped and stiffened for durability and long lasting repeated wear. Stiffener is applied via brush, painted on by hand to reach all areas of the bow.
This method creates a stronger bow (unlike spray stiffeners - which are easier & faster to apply however do not give you the most durable bow). I use absolutely no glue or wires in my creations. All embellishments are firmly attached by handsewing.
I refuse to use anything such as feathers or loose glitter which could cause damage to your furbaby's eyes. Bows are produced in a non-smoking environment. Also note that all bows are made specifically for orders received. You do not receive any "ready-made" bows. Once your order is received, I select fresh ribbon(s), embellishment(s), elastic(s) and/or barrette(s) and start your order from scratch. You always receive 100% freshly made bows, each one carefully and specifically made for your order! See Bow Details for more information.

8. IS YOUR BOW STIFFENER SAFE?
Absolutely. I use a commercially available stiffener which is certified non-toxic by the Art and Creative Materials Institute.


ORDER INFORMATION

9. HOW DO I GO THROUGH CHECKOUT?
Add items you want to your shopping cart and go to checkout.
Follow the prompts and go through the following pages:
Step 1 of 3 - Delivery Information (click "continue checkout" at bottom of page)
Step 2 of 3 - Payment Information (click "continue checkout" at bottom of page)
Step 3 of 3 - Order Confirmation (click "confirm order" at bottom of page)
This brings you to a secure page with a PayPal logo on the top. YOU DO NOT NEED A PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO PLACE AN ORDER. You can choose whether to pay by PayPal or credit card. Just follow the prompts and enter your payment information to securely submit your order.

10. HOW DO I SAVE ITEMS I'M INTERESTED IN?
If you are logged into your account and add items to your shopping cart, they will remain there. You can log out and when you return (and log in again) the items will still be in your shopping cart. (Naturally if an item sells out before you return it will no longer be available.)

11. HOW DO I KNOW THE STATUS OF MY ORDER?
You can always check your the status of your order by checking the Order Status page HERE. When you successfully place an order, you will receive an automatically generated email confirming your order. The day your order is shipped, you will receive an automatically generated email advising you of exact shipping details. If you feel you haven't received your email notifications, please check your spam/junk mail folder - it may have ended up there. Also verify that you provided an accurate email address. You can also log in to your account anytime to check the latest status of your order(s).

12. HOW DO I KNOW IF YOU RECEIVED MY ORDER?
You will ALWAYS receive a Confirmation Email with your order details when your order is placed successfully. Please be certain that you have entered your correct email address so that you receive your notices (confirmation of order, confirmation of shipping, etc). If you feel you may have missed your Confirmation Email, be sure to check your spam/junk mail folder, as it may have ended up there. Or, if you use different email addresses, be sure to check the one that you created your account with - that is where your emails will be sent. Finally, you can always log in to check the status of your order(s) - see Check Order Status for more details. If you still have concerns, feel free to contact me. I'll be more than happy to confirm receipt of your order, if you are in doubt.

13. HOW FAST DO YOU SHIP?
One of BowBiz's great features is the quick turnaround time! Your bows will always ship in a timely manner. Please check the SHIPPING SCHEDULE for the current shipping timeframe. Rest assured, even though service is speedy, quality is top notch since I devote a great amount of time exclusively to making bows. High quality in superb time! Note that generally bows arrive much sooner than the maximum time listed. No long waits for your bows!

14. WHERE DO YOU SHIP? DO YOU SHIP INTERNATIONALLY?
BowBiz Dog Bows will ship to North America, Europe and Australia. Please contact us if you require more information.

15. CAN MY ORDER BE SHIPPED TO A DIFFERENT ADDRESS THAN THE ONE ON MY ACCOUNT?
Yes, BowBiz can ship to a different address however, the billing information must match the credit card information in order to process your payment. Great for gift giving - I can ship directly to the recipient. Gift wrapping service is also available.
Please note: Due to shipping costs, each order can only ship to one address. If you wish to ship to multiple addresses, either: a) place multiple orders (one for each address), or b) place only one order and contact me for additional shipping costs.

16. DO YOU TAKE CUSTOM ORDERS?
Absolutely! I would be delighted to create something special for you. Check out the Request Custom Dog Bows page.

17. DO YOU TAKE ORDERS VIA PHONE?
No. At BowBiz Dog Bows, I take your privacy and financial security very seriously. As a result, the online store is not set up to take confidential financial information via phone and I never process orders manually. All orders are placed online and are securely encrypted. We do not store (or even see) your credit card information. As a result, your personal information is never accessible by or visible to anyone at BowBiz Dog Bows.

18. HOW ARE BOWS PACKAGED?
All BowBiz bows are carefully packaged using precautionary measures to ensure that your precious bows arrive uncrushed and ready to wear in the finest of form.

19. DO YOU HAVE A CATALOG?
New product is created and added regularly and the dog bow selection at BowBiz is rapidly growing and always changing. Keeping a printed catalog current would be next to impossible! The BowBiz website is always up-to-date with the latest additions and details on all product. You are always welcome to check back regularly to see what's new. You can also visit BowBiz Dog Bows on Facebook where products and sales are often promoted.

20. IS MY INFORMATION PRIVATE? AM I ON A MAILING LIST?
Nothing is worse than getting tons of unsolicited spam mail in your inbox! BowBiz Dog Bows does not use your information and/or email address for anything other than processing your order, notifying you of your order status or communicating with you regarding your order. You will not receive junk emails from us nor do we use or sell your information in any way. We do not store your payment or credit card information. All online orders and payments are securely encrypted and your financial information is never seen. We recognize the importance of your personal and financial information staying private.

21. DO YOU SELL WHOLESALE?
Thank you for your interest in BowBiz Dog Bows however I do not wholesale products. Items are meticulously hand-produced and selling at discounted rates in higher volume while still maintaining high standards and servicing all existing retail customers would be next to impossible.


PAYMENTS

22. WHAT METHODS OF ORDERING AND PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT?
Secure online shopping payment options are PayPal, most major credit cards and echeck. (Note: Payments via echeck delay your order slightly until the echeck is cleared.) All prices are in USD.

To place an order online via PayPal, simply follow the checkout procedure which will take you to a PayPal page.

To place an order online via credit card, simply follow the regular checkout procedure to confirm order, which will take you to a PayPal page. On this final page you will see an option on the left side that says "Do not have a PayPal account, no problem, continue to checkout". Click and you are at the payment via credit card page. Easy! You do not need a PayPal account to pay by credit card. Orders are placed SECURELY through a PayPal portal but no PayPal account is necessary to pay by credit card.

To place an order bypassing the store shopping cart and still pay online, please email your order (item # & quantity) and in return you will receive an invoice which you can pay online (either via credit card or PayPal). Your order will be processed in the current order completion time once payment is remitted.

Phone orders: BowBiz Dog Bows takes customers' security and personal information very seriously and therefore does not handle credit card numbers through phone orders. When you purchase online, your information remains 100% private, is encrypted and not viewed by anyone and is not stored on the BowBiz Dog Bows website. If you are not comfortable ordering online and would prefer to submit an order by mail, please contact BowBiz Dog Bows and I will be happy to accommodate you.

23. WHAT CURRENCY IS DISPLAYED?
All prices throughout the website are in USD.

24. IS YOUR SITE SECURE?
Yes! At BowBiz Dog Bows, I recognize that ordering online can be a scary, somewhat confusing process. After all, you are putting your trust into a company that you may not know. Rest assured I recognize these concerns and you have my commitment that I am here to take care of you as if you were a walk-in in retail customer. This has earned the respect and appreciation of BowBiz customers. But if you are concerned, feel free to google BowBiz Dog Bows ...or better yet check out the recommendations on our Facebook page and our unsolicited Testimonials Page. After all, recommendations are one of the things that has built this business!

If you choose to order online with BowBiz Dog Bows, rest assured that all of your orders are handled professionally! For starters, when you provide your credit card information on the website, BowBiz is not actually seeing that number. It is securely encrypted and sent for processing. BowBiz Dog Bows does not store that information anywhere. Orders are processed through the PayPal portal which is one of the most secure ways to shop online.

Notice that when you look at the top of the page at the URL bar, it says https instead of http. Wonder why? Simply put, this is one of the highest levels of security available for websites and you will see most top tier companies using this secure browsing method to protect you. The https stands for "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure" and means that information exchanged between you and the web site is encrypted and cannot be hijacked. This is a helpful note for shopping online in general - always be sure when sending sensitive information that the url (address line in your browser) is https and not simply http ... you want to see that 's' at the end - 's' is for secure!

BowBiz Dog Bows takes every precaution to protect our users' information. BowBiz never sells your personal information or uses it any way other than to contact you regarding your purchase. You will never receive junk email from BowBiz Dog Bows!

BowBiz uses software that is PCI (Payment Card Industry) Compliant and meets or exceeds DSS (Data Security Standards). Our site is kept up-to-date with the latest security measures. If you require more information on Privacy and Security, see Privacy or feel free to contact BowBiz.

25. HOW DO I MAKE MY DISCOUNT COUPON CODE WORK?
If you are using a discount coupon code, please checkout using the pink shopping cart "Go to Checkout" button above the Express PayPal button. This will allow you to checkout using your discount code. You will still be brought to a page where you can pay via PayPal or credit card. Using the PayPal Express button will not bring you to the BowBiz discount coupon code area and entering your code through PayPal Express will not work.

26. MY ORDER CONFIRMATION EMAIL SAYS PAID BY PAYPAL WHEN I USED MY CREDIT CARD. WHY?
BowBiz payments are securely processed through a ZenCart shopping cart which is affiliated with PayPal. Due to this affiliation, confirmation emails will show PayPal as the method of payment, regardless of whether payment was made via credit card or PayPal. This is simply a default setting (which unfortunately cannot be changed in the ZenCart system). Rest assured, your payment was indeed properly and securely processed only once by the method you selected.

27. DO I NEED A PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO MAKE A PURCHASE?
Not at all. BowBiz Dog Bows accepts most major credit cards. Your payment will be processed through a PayPal portal however you do not need a PayPal account nor will have to sign up for PayPal or divulge any of your private information to PayPal.


MY QUESTION ISN'T ANSWERED HERE. WHAT NOW?
If you don't find the answers to your questions here, feel free to contact me. I am always happy to be of assistance!