Dogstar Games POLICY and FAQ

We have learned over time that most people ask very similar questions. If you see your question in the area below, you will likely find the answer to that question. If you can't find your particular question, please feel free to email us at js@optimumdesigns.com and we will respond within 2-3 business days. This area is designed to better serve you, our customers. We want to answer any questions you might have about DisasterNecessities.com and our Products.

How can I contact your company?

Email us at js@optimumdesigns.com

Shipping Policy

We primarily use the United States Postal Service, (USPS).  Most Board Games, Miniatures, and Trading Card games go via 2-3 day Priority.  Most Role Playing Games and books go via Media Mail (7-14 days). Bigger games go Parcel Post. 

Can you Ship my Product to a PO Box or APO/FPO Box?

Yes.  The USPS ships to all APO/FPO and PO Boxes.

Expedited Shipping

Do you want it faster than 2-3 days?  Or faster than Media Mail?  Email us at js@optimumdesigns.com and we'll give you some options, if they are available!

International Shipping - Do We Ship Outside the USA?

Most products don't go International simply because shipping is so darn expensive. But if you really want a certain game shipped overseas, drop us an email at js@optimumdesigns.com and we'll give you some options.  We obviously won't accepts returns for foreign shipping.International customers generally have their choice between FedEx or USPS service. FedEx generally provides faster shipments than the USPS, as well as the additional advantages of all packages being insured and easily tracked via a tracking number which is provided to the customer. USPS shipments can be less expensive, but are not insured against loss or damage and do not include a tracking number.

What about Customs?

We mark international packages as containing "Board Games" and state the cost of the games on the customs documentation; if the order is a gift, the package is marked "Gift," but the cost of the games is still stated on the customs form. Currently, we are not able to describe the contents in any other way.Any customs or import duties are levied once the package reaches your country. Additional charges for customs clearance must be borne by you; we have no control over these charges and cannot predict what they may be. Customs policies vary widely from country to country; you may want to contact your local customs office for further information.

Payment Information

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and cashier's checks or money orders denominated in U.S. dollars as payment for game orders.

Online Credit Card Payment

Shop online with the ease of your credit card--every online credit card purchase you make at Dogstar Games is backed by our Safe Shopping Guarantee, assuring you that your personal information cannot be read while it is transmitted to us and that it will remain secure and private.Dogstargames Games accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.  We also accept Paypal.

Can I pay using check or Money Order?

Yes you can. To do this, follow the same steps as above. When you check out, choose "Mail order" as your payment method and then submit. This will take you to a confirmation page that you can print out and mail in along with a check, money order or credit card info to: Dogstar Games, PO Box 460, Heber UT 84032

Returns Policy

Satisfaction is our number one goal at Dogstargames.com; therefore we do all that we can to facilitate your needs. If for any reason, you are unhappy with the quality of your product within 30 days of shipping date, or if there is a manufacturing defect with it, please contact us immediately. We're here to fix it it!  Contact us by email: js@optimumdesigns.com, detailing the precise nature of your problem.  We will direct you on how to return the item to us, where we will provide you with a new one or a full refund, depending on the circumstances.We will accept a return for any item within 30 days of your receipt of the order. We can only accept returns on items which are in their original condition. Original condition means that the game cannot have been played and all parts must be in the same condition as when they game was received. We can refund shipping costs only if the return is a result of our error.When we receive a return, we can issue you a refund of the purchase price.When sending an item back, please include: the packing slip (or a legible copy); the reason for your return; your return authorization number (RMA) Please use cushioning packing material in a sturdy carton so that the contents will be protected from damage. For your protection, please use FedEx, UPS or Insured Parcel Post for your shipment.  

What Name will Appear on my Credit Card Statement?

The name that will appear will be Dogstar Industries, Inc.

What if the Game I want isn't here?  Or I can't find it Searching for it?

Drop us an email at js@optimumdesigns.com.  We'll see if we can't find you a copy!

Availability

Dogstargames.com is committed to giving you excellent personal customer service and great prices on the awesome games we carry.  The products we sell are subject to availability. While we try to stock the greatest variety possible at all times, there are many factors that may cause an item to go out of stock. We are constantly updating our web site to reflect the current availability of our products, but since the stock of these items is constantly changing, this time frame displayed is listed as a guide only. Because even new or otherwise generally available items are subject to production constraints and fluctuating levels of demand, we can make no guarantees of price or availability.

Condition

Most if not all items are shipped brand new and sealed.  They should be in excellent condition when you get them.  If there is a problem, just contact us, we'll get the situation fixed to your satisfaction. Preorders Many items which are in production, but which have not yet been shipped by the manufacturer may be Preordered.

Availability Date

Manufacturers usually announce the date--or the approximate date--which they expect a new game to be completed and shipped. Sometimes this date may change for reasons beyond our control, such as a change in the manufacturer's print schedule. We'll do our best to get new games just as soon as they are available.

Pricing

Pricing of items on Preorder status is subject to change. The Preorder prices quoted on our web site are based on initial information provided by the manufacturer; but sometimes during production of an item, the manufacturer alters their pricing for the item, which affects the price at which we are able to sell the item. For this reason, the prices quoted on our web site for Preorder items are estimated prices. As with any such item, we will confirm your order and the price of the item before shipping.

Backorders

While we attempt to stock as many different items as possible in sufficient quantities to anticipate the demand of all our customers, we occasionally run out of stock of an item. This may be due to demand which temporarily exceeds our expectations, or it may be that the manufacturer has run out of stock of an item in between print runs. If we expect the item to be available for us to reorder, we will place the item on Backorder status and let you know about it.  You can either cancel the order and get a full refund, or wait for the order to be filled.

Availability Date

We usually have an expected date of restock for Backorder items. If the item is readily available from the manufacturer or from our distributors, we can generally predict the arrival date of a new shipment and will post that date to our web site. If the item is in between print runs, we are informed by the manufacturer of the expected availability date--but this date is subject to change, as sometimes manufacturers' printing schedules change without notice, an event which is beyond our control.

Customer Review Guidelines

Dogstar Games is pleased to offer this mechanism for sharing your comments with other gamers, and we thank you for your participation!We'd like to ask reviewers to follow these guidelines when writing reviews:Please focus your review on the game itself, and avoid writing reviews which focus solely on the designer or manufacturer. Also, please do not submit reviews less than 50 words in length -- we'd like to know whether you like or dislike the game, and why. Do feel free to mention other games that share similarities to this one, and to draw comparisons to them.We also ask that you not include the following in your review, or we will be unable to post your comments: Foul or otherwise offensive language. Spiteful remarks. Email addresses, URLs, and phone numbers. Prices, availability, or alternate sources. Since the content of the page and positions of reviews on the page are subject to change, please avoid including commentary about other reviews or game descriptions seen on the page.You may include simple HTML in your review. However, all reviews will be formatted by the editors and HTML is usually removed (in favor of our standard formatting) unless it enhances the review without getting in the way.We ask that you not submit reviews from other sources or include passages from other sources which would violate the copyrights of others.The editors may alter reviews to comply with our policies, but only if the edits in no way change the perceived intent of the reviewer.Please also respect these important restrictions:Designers, publishers, distributors, and others directly involved in the production or sale or marketing of a particular game are not eligible to submit reviews of their own games. We do encourage game designers to submit commentaries about their games to our editorial desk. These submissions will be posted in a special section titled Designer Commentary.Please do not submit multiple reviews of the same game.If you would like to make a revision to a review you've already submitted, please write to our editorial desk and we will be happy to append or adjust your original review.We are happy to post negative reviews for a game, as we feel that customers should know everything they can about a game before purchase. However, reviewers attempting to falsely skew the average review score for a game by submitting multiple reviews will not be tolerated. Any abuse of the review system is unfair to everyone -- all submissions from any such individuals will be removed.At this time, we can only print reviews submitted in English.A few words about your name and posting anonymously:When submitting your review, you have the option of posting anonymously. If you choose to do so, the name associated with your review will show as "A Gamer" and other users will not be able to connect your review with other reviews you have submitted.If you choose to not post anonymously, your first and last name will be displayed (never your email address) and other users will be able to click a small icon next to your name in your review to see all reviews you have submitted. You can optionally choose to display only your first name and last initial by setting the "mask last name" option in your profile. By submitting content you grant Dogstar Games a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable right to display that content on their website or promotional materials. You grant Dogstar Games the right to use the name that you submit in connection with your content, if they choose. You grant Dogstar Games the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any content you submit.

Newsletter Mailing List Policies

Our policy is to run a friendly list. This means: You may subscribe or unsubscribe any time you like, but may not subscribe or unsubscribe others. By subscribing, only the Dogstar Games newsletter, published about 12 times per year, will be mailed to you. No other mailings will be sent via this mailing list. The only way to be added to the list is to add yourself or to ask Dogstar Games to add you--placing an order with Dogstar Games will not automatically add you to the list. Neither your name nor email address will ever be given or sold to any other party for any reason.

Security and PrivacySafe Shopping Guarantee

Your security and privacy are of utmost importance to us. When you place an online order with Dogstar Games, our secure server software encrypts the information you submit, ensuring that Internet transactions stay private and protected. Your personal information cannot be read as it travels to our ordering system.

Privacy Pledge

We keep your personal information private and secure. When you make a purchase from our web site, you provide your name, email address, credit card information, address and phone number. We use this information only to process your order and to keep you updated on your order. We will never sell, trade or give away your information. Everything you submit remains private and confidential. We will not send you unsolicited email or direct mail.  

Trademark and Copyright Disclaimer

Trademarked company and game names appear throughout this web site. Rather than list the company names and entities that own the marks and/or insert a trademark symbol with each mention of each name, Dogstar Games states that the use of these names is for editorial purposes only and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringing upon their mark. In addition, Dogstar Games states that it has no copyright claim over the companies' materials and such materials are used for marketing purposes only. Users of this web site should contact the trademark or copyright owner directly to obtain additional information regarding trademark and copyright issues.

Privacy & Security Notice

Dogstar Games knows that the privacy and security of your information is important to you. We appreciate that you trust us, and we want you to know how well we guard your privacy. By visiting our site, you accept the practices described in this notice.

What information about customers do we store?

• Information given to us by you - We keep all information you enter, such as name address, etc.
• "Cookies" on your computer - We store a “digital cookie” on your computer so we can keep track of your shopping card order when your are shopping with us. However, to protect your privacy, we don’t show any of your account information until you have entered the password you selected when you set up your account. If you, as a user of the site, choose to not accept cookies, this will not prevent you from shopping on our site. However, you won't be able to use the shopping cart. After choosing the items you wish to purchase, you can then either e-mail the order to us, or call us on the phone, or fax us with the list of items you wish to order.
• Information on current and past orders - We do store the contents of present and past orders on the website for your personal information. These are not accessible without entering the password you selected when you set up your account.

Who has access to your information?

On our site, only you or people you give your password to can access the information on our site. Our employees have access only to information needed to actually process an order for you, and they go through a rigorous screening process before becoming employed by our company. We do not sell our mailing list (or any information on it) to any other business. We may choose to mail you advertising or information on our products or the products or services of other companies, but we will never allow them access to your information or your name or address.

How secure is the information on the Web site?

All your private information is stored on the site using secure software, which encrypts the information you input. Only the information listed in the section below can be physically seen on our site, and only by yourself or someone else you have given your password to. NOTE: Your credit card is never listed on our site. Even when changing your credit card, only the last 5 digits are ever seen. All our credit card processing is handled by Authorize.net, a world international company authorized by all the major credit card companies to handle confirmation and charging of credit card numbers.

Children

Dogstar welcomes users of all ages to use our website. However, if you are under the age of 13, you may not register on our website without permission from your parents, as that is against FTC (Federal Trade Commission) rules about collection of personal information from children.

If you then are under 13, and want to register on our site, we suggest that instead you have your parents register to use the site, and ask them permission to use their account.

Conditions of Use, Notices & Revisions

If you visit the Dogstargames.com Web site, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Notice and our Conditions of Use, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of the law of the state of Utah. If you have any concerns about the privacy at Dogstargames.com, please send a thorough description to js@optimumdesigns.com and we will try to resolve it. If we ever decide to change the way we use your personal information on our site, we will first notify you by e-mail of our intent to change our policy. You will be able to choose whether you are willing to be included in out policy change.

If we ever change our Privacy Policy, we will post that change in the News section on the front page of our site, and will leave that notice posted for at least on month. We will also notify all users who have agreed to be on our e-mail mailing list of this change in our Privacy Policy.

Log Files

We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are never linked to personally identifiable information. Additionally, for systems administration, detecting usage patterns and troubleshooting purposes, Dogstar Games server automatically logs standard access information including browser type, access times/open mail, URL requested, and referral URL. While information like this may be shared with third-parties in aggregate form, individually identifiable information related to this data will never be shared with third-parties without your explicit permission."