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Shipping Terms and Conditions

Manifold System products are delivered by download over Internet. If you prefer delivery on physical media you must purchase installation media on DVD at extra cost. DVDs are shipped using either US Postal Service or Federal Express. Shipping charges include all paperwork necessary to process different shipment methods. Upgrade products for Manifold System (example: Professional Edition to Enterprise Edition) generate a new serial number that is emailed to the licensee to allow operation at the higher license level and are neither shipped nor downloaded.

(Image, right): Manifold can automatically create and color synthetic 3D surfaces from terrain elevation data and then overlay drawings, such as roads. The image shows a portion of the lakes in the valley of the San Andreas fault near the San Francisco airport.

Use Federal Express for Important Shipments

Federal Express shipping services provide a tracking number, provide highly reliable service and protect you in case of loss. If you must have a shipment by a particular day or if you do not wish to take the financial risk of a package lost by the postal service, use Federal Express. Do not choose Priority Mail or Global Priority Mail as a shipping service if you must have delivery by a particular day or if you are unwilling to bear the financial risk of a package lost in transit. If you do not choose Federal Express and the postal service delays in delivering your package, then you will not be able to track it at a web site and you may have to buy a Repeat Shipment product for $25 if your shipment is lost or if you get tired of waiting for the postal service to deliver the package. Priority Mail and Global Priority Mail are cheaper than FedEx and 95% of the time work fine. Many customers like the cost savings of Priority Mail and Global Priority Mail, but these services do not provide the reliability and elimination of financial risk provided by Federal Express.

Note: For availability of FedEx services to your delivery address, please check the FedEx website as described below. If FedEx is not available, your shipment will automatically be sent either by Priority Mail (US addresses) or by Global Priority Mail (international addresses). If Global Priority Mail is not available to a particular country then first class mail will be used with "thinpack" (DVD only) packaging used.

Note: Federal Express delivery to some addresses may cost substantially more than quoted by the Online Store. Any such additional charges will automatically be billed to your credit card. See the discussion below.

Valid Email Address Required

It is the customer's responsibility to provide a valid email address when ordering via the Online Store. This email address is used to send an email containing download instructions and the serial number required for Manifold System installation, to send new serial numbers for upgrades and to send a shipping notification for shipped products. If you do not receive your serial number email, check to make sure you provided a valid email address that is free of typographic errors, that is actually working and that your mail system or your ISP's mail system is not filtering out emails from manifold.net or from key servers (speakeasy.net) as spam or other unwanted email.

Valid Shipping Address Required

Please be very careful to provide a full, complete and accurate shipping address for your package if you have ordered a DVD. The most common errors are neglecting to provide a company name (so that a shipment cannot be directed to the right company in a large building with many tenants) or neglecting to provide secondary addresses such as suite numbers, apartment numbers or other details required for delivery if more than one person or company is located at a given address. Some customers provide shipping addresses using out-of-date shipping addresses, or are ordering for someone else at a different location and use an incorrect address. If the shipping address is incorrect, your package cannot be delivered and you may incur the cost of a Repeat Shipment for $25.

General Terms and Conditions

Shipping Days: Orders received before 10 AM Pacific Time Mondays through Fridays, excluding holidays or four-day weekend Fridays, will normally process the next business day. Every effort will be made to ship FedEx orders received by noon on the same day, but same day shipping is not guaranteed.

Risk of Loss: The customer bears all risk of loss when shipping by Priority Mail or Global Priority Mail. Products are shipped FOB Reno, Nevada or from the original shipping point used by our shipping contractors. To minimize the risk of loss, use Federal Express. If a product is lost in transit when shipped by Priority Mail or Global Priority Mail, manifold.net will charge a second shipping fee to send a replacement and will charge a media replacement fee for an additional set of media. If a product is lost in transit when shipped by any Federal Express shipping method, manifold.net will will ship a replacement unit at no charge. All claims for FedEx failure to deliver must be made in writing no later than 90 days from the date the order is placed.

Additional Fed Ex Fees: The shipping fees quoted by the Online Store or by manifold.net sales representatives are estimates based on average circumstances worldwide. FedEx shipments to some locations may involve substantially higher fees, in some cases (such as South Africa) fees to some locations can be three or four times the average cost in the rest of the world. When shipping by Federal Express additional surcharges may be imposed for delivery to some addresses that are unusually far from Fed Ex service centers, for correction of addresses or other additional charges. By choosing a Fed Ex shipping option the customer agrees to pay all such additional fees, which will be billed to the customer's credit card automatically when received by manifold.net. By choosing to ship Federal Express the customer authorizes manifold.net to make such charges. Please note that the total fee charged for delivery by Federal Express may include costs other than simple delivery. Such costs may include higher shipping charges, fuel surcharges, customs fees or taxes billed to Federal Express or to manifold.net, out-of-area surcharges, more expensive paperwork charges or other additional costs. The fee for shipping ultimately charged by manifold.net will incorporate all such costs, rounded up to the nearest $5 increment.

Customs Fees and Taxes: The customer agrees to pay all customs charges and taxes. Any parcel sent by Global Priority for which such fees are not paid will be abandoned. When shipping by Federal Express, any customs fees or taxes or other levies not paid by the customer at time time of delivery that are charged by Federal Express will be billed to the customer's credit card automatically when received by manifold.net. By choosing to ship Federal Express the customer authorizes manifold.net to make such charges. If the customer ships by Federal Express, refuses to pay any fees owing and Federal Express is able to check with manifold.net for approval of fee payment by manifold.net, in all cases fees will be declined and the package will be abandoned. In such cases the customer will still be charged for the Federal Express shipment cost of delivery and thereafter declined credit (that is, all transactions will thereafter require a prepayment by wire transfer or check).

Customs Declarations: The contents of a Manifold package will be declared as a "Software CD" with a value of $35. This is the replacement value of the disc which will be charged should a new replacement disc be required. Note: The value of the software license is passed by the electronic email delivery of your personalized serial number. The serial number is the valuable part of the shipment, not the physical media. You can buy as many $35 DVDs as you like for each Manifold System license you acquire by email.

Customs Delays: All international delivery times are approximate, assuming there is no delay in Customs. If Customs intercepts a package it is not possible to predict how long the package will be delayed.

Sample Prices: The sample prices given below are for one unit of Manifold System Professional and are subject to change without notice.

Paperwork

Domestic: In cases where it is clear the billing and shipping addresses are for the same person or obviously within the same organization Manifold packages will normally ship with an invoice in the package. Otherwise, packages ship with a packing slip within the parcel and a separate invoice will be mailed by first class mail to the cardholder at the billing address, or an invoice will be sent to the billing address for PO's, as applicable.

International: International shipments for low cost items such as discounted upgrades or repeat shipments will ship with an invoice within the parcel and a customs declaration (if required by FedEx or by US postal regulations) of $35. In general, the value of Manifold products is in the serial number you receive: you may order as many replacement discs as desired since the value of the license is in the serial number. Accordingly, Manifold products are declared at a value of $35 since that is the value of the media package sent. Manifold products are normally shipped only with a packing slip in the parcel that does not contain any financial information. FedEx shipments are accompanied by a standard FedEx commercial invoice form as required by FedEx for that particular country in the amount of $35. Global Priority Mail shipments are accompanied by a standard US government customs declaration sticker in the amount of $35. Single-disc shipments sent by regular airmail have a packing slip but no customs declaration as such declarations are not required by US regulations for such small, low-weight envelope shipments. In addition, a hard copy invoice will be sent by first class international air mail to the billing address provided.

It is the customer's responsibility to provide all customs and importation paperwork required for importation into the destination country. Manifold.net provides no paperwork except as noted above. If you don't know how to import products into your country using the above paperwork, do not order from manifold.net - instead, hire an agent who knows how to accomplish importation using the paperwork provided by manifold.net.

Customers who have the misfortune of living in countries with difficult importation procedures should consider carefully their choice of shipping method and be ready to deal with their local bureaucracies without the assistance of manifold.net. In such cases, we recommend using an agent with experience in such matters.

Replacement Shipments

If you have chosen a non-guaranteed shipping method such as Priority Mail or Global Priority Mail and your shipment is greatly delayed you may want to order a replacement shipment. To do so, order the Repeat Shipment option on the Manifold Online Store. This will repeat a shipment that is lost in transit or delayed. When ordering a Repeat Shipment option, it is a good idea to double-check the shipping address to make sure it is complete and accurate. It is also a good idea to use Federal Express to make sure a shipment will arrive as you intend. Some customers dealing with crazy or corrupt customs bureaucracies report that they find it easier to simply choose a very inexpensive shipping method such as Thinpak and, if need be, place a Repeat Shipment order.

Shipping Options

The following options are available to US addresses and to International addresses. Federal Express considers Puerto Rico and other US Territories to be international addresses. Puerto Rico and other US Territories may use Priority mail if desired, although shipping will be slower that the 2-3 day service on the mainland.

It is the customer's responsibility to choose a valid shipping option. Shipping options to US addresses are not available to international addresses. If a US shipping option is selected for an International address, the lowest cost international option will be substituted and the customer's credit card will be charged any additional fee. If an International shipping option is selected for a US address, the closest US shipping option by value will be substituted.

Very important: the limited money-back guarantee available on some products runs 30 days from the date your product is shipped, not from the date on which it is delivered. It is the customer's responsibility to choose a shipping method that allows adequate time for shipment of Manifold and subsequent use. For example, if you are not sure that you wish to keep your license, do not use Global Priority mail for delivery to international locations, since Global Priority mail delivery times are not guaranteed. Use Federal Express so you can be sure of receiving your package within a reasonably predictable time. See the Terms of Sale page for information on the limited money-back guarantee.

Federal Express prices shown are base prices - actual cost may be higher. The Fed Ex prices shown are the minimum shipping costs charged by manifold.net for Fed Ex service to most locations for that class of service. Some locations will require higher Fed Ex fees, possibly requiring even double or greater the shipping cost. If a Fed Ex fee for your location is greater than that listed below, your shipping charge will be increased (rounded up to the nearest $5) and the total amount charged to your credit card will include the increased Fed Ex shipping charge. By ordering via the Online Store you agree to automatic payment of any increased Federal Express charges. If you would like to find out if your location requires a higher shipping charge before placing an order, contact sales@manifold.net to get a quotation for your location or visit www.fedex.com and get a shipping quotation for a Fed Ex Envelope from zip code 89701 to your location. Base prices include all manifold.net handling fees and the preparation of export documentation for export shipments. Extra documentation required by some countries (such as certificates of origin or other paperwork) can make costs dramatically higher. Please note that the total fee charged for delivery by Federal Express may include costs other than simple delivery. Such costs may include higher shipping charges, fuel surcharges, customs fees or taxes billed to Federal Express or to manifold.net, out-of-area surcharges, more expensive paperwork charges or other additional costs. The fee for shipping ultimately charged by manifold.net will incorporate all such costs, rounded up to the nearest $5 increment.

Shipping prices are Manifold prices. Manifold prices for shipping are based on an aggregate of our shipping costs, including paperwork, packaging and other costs in addition to the raw costs of postage or FedEx charges. Although we do our best to base such prices on the actual costs encountered (such as the actual FedEx fee for a particular package delivery), we do not represent our shipping prices to be an exact match to costs charged by our shipping vendors. In order to guarantee an exact match Manifold would have to charge higher prices overall. The current system using estimated costs results in shipping costs that are sometimes higher than the raw vendor plus costs price and sometimes lower; however, we believe the estimation model in use results in an average price per package delivery that reasonably reflects our actual average shipping costs. When costs are adjusted based on different FedEx fees as stated above, those adjusted costs will be based on a direct quotation by FedEx for increased fees.

US Addresses - Services available to US addresses only.

International Addresses - Services available to International addresses only.

Notes on Federal Express Shipping

For details on Federal Express shipping services, see the FedEx web site at www.fedex.com.

Notes on Priority Mail

Priority mail shipments are not tracked and cannot be guaranteed to be delivered. The customer bears all risk of loss if a shipment is sent by Priority mail. If a replacement shipment is required, the customer will be billed a second shipping fee and a $35 disc replacement fee. If guaranteed delivery within a known time is required, use Federal Express Second Day or Next Day service. If a product is lost in transit when shipped by any Federal Express shipping method, manifold.net will will ship a replacement unit at no charge.

Notes on Global Priority Mail and Thinpak Single DVD by Mail

Global Priority mail is a joint service of the US Postal Service and local postal authorities. It normally delivers a package from manifold.net to most developed countries in five business days. However, because Global Priority is dependent upon the service provided by local postal authorities in the destination country, service levels can vary widely depending upon the efficiency and reliability of the postal service in the destination country. Some countries deliver Global Priority at high speed only within a few major cities with reduced service speed to other areas. Global Priority is a good value for Western Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore and other developed countries.

Global Priority mail shipments are not tracked and cannot be guaranteed to be delivered. The customer bears all risk of loss if a shipment is sent by Global Priority mail. If a replacement shipment is required, the customer will be billed a second shipping fee and a $35 disc replacement fee. If guaranteed delivery within a known time is required, use Federal Express International Priority service. If a product is lost in transit when shipped by any Federal Express shipping method, manifold.net will will ship a replacement unit at no charge.

Service to all countries is estimated, not guaranteed. Although we have found Global Priority to be reliable, no one can prevent Customs from delaying a particular shipment or postal authorities from losing a shipment. The customer bears all risk and costs of dealing with local Customs authorities.

Thinpak Single DVD by Mail service is an experimental service offered by Manifold Net. It is equivalent to Global Priority Mail with the following differences:

Experience shows that the Thinpak option is a good choice when shipping Upgrade DVDs by Global Priority Mail, because these will ship in small, thin Global Priority envelopes anyway. The Thinpak option is also much more discrete than a large, more bulky envelope. Therefore, the Thinpak option is often used by customers who do not trust the Customs service for their country.

Global Priority Mail service is currently available to most developed countries. Visit the US Postal Service website at www.usps.gov to see if a specific country is served by Global Priority Mail.

Questions?

Please contact us at sales@manifold.net. We would like you to be happy with your licensing of Manifold products, so please do not hesitate to ask any questions before placing an order.