Questions & Answers

Minimum & Maximum Sized Orders
The minimum order is one dozen. A dozen=12 pencils. The minimum order can contain an assortment of pencil colors of either hexagonal or round or golf pencils but not a mixture of styles, with one lettering color per dozen, and identical text per dozen. There is no maximum order size at this time, though delivery times will be extended for very large orders.


Samples & Proofs
No free samples and no proofs on orders by the dozen. The minimum order is just one dozen pencils.


Bids & Price Quotes
Complete pricing information is available on the website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff will not prepare bids.


Payment
All orders must be pre-paid.


What does "Made in the USA" actually mean?
Over the past few decades, the USA pencil manufacturing industry has experienced tremendous consolidation. Hundreds of USA pencil manufacturers existed in the 1900's, but today only about three remain. Of those three, only one company holds fast and true to the statement "made in the USA from tip to tip" and we have no proof that that is true. USA pencil manufacturers are using global resources to manufacture pencils. We can no longer say with 100% confidence that any of the pencils we sell are truly 100% made in the USA. Explicitly Yours™ is a printer of personalized pencils. We try to bring you a great pencil product regardless of where it was manufactured or painted.


Hexagonal Pencils
are full-length, wood cased, unsharpened pencils that come in a variety of solid colors and fonts, with either standard #2 lead or soft lead. Sold in small quantities by the dozen (12 pencils) starting with just one dozen pencils. We stock hexagonal pencils by different manufacturers and use whichever pencils are best suited to the selected font. Not all manufacturers make pencils in all colors, and different manufacturers use different ferrule styles and colors. Even within a manufacturer's line, different ferrule colors are used. Explicitly Yours™ uses in-stock inventory to print pencils. We do not manufacture, paint or assemble pencils.


Hexagonal Pencil Colors by Manufacturer
Explicitly Yours™ uses pencils manufactured by five manufacturers. The manufacturers use different ferrules, different ferrule colors and different colored erasers.

Note: Even within a manufacturer's line, there can be differences in ferrule colors. We sell from our current inventory and small orders cannot specify a ferrule color other than what is currently carried.


Manufacturer #1
Hexagonal metallic red, green and blue pencils.


Manufacturer #2
Hexagonal white, black, dark yellow, orange, red, burgundy, light blue, royal blue, navy, purple, dark green, and emerald.


Manufacturer #3 - Says entirely USA made
Hexagonal bright yellow and natural lacquered.


Manufacturer #4
Hexagonal silver, gold, brown, salmon, orange, orangey-red, pastel pink, deep pink, regular pink, neon pink, neon red, neon yellow, bright yellow, pastel yellow, dark gray, neon green, regular green, aqua, pastel green, bright green, dark green, neon blue, pastel blue, skyblue, bright blue, teal, regular blue.


Manufacturer #5
Hexagonal natural lacquered, bright yellow, red, dark green, royal blue, navy, black, white.
2/2013

Pencil Pantone Numbers
Pantone numbers are universal color identifiers that we cannot provide because exact color matches are impossible. Explicitly Yours™ is a printer, not a manufacturer of pencils. As inventory changes, the pencil colors change.


Round Pencils
are full-length, wood cased, unsharpened pencils that have #2 lead available in patterns and solid colors. Sold in small quantities by the dozen starting with just one dozen pencils. We stock round pencils by different manufacturers and use whatever manufacturer is in currently in inventory for a particular design.


Golf Pencils
are shorter wood cased pencils that come in two styles. Golf pencils without erasers are approximately 3.375 inches long and golf pencils with erasers are approximately 3.875 inches long. The printing surface on golf pencils without erasers is longer than on golf pencils with erasers. Explicitly Yours™ currently sells only hexagonal golf pencils.


Coloring Pencils
are sold only in sets of 18 and 24 different lead colors. Lead colors are not sold individually. Coloring pencils are imprinted only with uppercase Arial font. Coloring pencils are manufactured in China. They are intended for children, not serious artistic drawing. Coloring pencils are not edible. If your child eats pencils, do not purchase Coloring pencil sets for the child.


Sharpening service is not offered.


Previews & Proofs
Previews are not available online. Explicitly Yours™ sells millions of font, pencil and print color combinations and we cannot preview that many combinations.

Proofs are not provided.

Quantity Discounts
www.ExplicitlyYoursPencils.com sells small orders of personalized pencils [under four gross], and therefore no order is large enough to qualify for a quantity discount.


Pencil Quality
Our full-length and golf pencils are USA made, First quality, wood cased pencils with #2 lead unless #2 Soft Lead is specified. The pencil erasers erase, not smudge. The coloring pencils with colored lead are made in China and are intended for children, not serious artists.


Pencil Combinations Within a Dozen or Order
We are pleased to make any pencil color assortment per dozen so long as one lettering color works on all pencils in the dozen. Each dozen consists of either hexagonal or round pencils, but not both. There is no limit to how many dozens can be purchased, and each dozen can be unique. We do not manufacture pencils, so assortments must consist of pencils already in our inventory.


Lettering Color Selection & Contrast
Dark colored pencils need light colored lettering and light colored pencils need dark lettering for contrast.
Light contrast looks like embossing rather than print. It's all up to you. It will be hard to read but that just may be the desired look. We won't second guess customers. If you order pencils and print colors with weak contrast, that is what will be printed.
Universal colors tend to be white, gold and silver.


Logos
Explicitly Yours™ does not print logos on Pencil Orders by the Dozen.


Fonts for Hexagonal Pencils
Each font has it's own letters, numbers and punctuation capabilities. Fonts are described online in detail, with images. See our link called Fonts at the top of every webpage in this estore.


One Font Per Dozen
This is the rule because different fonts do not line up appropriately. If you absolutely need an exception to this rule for your order, there will be an additional $7.99 fee per dozen.


Fonts For Hexagonal Pencils
All fonts are unique entities with each font having different punctuation and printing capabilities. There is no uniform text size between 8pt or 10pt fonts so pencils are chosen that best accommodate the selected font.


Characters Per Text Line
The number of characters in a text line includes spaces & punctuation, and M's and W's are double wide characters and therefore count as two characters in all fonts. There must be at least three characters, not including spaces or punctuation, per text line on all imprinted pencils.


Excessively long text lines must be approved by Gail in advance of placing the order and will incur a $7.99 per dozen excessive line length fee. We encourage customers to use multiple text lines and save money.


Identical Text Per Text Line Per Dozen
Explicitly Yours™ sells by the dozen. A dozen must have identical text in an identical font and print color per dozen. Each text line is printed only once on a pencil.


Hexagonal Multiple Line Layout Options
This only applies to hexagonal pencils orders with two or more text lines since each text line is printed only once. Hexagonal pencils have six sides, sometimes referred to as panes. Adjacent Panes means the text lines appear on sides right next to each other. Every Other Pane means there is a blank side between text lines. Opposite Panes can only be used for orders with two text lines and the text will appear on opposite sides of the pencil.


Number of Text Lines Included in the Price

Orders by the Dozen
• 1 text line with identical text, printed once
• Hexagonal (full-length & golf) pencils have the option of a second & third text line for an additional fee per doz

Return Policy
All sales are final because personalized pencils cannot be resold. If Explicitly Yours makes a printing error, we will correct our error and reship at no additional cost to the customer. Do not send pencils back to Explicitly Yours.


Sales Tax
California law requires that we collect sales tax on all billing addresses within California because we are physically located in California. California law also requires sales tax collection on the shipping & handling fee because it is presented as a single sum. California sales tax is collected at the uniform rate based on Los Angeles County where we are located. Because the Yahoo! web host servers are located in Texas, as of 2011 Explicitly Yours™ is required to collect sales tax from Texas billing addresses at the highest prevailing sales tax rate in Texas regardless of actual city or county of residence within Texas.


Rush Orders

Rush service means that error free orders jump to the front of the printing queue and are shipped by the end of the next business day. Rush Service is not same day shipping. Rush Service is not open to any negotiation, Rush orders must comply with all order form standard requirements.


• Rush Service has nothing to do with customer selected shipping speed. In other words, selecting USPS Express Overnight Shipping without paying rush service fees does not mean that your order will jump to the front of the printing queue and ship by the end of the next business day, but rather that once the order is printed, it will ship USPS Express Overnight.
  
  
  The fee is $7.99 per dozen and the following restrictions apply:
  • All personalized pencils in the order must pay and qualify for rush service.
  • Personalized pencils with three lines of text cannot be rushed and so orders containing a dozen with three lines of text cannot be rushed even if they contain single line dozens that otherwise would qualify for rush service.
  • Please check your email often during the 24 hours after placing a rush order in case errors are found in the order that must be corrected prior to printing.
  • Rush service fees must be paid to receive rush service.
  • Explicitly Yours&trade: is not responsible if orders must be received in less than one week from the date of ordering to be useful for the purpose ordered if Rush Fees and USPS Express Overnight shipping were not paid for at the time of placing the order.
  • We will not negotiate any aspect of a rush order.
  • Requests for Samples and Proofs disqualify orders from Rush Service.



Date Guarantee Delivery Limited to Rush Orders & USPS Express Overnight Shipping
The ONLY way to know exactly what day the order will be in your possession is to pay Rush Service fees and select USPS Express Overnight shipping.
1. Explicitly Yours™ will not guarantee a non-Rush Service order printing date or non-date guaranteed USPS shipping methods.



Shipping
Explicitly Yours™ ships Orders by the Dozen via United States Postal Service (USPS) using Parcel Post, First Class, Priority and Express shipping services. Only USPS Express Overnight is date guaranteed delivery, though it is two day service to some zip codes. All orders are shipped with signature required for delivery because your credit card company requires a Cardholder's signature at delivery to prove receipt. We're following their rules and it is not negotiable, unless waived in writing at the time of the order. Orders need not be shipped to the billing address. Shipping is not included in the price of products or services unless stated otherwise on the website.

The Shipping fee includes one shipment to one location once. In most cases, any adult can sign for delivery, it does not have to be the purchaser.
• All Returned shipments must pay a new shipping fee plus a $10.00 handling fee.
  
  Local pick-up is not available.



Printing is for Right Handed Users
Explicitly Yours prints pencils so that the text is read from left to right while being held in the user's right hand. Upon written request, orders can be printed so that the text is legible for left handed users. All pencils in the order must be either for right handed or left handed users, not both. To request left handed printing if it is not part of the order page itself, an email must be received prior to the start of printing the order.


Blank Pencils
Explicitly Yours™ is not a distributor of blank pencils and does not sell blank pencils.


Pencil Accessories & Extras
These items are only available to accompany the purchase of personalized pencils. Not sold separately without a personalized pencils purchase.


Multiple Fonts
A dozen may have only one font regardless of the number of text lines. The greater the number of different fonts in a particular order, the longer it will take to complete the order.


Telephone v. Email Communication
All communications are required to be in writing via email to prevent errors or miscommunication. Therefore, Explicitly Yours™ will not take, alter or amend orders over the phone.

Customers must provide valid email addresses on orders so that we can communicate. Because email does not always work, change requests must be received before printing occurs and we must confirm receipt of the customer's email change request for the change to be effective.


• Customers are solely responsible for checking their SPAM email boxes if they have their email accounts set up with a SPAM box.



Payment
Paypal is used for credit card payments. All orders must be placed through the website. Neither cash nor checks are accepted.


Order Cancellation
Email communications that are not responded to within 48 hours will likely result in cancellation of the order. Explicitly Yours™ reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.

Explicitly Yours™ will send a timely email confirming that the order cannot be processed and that credit card authorization or payment was voided. It can take several days for a bank statement to show a refund, but the customer's PAYPAL account will instaneously show the status of a refund or authorization void. Customers are responsible for checking their email, SPAM and Paypal accounts.


Mobile Presence for EStore
Explicitly Yours™ has no immediate plans to expand to a mobile estore. This estore requires reading to properly place an order and be informed, and we don't see that taking place on a mobile device with a small screen.


Fraud Prevention Explicitly Yours™ does not collect or receive credit card numbers. Customer credit card information never resides on our computers and we do not have access to your credit card numbers. Customers pay Explicitly Yours™ through use of their privately held Paypal account. Customers create or sign into their Paypal account via secure encrypted transmission. This is the best consumer protection available today.

To protect Explicitly Yours™ from credit card fraud and dishonest customers, we will pursue all legal remedies available to us.