Frequently Asked Questions

What is your return policy?

If you receive the wrong items, or your item is misspelled please retain the product and box and call us at 919.336.3154. We will replace the product or issue a complete refund (including any shipping). It's your choice! We will also pick up the incorrect item at our cost, with our apologies.

If an item is damaged in shipping, please contact us immediately at 919.336.3154. Save the box and all packing materials until after FedEx has inspected the package. We will send a replacement immediately, or issue a refund if an item is a "one of a kind."

Packages must be opened and inspected within three days of delivery as FedEx will not honor any claims made after a reasonable time. Sorry, but we cannot be responsible for damages discovered weeks or months later.

If you want to return the product for any other reason, please ship to the address below. Please write "return" on your original packing list and put it in the box, along with a short reason if possible. It should be shipped in original packaging and insured. We will refund your original purchase price, minus shipping, when it arrives at our warehouse.

Ship Returns To:
A Simpler Time, Attn: Returns
118 International Drive, Suite 103
Morrisville,NC 27560

Note to our holiday shoppers: For Christmas gifts purchased in November or December, we offer full returns for up to 60 days after Christmas.

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When will my order ship?

Most in-stock orders with no engraving are shipped within 48 hours. On engraved purchases, please allow 3-5 business days to complete engraving. Personalized signs take 2-6 weeks depending on the sign style. But call us at 919.336.3154 if you need something shipped quickly, and we'll do anything we possibly can to rush your order.

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Can You Ship To Foreign Countries?

Due to damage concerns we do not ship outside of the U.S. We do have select items that can be shipped to Canada, if you would like a shipping quote you can call us (1-919-336-3154) or email us (contact@asimplertime.com) for a quote. If emailing, please be sure to note what you're interested in so we can give you an accurate quote! Orders can also be phoned in. We highly discourage sending us credit card information through emails, as that information is not secure.

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Will I Be Notified When My Order Ships?

If you have supplied us with a valid email (and your spam filter does not block us) you should get an emailed tracking number when your order ships. If you do not receive this tracking number within 7 business days, feel free to contact us.

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Will There Be An Invoice In The Box?

Because many of our products are gifts, we do not put an invoice in the box showing price, only a packing slip and (if you choose) a gift note. The emailed order confirmation you receive after ordering has the total cost of the order on it and can be printed if you need a receipt. If you forget, please email us and we'd be happy to send you one!

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Why Do Personalized Signs Take So Long To Ship?

Our personalized signs are works of art and made to order. They each have their own unique graphic and personalized wording. At any time of the year, and particularly as the holiday season nears, we have a "backlog" of orders for these extremely popular gifts. These are proudly made in the U.S.A. and we promise the wait will be worth it!

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What If My Engraving Is Wrong?

While we make every effort to minimize mistakes, humans (and unfortunately we are) have a nasty habit of occasionally screwing up! Please call or add special instructions in the comment box of your order if necessary and we'll call or email you if we're unsure of your personalization order. If we make the mistake, we will rush you a correct replacement at no charge to you. If the mistake is yours, we will either significantly discount the replacement or in some instances (nameplates) will give you the correct replacement free of charge! On many bells, we can re-engrave the other side of the bell and "flip" the bell so that the incorrect engraving faces the wall and is not noticeable. We'll do the correction for free if you elect this method and you will only pay to ship to us (we'll get the return shipping)!

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What If My Product Arrives Damaged?

While we package well and consider ourselves dang near perfect, unfortunately the gremlins at FedEx or the postal service occasionally manage to trip us up. If that happens, please keep the item in its original packaging and contact us. Packages must be opened and inspected within three days of delivery as FedEx will not honor any claims made after a reasonable time. Sorry, but we cannot be responsible for damages discovered weeks or months later.If you want a replacement, we will send one out immediately at our cost, or we will refund your total purchase price (including shipping) if you prefer.

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What Is Your Privacy Policy?

A Simpler Time does not share your information with ANY third parties! The only email or mail special offerings you will receive will be from us and only if you opt-in to receive these offerings. If at any time you receive an unwanted email from us, just reply to that email with "unsubscribe" in the subject box, and we will remove your name from future mailings.

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Will My Sign Fade If Put Outside?

Well, we hate to be wishy-washy about our answer, but it depends. Our signs are made by many different companies, with very different methods, on very different kinds of substrates. Without getting too detailed, some companies use heat to make an image, some print right on the wood or metal, some use coatings, a few are hand painted and others are even made of baked enamel.

In reality, no sign is totally impervious to the effects of sunlight and UV rays. As we tell customers who call, if a paint had been devised that could hold up forever when facing constant weather exposure, we’d all use it to paint our decks…and just once!

On our less expensive signs, which start at under $10, we just don’t recommend hanging them outdoors. While they are great looking signs and a bargain even at a much higher price, they are basically printed on metal and do not feature fade resistant inks or any UV coating. High quality fade resistant inks are very expensive, and while these signs under $10 will hold up well indoors, all bets are off even in indirect sunlight.

Some of our more expensive metal signs (around $20 and up) are made using sublimation, which basically involves transferring an image using very high heat and then coating it. This makes the sign more expensive to make---as it’s slower and involves more hands-on labor---but it also creates an image that is more fade resistant (not fade proof).

On most of our more expensive wood and metal personalized signs (those costing $65 and up), while the image is printed right on the metal or wood----much like the under $10 versions----at these prices better and much more expensive inks are used. Again, while any sign left in the elements year round will eventually age and fade, these will hold up longer and are primarily suitable for covered outdoor locations.

In the past we’ve recommended that customers buying a personalized sign to put outdoors should select metal when they can, as it seems to do a little better than wood. In general, these signs seem to hold up well in the elements, and if they fade or weather slightly? Well, they’re supposed to look like antique signs anyway!

Lastly, we do not recommend that you spray your sign with any sealant or protectant product, as there is no way to tell if it will react with the paints or inks used in the creation of the sign. If you do so, you do so at your own risk, as this can cause an immediate yellowing depending on what chemicals happen to be involved.

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How Do I Know My Order Is Secure?

We use the same state of the art encryption (SSL) that is used by some of the largest retailers to ensure your safety, and our website is hosted by a respected, professional company that also uses the latest technology for their servers. Vtex hosts many large retailers with revenues many times the size of ours and has had no problems in the past. In addition, most credit card companies limit your liability for online purchases (generally to $50).

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