Forms of Payment
We accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express cards, Google Checkout, checks and money orders.

Checks and money orders should be made payable to ACCESS MUSIC. Checks may require up to two weeks to clear (delaying your order).

All checks and money orders must be in US dollars and payable on a bank located in the United States, with the name and US address of the bank printed on the front of the check. The only exception is for Canadian customers, who may send US dollar checks or money orders payable on a Canadian bank.

Shopping Cart
To order online, go to the page for any item and click the "ADD TO CART" button. This takes you to the shopping cart page where you can change the order quantity if you choose. (To remove an item, change the order quantity to zero.) Then you can continue browsing or check out.

When you've selected everything you want, there are three ways you can proceed:

Click the "proceed to check out" button to pay by VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover.
Click the "Google Checkout" button.
To mail or fax your order, click the "printable form" link near the bottom of the page.

Payment Screen
If you are paying by VISA, MasterCard, American Express or Discover, the "proceed to check out" button will take you to the payment screen, where you can fill in your billing and shipping information. You are required to provide the name and address of the person whose name is printed on the card. If there are any discrepancies, or if the shipping address is different from the billing address, you may be required to fax us a card authorization form after you place your order.

Please provide both an email address and a telephone number so we can reach you if there are questions about your order. If you do not have an email address, please do not forget to provide your telephone number.

There is a "comments" box near the bottom of the payment screen. Please use it for any information you may wish to add to your order, such as special shipping instructions, alternative items in case we unexpectedly run out of something, or free stuff for which you qualify (special offers are posted on the Special Offers page).

When your information is complete, click the "summarize order" button to go to the order confirmation screen. Your complete order will be listed with the total amount, including shipping and sales tax (if any). If you need to make any corrections, click your browser's "back" button. If everything is correct, click the "submit order" button only once. Usually it responds quickly, but even if nothing happens for a minute or two, avoid clicking again to prevent duplicate orders.

When you submit your order, the charge is authorized on your credit or debit card account. If you have omitted any required information or if the charge cannot be authorized, you will be returned to the payment screen so you can make corrections or use a different card.

When your order has been successfully submitted you will be linked automatically to a "thank you" page, and you will receive an order confirmation by email (if you supplied your correct email address). Your order ID number will be in your email confirmation.

Final processing of your credit or debit card payment will take place only when your order is ready to ship. Therefore the transaction date listed on your card's statement may be later than the date when you placed your order.

Mail and Fax Orders
We are happy to accept orders sent in the mail or by fax. To generate a printable order form, first add what you want to buy to the online shopping cart. Then click on the "printable form" link near the bottom of shopping cart page and follow the instructions. If it is not convenient to print from the computer you are on, just write the same information on a piece of paper. If your order will be shipped to California, add 8.75% sales tax to the merchandise total (not including shipping). Then fax your order to 209-755-5968 or mail it to Access Music, 1537 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109.

Card Verification
For most online credit or debit card orders, the information you provide on the payment screen is sufficient to verify the charge to your card. However, in certain situations you may be required to fax a card authorization form. For example:

If your billing address is different from the shipping address.
If you are using a foreign card, for which we can't verify the billing address.
If the billing address you gave on the order form is inconsistent with card issuer's records.
If we encounter problems such as disconnected or not-working telephone numbers and email addresses in our attempt to verify your order.

To avoid delays in processing, please print the card authorization form, fill it out, sign it, and fax it to us along with a copy of your card (front and back) and a picture ID showing the same name as on the card. Our fax number is 209-755-5968. We cannot guarantee that your order will be shipped immediately after we receive this form. Further verification may be necessary in some, but rare, situations.

Sales Tax
We only collect sales tax on orders that will be shipped to addresses in California or picked up at our store. The applicable sales tax rate is currently 8.75%. Sales tax is calculated automatically if you order online or use the "printable form" link for a mail or fax order.

SHIPPING

Shipping Methods
All orders are sent through the US Postal Service. Packages sent to addresses in the United States are sent via First Class or Priority Mail (Delivery Confirmation tracking is included). Packages under four pounds sent to other countries go via First Class Mail International (tracking not available), and heavier packages via Priority Mail International or Express Mail International (tracking included). To upgrade the shipping method, please add a note to your order or email us and we'll get back to you about extra charges. For large orders sent to foreign countries, often the shipping charge calculated by our shopping cart will cover the cost of Express Mail and that's how we'll send your package.

Shipping Rates
Our shipping rates are shown on the chart below. Shipping charges are calculated automatically if you order online or if you use the "printable form" link near the bottom of the shopping cart page to order by mail or fax. Please note: books and magazines can be in any of the columns below, depending on their weight.

Your Location	FIRST ITEM IN ORDER (heaviest is "first")				EACH ADDITIONAL ITEM				max. charge
Your Location	tape, CD, DVD, poster or 7" vinyl	shirt	1x 12" or 10" vinyl	2x, 3x, etc. 12" vinyl; hoodie	tapes, CDs, DVDs, posters & 7" vinyl	shirts	1x 12" or 10" vinyl	2x, 3x, etc. 12" vinyl; hoodies	max. charge
USA	$2.50	$5.00	$6.50	$8.00	$0.75	$1.50	$2.00	$2.50	$25.00
Canada	$3.00	$5.50	$7.50	$10.00	$1.00	$2.00	$2.50	$3.00	$40.00
All Other Countries	$7.00	$10.00	$12.50	$15.00	$2.00	$4.00	$5.00	$6.00	$80.00

How Long It Takes
Most orders are processed and sent out no more than two business days after they are received. However, some orders take longer than two business days to be processed. For example:

If we need additional information or documents to verify the charge to your card.
If you did not provide a valid or complete shipping address or sufficient contact information.
If you paid by check and we need to wait for the check to clear.
If we unexpectedly run out of an item that you ordered, and you did not state an alternative choice.
If you pre-order an item that we haven't received yet.

We'll contact you if we need additional information or if we have unexpectedly run out of an item. If you have allowed a few days for processing (longer if you paid by check) plus adequate time for your package to arrive in the mail, and you still have not received your order or heard from us, please email us at orders@accesshiphop.com or call us at 858-270-3987.

When we ship orders, we send an email to everyone who provided an email address with their order. The email tells you the date when the package was mailed, the address it was mailed to, and the Delivery Confirmation tracking number if applicable (see below). Packages can take anywhere from one day to about two or more weeks to arrive, depending on your location.

If you are located outside the United States, please be aware that the customs officials in your country sometimes hold packages for a length of time that is impossible to predict (or understand). If you have not received your package after a couple of weeks, and if you have tried but failed to get information about your package from the officials of your government, we may have to ask you to wait several weeks longer to allow time for your package to be processed in customs.

Package Tracking
We use Delivery Confirmation tracking on all packages (Priority Mail and First Class) sent to addresses in the United States and to FPO and APO addresses if Delivery Confirmation is available. Tracking is not available for packages weighing under four pounds sent to other countries sent via First Class Mail International, but there is tracking for packages sent via Priority Mail International or Express Mail International.

If we have your email address, we'll email your tracking number when we mail your package(s). To track your package, call 1-800-222-1811 or go to www.usps.com.

US Military Addresses
The shipping charge for a US military address (or any APO or FPO address) is the same as for an address in the United States. If you are ordering online, please make sure to select "United States" as your country in the shipping information section of the payment screen; otherwise you will be charged an excessive amount for shipping. Write APO or FPO as the city, and select the correct location from the drop-down list of states and provinces (the armed forces locations are below the US states and above the US territories and Canadian provinces.)

Contact Information
For information about contacting Access Hip Hop, please visit our Contact page.

Free Stuff
Every order gets at least one free sticker, flyer or postcard.

Special offers for more free stuff are posted on on the Special Offers page.

To take advantage of a free offer with an online order, DO NOT add the free item to the shopping cart before you check out. Just write in the "COMMENTS" box at the bottom of the Payment Screen when you check out.

Out of Stock Items
We update our websites daily for current stock status information. But once in a while, if an item is selling really fast, it might run out before we've had a chance to update its listing on our site. Also, if you mail your order, an item may run out while your order is on the way to us through the mail.

To prevent delays from out of stock items, you may list alternative items on your order or provide other instructions, such as to cancel an individual item or the entire order if anything is out of stock. For online orders, please use the "comments" box on the payment screen. For mail and fax orders, just write anywhere on the order.

If an out-of-stock item is expected within a few days, we'll wait for it and ship your order complete. Otherwise, we'll contact you by email or telephone and ask what you want to do: cancel your entire order; delete just the item that is out of stock; substitute something else; or wait for the item to be restocked.

Returns
You may return any unused product (provided that the shrinkwrap, if any, is intact) for a refund or exchange if you notify us of the problem within 7 days of when you receive the merchandise.

If you open a shrink-wrapped item it is not returnable unless it's defective. You must notify us of a defective item within 7 days of when you receive the merchandise, and it may be returned to exchange for the same item only.

Before you return anything, please send email to orders@accesshiphop.com explaining the problem.

Send all returns to Access Music, 1537 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109. Be sure to include a brief note explaining what the problem was.

Security and Privacy

E-commerce Server Security
When you place an order at accesshiphop.com your credit or debit card information and everything else you enter on the payment screen is secure. The small "closed lock" icon at the bottom of your browser window shows that your information is encrypted and transmitted via industry standard SSL protocols.

Credit/Debit Card Security
The VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover card information of our online customers is processed and secured by Plug'n Pay Technologies. Plug'n Pay's ecommerce servers utilize the strongest security currently available. Plug'n Pay stores all user information in secure databases protected with a variety of access controls and encryption of sensitive information.

Your credit or debit card information is never located or stored on the accesshiphop.com web server or any server that hosts websites. Also, customer credit and debit card information is not located or stored on computers on our premises at Access Music. This is important, because there are many websites that use secure servers for transactions, but subsequently store customers' credit and debit card details on computers that are not as secure as they should be.

For additional security, some credit card issuers can provide you a temporary or "virtual" account number that is valid just for one purchase. For more information, contact your credit card issuer.

Privacy and Confidentiality
Your information will always be kept confidential. It will never be shared with or sold to anyone. We will use your email address or phone number only if we have questions about your order. You will not be added to our email newsletter list unless you specifically request to be. For more information, please refer to our privacy policy.

Buying for a Store (wholesale)

Access Hip Hop released several CDs and 12"s on our own label in 2002-2004. The record label side of our business is currently on hold, but stores can still obtain our past releases at wholesale prices directly from us. The Access Hip Hop wholesale catalog is listed at accesshiphop.com/label.

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