Forms of Payment
We accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express cards, PayPal, 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" or "PayPal" button.
To order by mail, click the link near the bottom of the shopping cart 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 email 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 Orders
We are happy to accept orders sent in the mail. To generate a printable order form, first add what you want to buy to the online shopping cart. Then click on the link where it says "We also accept orders by postal mail" near the bottom of shopping cart page. If it is not convenient to print from the computer you are on, just write the same information on a piece of paper. Mail your order 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 email 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, scan it and email it to us along with a copy of a picture ID showing the same name as on the card.

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 8.00%.

SHIPPING

Shipping Methods
All orders are sent through the US Postal Service.

We ship packages to United States addresses normally via First Class or Priority Mail. Media Mail is a lower-cost option for qualifying purchases; link to more information from the shopping cart page. Delivery Confirmation tracking is included with all classes of domestic mail.

We ship packages to other countries via First Class Mail International (tracking not available) if under four pounds; if heavier, via Priority Mail 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.

Shipping Rates
Shipping charges shown below are calculated automatically if you order online or if you use the link near the bottom of the shopping cart page to order by postal mail. Please note: shipping charges for books and magazines will vary, 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	$5.50	$8.00	$10.00	$1.00	$2.00	$2.50	$3.50	$30.00
Canada	$7.00	$9.00	$11.00	$13.00	$1.00	$2.00	$3.00	$4.00	$40.00
All Other Countries	$9.00	$12.00	$15.00	$18.00	$2.00	$4.00	$5.00	$6.00	$80.00

How Long It Takes
Most orders are shipped within two business days. However, some orders take longer. For example:

If we need information or documents to verify the charge to your card.
If you did not provide a complete shipping address or 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 not received your order after a reasonable time, or if you have questions at any time, please email us at orders@accesshiphop.com or call us at 858-270-3987.

When we ship your order, we send an email (if we have your email address) with the date the package was mailed, the address it was mailed to, and the Delivery Confirmation tracking number if possible (see below). After we ship, orders can take from one day to a few weeks to arrive, depending on your location.

If you are located outside the United States, please be aware delivery may be delayed unpredictably by the customs office in your country.

Package Tracking
We use Delivery Confirmation tracking on all packages sent to United States addresses (including FPO and APO when Delivery Confirmation is available). For packages sent to other countries, tracking is not available for First Class Mail International; there is tracking for packages sent via Priority Mail International or Express Mail International (however, the tracking number is not included in the emails generated by our mailing software for Priority Mail International).

When you get the Delivery Confirmation package ID, track your order at www.usps.com or call 1-800-222-1811.

US Military Addresses
The shipping charge for a US military address (or any APO or FPO address) is the same as for any United States address. If you are ordering online, please make sure to select "United States" as the country for shipping. Write APO or FPO as the city, and select the appropriate area designation (AE, etc.) as the state.

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

Free Stuff
We like to include free stickers, posters, CDs and more with orders. Details about special offers for free stuff are posted on our Special Offers page.

ADDED SHIPPING CHARGES WITH SPECIAL OFFERS. This is mostly for shipping addresses outside the US and Canada. In January 2013 the US Postal Service drastically increased rates for small packages shipped from the US to other countries. We have minimized the increase in our shipping charges for the smallest orders. However, just a small increase in weight can greatly increase the postage for a small package. Therefore if you ask for something free to be added to your order, we'll ask you before we ship if we need additional payment to cover our postage expense.

DO NOT add a free item to the shopping cart before you check out. Write it on your order or email orders@accesshiphop.com.

Out of Stock Items
We update our website daily for current stock status information. But once in a while a fast-selling item will run out before we've had a chance to update its status on our site. Also, if you mail your order, an item may sell out while your order is in 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. Write instructions on your order or email orders@accesshiphop.com.

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.

RETURN POLICY

Let us know within 7 days of receiving your order if you need to return any product. Email orders@accesshiphop.com or call 858-270-3987. Items may be returned only if unopened and in the same condition as you received them.

Defects and Damage
Products may be returned for manufacturer's defects or damage caused during shipment, but only if you obtain our approval in advance. However, returns are NOT ALLOWED for the following:

Warped but playable vinyl records. Many records arrive from labels or distributors with a slight warp due to manufacturing or storage conditions outside our control. Warped vinyl is not returnable as defective unless it is so warped that it won't play.

Minor data discrepancies on our website, such as a CD-R listed as a CD, or variations in track listings or cover art (although we do our best to be accurate).

Slight cosmetic defects such as creases or bends in covers, cracked jewel cases, or new products that are not shrink wrapped because that's how we received them.

If any of the above discrepancies or imperfections may be an issue for you, either regarding a particular product or for your orders in general, please contact us before we ship so we can make sure you will be satisfied. You may cancel your order at any time before it is shipped.

Clothing
You may return clothing that doesn't fit, provided that we receive it in new condition, never worn (other than to try on), not washed, damaged or soiled.

Shipping
You will be responsible for shipping charges for returns and exchanges, except that we will pay shipping for pre-approved returns of defective products.

Ship returns to Access Music, 1537 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109. Be sure to include a brief note explaining what the problem was. Enclose a copy of the sales receipt if possible, or at least your name, address, phone number and email.

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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