If you find yourself wondering how we do business, please read through the list of questions below to find your answer. If it is not answered, please feel free to write to us at help@soukofoman.com. 

Thank you!

ORDERING

1.  How do I place an order?

Answer:  Send an email to sales@soukofoman.com and let us know what items you are interested in, the quantity, how you wish to pay, shipping preference and where you want it sent.  We will reply as soon as possible with an estimate on your total and can then finish placing the order.

2.  Are all of your items in stock?

Answer:  The Souk of Oman has a long list of suppliers who keep our items in their stock. We do not have our own warehouse as it would add significantly to our cost which would be passed along directly to you, our customers.  Therefore, when you order an item we verify it is available as it does sometimes happen that an item is discontinued or out of stock and we are unaware of it.

PAYMENTS

1.  How do I pay?

Answer:  We accept several methods and rank them according to our preference.

A.  Electronic payment using PayPal at www.paypal.com.  This is not only cheaper but the fastest and easiest way to send money around the world be it for business or personal reasons.  All you need is an email address and either a bank account or credit card account to link up to your PayPal account.  It's secure and it's a dream service. 

    We strongly recommend that any new customers to the PayPal system visit their link (above) and check to make sure that the country in which you live is a member of the PayPal system.  Unfortunately, at this time not all countries participate due to banking complications.

    Note #1:  There will be a PayPal fee as part of your order total.  This is the fee taken by PayPal from your payment when sent to us.  Some businesses include this fee in their retail prices or hide it in their handling fees. Ours is out in the open so you can see exactly what you are being charged for.

    Note #2:  Should your order total exceed $200USD you will be requested to pay through Western Union in order for us to better serve all our customers.  We are located in Oman but all PayPal payments go to the USA, therefore, should you insist on paying with PayPal on large orders there will be a delay in sending your order and a wire transfer fee will be added to your total which will be the fee charged to us to get the funds from PayPal sent to Oman.  This is why we suggest using Western Union instead...we are a small business trying to serve the needs of many so your cooperation is sincerely appreciated!

B.  Western Union.  This form of payment is not always cheap but it normally costs no more than a wire transfer.  Plus, it is faster and no chance of unknown fees being charged as does occur with wire transfer services.  When you send the money you'll be given a code.  Provide The Souk of Oman with that code and we can immediately get access to those funds.  Almost as easy as using PayPal.

C.  Wire Transfer.  Wire transfers tend to be expensive and, unfortunately, there are sometimes hidden costs involved.  If you choose to send a wire transfer, we urge you to contact your bank and make 100% sure that the money will not be routed through any other bank, but be sent directly to our bank here in Oman.  Here's why-

    Many times a customer sends a wire transfer and unbeknownst to them, their bank (the sending bank) routes the funds through another bank (a middle bank) prior to the funds arriving in Oman (the receiving bank.)  The decision to do this is purely in the hands of the sending bank. 

    What then occurs is that when our bank here in Oman receives the funds, the money is short because the middle bank took out a fee as well, normally equal to the fee charged to you by the sending bank   This occurs most frequently with banks where wire transfers originate in the US.  US banks tend to reroute the funds through a middle bank before they are received here in Oman, creating a shortage in the amount sent.

    To rectify the shortage, you (the customer) would need to send yet another wire transfer for the amount that is short.  In doing so, you would have to once again pay your bank the fee for their service, you would also need to include in the amount being sent the amount charged by the middle bank as they will once again be involved in your transaction.  And then of course, what hopefully remains is the outstanding balance owed on your order.

    As you can see, you have in effect just paid quadruple the fees of what you originally thought it would cost if your bank fails to properly disclose to you the route your funds will travel.

2.  How can I pay with a credit card?

Answer:  We regret that we are unable to directly accept a credit card transaction at this time. However, if you are able to establish a PayPal account in your name, you could very easily use your credit card account to support your PayPal account.  In doing it this way, when you pay us using your PayPal account, the payment is charged back to your credit card, as we understand it. On that same note, you could pay us through Western Union using your credit card, too.

3.  Which method of payment do you suggest?

Answer:  We suggest whatever is best for you, presuming your total is under $200 including shipping. As far as costs/fee, ease and speed are concerned, PayPal services at www.paypal.com will best meet these needs.

SHIPPING

1.  What shipping options are available to me?

Answer:  We have an account with Federal Express but most shipments use registered air mail services through the local post office.  What we will normally do is evaluate your order to determine what is the best shipping option for you with respect to cost and if there isn't a clear winner, we will make known to you the various methods of shipping that you may wish to consider.

2.  Why are shipping costs not included in the price as many other sites do?

Answer:  There is a substantial difference in the cost of shipping based upon the size and weight of your order as well as destination.  If we simply assume that the cost of shipping one item is proportionally equal to shipping five of the same item, we would be making an expensive mistake on your behalf.  We have seen a number of sites who do just this but it is our intention to make these wonderful items here at The Souk of Oman as available to you as possible which includes offering the best shipping services and rates, which means we evaluate every single item ordered.

PACKAGING

1.  Are the items professionally packaged?

Answer:  No, not all of the items are.  For those items that we receive unboxed, unwrapped, or otherwise, we do our best to prepare them for shipping so that they will arrive to your door safely.  You will likely notice that we avoid the use of boxes whenever possible.  Boxes add weight to your order and coming all the way from Oman, the last thing you need to be paying for is the weight of a box. 

    You will also notice that most boxes we use are second hand.  That is because we do not have access to new boxes at a good price.  We felt our customers would prefer a second hand, durable box to receive their items rather than higher prices being paid for products to cover the cost of a new box.

    If ever we have the option to reasonably purchase new boxes for our items and orders, we will most certainly consider doing so if it will not increase prices on our products.

OTHER QUESTIONS

1.  Is your site secure?

Answer:  No The Souk of Oman is not a secure site which is why we do not accept credit card transactions through the site.  The site's setup is for display purposes.  Technically, it is not a store.  Therefore, if you wish to make a purchase, you are most welcome to do so the old fashioned way and contact us by email at sales@soukofoman.com, letting us know what items you are interested in purchasing.

2.  Can you help customers by providing pictures or research information?

Answer:  We have received a large number of inquiries to provide photos, scanned images, and to provide research material.  We are only too happy to do so but because of the time required in gathering such data, we are forced to charge a price for this kind of service.

    Naturally, any images that you can capture from our website are yours for free and we hope that you will keep in mind and give credit to the fact that they are the property of The Souk of Oman.  So if you are writing an article and wish to include materials found on our site, you are welcome to do so and we hope that you will be thoughtful enough to mention our site in your work.

    However, if what you wish is more specific than what we have online, it may require that we go out and take pictures on behalf of your request, or it may require that we dig through someone's archive to find what you need.  Again, we are happy to do so provided you are willing to pay for the service.

    The fees for photos are normally $5 per picture which will be sent via email.  Whenever possible they are digital images and we can let you know ahead of time if they are scanned or digital.  If you require print photographs that is possible, too, but once again, you will need to pay the cost for printing.  And whenever you have multiple pictures that are needed we will be happy to work out a discount for you.

   The fees for text is a bit different.  Normally material of this nature requires a good 90 minutes of our time, if not more so we begin by saying that the starting costs is $30 for this 90 minutes. However, you must know that regardless of what information we turn up, this $30 is non-refundable. Unfortunately we have spent literally months assisting some customers and it cost us a great deal of time trying to meet their needs.  Although we are happy to help, many projects are very involved and so it is no longer a service we can do without pay. 

    However, to all of the above--sometimes we are happy to agree to an exchange of information.  Meaning, sometimes our customers have a service they can provide us with that is related to, and sometimes not, to the item that they seek from us.  When this is the case, rather than a payment of money, we are happy to agree to a shared exchange of information when it is mutual to both of us.

     Please know that anything we provide you with is copyrighted.  It is available for you to use on a personal basis but is not available to you for reproduction unless it is the property of The Souk of Oman and we have given our consent in writing..

    Whether it is photographic or written material, no work begins until after a payment has been made.