Aussie Sapphire – The Lapidary Warehouse

We’ve been looking for a reliable alternative to Tite-On dopping epoxy for a while now.  It has proved to be a little more difficult than it should have been until we remembered a great workshop product out of the USA called JB Weld.  I’ve used this for many years in my days as a plant mechanic/engine rebuilder and it was great stuff but their range is suitable for all sorts of jobs.

So we decided to jump in boots and all !!  We are proud to announce that we are now an authorised distributor for JB Weld products in Australasia with easy convenient selling via the new website.

For our Aussie Sapphire customers, there are a few products of interest which will be also listed on our main website.  For your reference, we recommend JB Kwik (either the 2 part epoxy or putty format) for general dopping (faceting or cabbing) and JB Mini (clear epoxy 6mL) for general beading or jewellery making jobs.  Some like the super strength of the original JB Weld formula for dopping but we recommend the Kwik formulation as the best combination of strength and easy release.

Remember – club discount applies to products purchased through Aussie Sapphire – generous quantity discounts are also available on the JB Weld It website so this is a great opportunity to get a quality USA-made product at very reasonable prices.

If you are into wood working, there is a new range of products for wood repair and restoration that is sure to be of interest.  Browse the full range now and you are sure to find something you need for your workshop, garage or repair drawer.  Same great service as always – a brand new website.  Plus see our new JB Weld It facebook page – “like” us to get product updates and more.

cheers for now from the Aussie Sapphire team.

Less than 8 weeks to go until Christmas – this will fly by so get organised early with our earlybird free post offer.

Simply enter EARLYBIRD at the checkout (step 2 – enter in the discount code box) – this code entitles you to free shipping on orders over $100 for most of our most popular products.

Offer ends 15th November 2011 so get in now.

NOTE:  This offer is not available in conjunction with other discount offers (such as the club or VIP discount). Valid ONLY For eParcel deliveries up to 16kg to Australian delivery addresses. Cannot be used for courier deliveries.

This offer applies to most products with some exceptions such as bulk silicon carbide grit and other tumbling consumables (ceramic/organic/plastic media) or very large items which cannot be sent via Australia Post. It does includes a whole bunch of great Christmas Gift ideas so check our catalogue now. Remember all orders go into our lucky prize giveaway (drawn 15/12/11).

You need to spend AUD $100.00 to use this coupon, on qualifying products.  The coupon is valid between 1/11/2011 and 15/11/2011.

Just letting everyone know that we have new postal arrangements at Aussie Sapphire.

We are now shipping most parcels using Australia Post’s eParcel service.  This new upgraded system offers full item barcoding/identification, signature on delivery and parcel tracking along with our existing transit insurance – emails will be sent containing item consignment numbers so that you can track your parcels online at http://auspost.com.au/track/

This now means that all Aussie Sapphire customers can benefit from a more secure delivery system.  Please review the Shipping Information page on our website to learn more about our freight options.

This has required that our base postage charge must rise from $6 to $7.50 for parcels under 500 grams.  
Please note that we have absorbed the last 3 increases in postage charges by Australia Post – postage increased in September’10, April’11 and July’11.  However, we now have a domestic contract rate with eParcel and so will be able to keep future price increases to an absolute minimum.  Additionally, we can now offer a far more secure and trackable delivery system so you can be keep up to date with your parcel status – something that was impossible with Regular Post and inadequate with Registered Post.  Most parcels (except for low value items) will require signature on delivery.  For some particular remote areas, we may send by Express Post satchel at our discretion if this proves to be more efficient for your location.

We have now re-jigged the Expedited Delivery Option as either Toll Priority or Star Track Express couriers – NOT Express Post.  This Expedited postage option is only available to those customers who have provided a courier-suitable address and indicated on their customer profile that courier delivery is acceptable.  Please ensure that you provide an address where parcels can be signed for or re-delivery fees may be passed on as our couriers charge for any unsuccessful deliveries.

The new base charge for Expedited Delivery is $12.50 for parcels up to 1kg in weight.  
Parcels up to 5kg in weight may be sent by Toll Priority courier for overnight delivery to most areas – this is a satchel service and so is not available if items cannot fit in the bag.  Where parcels can not be sent by air, Star Track Express is used for Road Express delivery – please allow a little more time for this freight option.  Consignment Note numbers are sent by email in both cases and you can track online or by calling the relevant customer service numbers (see our Shipping Info page for links/phone).

Courier is a good option if the items are very small (by air) and you are happy to pay extra for fast service but we would recommend eParcel as more affordable in most cases.  Star Track Express must be used for purchases of large machinery or where the shipment is too heavy to go by post (>20kg).

NOTE:  Please note that you can check on Postage Charges at any time by simply adding the relevant items to the shopping cart and using the Postage Estimator on that page.  You do not need to be logged in or registered to do this so you can assess total charges or adjust your order before committing to buy.  Since the minimum charge is based on 500grams for eParcel and 1kg for courier delivery, we suggest you consider combining orders of small/cheaper items in order to make best use of the Shipping costs.

 FREE SHIPPING OFFER

To celebrate this new system and allow our customers to see how it works for them, we are offering free shipping on any order shipped by eParcel for the next week only.  Simply use the discount code “EPARCEL” at step 2 of the checkout to take advantage of this offer.  Code expires on 10th October 2011 and is only available for parcels up to 15kg sent by eParcel within Australia.