St. Mary’s Gift Shop is owned and operated by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary’s Monastery in Petersham, Massachusetts. The terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to St. Mary’s Monastery, Inc. The term “you” or “your” refer to the viewer and user of our website. By viewing and using our website you agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Use, and all our policies set forth herein.
Our website and all its contents is provided to you on an “as is” basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. You acknowledge that your use of our website is at your sole risk, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all claims, damages, costs and expenses of any kind arising from or related to your use of our website.
Your use of any information or products on our website is entirely at your own risk, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all claims, damages, costs and expenses of any kind arising from or related to your use of the information read and products purchased from our website. Product descriptions are based on information received from manufacturers and/or suppliers and we are not responsible for misrepresentations or inaccuracies received from manufacturers and/or suppliers.
Our website provides links to third-party websites with which we have an affiliate agreement to offer their products in return for commissions from sales through these links. We do not have any control over these websites which have their own terms of use and policies. You access these websites at your own risk, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all claims, damages, costs and expenses of any kind arising from or related to your use of these websites. You must address any issues or disputes deriving from the use of these websites with the owners of these websites. We will have no liability for the content or use of the content, whether products, services, or information, available through these links on our website.
We reserve the right to change these Terms of Use and policies at any time at this location, upon which time you agree to comply with the new Terms of Use in subsequent use of our website.
All content contained on our website is copyright (c) St. Mary’s Monastery, Inc. Our website contains content which is owned by us or used by us with permission or license. This content includes, but is not limited to, our website logo, our product logo, item or book descriptions and images, and the design and layout of our website. No person is authorized to use, copy or distribute any portion of this content.
We do not collect or use personal information from you except what is necessary to process your order according to the requirements of the third-party payment gateways available on our website. Your email address and mailing address are used only to contact you concerning your order or to ship your order, and we will not send you marketing emails subsequent to your order. We do not store credit card information. We do not sell or share any information to any other organization for marketing purposes.
During the checkout process, payment companies may require your phone number. If this number is available to us, we will not call you unless you voluntarily provide it to us or if contact with you is necessary and your email address is not valid. We will always communicate by email if necessary. Please make sure the email address you provide to the payment company is valid!
Item prices are in U.S. dollars and are valid and effective only in the United States. We only accept payment in U.S. dollars. We only ship to addresses in the continental United States and Alaska. If you wish to place an order from Canada, we will process it if we can ship it to a U.S. address, and you obtain from your bank a bank cheque explicitly payable in U.S. dollars. If you wish to do this, contact us with your order and shipping information and we will calculate the shipping cost and let you know the cheque amount.
All items on our website are offered while supplies last. We disable ordering on products which are out of stock. However, this cannot always be done before an item is bought on our website. In the event you order an item which is out of stock, we will notify you and attempt to fill the order as soon as we can, but if you do not wish to wait, or the item is no longer available, we will issue a refund for the item.
We try to accurately display the items on our website. However, the colors you see depend on the display screen on your device. We cannot guarantee that your screen’s display of any color is accurate.
We feature many items that are fully or partly hand-crafted. Some are unique works of art by artisans. Some minor flaws or variations, for example the color of natural materials (e.g. wood), are inevitable, and the item you receive may not match exactly the item depicted on the website. Please take this into consideration before purchasing.
By placing an order on our website, you authorize us to collect payment from your credit card company or Paypal for the charge which includes the total order amount, sales tax if applicable, and shipping cost.
Massachusetts residents are charged a 6.25% state sales tax on all items subject to sales tax. Bibles, missals and prayer books are not subject to sales tax.
You can place an order over the phone only if you know exactly what items you want according to the item numbers on this website, however we normally only accept credit cards over the phone if the order is less than $100. Please be aware that due to our monastic schedule and other activities, the shopkeeper is not always available to take your call. The best times to call are between 11:00 am – 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Saturday. You can leave a message on our answering machine and we will get back to you.
We offer two payment options in our shopping cart – credit card or Paypal. You can also pay by credit card over the phone.
We ship orders through the United States Postal Service (USPS) by hand delivery to a post office, normally the same day or next USPS business day. Once your package is received by the post office, we are not responsible for damage or loss of the package or its contents during shipping. The USPS provides tracking information which we will pass on to you. We ship your order to the address you provide which is printed from our system onto a label. We are not responsible for delay, damage or loss of the package if you provide the wrong shipping address. If the USPS returns the package to us (it may take weeks) you will be responsible for shipping charges to reship the order.
We do not guarantee the shipping delivery dates calculated by USPS.
Shipping costs are calculated in the shopping cart with current rates provided and maintained by the USPS according to the weight of individual items, and a small fee for the weight of the shipping box and packaging materials. We do not guarantee that the shipping cost we charge you will be exact as required by the USPS due to inconsistencies in the weight of items or packing materials. By placing your order, you agree to pay the shipping cost we charge you. We do our best to avoid overcharging for shipping cost.
We will accept returns for unblessed items purchased on our website within 30 days from the day the ordered was delivered to you. If you wish to receive a replacement for the same item in the case of defect, or just receive a refund for the item, contact us and we will replace or refund according to your desire once the item is shipped back to us. Unless the return is a result of our fault or a serious defect, we will only refund the cost of the item, not the shipping cost we charged to ship the item to you or for you to return the item.
By serious defect, we mean a defect which is not a reasonable variation in appearance due to the item being fully or partly hand-crafted. When items are hand-crafted, minor flaws or variations in appearance of natural materials (e.g. wood) are inevitable and should be expected, and the item you receive may not match exactly the item depicted on the website. Some items, particularly icons, are deliberately made to look antique or slightly flawed. Please take this into consideration before purchasing.
To return books, the condition of the book must be in unused condition, that is, like new with no visible damage or significant bending of the cover or pages. This is especially true for the Gregorian Chant books from Solesmes.
Q: Are the items in your shop blessed?
A: No, nothing can be blessed until it is purchased.
Q: Can you bless items before shipping them?
A: Yes, one of our priests can bless religious items you purchase before shipping them to you with the understanding that once an item is blessed, it cannot be returned and/or refunded. If you wish an item to be blessed, or if you wish that a St. Benedict medal (whether sold by itself or incorporated into a larger item) be blessed with the Benedictine blessing, please contact us as soon as possible after placing your order.
Q: When is your gift shop open at the monastery?
A: Our gift shop is normally open approximately 7:15 am to 5:45 pm every day.
Q: Can I place an order over the phone?
A: Yes, however we normally only accept credit cards over the phone if the order is less than $100. Please be aware that due to our monastic schedule and other activities, the shopkeeper is not always available to take your call. The best times to call are between 11:00 am – 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Monday through Friday and 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Saturday. You can leave a message on our answering machine and we will get back to you.
Q: Can I place an order from Canada?
A: Yes, under certain conditions explained in the orders section.