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SALES TAX

This applies to MASSACHUSETTS residents only! We have made it easier for you to identify which items on the FFAST order form are taxable. Items which are taxable will now be noted with “$” to the right of the item’s total line. If you order any of these items you must add up their total and then calculate the 6.25% Sales Tax. ) This amount must then be included on the sales tax line of the totals page of the FFAST order form.

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This applies to MASSACHUSETTS residents only! We have made it easier for you to identify which items on the FFAST order form are taxable. Items which are taxable will now be noted with “$” to the right of the item’s total line. If you order any of these items you must add up their total and then calculate the 6.25% Sales Tax. ) This amount must then be included on the sales tax line of the totals page of the FFAST order form.

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HOW TO READ YOUR FFAST INVOICE

This is the computer printed form that has been packed with your FFAST order. Here’s how the FFAST order confirmation form works: Part 1 lists everything included with your package. These are all the items that have been published during the month you ordered. Part 2 lists items you ordered which have not come in by the FFAST shipping deadline for the current month. If your order was filled completely, a message to that effect appears in Part 2. If not, we list the late items here so you know we have on record the fact that you ordered these comics. We will keep that information on file and when the comics are published they will be automatically shipped with your next FFAST order. When that order ships, you get a second order confirmation that will update your “back order” from the previous month. PART 3 contains information on adjustments and corrections that we had to make to FFAST orders. If your order required NO adjustments, PART 3 will say that.

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LATE ITEMS & BACK-ORDERS

Let’s assume you’re a FFAST customer who has ordered from us before. Then, it’s possible that one or more comics you ordered in a previous month did not come out on time. That means they were LATE. We’ve kept track of these comics in our computer. If they came out during the current month they’ve been included with your FFAST shipment and they are listed in PART 1 of your order confirmation. This is why we list the order month in this section. This tells you during what month the comic was originally ordered. Late items that remain unpublished are listed in PART 2 of your order confirmation. These items will continue to appear in PART 2 until (A) they are published and appear in PART 1, or (B) they are canceled, in which case you will receive a credit under PART 3 of the form. What happens if a comic you ordered is late and you do NOT intend to order from the FFAST service in the subsequent month? Well, we hope that all FFAST customers will be with us from each month to the next so they don’t miss out on anything! But if you do decide not to place a FFAST order for a subsequent month, we will automatically send out the remainder of your FFAST order as soon as ALL items come in. Also we won’t charge you any extra postage for the final shipment. Of course, if you continue ordering FFAST every month, you won’t have to wait until your entire order is completed. We will send whatever has come in with your next regular shipment.

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CANCELLING BACK-ORDERS

Finally, what if you get tired for waiting for late comics from a previous FFAST month? Well, you can contact us anytime and cancel your order for an overdue comic. If you do so, you can request a refund or a credit.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When you contact us, some of the late arrivals may be sitting in your subscription folder waiting for the next shipping date. We will expect that you will accept these items since they are available at the time you contacted us. What we will do then is to ship these items to you and issue you a credit for the balance of the items remaining from your order which is still late.

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DISCOUNT ADJUSTMENTS ON CANCELLATIONS

If we issue credit for an item we can’t fill, a credit certificate is issued. When the credit certificate is issued, it is adjusted for ANY discount you’ve received on the original order that included that item. Example: assume we are unable to fill your order for a $2.00 comic which you ordered in May . Your May order totaled $50.00 so you got a $5.00 discount- that’s 10% off. The credit certificate issued for this comic will be $2.00 less 10%= $1.80.

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YOUR CUSTOMER & ORDER NUMBERS

Every person who orders from FFAST is assigned a six-digit CUSTOMER NUMBER. Domestic customer numbers start with a “1” or a “2”, Canadians with an “8” and other foreign with a “9”. Your customer number will appear on labels, invoices and other forms directed to you. Every ORDER you send in to us is assigned an 8-digit ORDER NUMBER. This number is NOT the same as your customer number. Your customer number is always the same while your order number differs from order to order. Knowing your customer number is useful in communicating with us about your orders. Knowing the specific order number you have a question about is also a good idea. But if you don’t know either number we can look you up by Zip Code and your last name.

USING YOUR LABELS & ENVELOPES 

Please try to use the pre-printed computer labels on your FFAST order form. This will speed up the prossessing of your order and reduce the chance of error. If any information on the label is wrong, please make corrections on the label so we can fix our records. You may use these labels for any correspondence with FFAST. If you don’t have any labels, please be careful to print your name and address information! Be sure to let us know if you have placed a FFAST order with us in the past. That way we can be sure to include late comics leftover from previous orders when your new order ships! It also helps a lot if you use the pre-addressed FFAST envelopes in sending us your order. This allows us to “set up” FFAST orders very quickly and this is important-- especially if you order close to the deadline. Note that these envelopes are NOT postpaid! You still have to place postage stamps on them.

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ORDERING BY FAX

We welcome orders by fax or phone. Customers who pay by the page have asked us if they need to transmit the entire FFAST form. While we like to receive the entire form for easy processing, it is not required. To save faxing costs, you may copy only what you want to order onto a blank sheet. But, please be sure to keep the items in the same order as the FFAST form. Do not forget to include your full name and address, discount, postage, credit card information and the Age 18 Certification if needed. If you are using a credit certificate with your order, we will need the certificate number and the amount.

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PHONE, FAX & E-MAIL 

If you are using a credit certificate with your order, we must receive the credit certificate from you by mail. You may certainly place your order by phone, fax or e-mail and we will start processing it immediately. (Just tell us the certificate number and the amount.) But before the order ships, we need to have the credit certificate in our hands to cancel it.

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DAMAGED COMICS

Well, since nobody’s perfect, it is possible that UPS or the Post Office might mishandle a package on its way to you and you’ll receive a damaged comic in that order. It’s rare but it can happen! But you can rest assured that the NEC FFAST service will take care of it for you. We’ll be happy to exchange the damaged item for a flawless copy. But you have to follow this simple rule: NOTIFY US BEFORE RETURNING THE DAMAGED ITEM! You can call after hours and leave us a message telling us your name, number and what was damaged on the comic involved. We may also have special instructions for you about how to send the item back to us. If you just mail it back to us, we could sell out by the time your package reaches us. Also, most importantly, if you notify us FIRST, we will refund your return postage. Fair enough?

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MILITARY & FOREIGN ORDERS

We understand that it is not always possible for our overseas customers to make the FFAST deadline because of how slow the mail can be. APO, FPO and foreign customers are assured that we will be very lenient in enforcing the order deadlines for your order. We understand that circumstances beyond your (and our) control may make it difficult for you to make every FFAST deadline. Simply mention with your order that you received the materials late and we will accept the order.

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LATE ORDERS IN GENERAL

As we mentioned above, we always try to fill even late orders 100%. Generally, NEC is very lenient with late FFAST orders. We consider the business of FFAST customers to be very important and we’ll do everything possible to fill your order at the original prices listed in the FFAST forms. If you’re sending in your FFAST order late because of receiving your newsletter late or for some other good reason, please let us know. In that case, subject to availability of product we’ll always accept your FFAST order even if it is late.

Due to the way comics are distributed it has been harder for FFAST to obtain “reorders” of comics needed to fill your orders. Remember, we have to make educated guesses as to what issues customers are going to order. When we UNDER-ESTIMATE your interest in a particular publication the only way we can get more copies is to put in a late reorder with our distributor. Reorders have always been “chancy”. In the current tight economy publishers have cut their print runs, which makes reorders hard to get. So we STRONGLY encourage you to place your orders early to get everything you want.

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QUANTITY LIMITS ON ORDERS

We should make special note to customers who like to order multiple copies of hot comics. Anyone wanting 3-10 or more copies of a comic book should try to order VERY early, a month in advance of the expected date of the publication is a good idea. Large orders like this can take us by surprise which means that we can’t always guantee your order. That is even if you meet the usual “guaranteed” deadline. This is frankly because we try to make our supply cover as many customers as possible. We’d rather supply ten different customers with one copy each than one customer with ten copies.

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SPECULATION 

Another problem area involves speculation. On rare occasion we receive orders for large quantities of some particular “hot” comic: between 25 and 1,000 copies. 99% of the time we can fill these completely. But sometimes, these orders are for hot comics and they are placed one or two days before the deadline. The purpose of NEC’s FFAST service is to satisfy the demands of comic readers, we will not guarantee orders of this sort. We will make every effort to fill these orders completely, but they will not be subject to our guarantee policy even if they are placed before the guaranteed order deadline.

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MULTIPLE COPY PURCHASES 

We should make special note to customers who like to order multiple copies of hot comics. Anyone wanting 3-10 or more copies of a comic book should try to order VERY early, a month in advance of the expected date of the publication is a good idea. Large orders like this can take us by surprise which means that we can’t always guantee your order. That is even if you meet the usual “guaranteed” deadline. This is frankly because we try to make our supply cover as many customers as possible. We’d rather supply ten different customers with one copy each than one customer with ten copies.

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MATURE & ADULT COMICS

Almost everything we carry on the FFAST subscription service form is suitable for general audiences. However, the comics medium is a developing one and some publishers are bringing out product intended for an older readership. NEC will mark such comics in the Newsletter’s coming Attractions listings as “Mature readers” and “Adults Only”. Customers ordering this material are required to sign a statement on the FFAST order form certifying they are 18 or older, or, if under 18 obtaining a parent or guardian’s signature approving the purchase. For more details, please see IMPORTANT NOTE at the beginning of the Newsletter Coming Attractions pages and the FFAST order form.

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