Frequently Asked Questions

Who orders Santa Fe Ecological Foundation's merchandise?

Our merchandise is great for many different people and groups. Our products sell well in retail stores and gift shops, especially gift shops for museums, zoos, and parks. Our merchandise is also sold in gift sales, especially during the holiday season. In addition, we recommend our merchandise for school or religious fundraisers or for the sale of individual units in online markets such as eBay. Lastly, our stuffed monkeys and soaps are great for thank-you or welcome baskets at large functions like conferences or weddings.

Does the merchandise come with an explanation of its origin and purpose?

Yes! Our monkeys and fique pouches have tags attached that explain the work of our foundation and, for the monkeys, a short explanation of the species.

When will I receive my order?

That depends on a number of factors! The most important of which is our inventory. If the products you order are already stocked in our main office in Medellín, we can ship right away. However, if you order products that we do not have in stock, or if the quantity you order is greater than our quantity on hand, it can take up to several months to fill your order. We encourage you to contact our bilingual staff as far in advance as possible to discuss lead times. However, if you have last-minute needs we will do all that we can to fill your order as quickly as possible. Feel free to ask us what we have in stock now.

How much does shipping cost?

If you come to our office in Medellín to pick your order up, shipping obviously costs nothing. Within Colombia, shipping costs are fairly reasonable. To other Latin American countries, shipping costs vary so widely that we could not give accurate approximations here. When shipping to North America or Europe, we must use an international shipping agent that takes care of all the paperwork and freight. This generally costs $200-$300 plus a fee per kilo. When shipping 100 kilos or more, you can expect to pay slightly more than a dollar per kilo to major North American cities and slightly more than two dollars per kilo to Western and Southern Europe. When the merchandise arrives in your country, you usually need to go to the airport with a customs broker to sign for and pick up the boxes. Oftentimes, taxes must be paid as well. You can probably get far more specific estimates if you get in touch with a shipping agent in your city and tell them that you want to receive a package from Medellín, Colombia.

Why is there a minimum order of $400 USD?

For two reasons. The first is that it is quite a bit of work for us to fill an order -- there is the inevitable shipping paperwork, not to mention the manufacturing work that we begin immediately for products we do not already have in our inventory. In order to streamline this process a bit, we export in fairly large quantities (one hundred items or more).
The second reason for the minimum order is that our products are clearly sold at a very low price. The truth is that after we have paid a fair wage to the community members who make our merchandise, we are left with very little to maintain our office and communications and fund our various environmental programs. So in order for the Foundation to earn the money we need to continue or work, we must sell large quantities.

Is it possible for me to order just a few items?

It is. Our products are already available in North America. We suggest that Europeans order from North American sources to pay less shipping and receive their order sooner! Please see our retail page for more information. However, if you wish to order products that are not already available in other continents, you can order anywhere from one to 99 items and we can ship them to you with a regular shipping company that will bring the merchandise to your home. For small orders, we vastly prefer that you choose from items we have in stock already. (This generally includes all scarves and stuffed animals, most hand puppets, some slippers, keychains and finger puppets, but not earmuffs. Soaps and fique bags are not often in stock.) We encourage you to ask us what's in stock already. Retail prices are generally about twice the wholesale price, for reasons explained in the question above. However, international shipping to North America is very cheap and still quite affordable to Europe -- for example, you could order a set of stuffed animals, a scarf, a pair of slippers and five keychains, and have them all shipped to your home in the United States for less than twenty dollars! The shopping cart program on this website is not equipped for small retail orders, but this can still be done very easily through e-mail.