FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT OUR CATALOG AND PRODUCTS:

Here, we have tried to answer many of the questions that we receive. This page continues to expand as we field new questions that may be of interest to those of you who are considering ordering from us. We always feel as though an educated customer is our best customer, and receive more than half of our orders from people who have ordered from us before (we must be doing something right). Please feel free to call us and ask us anything that seems unclear about our policies.

Who am I ordering from?
Insight Publishing
has been in business (fully incorporated) since 1989. We are the publishers of "Qi: The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health & Fitness" (Qi Journal), which is an internationally distributed quarterly magazine that addresses the subject of "Qi" and its many related disciplines and cultural connections.
The mail-order catalog portion of our company was expanded into a full-fledged business project in 1996, when it was clear that many of the subscribers of "Qi Journal" did not have access to books, videos, and other instructional materials that they needed in order to further their studies. Although there were many resources available, there was no single source or location where one could find such items, making it virtually impossible to find such resources unless you were well-connected and networked to the qi-community.
Our catalog department purchases products from hundreds of individual sources, ranging from major publishers and distributors to expert practitioners who self-produce their own books and tapes.

Are you affiliated with other on-line bookstores?
No, we are not affiliated with the large on-line book suppliers like Amazon, or Waldenbooks. Although they provide excellent service for mainstream books from large publishers, it is simply not practical for them to provide the same level of service, commitment, and knowledge as we can for these rare special-order items.
With the explosion of Internet "companies" recently, we want to assure you that Insight Publishing is a solid, reputable company that will be here many years from now to continue serving you. If the internet continues to expand as Bill Gates predicts, or if it turns out to be a "fad" like CB radio, it will not have a significant impact on our business nor our reliability as a provider of these resource materials.

How do I calculate my shipping costs?
For Domestic US: $3.80 for the first item plus $.75 for each additional item.
For Canada & Mexico: $5.00 for the first item and $1.00 for each additional item.
Other Foreign Countries: $8.00 for first item plus $3.00 each additional item (ground service)
Hawaii and Alaska: Air only (call or email for quote)
California residents: please add 7.75% sales tax
Overnight Shipping (domestic only): Add $15.00 to your normal shipping costs.
UPS Blue (2-day) service: Add $10.00 to your normal shipping costs.

How soon will I receive the item I ordered?
Over 98% of all items are in stock at any given time. We always ship items that are in stock within 1 business day. If the order arrives before 3 p.m., it is usually shipped on the same business day that it arrives.
How long it takes to get from our office to your location will vary, depending on the service that we use, and the distance from our office. We always try to pick the best service provider for your order, considering the costs, weight, durability, and size of your merchandise order.
Overnight Service or UPS blue (2-day) service is an option (see shipping costs above) for an additional cost. Typically, our customers receive their merchandise before most mail-order companies can even process their orders.

Do I need to pay sales tax on my order?
If the shipment is destined for the state of California, the law states that we must charge you our local sales tax which is 7.75% of the total order. If the shipment is destined for other locations, there is no sales tax charges applied. Although there has been some government requests for collecting sales tax on mail-order items recently, the proposals have met with great consumer resistance.

What type of payment method can I use?
We accept VISA or Mastercard orders, personal or company checks, money orders or bank drafts drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. funds.
Checks are cleared before shipment (approx. 10 business days). Make checks or money orders (U.S. funds only) payable to INSIGHT PUBLISHING, and mail to P.O. Box 18476, Anaheim Hills, CA 92817, USA, Attn: Sales Department.

What type of quality should I expect?
Most of the books we carry are produced here in the U.S. and have good to excellent paper and bindery. Books from third-world countries are often printed with paper and print standards that are relatively poor, but the content is of excellent quality. All books are printed in English unless otherwise noted.
Videos and audios on these topics are instructional in nature and often produced by an individual or small company. They may lack the polish of a Hollywood production staff, but make up for it in their informational content. We have tried to note where we think production values are particularly weak and may detract from the video's overall value as an instructional tool. All videos are VHS only and only play on VHS NTSC players. We carry no VHS-PAL or VHS-Seacom video tapes. Audio is standard 4mm cassette or CD ROM.
Computer software is usually platform specific and requirements are noted in the product description. Software usually requires a sound-card, color video, and reasonably up-to-date operating system. Technical problems during installation or operation are referred to the manufacturer of the software as needed.

What type of guarantees do you offer?
All orders (see videos and software clauses) from Insight Publishing are fully GUARANTEED. Money is refunded promptly upon return of undamaged goods within 30 days if unsatisfied for any reason (see return procedures below). Videos: In accordance with industry standards, video tapes are exchanged for store credit only. Software: In accordance with industry standards, computer software cannot be returned if the seal is broken and/or the software is registered. All prices are subject to change without notice. Please call for latest price and availability if in question.

What are your Return procedures?
1. Call our Toll Free number at 1-800-787-2600 or our local number at 714-7790-1796 to receive a return authorization (RA) number.
2. Mark this RA number clearly on the outside of the box and ship to: Insight Publishing, 5130 E. LaPalma Ave., Ste. #203, Anaheim Hills, CA 92807. Include a copy of the invoice for our reference. No returns can be accepted without the proper authorization number (RA) clearly marked on outside of the package. We cannot be responsible for merchandise that we never receive back, therefore we recommend shipping UPS or other method that has a tracking number for your protection.

Why don't you use environmentally friendly packing materials?
Insight Publishing is greatly concerned about our environment, but it may not be clear from the packing materials that we use. We contacted several companies near us who receive quantities of electronic equipment and made a deal where we "recycle" their plastic bags, boxes, and peanuts by "reusing" them to ship to our clients, thus we add nothing to the solid waste stream and we rescue those items from the local landfill. Sometimes our packing is made from recycled materials, but often it is not. When we have to purchase new packing materials, we always use recyleable paper products or biodegradable corn-based peanuts. We encourage you to recycle our packing materials in the same way, by re-using them for your shipments instead of throwing them into a landfill.

Why can't I just order over the internet?
Due to security concerns and lack of interest on our customers side, we have chosen to not allow purchases directly from the internet, but you can easily call our TOLL-FREE number below to place an order with a real person once you have found the items you want. Our offices are open Mon.-Fri, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (California Time Zone).
Foreign orderers can call our local number listed below or can safely FAX an order to us (include complete name, shipping address, and credit card information on your fax). Requests for foreign shipping quotes can be emailed to "orders@qi-journal.com" (include your complete email address and name).