1: Shipping Questions

A: Domestic Orders

1. Why didn't I receive an e-mail confirmation about my order?
2. How long will it take my order to arrive?
3. I was charged an additional shipping charge for an incorrect address a month after I received my order at the correct address!

B: International Orders

4. What happened to my music? I ordered it xxx weeks ago.
5. Why can't I have my packages sent via sea mail instead of air? Isn't it much less expensive?

C: Tips for both Domestic and International Orders

6. How can I save on shipping charges?
7. How to pay 3, 4 or even 5 times the list price for a single piece of music.

D: Returns.

8. I received the wrong music. (or DVD or CD) Can I return it?

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There are several reasons why this may happen. One of the most common is that your server rejects the message, regarding it as spam. Another possibility is that it did make it to your computer but might be sitting in your junk folder. If this is a constant problem, one solution would be to copy our e-mail address and place it in your address book. If your e-mail program allows you to set up individual mail boxes for specified users or filters to automatically place mail from certain addresses into specified boxes you might direct all mail sent from us to one of them.

There are several answers to this question all depending on which shipping method you choose. In the U.S. most of our orders are sent via UPS and the amount of in-transit time depends on how far you are from our office in Cincinnati. For our standard shipping (UPS Ground) States bordering Ohio - Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia - usually receive packages within one or two days. California and other Western States can take up to a week or 10 days. However nothing is guaranteed. Everything depends on how busy UPS is and the weather. Holiday seasons are of course the busiest. If you've got to have your order quickly the best thing is to use one of the faster services, which of course adds considerable cost to the shipping charge:

1: UPS Next Day Air - (adds an additional $30.00 - $40.00 to the shipping charges)
2: UPS 2nd Day Air - (adds an additional $20.00 - 30.00 to the shipping charges)
3: UPS 3 Day Select - (adds an additional $10.00 - $20.00 to the shipping charges)

If you are charged for an incorrect address it is because we were charged by UPS because something was incorrect or left out of the address that you sent us. A simple mistake, even if the UPS driver knows your house, will trigger a charge to us which we then pass on to you. There really is a good reason for you to check everything before you hit the submit button. Are the street address and zip code exactly right? Did you include your apartment number? For more information on this annoying subject click here. Check the Liben Online Order Invoice that we sent you when we shipped the order. The address that we sent your order to - which you typed into our shopping cart - is listed down toward the bottom of the e-mail.

Every country has a different set of rules regarding imported goods. We have found that a good percentage of the time orders simply sit in local post offices because the package has to be signed for and the customer might not have been home when delivery was attempted. Another location where the package might be sitting is at your local customs office. In some countries customs offices and post offices notify recipients that there is a package waiting for them to pick up, but this isn't always the case. If you feel that your order should have arrived days or weeks ago please try your local post and/or customs office. There may be a nice surprise waiting for you!

The U.S. Postal Service stopped offering sea (surface) mail in 2007. They also stopped offering lower rates for printed matter - which includes music. Everything now goes by air.

The best way to save on shipping costs is to try and combine all the items that you think you'll be wanting into a single order. Ordering one edition and then ordering something else a week or two later is a sure way to spend more than you should on shipping. If you think you'll be wanting that CD that has the piece that you're ordering today you'll save at least 50% of its cost by ordering it along with the music in one order. Another way to save is to stay away from the express services. They are very convenient and extremely reliable but very costly too. (see below)

We have found that many of our customers are quite skillful at managing to pay as much as 5, 6 or 7 times the catalog price for one piece of music. In fact for some, figuring out how to spend as much as possible for one editions seems to have become an art in itself. The methods vary among different individuals but there are a few traits that appear frequently enough to warrant mention and/or comment. If one wished to participate in this activity the following should help you to at least get started:
1: If you need a particular piece of music for a contest, jury examination or similar event, you should wait until a few days before you need the music in hand to order it.
2: When you order the music, you should include a question in the comments field relating to how long it will take for the order to reach its intended recipient. After you receive our we don't know, it depends on . . . reply you should wait at least a couple of days before answering and then ask how much it would cost for one of the faster shipping services. After we answer that query another wait of at least 2 days would be in order followed by placing the order instructing us to send it next day air. If you're really skillful you'll do this on a Thursday or Friday, demanding that the music arrive on Saturday. That'll add another $10.00 - $15.00 to the bottom line.

Of course international customers have the advantage in this game since shipping charges to destinations outside the U.S. are generally higher and express services are much higher. For those interested in such matters the current record is held by a gentleman in Japan who absolutely had to have a copy of the Dragonetti Concerto ($17.00) in 2 days. Total cost with shipping: $114.25. Many attempts have been made to eclipse this record including quite a few extremely creative domestic bids, but for now it is still the gold standard!

If we sent you a wrong item send us an email mentioning the order number and date. Better still, copy the email that we sent to you when we shipped your order and paste it to the bottom of your message. If we made an error we'll get the correct item out to you as soon as possible. But please be aware of the following:

CDs and DVDs may only be returned if they have not been opened. This includes even those that we may have sent in error. So be sure not to open the shrink wrap if we sent the wrong disc.

Music is returnable only if what we sent to you was incorrect.

Music, CDs and DVDs that are damaged may be exchanged for the exact same items.

Occasionally, due to extenuating circumstances, we will accept an item for return that does not meet the above requirements. In these cases we deduct a 30% restocking fee and the original shipping charges. Any items returned under these circumstances must be in their original - new - condition.