How to Order
Instructions about ordering and our sales policies
We're pleased to offer direct sales throughout the world, and this page explains how you can order from us, the payment methods we accept, our free shipping - and our sales policies. Click here to contact us.
Direct Sales & Support: Worldwide
Our policy is to sell direct to customers worldwide, cutting out the middleman - and passing the savings on to you!
We do not maintain a multi-national network of offices or pay resellers to push our products; instead, we run a lean, customer-focused company, with a worldwide perspective. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the difference!
Since we write the software, any sales have to come through us. If you try to use a reseller, it will take much longer - more steps in the chain - and you may well end up paying more. So order direct for quick and efficient service!
Online Ordering
You can order online , using our award-winning secure eCommerce system, now with Barclaycard ePDQ, and featuring multi-currency support.
Multiple Currencies
This new system supports multiple currencies, so you can choose to pay in U.S. dollars, Euros, or British Pounds Sterling. Simply choose your currency from the currency popup.
We are registered as a UK merchant. If you are ordering from outside the European region, please note that some banks may levy additional charges, which are outside our control. Please check with your card provider for further details.
Standard and Education Sales
We have redesigned our sales page, adding tabs at the top of the page, so you can easily choose between Standard and Education sales.
Product Selection
We have also made it easier to browse different products, using a tabbed design. This lets you see all of the different pricing options for a particular product, with less clutter.
When you've found what you want to order, click the price to focus on that product and reveal an Order button. You can order multiple items, and Checkout when you're ready.
Payment by cheque
We accept payment in U.S. dollars, Euros or British Pounds Sterling (GBP). You can send purchase orders, international money orders or personal cheques in dollars, euros or sterling. Please note that we require advance payment for personal orders.
Offline Credit Card Sales
If you would prefer not to use our online ordering system, we can still accept credit card payments (Visa, MasterCard or JCB), with the important caveat that these direct payments must be billed in British Pounds Sterling (GBP). (Multi-currency billing is for online orders only.)
To order by credit card (personal or corporate) please fax (+44 1865-854805) or mail us your order, remembering to include your card's expiry date and the 3-digit security code.
VAT in the European Union
European Union customers are gently reminded that they must include their VAT numbers (Value Added Tax = TVA = Umsatzsteuernummer) on their purchase orders, otherwise we are obliged to add VAT at the U.K. rate of 20%.
Click here for our contact details.
Free Shipping
Where applicable, orders are despatched via Express Airmail (First Class post in the UK), at no additional cost. Shipping typically takes a few days (continental Europe) to a week (USA or Japan).
To prevent unnecessary delays, when ordering please double-check that your shipping address is acceptable to your local postal delivery service.
U.S. customers please note: some internal university or corporate addresses are simply not recognized by the U.S. Postal Service, even though they may be acceptable to courier companies.
Software Downloads
Our CrystalDiffract and SingleCrystal products are available for immediate download, and their Full Feature mode can be activated by entering your licence code.
Our CrystalMaker program works slightly differently and (for various technical and legal reasons) we need to ship a physical product. However, if you do urgently require a software download, this can be arranged: just ask our Sales department when you order the software.
Please note that we can only supply licence codes to the end user of the product, and not to a third party.
Education Pricing
We offer highly-competitive prices for all our products at our "Standard" prices (especially when compared to "commercial" rates charged by other companies).
In addition, we're pleased to offer special Education prices to students and faculty in degree-granting university programmes and to academic institutions purchasing software for end-users in those positions.
Government laboratories do not usually qualify for our education pricing, even if they are nominally associated with a university. An exception might be if the intended end user is a student or educator.
If in any doubt about your eligibility for education pricing, please ask yourself the question: "is my organization a teaching organization?" - but do also feel free to contact us before placing your order.
Students
We recommend that students use the software as part of a larger, Group or Site licence. That way their colleagues - and supervisor - can have access to the software too! Other options, including "pay-as-you-go" licensing, are also available. Terms and conditions apply. Learn More.
Privacy Policy
When you order from us, your details remain fully confidential. We do not sell or share personal information about you with other people or companies, except to provide products or services that you have specifically requested.
When ordering online with a credit card, your card and other details are protected by secure encryption techniques, and are processed on a dedicated, secure server. The card details are verified by Barclaycard, but are not disclosed to ourselves or to other agencies.
Returns Policy
In the highly unlikely event that you need to return a product to us, the following terms must be met in full:
- All returns must be pre-authorized by us.
- No returns are permitted more than 30 days after the date of the original order.
- Goods returned to us must be unopened, and in pristine condition.
- You may not return a product to us and claim a refund for software which we supplied to you sealed and unused, if you have broken the seal and/or installed the software on any machine. We provide free demo versions of all our software for you to evaluate before you place your order.
- A charge of GBP 24 / EUR 30 / USD 40 will be made for any returned items, to cover our original shipping, administration, and banking charges.
How to Order in Japan
We are very pleased to make a special exception to our "direct sales" policy and heartily recommend a Japanese distributor, Hulinks Ltd, with whom we have a very long-standing and successful relationship:
Hulinks Inc. (Science Software Sales)
5-14 Nihonbashi Hakozaki-cho
Chuo-ku
Tokyo 103-0015, Japan
Telephone: 03-5642-8380 (in Japan)
Fax: 03-5642-8381 (in Japan)
E-mail: soft.sales@hulinks.co.jp
Website: http://www.hulinks.co.jp
For over fifteen years now we have worked with Ms Tomoko Saruwatari and her colleagues, formerly at NetScience, then Sumisho Electronics and now at Hulinks. They are able to provide Japanese-language technical support and a translation (summary) of the CrystalMaker User's Guide.