frequently asked questions

1. Do you sell to retail stores?
Absolutely! If you are interested in carrying Ella Studio in your retail store, please contact us for wholesale information. The following information is required: your name, business name, contact information (mailing address, phone, fax) and resale number. Please note that we sell to licensed retailers only.

2. How safe and secure is my information when placing an order? What about Privacy?
Your information is 100% safe and secure with us! We respect your concerns about privacy and security and want your shopping experience at ella-studio.com to be enjoyable. We will never sell, rent or share your personal information with any third parties and we use state-of-the-art security technology to protect our customers. See Privacy and Security for more information.

3. What is your Return Policy?
We want you to be completely delighted with the items you purchase from us! Please see our Return Policy for more information.

4. How much does Shipping cost? How quickly will my order ship?
For shipping-related questions, please see Shipping.

5. What payment methods do you accept?
Ella Studio accepts Visa, MasterCard or Discover.

6. How do I contact customer service?
We want you to be happy! Should you ever have a question or concern, please contact us.
(And despite the use of the words "we" and "us" throughout this site, Ella Studio is really just a one-woman show. Please understand that although I'm not able to take phone calls throughout the day, I will do my very best to answer all emails as quickly as possible- promise!)

7. I think my credit card was charged twice- help!
The confusion here lies in the difference between credit card authorizations versus actual credit card charges.

In the past, the behind the scenes process of credit card billing was just that- behind the scenes. But with today’s technology and availability of real-time credit card management and online banking, many customers view their credit card activity daily. It is therefore understandable that seeing two transactions- a card authorization followed by a charge- makes people think they have been billed twice. However, this is not the case.

A credit card authorization occurs when you place an order. An authorization is when the credit card system checks to make sure you have available funds on your card and then essentially places a hold on the card for the amount of the purchase as a “used credit”. It is also during this authorization process that address and card information is verified for security purposes.

An actual credit card charge occurs once funds availability and security match is verified. We process all credit card orders manually once the order is ready to ship. Once the actual charge has been submitted to your card, the authorization drops off. This process usually takes 24-48 hours and is completed by your credit card issuer. Your credit card issuer can confirm that the first activity on your card is an authorization and the second is a charge.

Incidentally, our credit card processing software does not allow us to charge a credit card twice for the same order. It will give us an error message and not allow us to proceed once a card has already been charged.

If the address information and/or CVV code supplied does not match the information on your credit card, our credit card processing software will not allow us to complete a charge. If this is the case with your order, we will email you explaining the situation and requesting the correct information needed to complete the sale. If this information is not provided, the original authorization will appear on your card for a few days and will then drop off on its own. You can also call your credit card company to request that the authorization be removed from your card, but this is not necessary as the authorization will automatically clear on its own.

We understand that it is frustrating for an order to be placed on hold and/or cancelled due to an address or CVV verification issue. We also understand that many stores do not comply with credit card security regulations to the extent that we do at Ella Studio. Please understand that we employ these practices to make shopping safer for YOU. We care about the safety of your financial information and we do everything we can to make shopping with us an enjoyable and secure experience.