FAQ

Frequenty Asked Questions - Erstwilder

Q.   Do you have more brooches that are not on this site?

A.   Yes I do!   This site is a work in progress and I am adding new items daily, so it is worth checking back frequently.

Q.   Can I come to your store to look at the brooches?

A.   You are welcome to visit the store but the brooches are packed away in a dark storeroom to protect the boxes from fading.   Also with over 1,000 different items it is impossible to display them instore.   If you browse the website and send me your pick list, I can locate the brooches and have them ready for you to inspect.

Q.   Can I pick up my brooches in person?

A.   Sure, no problem.   

Q.   How often do you ship?

A.   We try to get all orders out within 2 to 3 days but sometimes we have a backlog and it can take longer up to 7 days.   We send all our orders express so even if we send later, you will still receive your order within 2 days once it is sent.

Q.   Are all your brooches new and perfect?

A.   99% of the Erstwilder items on this site are brand new.   Most of the older brooches (pre-2015), are pre-loved.   

If an item has flaws. it is marked as imperfect.   If there are no other details, an imperfect brooch will have little specks and/or bubbles in the resin.   If  a brooch is seriously flawed I will include a photo.   

If it is not marked imperfect or pre-loved, it is new in the original packaging.

Q.   Some of my brooches have tarnish on the pins - is this normal?

A.   From the Erstwilder home page: "Due to the use of high quality silver-plating in our brooch clasps, tarnishing and oxidisation can occur, producing black and gold discolouration. As with all silver products, you can simply restore it using a silver cloth."

Q.   Why don't you sell Erstwilder brooches at RRP?

A.   We are not a clothing/accessories shop.   We are an antiques and collectables shop, so our prices reflect the collectable value of the brooches, rather than RRP.

Until the beginning of 2019, we used to sell all our Erstwilder at RRP.   However a pattern had emerged where people would purchase brooches from us, and then a few hours later we'd see them listed on Ebay and Facebook at much, much higher prices.

Even the lady who bought one for her sister, who was in hospital getting chemo, and all her sister ever wanted in the whole world to cheer her up and make her feel better, was an Erstwilder Jemima Puddleduck brooch, and she only had $30, so could I please let her have it for $30...  Tasmania is a small place and I am pretty observant - that evening the lady had listed it on Facebook for $95. 

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.   We thought well heck, we can do that ourselves and bypass the middleman!   So now, although we do sell many items at RRP, we follow the going prices on Ebay and Facebook.

If it is any consolation, if we had listed them at RRP, they would have all sold within hours on release day and we wouldn't have any left.   At least this way you have the opportunity to purchase a brooch that is sold out everywhere else, and we get to pay some bills...   :-)