FAQs

Shipping

Q: How long will it be before you ship my personalized puzzle?
A: From early spring through fall, we ship on a 2 week (or less) interval. Due to the volume of holiday gift orders, the interval lengthens rapidly; by Thanksgiving it takes us 3 to 4 weeks to complete orders. 

Dec 29, 2023: *** Due to an unprecedented volume of orders in mid-December, Personalized puzzles are taking 4 weeks to complete. Your patience is appreciated! ***

Q: If my puzzle is NOT personalized (for instance a map puzzle, ABC turtle, etc.),
how soon will you ship it?

A: We usually ship our in stock styles within 5 days.

Dec 29, 2023: *** Due to an unprecedented volume of orders, NOT Personalized puzzles are taking 3 weeks to complete. Your patience is appreciated! ***

Q: Do you enclose any billing information/paperwork in the package ?
A: No. All our billing related documents come to you via e-mail… we like to save paper to save more trees for things like puzzles.

Q: Do you enclose a gift card upon request?
A: We use a cute 3” wooden heart with ribbon, and write your gift message as it appears on your order. Let us know if the child is becoming one, two, or 3 years of age, and we’ll string the appropriate wooden number on the ribbon as well.

Q: Why are your shipping charges so high?
A: Our puzzles are made of wood, which results in them being almost twice the weight of a standard puzzle. For example, the average personalized puzzle has a shipping weight of 2.3 pounds; the USA map has a shipping weight of 5.3 pounds. Some large orders ship for less than stated on your order, in which case Pat makes the appropriate downward adjustment when processing your charge. We do not make any profit on shipping.

Q: Why do you use Priority Mail?
A: We have learned that for most orders, Priority Mail is the fastest, most cost-effective service, and usually costs you less than UPS Ground or FedEx.

Q: Do you ship outside the USA?
A: Sorry, but no.

About the Product

Q: Are your paints, stains, and finish non-toxic?
A: We have always used ONLY non-toxic materials. Our stains and finish are water-based, as is the Delta Creamcoat acrylic paint (made in America) we occasionally use.

Q: What kind of wood do you use?
A: All of our puzzles are made of birch. We like it because it is a fast-growing, non-endangered wood and the light color shows off our colors brightly! We buy it in large 5 foot by 5 foot sheets of plywood.

Q: Does your wood contain formaldehyde?
A: There is NO formaldehyde in our wood. California passed strict controls a number of years ago which dictate “zero emissions”. Click here to read Manufacturers’ Materials Data Sheet which covers the specifics.

Q: What else do you do to be eco-friendly?
A: We are committed to maximum resource utilization, so through the years we have found good ways to put our scraps to use. We are so good at recycling and teaching kids the importance of fully using our resources that the State of California awarded the Puzzle People their Waste Reduction "WRAP" award several times. One of the creative ways that we use scraps is through cutting and decorating "Freedom Hearts" to send to soldiers and veterans homes. We also offer a service to replace missing puzzle pieces so that you can extend the life of your puzzle for many years to come!

Q: What about “choke tolerance” – are your pieces big enough to be safe for my toddler?
A: Our “Toddler puzzles” are designed so that all pieces pass a choke tolerance tester.

Q: What does “Rainbow colors” mean?
A: Rainbows are in the same color order as the color spectrum – Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. If the name you are ordering has 6 or more letters, we color the pieces in that order – r/o/y/g/b/p. If we are coloring a name with only 4 or 5 letters, we leave out the orange – it looks best that way – so r/y/g/b followed by purple if there is a 5th letter. If the name only has 3 letters, we use the three primary colors – Red, yellow, blue.

Q:What does “Wood Tone colors” mean?
A: We use shades of cherry, oak, maple, and walnut when you order a map puzzle in “wood tones”. Adults find these to be very appealing on our Africa, USA, and other map puzzles. Children find the Rainbow colors easier to name.

Q:What does “Pastel colors” mean?
A: Our “Pastel” color scheme includes traditional “baby” colors of soft pink, mint, lavender, and soft yellow. We also have baby blue – but be sure to let us know if you want blue instead of pink! What does “Mod pastels” colors mean? Our “Mod pastels” color scheme uses just 3 colors – a hot pink, soft pink, and lavender.

Q: How do I order replacement pieces for your puzzles?
A: Because your puzzle was hand-cut, each piece is unique, so we ask you to follow this process: Make a rubbing of the missing piece by placing a piece of paper over the “hole” where the piece belongs, then repeatedly stroking either a pencil or crayon over the area (many, many times) until you can see a dark outline that conforms to the shape you need… This is way more precise than attempting to “trace” the inside of the hole. Write the color you need and your name and mailing address on that same piece of paper. We charge $3 for a replacement letter or state, and $5 for other shapes.

Mail – Puzzle People P.O.Box 536, Philo CA 95466
We only make replacement pieces for our Puzzle People puzzles.

Q: What if I’m not satisfied/happy with my puzzle?
A: Contact us and explain the problem. We will work with you!

Pricing & Terms

Q: Do you offer discounts? Do you wholesale?
A: Sorry, but now that we are “semi-retired”, we are doing everything (no “helpers”, just us!), we sell retail only, and price our puzzles as low as possible.

Q. Is your site secure?
A: Yes, our site is run via Shopify which is certified Level 1 PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant. 

Q. Do you sell your mailing list data?
A: No. Never have, never will.

Q: When will my credit card be charged?
A: At the time of your order.

Q: Some styles limit the maximum number of letters - why is this?
A: The scroll saw we use (the same Delta scroll saw we've used since 1972) has a maximum length of 24”, which limits single name puzzles to 10 letters. In the case of the Circus Train puzzle, the GIRAFFE is responsible for limiting the number of letters to eight – don’t blame us!

Q: Lastly, is it true that old puzzle people never die?
A: Yes, it’s true – old Puzzle People just go to pieces!