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Frequently Asked Questions |
Please note that all links on this page will open up in a new window.
So, what's a zine?
Good question. Though there are hundreds of definitions, we have our own three page article discussing that published online here.
How do I place an order?
We have a very easy cart system installed, each title has an “add to cart” button both on the “browse” page under the brief descriptions, and on the “details” page that has the full description. The cart will keep track of any title you place in it while you surf the site (even if you leave the shop to play a little zinester hangman or read a zine review).
Once you've chosen everything you want, click on the cart (in the right-hand grey panel) and then “checkout”. This will walk you through adding shipping costs calculated by the weight of what you've ordered (please be sure to include your FULL address). The last step will take you to paypal to complete the order and you will receive a receipt in your email shortly afterward.
When will my order arrive?
Depends. We do our best to send everything out the same or next day, but we do have full time jobs outside of the distro, and sometimes have to work late.
If you have any questions about your order status, you can always contact us and ask about it. For shipping rates, click here.
Do you sell at wholesale?
We do not currently offer the catalog at wholesale rates. However, if you are another distro or bookstore interested in carrying the original items made by Fall of Autumn (our buttons, our zines or the compzines Fall of Autumn has published) please get in touch about those wholesale rates. Again, we do not currently sell other zinester's titles at wholesale.
Will you distribute my project!?!
Maybe! But first we need to read/see/touch it. Send a sample of your zine, button, patch, documentary, etc to:
Alan Lastufka
fallofautumn.com
PO Box 254
Manhattan, IL 60442
Please include a note stating that it is a sample copy for consideration, and be sure to include your name, address, email, wholesale and retail rates and maybe why you chose Fall of Autumn to submit to.
Please don't send us a form letter, don't start off your submission with 'Dear Distro Owners,' unless you want us to start off your rejection letter with 'Dear Zinester,'. My name is Alan (likes perzines and educational zines) and my friends Aaron (likes political and per’ zines) and Kate help. We started this whole project in the spirit of communication.
How do I submit other works to the site, like an article, a review or a podcast?
Click here to Get Involved!
Ok, your site rocks, can we trade links?
Most likely. Just link us (www.fallofautumn.com) on your site and then let us know about it; we'll check out your site and as long as there isn't anything we find unnecessarily offensive, or out of line with our ethics, we'll link you back.
Wait, did you say 'ethics'? I thought this was the internet, not bible camp!?!
The Fall of Autumn is a collective and while we might not see eye-to-eye on everything, there are a few things we stand firm on. We believe in everyone's voice being heard and respected. We believe in holding your friends above a dollar. And none of us likes advertiser-controlled or corporation-controlled media.
So then what's the deal with the banner ads on the bottom? And you're charging for them? I thought you guys weren't really into advertising. It seems kind of corporate to me.
The idea of putting ads on the site is something we wrestled with for months. On the one hand, we're definitely against intrusive high priced corporate looking ads that take up more space than actual content. On the other hand, this is becoming a pretty pricey endeavor. Most importantly however, we enjoy helping out our friends and other independent free thinking people. With that in mind we decided to put a small space on the bottom of the site (so it's not too intrusive) for banner ads. The rates are pretty reasonable we feel. We've also offered the first 5,000 impressions free for a trade to interested parties - just to see if they feel its worth spending money on.
You'll find similar types of sites to ours in the banner ads, friends, or associates. We research everything we promote. If you're interested in an ad, please contact "alan AT fallofautumn DOT com" and we can get you more info. We promise though, you won't be seeing ads for Pepsi or Sony up here. We promote free and independent media here.
No, seriously, which country are the offshore accounts in?
Well since we don't believe in tax shelters there are no offshore accounts. Seriously though, we recognize that when money becomes involved in a project, it is a very delicate and often eyebrow raising issue. We here at the Fall Of Autumn are in this project for the love of what we do - not to make a quick buck. The content on the site itself will always remain free for all to read. If people like to donate to us or advertise with us, that is fine as well.
Every cent of the money we make from donations, advertising, and our distro goes right back into our various projects. Most of the time, we don't even make the money back that we put into these projects. We would love it if the world allowed us to provide all that we do (distro service, zine making, web hosting, and whatever else we decide to take on) for 100% free. But if that were the case, we'd all be living in the utopia that we're working so hard to create. For the time being, we're all stuck in a hyper capitalist economy, so we've got to roll with the punches. We all work dayjobs here that barely pay our rent and get us something to eat (trust us, Aaron Cynic and Kate Sandler live a pretty spartan lifestyles, while Alan lives in a small rural town).
If we ever do make enough money to quit our dayjobs and spend all of our time writing, making zines, and fighting the good fight - you bet you're bottom dollar we won't be riding around in hummers eating caviar. We'll be spending our time working our fingers to the bone on this project.
If you still want to debate, talk, complain, or compliment us on this subject - feel free to write any one of us. We'd be happy to discuss with you.
So, I noticed that you have a "Donate" button - what's that all about?
Well, I'm sure that you've seen that in many other places on other sites like ours. It's true, we are not a 501c3 non-profit, but we are a fledgling little organization. We operate on a budget thinner than a shoestring and we can't pay our bills (postage, hosting fees, printing costs, new stock, shipping costs, science experiments, etc) on distro sales and advertising alone. That's why if you've got a spare buck or two floating around in your paypal account you'd like to burn, we're more than happy to take it. Even a dollar will go to help us stay online or print our quarterly. Don't feel bad if you'd like to make a donation but can't, it's all good - trust us, we know what it's like to be hard up for cash.
What’s with the “we/us” stuff? How many people does it take to run this thing?
The Fall of Autumn is currently a core group of three, Alan Lastufka, Aaron Cynic & Kate Sandler. We do however have many people that contribute regular reviews and articles. More info about Alan, Aaron and Kate, and our regular contributors, can be found on the About Us page.
Any other questions, feel free to contact us:
Alan Lastufka / alan AT fallofautumn DOT com
Aaron Cynic / aaroncynic AT gmail DOT com
Kate Sandler / kateeliza AT gmail DOT com
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FAQs