FAQ

A: TLG staff will answer phone calls, voicemails, and emails Monday-Thursday 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM (CST), and Fridays from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM (CST). We are closed on the weekends and all major holidays. Due to short staffing, please allow a response time of 24-48 hours.

A: Our warehouse in Saint Charles, MN is open only by appointment. Schedule an Appointment.
Since we are set up as a warehouse and not a proper retail location, we strongly suggest browsing the website before your visit and creating a wish list as prices and other information such as weight, temper, and leather tannage are not located on the item tags. You can email this list to sales@theleatherguy.org if it makes it easier, and then we can have those specific items pulled and ready to be looked at!

Please note that we cannot offer online prices in-store. If you wish to shop and purchase via a promotional sale, please do so online and we will be happy to pull your order and have it ready for you to pick up the following weekday. Any orders placed in-store will not receive promotional discounts available on the website.

A: Yes we do offer wholesale/bulk pricing to our small business customers! We have select items that will automatically apply a discount when a certain amount is added to the cart.

If you are wanting to place a large order (100+ SF of leather, 10K+ of lace, etc.), you can visit our Special Orders Page and place an order with our special pricing. Don't see what you're looking for there? Give us a call at 507-932-3795 and let's see how we can help!

Not ready to make such large purchases? Email us a copy of your tax ID certificate and include all your personal and company contact information to shop tax-free for your business.

We also offer Business Account Discounts for our most loyal customers. Find out more information about those discounts here!

A: We can still take orders over the phone, however, please note that due to short staffing, we may need to get a good phone number and name to call you back later to place the order. Our website is open 24/7, 7 days a week, of course, so this will always be your best option for placing orders as you will not need to wait for anyone to get back to you!

We are unable to apply coupons, sale/promotional prices, or military discounts when entering orders manually. You will need to place your order via our website to get these savings.

A. Yes! You can submit a Sample Request. With an account you can request up to 4 samples for free, or for a small service fee you can request up to 15.

A: We’ve put together a video tutorial on how to properly fold and store hides.

A: We do!  When you place your order, just select local pick-up as the shipping option. An email notification will be sent to you when the order is ready to be picked up from our warehouse.

Pick-Up Hours:

• Monday – Thursday: 9:00 AM – 3:45 PM
• Friday: 9:00 AM to 2:45 PM

We cannot offer pick-up outside our normal business hours.

• Local pick-ups must be picked up within 5 business days.
• Orders that are not picked up within the 5 business day period will be canceled and incur a 25% restocking fee.

A: Unfortunately we no longer offer free shipping. We do offer discounted shipping on orders of $175+ for our Hobbyist and Pro Business Account members. Find out more on how to become a member.

We may offer free shipping days and coupons, so be sure to check your email or our social media so you don’t miss out!

A: Yes, we offer shipping insurance on every order. At checkout, you will be able to add insurance to your order for a small fee. Should your package get lost or stolen, please reach out to us at sales@theleatherguy.org with your order number and we can start a claim. Claim processes can take 7-10 days from start to finish.

A: Unfortunately, we cannot change an order once it has been placed. You can place a second order, and if we have not packed up your previous order yet, we may be able to combine them, but we cannot guarantee this.

Please note we will no longer be holding orders to combine at the end of sales events. We simply no longer have the room. They will ship as soon as they are placed. Sorry for any inconvenience.

We offer USPS and UPS for orders placed within the United States. For international orders, we can offer DHL, USPS, and UPS.

A: Yes, we now offer upgraded shipping options at checkout!  All you need to do is shop as normal and choose the expedited shipping method you want in the shipping section.

Please note the following:

• Orders placed after 11:00 AM CST will go out the next business day.
• Custom orders can choose expedited shipping; however, purchasing expedited shipping does not affect the lead time.
• Products like dyes, glue, and other alcohol-based products cannot ship expedited due to their contents.

You can expect your order to ship within 24-48 hours after the order has been completed, during regular business hours. Please note, if you place your order after 11:00 AM CST on a Friday, the order will go out the next business day, Monday.

All major US holidays will have a 24-hour delay.

We can! We ask that you leave us a note on any additional orders or shoot us an email at sales@theleatherguy.org letting us know you would like your orders combined. Unfortunately, we can no longer automatically combine orders as we have previously as our computer system no longer alerts us when two orders going to the same address have been placed. We will not combine your orders if you do not reach out to us.

Please note, we will no longer be holding orders over several days to combine at the end of sales events. We simply no longer have the room, so they will ship as soon as they are placed. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

Shipping costs are set by USPS, UPS, and DHL and are not determined by the number of items in your cart, but rather by your location, the item weight, and the box dimensions. For example, once a package goes over the 1 LB. threshold, it can no longer ship USPS First Class.

Another good example is scrap or remnant leather. When ordering scrap, the shipping price is already in a higher shipping bracket as the box and contents are already over a pound in weight. Any additional scrap you add can increase the weight by 1-20 pounds each, dependent on the scraps being purchased.

A: If you believe your package is lost or stolen, get in touch with UPS or USPS immediately and give them your tracking information. They have several ways to find out where your package was last scanned and may be able to find it for you! It is not uncommon for USPS packages to be scanned as delivered and then show up the next day.

Unfortunately, we cannot do anything once the package has left our shop, and your local delivery persons are your best first contact. Please understand we are a small company and are willing to assist you in dealing with the carrier, however we cannot replace or issue refunds for lost or stolen items unless you purchased shipping insurance at checkout.

It is your responsibility to ensure you’re getting packages sent to safe and secure locations, and that you are double checking that the correct address is entered at time of order. With package theft on the rise, we are needing to ask that consumers take a more active role in finding lost packages. If you believe your package was stolen, please file a police report.

A:

- Item(s) must be in their original condition, meaning they cannot be used or altered in any way.
- Item(s) must be returned the way they were received. If your item was delivered rolled, you must return it rolled.
- The items must be returned within 30 days of the purchase date.

We strongly suggest you open and inspect your packages as soon as they arrive. If your return order meets the qualification requirements above, you may start your return.

Packages deemed "return to sender" due to an insufficient address, no known person at the address, or unclaimed mail will incur the return shipping fee, typically the cost as the original shipping. This fee will come from the refund of the items purchased. There will be no refund if the return postage exceeds the cost of the items returned.

Expedited handling is available for a $3 charge. Orders placed Tuesday-Friday before 11:00 AM CST can be sent out that same business day. Anything placed after 11:01 AM will go out the following business day.

This does not apply to custom or backorders. All major US holidays will have a 24-hour delay.

A: We do have some free downloadable PDF templates for a few beginner's leather craft projects available in our blog posts! We also sell a variety of templates created by Makers Leather Supply.

A: Yes, you can sew leather with your home sewing machine.

Please check your users manual, or reach out the manufacturer to find out what thickness your machine can handle. The thickness that most home machines can sew would be 2 layers of 2-3 ounce leather, but it is best to know your own machines capabilities before trying a new material on it.

We recommend that you purchase a leather needle and foot from your local fabric store before you start sewing leather. Standard needles and feet may damage the leather, or not work on it all together.

A: There are a number of tannages, but 3 tannages are the most common in or shop.

1). Vegetable tanned

2). Chrome tanned

3). Brain tanned

Less commonly known tannages are Alum, Old world, Oil tanned, and Chromexcel. Check out our Leather 101 blog for more information on leather tannage.

A: Leather is measured differently than fabric so if you are used to working with fabric here is a simple chart to help you know how much leather you should purchase. Please read our blog on leather measurement for more information.

Please keep in mind that you will have to figure in waste.

A: The square dimensions given within a listing for a hide are the cleanest piece you could get out of the hide, removing the rough edges and not the total amount of square footage for the hide.

A: The thickness of leather is gauged in ounces (oz). One ounce equals 1/64^th of an inch.