Frequently Asked Questions
On this page we have done our best to post and answer some of the most frequently asked questions....questions you may also have.
The two most frequent inquiries from customers are: “Please provide status for my order.” “When will my order ship?” The next two paragraphs are provided so you may better understand how order are processed.
An order is logged into our system at 8:00 a.m. ET the next business day after the order is placed, we’re closed weekends & holidays. From the log in date we require a minimum of 2 business days before we ship non-bulk orders. Turnaround time varies thru the year and during the busiest times of the year (Mother’s Day, Christmas, etc.) turnaround time increases. Once we ship, the carrier will email you directly from its servers with tracking information.
Some customers state they've not received the tracking notice sent by FedEx. AOL, Yahoo, Gmail and MSN subscribers seem to be the largest group of customers who have problems receiving our emails or FedEx emails. If the email address provided to us with the order is not correctly spelled or has high spam settings you won’t receive our emails & tracking notice. You may also log into your online Camden-Grey account and access order history; if we shipped, you'll see the tracking number.
1. What is the quality of your products and how are your essential oils processed?
We have been an online business since 1998. We offer essential oils and other ingredients and raw materials of the highest quality, pure and unadulterated, which we source worldwide. As our name indicates, essential oils are our specialty. We process our imports ourselves and deal with numerous reputable distillers throughout the world, both large and small.
Essential oils are steam distilled, citrus essential oils are usually cold pressed, absolutes are solvent extracted and CO2's are extracted with carbon dioxide. Descriptions are offered for each product offered. If there's a description you cannot locate or find missing, please inform us.
2. Do you have a catalogue?
We don't have a paper catalogue. Our complete catalogue is online.
3. Do you have a store? Can I visit?
We’re not open to the public. All orders ship from our Naples, FL warehouse.
4. Do you offer discounts?
We offer price breaks on ‘bulk’ sizes of various products.
5. Do you offer terms or wholesale?
We do not offer terms, all orders are prepaid online. We do not "wholesale".
6. I want to make a lotion and need you to tell me if the following ingredients will work in my recipe and what steps I need to follow.
We're a supplier of raw materials for aromatherapists, herbalists, massage therapists, soapmakers, toiletry makers, etc.. We don't make products and are not qualified to tell customers how to use raw materials.
For this reason we have created our own forum which is monitored by a highly experienced toiletry maker and teacher, Ela McAdams. Please join our online Forum, the link appears at the top of all our pages. The forum library includes recipes, regulatory information, labeling information...it's a very valuable database. Once your subscription is accepted, you may post any questions/issues you may have as they relate to toiletries and soaps.
7. I forgot my password and/or login name.
It's always a good idea to save your basket/wish list in the event you encounter a problem during checkout or if the payment transaction is declined. It's easy to create an account on our website, the link titled ‘Log In’ appears at the top right of our pages, click on it, on the next page click on “Forgot Your Password” and follow the steps. You’ll receive an email for resetting your password. Please save your login and password where you may easily access the information in the future.
8. How are your essential oils dispensed?
This is answered in detail when you click on a product. Scroll down until you see tabs such as Description, Reviews and Important Information. The detailed answer is under the Important Information tab.
9. Why isn't my bottle of Sandalwood essential oil filled as high as other bottles in my order?
All products are dispensed by weight. The weight and density of liquid varies. A very low viscosity essential oil such as Sweet Orange will take up more space in the bottle than a more viscous essential oil such as Sandalwood. Please rest assured your oil weighs what it should weigh.
10. How are your fragrance oils dispensed?
Fragrance oils are bottled in plastic HDPE bottles. Many fragrance oils are quite aggressive and there will also be various temperature ranges a package will go through while in transit. Fragrance oils are shipped to us by our suppliers in plastic HDPE containers. You may transfer to glass upon receipt if you so desire, but this is not a requirement as it is for essential oils. The shelf life of most fragrance oils is 1 to 1.5 years when properly stored, tightly sealed, away from direct light and heat.
11. I couldn't find... Do you sell this?
Please use the Search feature on our website. If the item for which you're searching does not appear, we don't offer it. The name of the product for which you search must be properly spelled in order to obtain a search result.
12. Please tell me how much S&H will be for a pail of almond oil to zip code 99999.
Our shopping cart takes care of all S&H quotes. Once an item is added to the cart you’ll be able to obtain an estimate of the shipping cost.
13. I don't want to place my order on the website or I don't want to place my credit card information on your website.
With our current state-of-the-art order processing system, all orders must be placed and paid for online by the customer. Our site is fully secure.
14. I received my order two weeks ago and I just noticed the bottle of orange is missing.
Our posted policy states that all missing or damaged items must be reported to us within 72 hours of your receipt of the order, no exceptions. Because so much time has passed since your shipment was delivered and we were not notified within the specified period of time there's nothing we can do about this matter now. Please review our Terms & Conditions and Shipping Policies before placing a future order and please check the contents of your shipment promptly after delivery, including all packing materials.
15. Why do I see two charges on my credit card statement for my last order with you?
As stated in our Terms & Conditions, sometimes adjustments need to be made to invoices and these are usually done after an order ships and once final S&H charges have been added. These adjustments may be due to an item being on back order in which case the customer is owed money, they may be due to an under or overcharge by our cart and either a credit or debit is due, they may be due to S&H quoted by our cart which was too low because the shipment was extremely heavy or required more than one box or to other factors.
Adjustments are detailed on the final invoices which are emailed to customers once they're finalized. Whatever charges you see on your invoice and/or your credit card statement will add up to the invoice total. We request customers allow up to 6 weeks for a debit or credit to be processed at our end. Before disputing a legitimate charge with your credit card issuer, please contact us with your questions.
16. Why are you sending my invoice and charging me an additional charge days after my order shipped?
Sometimes, when order volume is extremely high or we close for the holidays, we may fall behind on finalizing invoices. However, even if it takes us a certain number of days or weeks to close an invoice we must get it done and we must be paid. We thank all customers for their understanding.
17. I placed an order on Sunday and I need my order delivered this Wednesday. I'm in Oregon.
We're located in Florida, zip 33912. From FL to OR it takes the carrier 5 business days to deliver a ground shipment. For the shipment to reach you on Wednesday you’d have to pay for our Rush service and also change your shipping method to the more expensive 2 Day Air service only IF the order doesn’t contain any hazmat items. Those cannot ship via Air. If the order includes hazmat items it must ship via Ground or Home Delivery.
18. Why is S&H on my $25 order so high?
When orders are small, customers will usually pay a premium for S&H. The average minimum that it will cost to ship the lightest package via FedEx residential is @$14.00. Please keep in mind that the heavier and/or larger an order is, the more equitable S&H rates will be. Some light orders may qualify for our reduced S&H option. If that’s the case, our cart will automatically offer the lower FedEx SmartPost option which takes slightly longer in transit.
19. If the products I ordered should have weighed 10 lbs., why does the shipping label on my box show the weight as 13 lbs.?
Customers must take into consideration packing materials, including the weights of the bottles and jars in which oils and other products are packed. Packing boxes have weight while the sturdy double-wall boxes we use to protect shipments weigh more. We gain nothing by inflating the weight on a shipping label since the carrier will charge us for that weight. The weight you see on your shipping label is the true weight of the package, rounded off.
20. I couldn't find where to add any comments or special instructions for my order when I ordered on your website.
During checkout there’s see a space on our order form titled “Order Comments” for customers to enter anything they want us to read or instructions about the order. If you didn't use this space, you may fill out the contact form in the Contact Us page, please include your order number and name.
21. Why haven't you credited my Visa for the oil I returned to you last week? I didn't like how it smelled.
All customers are informed on our last checkout page that all sales are final, we don’t accept returns. Unauthorized returns are done at the customer's risk and expense and will be discarded upon their arrival at our warehouse. How an oil "smells" to one customer is totally subjective; while the oil may smell unpleasant to one customer, it may smell delightful to another. Please review question #28
22. Ordered Friday (20th), card charged on the 20th, today is Tuesday (24th), you still haven't shipped my order!
As mentioned on our website (a) credit/debit cards are charged immediately upon order placement and (b) orders are logged into our system the next business day after they're placed....yours was placed on Friday and logged into our system on Monday. We strive to ship most orders within 3 business days of the log-in date, perhaps sooner. This order should ship between Wednesday and Thursday of this week. We’re closed on weekends and holidays.
23. Why am I not being offered a local pickup option during checkout?
Local pickups were discontinued years ago. All orders placed will ship.
24. When do you charge my credit card?
Cards are charged immediately upon order placement. Should the transaction be declined for any reason, an order will not result and we won’t receive any funds.
25. Why have I received two order confirmations for an order I placed yesterday?
Because you placed not one, but two orders and, per our posted policies, both will ship. Please read once again the emailed order confirmations, they will each show a different order number and a different time. Within minutes of your first order placement our system sent you an order confirmation.
26. Can I ingest essential oils or use them to flavor foods?
While it's common knowledge that many food/candy manufacturers use essential oils in their products (cinnamon, mint, citrus, etc.) those companies have staff at their disposal to do their research. They also have access to lawyers and purchase huge insurance policies to protect their interests. Ingesting certain essential oils could be OK while ingesting other essential oils could prove fatal. We offer products for persons who make toiletries and who practice aromatherapy, herbalism, massage, etc. We cannot recommend that essential oils be taken internally. You should do local and online research before taking this step. Essential oils are not commonly ingested in the U.S., but are commonly ingested in certain European countries where they are usually prescribed by licensed aromatherapists.
27. How many fluid ounces in your 7 lb. almond oil?
Our products are sold by weight. A pound consists of 16 oz., 7 x 16 = 112 ounces. But this product is not sold by fluid ounces or volume. We don't have the answer you require. If you will be using this oil in a recipe for soap or toiletries, those recipes usually call for weights, not fluid measurements. Seven pounds of liquid is the size closest to a gallon that we offer.
28. How do I properly smell or sample an essential or fragrance oil? My nose is quickly overwhelmed!
We're glad you're asking this question. It's been our experience that some users of essential and fragrance oils may not follow the proper steps to smell or sample an oil. As you indicated, doing this improperly will quickly overwhelm the nose.
We sell perfume testers for this purpose. If you don't have any, you can make one using a clean, unmarked index card or a piece cut off from a manila non-colored file folder, plain copy paper will not work. Cut the piece so it will fit through the neck of the bottle. Label one end of the strip with the name of the oil, dip the unlabeled end into the oil. Smell it about 2" from your nose, no closer.
Make a written note of what you smell, set the strip aside. Smell it again in 30 minutes, make written notes, set it aside. Smell it again in an hour, make written notes. You will notice from your written notes how the notes have changed throughout this time period. NEVER SMELL DIRECTLY FROM A BOTTLE! All bottles have headspace that distorts the notes of an oil. Smelling directly from a bottle will also quickly overwhelm your nose and you won't properly smell the oil. CAUTION: Do not place the wet strips directly on wood, fabric or any other area which may be damaged by the aggressiveness of an oil.
29. I noticed some of the essential oils I just received are bottled in amber plastic bottles. Why not amber glass? How are your essential oils dispensed?
At this time we use amber plastic pharmaceutical grade bottles to bottle 8 oz. essential oils solely to prevent breakage while in transit to the customer. One pound quantities of EO’s are bottled in aluminum bottles. Larger quantities of EO’s are dispensed in HDPE wide-mouth containers. Amber glass bottles are sold separately should you need to purchase some for rebottling. Upon receipt, EO's dispensed in plastic bottles MUST be promptly transferred into amber glass bottles. Sizes of essential oils from 1/32 oz. to 4 oz. are bottled in amber glass while sizes of 1/32 oz. to ½ oz. are dispensed with orifice reducers.
30. Can your salts be used for cooking?
Our salts are food grade except Dead Sea salts. Our European Spa salts contain lots of beneficial minerals not commonly found in table salt. Descriptions of certain products may mention the product is food grade, this information is provided to us by the vendor or manufacturer. Camden-Grey products are sold only for external use.
31. It's tax time and I need copies of all my invoices for last year, please email them.
When you placed an order our system immediately emailed you a copy of the order. If you haven’t seen the confirmation email, please check through your spam/delete folder for that confirmation. Customers who have created an account on our site have access to order history and from there they can print any invoices they require. We do not provide invoices upon request when tax time rolls around since the invoice was provided when the order was placed and is also retained in the customer’s order history if the order was placed while logged into the account.
32. There wasn't a receipt inside my box.
We don't include invoices or packing slips with domestic shipments. When the order was placed our system emailed you a copy of the order. Please locate this copy among your emails and check against your shipment. That is your invoice. Or log into your Camden-Grey account, access your order history and print the invoice(s) you require.
33. Are all your vegetable oils edible and expeller or cold pressed?
The majority of our vegetable/nut oils are food grade, you'd have to do your own research for the oil which interests you to see if it's recommended to be taken internally. Oils such as emu, jojoba and foraha are usually not taken internally. The majority of our vegetable/nut oils are expeller or cold pressed, except grapeseed which is usually solvent extracted. Should we add any other oils which are solvent extracted, this will be explained in the description provided for the oil. Please click on a product, on the next page you’ll see its description. Some descriptions of products may mention the product is food grade, this information is provided to us by the vendor or manufacturer. Camden-Grey products are sold only for external use.
34. You offered a discount until Sunday and I want to place my order today, Monday.
We're sorry that the offer is now over. Please wait for our next offer and subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page, many promotions are offered only to our subscribers. The promotions we offer are in effect only during the dates mentioned, not before or after.
35. Do you offer organic products?
Vendors such as Camden-Grey that is not yet certified by the USDA as an organic vendor cannot offer organic paperwork with any organic products it may offer.
36. I am looking for lavandar oil.
We offer various lavender oils. The correct spelling is lavender, please try again.
37. What's the difference between standard cultivation and wildcrafted products?
Standard cultivation plants may be grown with or without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Wildcrafted plants are grown wild without anyone adding synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
38. I need tracking information for my order.
Tracking information is sent via email directly to you by FedEx once we create your shipping label. AOL, MSN, Gmail and Yahoo subscribers seem to frequently have problems receiving our emails and carriers’ emails. Please adjust your settings if you subscribe to those service so that our emails and the carrier’s emails will go through; otherwise, you will not be able to receive our notices. We cannot provide tracking information if a shipping label has not yet been created. You may also log into your online Camden-Grey account, access order history and, if we have shipped, you’ll see your tracking number there.
39. Do you still carry rose clay?
Yes, we do. Please use our Search feature. If you enter a correctly-spelled word and the product’s offered, it will quickly turn up.
40. I am looking for fruity/tropical essential oils.
There aren’t any essential oils available at this time which are obtained from fruits or certain foods such as chocolate or coconut. For that purpose you need fragrance oils which we also offer.
41. Do you have GC analyses & SDS's of all essential oils you offer?
We wish we did, but analyses are cost prohibitive for a small business such as ours that stocks over 100 essential oils. Those costs would have to be passed on to our customers. Instead, we purchase directly from long-established distillers, both large and small, with whom we've established business relationships since we were established in 1998. NOTE: Neither document will tell you who the manufacturer of the product is.
42. Are your clays cosmetic grade?
Yes, they are. And of the highest quality.
43. What is your cancellation fee?
We do not accept or allow cancellations, once an order is placed it cannot be cancelled and it will ship exactly as placed. You may refuse the shipment, but this will trigger cancellation & restocking fees as well as shipping costs back to us for the return of your shipment. Your card will be charged for any amounts due us. To avoid any inconveniences or disappointments, please make sure that you intend to place the order before you enter payment information and submit the order. Before paying is the time to make changes or not continue with the order. Once the order’s submitted, it’ll be processed and shipped.
44. Do you offer Certificates of Analysis (CofA) for your products?
Our policy regarding CofA’s changed effective 7/11/16 as follows: (1) Please request the CofA directly on the order form when you submit the order. Requests received later cannot be honored. (2) Please allow a minimum of 8 business days from our ship date for us to provide the CofA via email. We do not include any documents with our domestic shipments. (3) If a CofA is extremely important to you, we suggest that before you place the order you email us and ask if we have a CofA for the product so you won’t be disappointed if there isn’t one. Please do not send a list of more than 5 products. We do not provide CofA's without an order. (4) CofA’s will be provided for individual ingredients/raw materials each of which must have a price of $30.00+. (5) We do not provide CofA’s for past orders whether the order is one week or six months old. The time to order a CofA is during order placement.
(Rev. 2/11/20)