FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS...

Who Are You?

We are martial artists and aficionados first and publishers second. Thirdly, we sell products. We consider it a service to offer some of these to the public, and certainly part of our duty as teachers and practitioners. This brings a little different style to our interactions. We don't bargain and we don't try to please every customer. But we will go out of our way for a dedicated student. We are one of the oldest martial arts sites on the internet and we treat our customers as an extension of our family-based school and, like our school, rude customers are gone. We've only had a few over the years but we're pretty firm that these transactions are part of the martial etiquette also. So if you want to quibble over a penny, or harass us with impatience - try somewhere else. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Why Are You?

That's simple: we exist for three reasons. First, we love the arts and feel a special responsibility, as well as passion, to make a place for others like us. We're the studio we would want to join, the table around which we'd love to sit with other martial artists to discuss movement, philosophy, theory, movies, books... Second, we feel a real lack in the field for good strong writing about the traditional arts. We make a place for that here, for martial artists to contribute to the body of literature. Finally, there are lots and lots of products out there, some good, many not. They reflect not only different quality but also different levels of understanding of the martial arts. We try to represent products that, to put it straight, encourage a good long-term understanding of the arts; products which show its diversity and complexity without sacrificing everything to the myths, entertainment influence, therapies and general self-centered misunderstandings. Each person can take what he or she needs from the arts but they can't re-define what they are. For over 5000 years they have existed and let's see if we can keep them going.

 

What Is Plum Anyway?

Plum is a company dedicated to transplanting the most significant aspects from 5000 years. We offer a wide range of selected and exclusive books, tapes, VCDs, and related articles spanning Chinese Arts; products and information that appeal to the simply curious or the advanced student.

How Do I Contact You?

 

How Long Before I Get My Stuff, Huh, Huh ?

Officially, 4 - 6 weeks because we don't own the post office. Also, some of the items we sell have limited availability, and need to be ordered. We do the best we can. In actuality, we generally ship once or twice a week and we've been very fortunate. Most packages arrive within 7-10 days. Also, we've had very, very few missing in mailings. PLUS we insure everything.

But What If It Never Arrives?

It's pretty rare for orders to go missing, but it does happen...far fewer than 1% a year. Check out our page for lost and late orders HERE

How DO You Choose Such Great Products?

It's a lot of fun but, believe us, it's not as easy as you might think. First, we avoid the kind of products as common as dirt. We don't handle much stuff from the big companies because, in many cases, we consider them too generic and remedial. So we screen an enormous amount of material to end up with relatively fun items. If we pick swords, for instance, we go "in the back" and personally look at every sword. Something that it would be hard for most people to do on their own.

 

Why Can't I Find ShihFu Grandmaster ShiHan Mortimer's Book on the Fly Whisk Set on Your Site?

Probably because it is either A.) available just about everywhere, like parsley at a drive-in or B.) We've reviewed the material and don't think it is exceptional or C.) the business, being what it is, offers no margin for profit on the item.

What is a PLUM Exclusive?

Something that we either produce or are solely the distributor for in some area. We are, for instance, the exclusive distributor in the U.S. - as of this writing - for LionBooks, one of Taiwan's best martial arts publishers. In the case of our Plum Populars - we publish them and are the only distributors.

What Can I Do to Help?

A lot. We are a "commercial" site in that we sell goods. But, really, PLUM was established to open a series of dialogs and information sites for people seriously interested in traditional martial arts. And here's what we've found in the last few years: the news is good and bad. Surprisingly few people who've put all this time into practice have anything to say. This is either because they haven't considered how important martial practice really has been to their lives, or they don't know what to say. On the positive side, though, the level of understanding of martial issues has risen considerably. So we've got the human resources out there, just not the gumption. Yet. You can write an article, tell us about your study or your school, interview your teacher, communicate.

Who Writes Your Articles?

We write some of them. Shihfu Ted Mancuso, our main contributor, has written for most of the martial arts magazines in America and has had articles reprinted in Spain and China. In addition we have a number of interesting occasional pieces by other contributors. We are open and willing to consider any intelligent and concerned article. Express yourself.

How Do I Order?

Hit the order button on every nav bar, or click here to get to the order page. You can also call us at (831) 427 4001 and leave your order or a call back number.

What Payment Methods Do You Accept?

We accept major credit cards, paypal, money orders, Western Union, and many more options. Click here to see our extensive page on this.

Can You Help Me with My Martial Training?

Up to a point. After that we will have to decline. We are anxious to help but there is a time when one's teacher should be consulted or you should find a qualified teacher to answer certain questions. Our LOCATOR should help in that since we are always adding qualified instructors.

What to do if I have trouble playing DVDs or VCDs?

Some of the DVDs (and VCDs) listed may not play on every DVD player, although those with region-free players have reported no problems. But you should have no difficulty playing it on your computer using VLC, a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player that plays most multimedia files as well as DVD, Audio CD, VCD, and various streaming protocols. It works on Macs, Windows, Linux and other systems. http://www.videolan.org

For more info and detailed instructions for using VLC once you have it, click HERE.

*A note: A few customers have reported getting a message when downloading this program, saying that it "might harm the computer." This is a STANDARD message when downloading ANY program from online. If you are getting this program from the videolan.org site, there should be absolutely no problem.