Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are your business hours?
Our office is open between 9 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday Eastern Standard Time (not including major holidays, unless otherwise posted). Any interruption in our normal schedule will be announced ahead of time through our daily emails. For your convenience, this clock is always set to Ann Arbor time so that you will know when we are available:
2. What is your office phone number?
We can be reached toll-free at 1-800-978-0206. The phone will be answered live during normal business hours. If you should happen to receive the voice mail during periods of increased calling volume or outside of normal business hours, please leave a message with your name and contact information and one of our service representatives will call you back as quickly as possible.
3. Can I place an order by phone?
You certainly can! Representatives will be available to answer the phone during normal business hours. Phone traffic does increase at peak times so if you should get our answering machine, please leave your name and number and we will get right back to you. You can always leave a message on our secure ordering line with your information, and we’ll place the order for you although in that case you will also receive a followup call.
4. What payment methods do you take?
There are lots of different ways to pay for your order: We accept all four major credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express and the Discover card. We also accept PayPal – you can pay with PayPal or any other credit card directly through our online shopping cart. If you prefer, you can contact us by phone or email and we can send you a manual PayPal request. We accept checks and money orders by mail, please click here for directions. We do NOT recommend sending cash. We can also accept a moneygram transfer albeit for an additional fee.
5. Can I place an order using a purchase order?
Yes, we will absolutely accept purchase orders from schools or governmental institutions. Please call us at 1-800-978-0206 or fax your PO to 734-259-5031. Payment terms are the standard net-30 after receipt of ordered items. Contact us and we will be happy to answer any more questions you might have on this process.
6. Can I send payment by mail?
Even in the digital age, mail order is still alive and well! If you would like to place an order by mail, please click here for more instructions. NOTE: checks or money orders should be made payable to “John Wood”
7. How do I know my online order has been completed?
When you successfully place an order online, there will be three indications:

1. You will be taken to an order confirmation web page immediately
2. You will receive an electronic order confirmation
3. You will receive an electronic credit card receipt

Once your order has been placed, please check your inbox and all appropriate email folders to make sure the confirmation has not been classified as junk mail (which may be a possibility since these emails are automatically generated by our shopping cart). In the event that an email address was entered incorrectly during the ordering process, any email receipts will not deliver but you will still be taken to the order confirmation web page upon successful order placement. If you place an order over the phone and would like an email confirmation with your order, please let us know. We will be happy to provide a receipt and/or a paid invoice at any time. If there is otherwise any question as to whether an order has been successfully placed, please send us a quick email and we will be happy to check our shopping cart and let you know.

What should I do if my order is declined?
Our system may decline your credit card for several reasons such as invalid funds, foreign orders, or incorrect entry. On the other hand, once in a great while our system may decline a perfectly valid credit card for no reason. Regardless, if you should receive a “Declined” notice when placing an order for any reason, please do not keep attempting orders as it will not be necessary. Also, when the order attempt is “Declined” no actual transaction has taken place and no money has been taken out of your account.

The quickest and easiest step to take next would be to contact us via phone or email as soon as possible after your order attempt. We can then help you complete the order process without any problems in most cases.
9. My order is a gift. Will the prices show up somewhere?
We can certainly include a gift receipt upon request or no receipt at all, if that is your preference. Let us know in the comments section or through separate email what you would like us to do and we’ll take care of it.
10. Can you combine shipping if I order more than one item?
Yes we can! All orders for more than one item — placed online, over the phone and by mail — feature a prorated shipping rate. It will always be to your advantage from a monetary standpoint to combine orders whenever possible. We may even be able to apply further discounts for larger orders depending on the items chosen and shipping destination. If you would like to place a large order — i.e. more than six items — drop us a line beforehand and we can see what we can do.
11. What is the expected delivery time for my order?
Expected delivery time depends on the specific items in the order. Orders consisting of in-stock items such as books, DVDs, hand grippers etc. are generally shipped from our office within 48 hours. Delivery time for US orders is 2-3 business days from the time the order ships. Please allow at least 10-14 business days for overseas delivery.

An email with the tracking information will be sent to the email address included when you placed the order, when your order ships. (If the email address you provided is invalid, you will not receive this message.)

If you ordered a larger product such as a climbing rope, etc., these will be shipped directly from the manufacturer. Please check your e-mail inbox, trash, and spam folders to see if you received an e-mail with a tracking number after the lead time has passed. If it is past the estimated shipping time and you still haven’t seen your item(s), then please contact us at 1-800-978-0206 or by e-mail, at info AT functionalhandstrength.com.
12. How are orders shipped?
Domestic orders shipped from our office are shipped via United States Postal Service 2-3 Day Priority Mail. Overseas orders are shipped USPS Priority, with rates depending on package weight and destination. Larger items are shipped directly from the manufacturer, usually by UPS. Tracking numbers are sent via email in either event once the order has been packed and shipped.
13. Do you ship to APO/FPO Addresses?
Yes we do! Please visit THIS PAGE for more info.
14. Do you ship to P.O. Boxes?
We do! All smaller items such as books and dvds or anything else shipped by USPS Priority Mail will ship to a P.O. Box without issue. Large items which ship by UPS or FEDEX, cannot be delivered to a P.O. Box so we will need a street address to complete delivery for those items.
15. Can you ship to International locations?
Yes we can! — and we have a surprisingly large international customer base. Please contact us prior to ordering so we can walk you through our overseas ordering procedure. If you contact us before placing the order, there is a strong chance that we may be able to give you a much better shipping quote when multiple items are ordered at once than you would get by placing the order online. Please visit THIS PAGE for more specifics.

16. Can I put signature confirmation on my order?
There is an additional fee for placing shipping confirmation on any order but yes, you can. SIgnature confirmation is not an option that is available automatically through the online shopping cart but if you contact us after you have placed your order, we can add in the additional fee. Also, If you are placing an order by phone, just let the representative know you’d like to include Signature Confirmation and we will include it in your order total.
17. I need my order REALLY fast. Can I request a faster shipping option (Fed Ex, UPS, other)?
Yes, we can certainly help expedite your order. Please contact us as soon as possible and we will provide your options and cost options. “In stock” items, which are shipped directly from our office can be shipped by USPS Express delivery which has guaranteed next-day delivery. It is also usually possible to expedite the shipping of our larger items but that will depend on the item itself and our manufacturer’s current schedule. We can let you know all pertinent details once you contact us by phone or email. If you need an order shipped to you before a certain date, please be aware of the normal shipping times for items and plan accordingly.
18. How long will it take for you to ship my order?
In-stock items (books, dvds, etc.) typically ship out within 48 hours — you will receive an email with a tracking number once your order is in the mail. Large items may ship directly from the manufacturer and the turn around time is listed on their specific pages. International orders generally take 10-14 business days to arrive based on order weight and location. Orders may also be held up in customs which will extend this time frame.
19. How do I check on the status of an order?
If your order has already shipped, please check the tracking number which will be sent via email. If you do not receive a tracking number during the expected time frame, please send us an email at info AT functionalhandstrength.com. In order to make the process as quick as possible please include the following pieces of information:

* Full Name
* Order ID Number
* Shipping Address
* Order Date
If you are missing some of these items, that’s ok, just try to include as many of them as you can. We will look into things and get back to you as soon as possible with the status of your order.
20. Do you charge sales tax?
We do charge sales tax, but only on orders delivered within the state of Michigan. Furthermore, schools and government institutions — even in the State of Michigan — are also tax exempt so no sales tax is necessary on those orders.
21. Do you offer any discounts or coupons?
On rare occasions, we may have a sale or special, any details will be sent through our daily emails. One thing to always keep in mind is that when ordering more than one item, we will ALWAYS, AUTOMATICALLY discount your shipping cost.
22. Do you have a catalog?
Because our product line is constantly changing and updating, we do not have a printed catalog, although if you contact us with the topics you would like to know more about, we will be more than happy to point you in the right direction for products on our websites relating to your interest. Please send us an email or feel free to give us a call during normal business hours at 1-800-978-0206. Also, make sure you visit all our other websites to make sure you’ve seen all of our exciting products.
23. Can I send you my training questions or have you look at my current routine?
Each day Mr. Wood receives dozens of e-mails and phone calls, many of which request his expert guidance. Unfortunately, his busy schedule prevents him from being able to personally respond to every request. To help the greatest number of customers in the most efficient way possible, Mr. Wood answers a selection of questions and comments in his daily e-mail tips. Training questions are placed into the queue and addressed in due time. However, as a general rule, he doesn’t respond personally, by e-mail or by phone, to these types of requests. If you have a question about any of our products, please contact us and one of our trained service representatives can assist you in finding what you need or pointing your toward one of our resources that should either address your question or provide more information.
24. I live outside the US. Will your DVDs play in my DVD player?
Yes, all of our DVDs are “All-Region,” and you should have no problem playing our DVDs whether you’re in Tokyo, London, or Timbuktu for that matter.
25. Can you answer some specific questions on any of your products?
Absolutely! On each product page we try to cover address all common questions relating to that product as we can. To give you a good example, on our climbing ropes page, we provide suggestions for determining the proper climbing rope length, diameter, hanging options, etc. We strongly suggest reading the product page and/or using the search function on the website first If you do not find the information that you need and want to talk to a real person, please give us a call and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have so that you get exactly what you need.
26. Can I order items off several of your websites at once?
You sure can! All of our websites feed into the same shopping cart system so if you wanted to order an item from this website and an item from one of our other websites, you can do so quickly and easily. You may also want to consider just calling us as it makes the process much quicker.
27. How do I sign up for your email newsletter?
There are multiple places throughout the website to sign on. Simply enter your name and email address and hit submit. IMPORTANT – before you can receive our emails, you will have to confirm your address, click the link enclosed in the verification email which will be sent to you immediately and you will be good to go.
28. When I received my order, it contained the wrong product (or was missing an item) — what should I do?
Mistakes happen at times. In the event that we make one with your order, please contact us asap by phone or email and we will make it right.
29. I am a professional athlete – will you sponsor me?
We’re rooting for everyone — but sponsorship is not an option that we are able to provide.
30. I have a product that I would like you to sell – do you think that you could feature it on your website?
This is not something that we typically do. If we have any interest in carrying your product, we will reach out to you directly.
31. Can I post your articles or e-mails on my website?
We may be open to granting permission to do so, but please contact us first to ask permission.
32. I live in an apartment, should I expect anything different in regards to shipping?
By and large, the process should be exactly the same as the normal order placement process — however — please make sure to provide the apartment number in the shopping cart shipping address. Also — and this is more specific to your individual situation — please make the proper arrangements if your apartment has a “front desk” mail delivery area or a mailbox that is not big enough to accommodate a package of a certain size.