Q: Are you the same company as JBL Statues?
A: Yes, we used to be called JBL Statues. JBL stands for Jai Baghavan Limited which means “praise God.” Jai Bhagavan Ltd is our sister company in Calcutta, India, that manufactures all of our statues. We originally began selling in the United States as JBL Statues in 1978. The company slowly grew until 1994 when the name was changed to Sacred Source to reflect the more diverse product line in our catalog. JBL Statues still maintains a website for educational purposes, but no longer sells. We are still listed in some books and links as JBL Statues.

Q: It says the item I would like to order is out of stock. Can I still order it?
A: Yes, Absolutely. We get shipments of our statues from Calcutta in about 3 to 4 times a year. If the item you desire is out of stock, simply complete the order and we put the item on backorder for you. Your card will not be charged for the item until we receive it into inventory.

Q: Do you ship outside the continental US?
A: Yes, we ship to most countries via USPS Global Express Mail. Recipients are responsible for paying Custom Duties and Taxes in the destination country.

Q: Do you have a retail store we can visit?
A: No, we are simply a mail order company and have no show room; however, there are many stores who carry our products across the United States and even a few in Canada, Australia and Great Britain.

Q: How do you decide which statues to carry?
A: Most of our designs come from customer suggestions. We review all suggestions and begin researching the ones we think will do well. The hard part is finding suitable images to recreate.

Q: How come there aren't more male deities?
A: We recognize the Deity Gender Imbalance (DGI) and are working to introduce new images, but not at the expense of quality. We also tend to shy away from patriarchal war gods. Please mail or email us information (especially any pictures you're able to find) on deities you'd like us to consider producing.

Q. Do you carry books and CDs too?
A: We have some terrific sideline items. We try to carry a few really special books, CDs and other items. But our main mission has always been and will always be to benefit the Artisan community in Calcutta by offering you the statues they create.

Q. How do you price your statues?
A: We try to offer a wide price range to satisfy all of our customers. Our statues are made of a variety of materials, from sacred clay, to brass, to ResinPlus. We have a commitment to continually improving quality and selection. And there are the people. It costs Sacred Source money to give the Artisans and our staff here a living wage, but that's the only way we'd have it. Some of our statues are relatively easy to make and don't require a lot of expensive materials. Our Artisans are so talented and practiced that they can work quite quickly. We don't charge whatever the market will bear, just what we need to keep things operating.

Q: Do you really support fair trade?
A: Yes. For the last 25 years we have supported a village of Artisans in a safe, healthy, family-friendly, environment. These artisans would otherwise be performing back-breaking labor for little pay in one of India 's poorest cities. We pay above living wages plus bonuses, support festivals and religious observances, and do not use child labor.

Q: Can I order by mail or pay by money order?
A: Yes. We were originally a mail order company and still produce a printed catalog. We take orders by phone (800-290-6203 10am-6pm Monday-Friday EST), fax (434-823-7665), mail (PO Box 163 Crozet, VA 22932 ), email (spirit@sacredsource.com), and secure online ordering on our internet website (www.sacredsource.com).

Q: Do you sell wholesale?
A: Yes we are happy to supply statuary for your retail store. Please call or email with your tax resale certificate information and we will send wholesale terms.

Q: Are you environmentally responsible? Why is there so much Styrofoam in my package?
A: It's tough to ship statues without some kind of packing materials, but we try to minimize the impact on the environment in three ways. First, when we have to purchase supplies, we buy only biodegradable packing peanuts made from corn starch. Second, we reuse Styrofoam peanuts that we gather from other business, fulfilling the second part of the mantra, "reduce, reuse, recycle." And third, the Styrofoam used to package our statues is recycled and has an interesting story. India has a culture where most "garbage" is naturally reused somewhere. For example, the evening meal is often eaten on leaf plates which are thrown out in the yard to be eaten by cows whose manure is then gathered and dried to be used as fuel for cooking the next evening meal. Watersellers use soft clay cups which can be thrown on the ground and return to dirt. Now introduce plastic bags into this "throw down" culture and you have a major pollution problem. Our Styrofoam comes from the respected trade of "rag-pickers" who gather and recycle plastic bags from all around the city. The plastic is melted down and blown into sheets. This accounts for the odd pock-marked texture of our Styrofoam as opposed to the sintered pellet look of most American Styrofoam.