Shipping and Delivery Information

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Shipping Costs

We usually use the US Postal Servive for shipping and we try to charge the actual costs of shipping rather than sneak in hidden profits. If you've ever bought anything online or mailed any packages, you already know that shipping is a significant cost. But few people stop to consider why. Our charges are slightly higher than the standard charges for items of the same weight listed by the US Postal Service. That's because in addition to the postal charges, we must cover the cost of the box or envelope, bubble wrap or other packing materials, shipping labels (even the print toner used to print them), packing tape and the the labor to sort and pack each order.  All of these are real costs and we must pay them when we ship you merchandise whether or not the item arrives and whether or not you ordered the intended item.  Smaller orders tend to see a disproportionate cost of shipping because these costs are the same (up to a point) as they are for larger orders. It's more efficient for both of us if you order multiple items each time.  We calculate shipping costs based on the total weight of the item(s) ordered plus a bit to cover the shipping materials. You will only be charged once for the shipping materials if you combine orders rather than place smaller separate orders.

January 2016 Postal Rate Increases

We are sorry to report that the USPS has raised rates significantly as of January 17, 2016. The increases greatly effect our shipping costs, especially on overseas shipping. Since we often deal with small quantity sales these increases put us in the position of losing money on most our product offers. We have no choice but to pass them along. Prior to this increase there were 5 separate tiers for items weighing 8oz or less. The USPS has combined all of them into 1 tier and raised the cost. With the new rates, shipping costs for a 1/2 oz item are the same as they are for an 8 oz order.Now more than ever before it is more economical to combine orders. We will refund any overpayment of shipping charges that may result from the way our web site calculates item weights. Please contact us if you feel the shipping costs have been miscalculated.

Lost Packages

We do our best to package and ship orders promptly.  We want our customers to be happy with both our products and our service. But the world is a big place and some packages do get lost or damaged no matter how careful we are about packaging them or how promptly we ship them.  In a few cases the frequency of lost or damaged packages has been chronic enough to force us to cease shipments to that part of the world. More often we find that packages which appeared lost are simply delayed and will eventually reach their destinations intact; sometimes months later.

We regret that we currently will not ship to new customers in Brazil.  The frequency of lost packages makes it impossible.  We simply could not continue absorb the losses.  For existing customers in Brazil and for all customers in Argentina, Italy and Turkey, we will continue trying to serve you, however you will assume the risk of any lost packages we ship to these countries. This means we will do our part--package and ship your items in a timely fashion, but if they are not received we will not offer refunds or reshipment unless compensated for the reshipment costs.  

Tracking

Most of our packages are tracked by the US Postal Service.  This tracking is a confirmation of exactly when your order was placed in the mail and began its journey to you, as well as a record of its progress.  Please understand that once we have turned it over to the Postal Service we have filled your order. It's up to the postal service to get it to you. There is nothing more we can do to make sure they actually deliver it. If it does not arrive or if it is marked as delivered and yet has not been delivered to you, complain first to your post office to see if they can remedy the situation. They handle a lot of mail and mistakes do happen. Often the package will eventually be found and delivered.  We encourage you to file official complaints with the postal service each time they fail to deliver your merchandise as expected.

Failed Delivery and Incorrect Delivery

Most packages that cannot be delivered eventually find their way back to us.  Sometimes it can take quite a long time to get them back, and they don't always arrive in the best condition.  Usually the reason for failed delivery is the wrong address was entered by the buyer.  Labels used to ship the items are printed directly from the information provided to us by the buyer. Please enter it carefully. We will contact you (if we haven't already done so, or if youhaven't already contacted us), when an order is returned to us as undeliverable.

Incorrect Delivery

This is perhaps the most frustrating event for both buyer and seller. You have ordered and paid in good faith, we have packaged and shipped in good faith (and incurred the associated expenses), and the item ends up delivered to the wrong person who makes no effort to return it to the proper recipient. Unfortunately, there is little we can do. The fault is with the recipeint who chose to keep the items rather than return them and the postal or delivery carrier who delivered them incorrectly.  You must seek remedies through them.

Colors and Sizes

Please order carefully and be sure the styles, sizes and colors you want are the same as what you are ordering.  Note that colors as they appear on your computer may not be an exact match with the actual colors of the item as it appears when delivered There are several reasons for this, including the fact that cameras do not accurately capture some colors, PC display settings may affect the way colors appear on your computer, and the fact that human beings don't universally agree on perceptions of color.  We do earnestly try to convey colors accurately in our listings. We understand how important it is to help your creations look as good as possible.

Sizes are also conveyed as accurately as we can in both metric and English measurements.  We strongly encourage you to get a ruler out while ordering and make note of the sizes. Product sizes may vary by just 1/2 milimeter from one size to the next. If you are seeking an exact match for size, it's virtually impossible to get a reliable feel for the size of the item by looking at our listing pictures. Get out  ruler and learn how to read it to be sure you're getting what you want. By the way: circumference measures around the outside edge and diameter is across the middle.

Refund/Exchanges

We handle refunds and exchanges on a case by case basis.  Please contact us before shipping items back to us. In some cases we may reship the items without requiring a return. Shipping costs are not refunded, nor will we cover the shipping costs of an exchange. 

Damaged Goods

We use quality shipping materials and methods that lead to the safe arrival of goods the vast majority of the time, but some packages apparently go on adventures the rest of them manage to avoid. If your pakage is damaged during delivery and items are damaged or destroyed, contact us and we'll try to work out a solution, but please understand the postal carrier is responsible for the damages and should be consulted first. 

Shipping options

Standard shipping (first-class mail) is the cheapest.  Delivery in the USA is usually 4-7 days after we mail the item.  Countries outside of the USA usually take between 2 and 4 weeks, although these are estimates and it varies by location. Standard shipping typically covers orders of 64 ounces or less outside the USA and orders of 13 ounces or less within the USA.

Priority Shipping is supposed to be much faster than standard, first-class shipping. USA deliveries will usully be 2-4 days while international orders should be delivered between 10 days and 2 weeks after mailing. Again, these are estimates. Actual delivery times may be longer or shorter depending on your location. For shipments within the USA over 13 ounces and all other Countries over 64 ounces, we must use Priority Mail.

Priority Express, formerly called 2nd Day Shipping, delivers items to USA addresses in 1-3 days time. Other countries generally see delivery in 3 to 7 days but, as always, these are estimates and actual times may vary according to local customs. Priority express can be quite expensive, even for smaller orders.