Shipping Policy

Tracking Information & Shipment Confirmations

Our system generates an order confirmation when you place an order. It will then generate a shipping confirmation once your package begins to actually track. Many companies send tracking information as soon as a label is printed, leaving you trying to track a package that hasn't even been boxed by them yet. When you receive a tracking number from us, you know it's already on the way to you.

Shipping Methods

The majority of our orders are shipped via USPS. With our experience of shipping tens of thousands of packages, USPS is the most reliable form of shipping in the United States. USPS also provides the most cost effective rates overall as well.

We also offer UPS shipping options upon request, but these may take an extra day to process and our account rates with these services are typically more expensive than our primary method of shipping (USPS).

Shipping, Handling, & Transit Time Estimates

We typically ship all orders the following business day after they are placed. Due to variances in pick up times by carriers, we cannot promise same day shipping. We only ship Monday through Friday, so orders placed on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday are typically shipped on Mondays. If USPS is closed for a holiday, we do not ship on that day. 

The time packages take to arrive once in transit depends on the shipping method, as well as any delays the carrier may have. On average, packages times in transit when shipped via USPS are as follows:

• USPS First Class Mail:  3-5 days in USA
• USPS Priority Mail:  1-3 days in USA
• USPS First Class Mail International:  7-30 days (depends on destination)
• USPS Priority Mail International:  6-10 days

Free Shipping Orders

Orders qualifying for free shipping are shipped by the most cost effective method at the time of shipping, this is usually USPS First Class Mail by default. You may choose to pay the full shipping fee to upgrade your package to USPS Priority Mail, UPS or FedEx.

Redeliveries of "Return to Sender" Packages

If your package is "returned to sender" due to an incorrect address entered during checkout, we will reship the package for you at your additional expense...even if your package originally qualified for free shipping. We are not responsible for mis-addressed mail on your order if we used the address provided by you at checkout.

Changing Shipping Address After Order is Placed

We will not change a shipping address for you after an order is placed due to fraud risks. If you want to change your shipping address after an order is placed, we will cancel your order and allow you to create a new order on the site for the same items using the new address. 

International Orders, Customs, & Import Taxes

International orders are sometimes taxed by the importing nation (ie. your country) before deliveries are made. We do not collect or pay these taxes on your behalf, you will need to pay them to the carrier in your country when the items are delivered to you. In many cases, you will have to pick the package up at a local post in order to pay those taxes. We do not know what countries collect this tax, if applicable, or how much those fees are.

Each package we ship that requires a customs form has the correct information attached to those forms. We will not change cost amounts on these forms in order to help you avoid paying fees or taxes. It is illegal for us to do so.

Package Forwarding Services, Military APO, & Redirects

We ship to military APO's. Our rule is that if the USPS recognizes an address as an official US Military mail service, we ship there.

Should you request that a carrier redirect a package to a location other than the address we shipped to, as printed on our label, we are not responsible for the delivery of that package.

We DO NOT ship to mail forwarding services that re-ship packages out of the country or that offer "box" services for customer pickup. Any orders that appear to be addressed to a known Package Forwarding Service will be cancelled and not shipped. If an order is shipped to such a location, we are not responsible for lost packages to those addresses.

Lost Mail (USPS)

It is extremely rare that a package we ship gets lost in transit. There are typically 4 types of "lost packages" we see:

1. "Package Acceptance Pending": In this case, unless it has been several days, there is no need to contact us. This simply means that our carrier has picked up the package, but it is not tracking in their system. There is no need to panic on this one. This is NOT a lost package in the vast majority of cases, it's just a tracking error in their system. Luckily, tracking for packages has little or nothing to do with the actual movement of the package. These packages ARE still moving, even though they don't track. In most cases, they begin tracking again once they are at your local post office...or are delivered. 
2. Tracking hasn't moved in a day or 2. In this case, wait a couple of days before contacting us. This sometimes happens if the carrier has an issue in transit with items. It could be a temporarily misplaced package, or the tracking has failed from that point forward. If a package is indeed lost, this is usually the way it tracks. In this situation, we alert USPS that the package appears to be lost. But again...USPS requires that it is lost for at least 7 days before they will attempt to locate the package. If the package was last at your local post office, it is always a good idea to contact the local office directly.
3. Says "Delivered", but was not. In this case, let us know immediately. There are 2 cases where this can happen (and either are VERY RARE). One case is that your package was stolen after delivery. The more common case is that it was mis-delivered to another address OR a carrier's driver marked it as delivered, but it was not. Usually, this one sorts itself out as the package is delivered the following day by the driver. However, the number one thing to do here is to make contact with your local driver to find out where it was delivered. If you don't have access to them, contact their dispatch or your local post office. This usually results in the package appearing suddenly.
   
   International packages are sometimes "delivered" but still waiting at the local post office for import taxes to be paid by recipient. 

Packages that are confirmed as lost by the carrier are looked at and handled on a case by case basis. We may choose to replace the items, refund the order, or deny the claim...depending on the circumstances of the loss.