When your order is ready, you
will quite likely have us ship it to you, rather than pick it
up from our office.
And while we will be happy to ship your order, I feel it's important
to explain the shipping methods we offer, some shipping terminology
and what our responsibilities are with regards to shipping your
order.
Orders are currently shipped
using UPS, or, in some cases through the US Post Office or Fed
EX. The choice is always yours.
UPS Ground shipping is included
in the price of most items shipped within the continental U.S.,
but UPS Ground may not work for you if you need your order in-hand
faster than ground service would get it to you.
Also, UPS Ground isn't an option if you want your order sent
to a post office box, since UPS cannot deliver to a post office
box.
If you would like to have your order sent using any method other
than UPS Ground, just let us know. However, do keep in mind that
all other methods of shipping are additional.
Shipping Guarantees
You should be aware that UPS,
Fed Ex and the Postal Service cannot guarantee 100% on-time delivery.
And as good as they are, they all occasionally make mistakes
which can cause packages to be mis-routed to the wrong city.
Weather related issues can also cause delays.
What I'm getting at is that
since no delivery method is perfect, I encourage you to make
your choice of delivery service with that in mind.
If you absolutely, positively
need to have your order in-hand by a certain date, be sure to
allow enough time for us to complete your order and for the shipping
method you choose to deliver the package with a little time to
spare. That way, if for some reason your package were to be delayed
in transit, you would still receive your package before you actually
need it.
And yes, I realize in this
fast-paced world of ours, this is not always possible.
If you order custom-made buttons
from us and we tell you we will have them finished by a certain
date, that is an iron clad guarantee. We WILL ship your order
on the date promised.
But when a shipper "guarantees"
that your package will be delivered overnight (or in two days),
what that really means is if they don't deliver your package
by that date, your sole recourse is to have them refund the shipping
charges that you paid. That is the limit of their liability.
You should also be aware that Priority Mail is NOT a time specific
guaranteed delivery option and that Express Mail from the Postal
Service is NOT always a next day delivery service. If in doubt,
please check with the Postal Service to see if their service
will get your package to you by the date you need it.
Liablity
At the top of this page you
might have noticed the phrase "Orders shipped F.O.B. from our office".
This is a standard shipping declaration that virtually everyone
who ships merchandise will use.
The phrase
F.O.B. stands for Freight On Board, and what that means
is that when your package(s) leaves our office, in the hands
of the shipping company you chose, we are no longer responsible
for the shipment. At that moment, all responsibility for the
shipment transfers from us to the shipping company that you chose.
Insurance
With UPS, packages
automatically receive up to $100.00 worth of insurance to cover
loss or damage to the contents.
So if you have us ship your package using UPS and the value of
your package exceeds this amount, you may wish to have it insured
for the full amount. If you do want to insure the package for
the full amount, you need to let us know that you want us to
add additional insurance.
Requests for additional insurance MUST be made at the time the
order is placed and we will add the cost of insurance (which
is usually just a few dollars) to your bill.
If you have
us ship your order using Priority Mail, this service does not
include insurance unless you specifically ask for it. With Priority
Mail, insurance costs are additional.
The option to add insurance is yours, but requests to add insurance
MUST be made when the order is placed.
If you place your order using our SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM, you
make a request to add insurance by typing the following phrase
in the "comments / suggestions" form on the shopping
cart checkout page: "PLEASE INSURE THIS PACKAGE FOR $____."
(enter the amount you want the package insured for).
If your package
is insured and the package is damaged in transit, you MUST contact
us within 5 business days of receiving the package and you MUST
save all packaging and contents. If you fail to save them, the
shipper likely will not accept your claim and you will have no
further recourse.
If your package
is lost or delayed in transit, UPS can track the package. However,
unless you pay extra for their tracking service, the Postal Service
won't be able to track your package.
When items are shipped using the Postal Service, they will not
allow you to initiate a claim until 30 days after the package
was shipped. That's a long time, but that is THEIR policy.
With UPS, you
can initiate a claim much sooner. For more information about UPS shipping
policies, click here.
For more information
about Postal Service shipping policies, click here
Charges for Rush Shipping
If you are
wondering what it would cost to have your order sent by a shipping
method faster than UPS Ground, our SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM will calculate shipping
charges for you. You can then compare the differences and determine
which method makes the most sense for you.
To determine shipping charges, just place the item or items you
are interested in into our shopping cart and it will ask you
which shipping method you would like to use.
To compare the charges of, let's say, Next Day and Second Day
Air, just enter the items you are interested in into the shopping
cart, select an initial shipping preference and note the price.
Then, select another shipping option and note that price.
Don't worry...
nothing is final until you enter your credit card information
and click on the button to place the order.
International Shipping
If you live
outside of the United States and want us to ship any of our products
to you, we will be happy to do so. However, I would strongly
encourage you to read the following information before deciding
how to have your package shipped.
Of the two
companies, UPS is the most reliable shipper and their tracking
system is first rate. That is important if you want to determine
where your package is at any given moment. In my experience,
the tracking system offered by the Post Office leaves a lot to
be desired and it is often difficult to determine where your
package is with their system.
However, UPS
Worldwide Express and UPS Worldwide Expedited are generally a
lot more expensive than Global Express mail and thats why many
of our international customers opt to have us ship their package
using Global Express mail.
If you want
something in hand as soon as possible, though, I would recommend
using UPS.
But if you
want to save some money and are willing to take a chance that
it might take longer than expected for your package to arrive,
go ahead and choose Global Express mail.
Keep in mind,
however, that once we ship your package using the method you
choose, our responsibility for that package ends. We will be
happy to assist you in tracking a lost package and submitting
the proper paperwork if a package is lost or damaged in transit.
But we are NOT responsible if the package takes longer
than expected to arrive, or if the package is lost or damaged
in transit.
Also, please be aware that the Postal Service won't accept a
claim for a missing package until after 30 days have passed from
the time it was shipped. And if the package is lost and a claim
must be submitted, it can take a fair amount of time to get the
matter resolved.
When a package
shipped outside the United States takes longer than expected
to arrive it is due to the package having to clear the Customs
Office in the country it was shipped to.
And
unfortunately, we have no control over this!
Packages shipped by UPS always clear customs faster than packages
shipped by Global Express Mail, so please take this into consideration
when choosing your shipping method.
Customs Charges / Duties
If you are
going to have us ship you something and you live outside the
United States, chances are you are going to have to pay duties
/ customs charges when your package arrives. These charges are
beyond our control and we have no way of knowing how much the
custom charges are going to be.
To try and avoid paying customs charges, customers will sometimes
ask us to enter a lower figure on the invoice, or mark the package
as a sample, or as a gift. Doing so would constitute fraud on
our part and we will not do it. So please don't ask.
If you receive
a wrong item or didn't receive an item that you ordered
If you receive an item that you didn't order (wrong item shipped),
any claim to that effect MUST be made within 7 days of receiving
the package.
If you receive a shipment and an item that should have been in
the box, isn't, you MUST contact us within 7 days of receiving
the order and all packing materials MUST be saved in case you
have to initiate a claim against the shipping company.
Failure to save the shipping materials will likely lead to the
shipping company denying the claim, so please save the materials
if there is any damage to your order.
Thanks!
Don Ratliff
aka Dr. Don
