Shipping and Handling

This page covers my shipping times and estimated transit times for all orders. Please check this page for updated information about transit and shipping times to your country or region. I ship internationally and use USPS. USPS will typically hand off your parcel to the local or regional postal carrier where you live once it leaves the United States.

Jump To: Free Shipping Details, Processing Times, Missing or Lost Packages

PACKING AND HAND OFF TIMES

I pack and process everything personally, and for the majority of the year, I work alone. I typically pack and send out orders twice a week, orders may be dropped off more often during slower sale periods. 

A note about Sales events and Holiday shopping seasons: During busy shopping seasons or popular sales events, your order may be packed within 6-10 business days and drop offs with the post office may only occur once or twice a week. I always try my best to shorten that fulfillment time by as much as possible, but I am usually processing orders on my own and by hand. Please give me some extra time to get to your orders during these times.

Some unforeseen events (such as bad weather) may delay your order being packed as well. All orders, are packed in the order with which they were placed unless the order is an "Express Shipping" or "International Tracked" order.

Fulfilled orders are usually sent to USPS twice a week or more often during slower sales periods. You will receive an email notification with a tracking code once your order has been packed unless the order was processed on the weekend, in which case, you will receive a notification Monday morning. If you do not receive this email, check your spam folder or get in touch with me to inquire about the status of your order.

Orders with Express Shipping will be moved to the front of the packing queue and will be packed within 1-2 business days and be sent USPS Priority (1-3 day service). Express Shipping is only offered for domestic orders.

AVERAGE PROCESSING TIMES

I work alone most of the time and process all orders by hand, so processing times may be impacted by sale events or peak shopping seasons. The following are average processing times for orders:

Non-Peak Shopping Season/No Sales Events

Standard Shipping (Domestic and Int'l): 3-5 business days
Express Shipping (Domestic Only): 1 day
Tracked International Shipping: 2-3 business days

Peak Shopping Season/Sales Events

Standard Shipping (Domestic and Int'l): 6-10 business days
Express Shipping (Domestic Only): 1 day
Tracked International Shipping: 2-4 business days

TRANSIT TIMES

Transit Time is the time it takes USPS or the postal carrier in your region to carry and deliver your package to you. I cannot estimate transit times for your parcel because they vary wildly from country to country, region to region and even from one post office to another. The only organization able to provide you with transit time estimates is your country's postal service. The following are general estimated transit times for regions around the world.

  • Canada: 2-6 weeks
  • Europe: 3-8 weeks
  • United Kingdom: 3-8 weeks
  • United States: 1-2 weeks
  • Mexico: 5-18 weeks
  • India: 4-12 weeks
  • Italy: 10-14 weeks
  • Australia, New Zealand and Oceania: 3-8 weeks
  • Asia Pacific: 3-8 weeks
  • Latin America and the Caribbean: 4-12 weeks
  • North Africa and the Middle East: 4-16 weeks

Some of the transit times above are very lengthy due to the speed and operation of the country's or region's postal system.

LONGER THAN NORMAL TRANSIT TIMES

Unfortunately, once a package leaves my hands or is transferred to USPS, I no longer have control over its journey. If your package appears to be taking longer than normal please get in touch with me. Most of the time, if an international package is taking longer than usual to reach you, it's because your country's customs service has selected it for inspection. Customs inspections can add 1-4 weeks to a package's transit time.

HOLIDAY SEASON TRANSIT TIMES

Once an order is passed off to USPS, I no longer have control over its speed or delivery method. During the Holiday season, you may find transit times for your parcel to be slower than normal, tracking codes may be less reliable as well. For USA customers, it's best to add 3-7 business days to your order if you need your package by a certain date. For International customers, you may need to add 2-4 weeks to your order if you need it by a certain date. If a package is time sensitive, please consider upgrading to Express shipping.

ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING

I offer eco-friendly packaging by request. If you would like me to minimize the amount of plastic used when packing your order, please check the "Eco-Friendly Packaging" option at the bottom of your shopping cart window. Typically, my eco-friendly packaging options will leave out as many plastics as possible, but may still contain some plastic content either to protect the items or to provide some weatherproofing. Some items (ex. Planispheres, Astrolabes, Galactic Ladles) are very delicate and may require a small amount of bubble wrap to ensure its safe journey to you.

In some cases, it may be necessary for me to use a poly bubble mailer to ship your items to you. Eco-Friendly packaging is not weatherproof or water-resistant. If there is a chance of your item coming in contact with moisture on its journey to you, I will still attempt to minimize the plastics used in your packaging, but you may receive your items in a poly mailer with some plastic content to protect your purchase.

POSTAL HOLIDAYS

I keep my shop open during all holidays and will pack and send out orders as soon as the post office will accept them. I am limited by postal holidays, if your order happens to fall on one of those, your order will be sent to the post office the day after USPS accepts packages again. The following are common postal holidays that are observed by USPS...

  •  New Year's Day
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • President's Day
  • Memorial Day
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Columbus Day
  • Veterans Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Christmas Day

INCLEMENT WEATHER

I'm located in Florida and severe storms may cause some delays in my ability to ship your order within the usual shipping window. In the event that I cannot ship your order on time, I will endeavor to let you know as soon as possible via. email and/or social media and will ship your order as soon as the storm clears out and the post office reopens.

EXPRESS SHIPPING

Express shipping is offered for USA/Domestic orders only. The Express Shipping option does not have a free tier. If chosen, your order will be moved to the front of the packing queue and sent out via. USPS Priority (1-3 day transit time).

OTHER UPGRADED SHIPPING

I can offer additional upgraded shipping options for domestic and international customers on a case-by-case basis. Please get in touch with me for options to upgrade the shipping on your purchase, however, keep in mind that international upgraded shipping options are very costly and only make sense if you have an order that is very large and time sensitive. In general, the following upgraded shipping options can be offered.

  • USPS Priority Express (1-2 day transit time) (USA Only)
  • UPS Next Day Air (USA Only)
  • UPS Standard (Int'l Only)
  • UPS Worldwide Express (Int'l Only)

Please Note: upgraded shipping options are not covered under the free shipping special. This means that even though your order may be above $50 (Domestic), $150 (Canada), or $150 (International), opting for an upgraded shipping option will require that you pay for the shipping upgrade regardless of your order total. Most of the shipping upgrades offered above can be very expensive, especially for international orders. I will do my best to make the package as small and light as possible to ensure the best pricing, but international upgraded shipping may only make sense if you have a very large order that is also time sensitive.

LETTER MAIL SHIPPING

Letter mail shipping is available only for orders of stickers where five or fewer stickers are ordered. This shipping type is offered for both Domestic and International orders and does not come with tracking. The transit time for letter mail depends on your region of residence and postal authority. Letter mail shipping is currently not available for any other product type outside of stickers.

RETURNED PACKAGES (DOMESTIC)

Packages returned to me from within the USA can be re-shipped with signature confirmation. I will attempt to contact you and wait about a week to hear from you. If I don't hear from you within the specified time, I will refund, cancel the order and roll the items in the order back into my general stock.

RETURNED PACKAGES (INTERNATIONAL)

Packages returned to me from an International location will be refunded and cancelled. Unfortunately, shipping internationally from the USA is very expensive. So, re-shipping a parcel will sometimes cost me more than what was paid for the sale of the items.

You can help prevent your parcel from being returned to me by noting the possible customs fees that may be levied on your parcel. Customs fees are determined by your country's government and customs service and is the responsibility of the buyer or importer. Your national postal service may also attempt to phone you or send you a notification in the mail for an outstanding customs charge for a package. This customs charge must be paid within a certain timeframe or your parcel will be sent back to me or destroyed.

International customers are encouraged to use a permanent address, or residence that you are likely to remain at for at least several months. This is because international shipping and transit times can vary so much.

If you're ordering from a location that I've had problems shipping successfully to in the past, I will get in touch with you about using a shipping forwarding service. If you do not have a shipping forwarding service or cannot sign up with one, I will unfortunately have to refund or cancel your order.

CUSTOMS

I declare the costs of the items on the customs forms as accurately as possible. Failure to declare accurate prices or falsely marking a commercial parcel as a gift on a customs form is illegal and can result in heavy fines or jail time. It is the customer's responsibility to pay any customs fees that may be charged on the package. This is non-negotiable.

For customers outside of the USA, you may receive notification from your postal authority when there is an outstanding customs fee. This is likely your parcel after it has been cleared by your customs service and the fee must be paid by you before your postal authority will deliver your parcel. If you do not pay the customs fee, your postal authority will re-route the package back to me. Unfortunately, customs fees are outside of my ability to control and are the jurisdiction of your country's customs service.

If your parcel is held for inspection by your country's customs service, it may be delayed in reaching you by 1-4 weeks depending upon the customs service inspecting it. I typically request international customers whose parcels are delayed to wait an additional 2-4 weeks to allow customs to finish their inspection and forward the package on to its destination.

MAIL FORWARDING SERVICES

I ship to mail forwarding services in the United States for International customers and often prefer to ship to mail forwarders. If you purchase a lot from online retailers, it may be a good idea to look into setting up a forwarding service for your purchases, especially if your national postal service is a bit unreliable. If you are an international customer with a mail forwarding service, please try to order using your mail forwarder as this can help prevent your parcel from getting lost, stuck in customs, or being delivered late. It will also allow you to pay and qualify for the USA (Domestic) shipping costs as well as meet the lower USA free shipping threshold.

Note: If you're ordering from a location that I've had problems shipping successfully to in the past, I will get in touch with you about using a shipping forwarding service. If you do not have a shipping forwarding service or cannot sign up with one, I will unfortunately have to refund and cancel the order.

COUNTRIES WHERE MAIL FORWARDING WILL BE RECOMMENDED

Some countries take a very long time to clear packages through customs, have postal services that take a long time to deliver, or have postal services that always bounce mail back to me regardless of how the package is shipped or packed. Due to these consistent issues, I will always recommend customers from the following countries purchase through a shipping forwarding service or opt for the UPS shipping upon checkout:

 Country Reason for Shipping Forwarding Recommendation
Brazil Packages bounce back, packages do not clear customs
Chile 8 to 12 month transit time, packages bounce back
Italy 4 to 8 month transit time
Mexico 10 month transit time, packages do not clear customs
Mongolia 16 month transit time, packages bounce back
Oman Packages bounce back
Paraguay Packages do not clear customs
Peru Packages do not clear customs
Saudi Arabia Packages bounce back
United Arab Emirates Packages bounce back


INTERNATIONAL TRACKED SHIPPING

In order to keep shipping costs lower for my international customers, I use a shipping forwarder. The drawback to a shipping forwarder is that their tracking codes often stop working once the parcel leaves the United States because international postal authorities do not recognize the tracking code. Aside from a different tracking code that ceases to work outside of the USA, your parcel's journey is mostly similar to a parcel sent using regular USPS with a few days added on for additional handling.

If you would prefer to have a normal USPS tracking code for your parcel, there is a USPS International Shipping with Tracking option at check out that should be offered as an option below the standard shipping. This is a more expensive shipping tier and does not qualify for the free shipping promotion, but it does offer a tracking code that works step-by-step in the following countries:

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Germany, France, Netherlands, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan, and Israel.

It should be noted that USPS tracked parcels do not transit faster than untracked parcels once the parcel leaves the United States. However, the tracking code is handy to have in case you need your region or country's postal service to do a look up for your package's whereabouts. The USPS tracking code does not work for all countries. If your country is not compatible with the tracking, you will be refunded the additional tracking cost that you paid.

MISSING ORDER

If your tracking number states that the order was delivered, but it's not at your door then one of these scenarios might be the cause:

  • The carrier accidentally delivered your package to a neighbor. You can check with your neighbors to see if the package may have been mistakenly delivered to them instead. USPS, Canada Post and Royal Mail will usually ask you if you've done this step first.
  • The carrier attempted to deliver the package but was unable to. Usually your carrier will make another attempt on the next business day. Sometimes, you may also get a notice that lets you know the carrier couldn't make the delivery. Sometimes, the only thing to do is wait an additional business day to see if the package shows up.
  • The carrier has pre-scanned your package as delivered and will deliver it the next business day. Sometimes, especially during busy postal seasons, your parcel may be scanned as delivered one to two days ahead of actual delivery.
  • The carrier attempted to deliver the package but there was something preventing them from doing so. You may get a notice from USPS to pick up your parcel and any other undelivered mail from your local post office. You should contact USPS for more information if this happens.
  • Your package was sent to the wrong address. Sometimes this happens if you have an outdated address for your account. Double check that the address was correct. If it is correct, USPS can be contacted to sort through the issue. If it was incorrect or outdated, please get in touch with me. Your package may still find its way to you or it may be returned to me. Unfortunately, we will typically need to wait a few weeks to see if it will reach you or return to me.
  • Delivery of your package was unsuccessful and USPS has already tried several times. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but normally in this case, the package will be sent back to me. If I get any return packages, I'll try my best to contact you via email to confirm a delivery address before I send it back to you.
  • Your package was stolen. If your package has been stolen, you must file a mail theft case with USPS and contact your local authorities to report the theft. These reports are imperative if you have a mail theft problem. USPS has a page about this issue here with instructions on how to report: Mail Theft via. USPS. Mail theft and mail fraud is a serious federal crime, so you should be certain that your mail was stolen before opening a case. After opening a theft case, please get in touch with me, let me know you have already filed a claim and reported the theft to the police, and we will discuss how a replacement will be sent out.
  • Your package is lost. Lost packages due to mishandling by USPS is exceedingly rare. However, packages sometimes fall through the cracks of the postal system, whether is a sorting error or carrier issue. If you suspect your package is lost and you are within the USA, please give it 1-2 weeks to try to sort its way through the system and back to you. If, after 1-2 weeks, your parcel still hasn't arrived and appears to be lost, please get in touch with me. International customers who suspect lost packages may be asked to wait 2-4 weeks for the parcel to arrive. Most of my international packages do not have reliable tracking codes once they leave the USA, and customs may cause package delivery to be delayed. Typically, lost packages are just late packages that were held up by customs or the mail was mis-sorted and took a little longer to reach you than normal.

I will typically request we wait some additional time for parcels to give the postal service time to deliver or for customs to clear your package through their inspection. Sometimes the post office is running late with deliveries or may have accidentally misrouted your parcel and just needs some additional time to deliver it properly.

LOST PACKAGES (USA)

A package that has not arrived after two months within the USA is considered lost. Prior to this time, USPS considers the package late in transit.

The first thing I will recommend you do is to file for a package inquiry/claim. You can begin the process here: Package Inquiry/Claim Form. You will need some pieces of information, including your tracking number. If you are asked for the shipper's address, please check the box that says "Unknown". A USPS representative should follow up with you either via phone call or by email within 72 hours. You will also be assigned a Package Inquiry case number.

If you do not have contact from a USPS rep after 72 hours, please get in touch with me and let me know how long your parcel has been missing, your order number and your Package Inquiry case number.

LOST PACKAGES (INTERNATIONAL)

Packages that are lost due to a foreign postal service or that get lost overseas will be refunded or I will ask you to repay the shipping fee to send a replacement. If you live in a country that has a history of rejecting or losing packages, I will request that you use a shipping forwarding service for the replacement package. If you cannot use a shipping forwarding service or one is not available and your parcel was previously lost or failed to be delivered, the only option remaining would be to refund the cost of the order.

USPS INFORMED DELIVERY SERVICE

The USPS has a new Informed Delivery Service available to some residential customers within the USA. This service allows you to preview letter-sized packages and letter mail you have incoming. Small orders placed in my shop are often shipped in smaller letter mail sized packages which may qualify for this service. Informed Delivery can help you plan out days to expect your deliveries. This is a free service provided by USPS, if you have any questions about the service please reach out to them for more information. You can find out more about the Informed Delivery Service or sign up for it here: USPS Informed Delivery

FREE SHIPPING PROMOTION

Orders shipping to areas in the USA (including Hawaii, Alaska, US Military or Diplomatic Locations and some US Territories) will ship for free at $50 provided the items are not considered, "bulky" and the total weight of the order does not exceed 1lb 2oz.

Bulky Items Exception: If you have a bulky item in your order (or if your order is heavy as a result of having a large amount of items in it), there is a required shipping charge that will apply that may scale up depending on how many heavy items are in your order.
Unfortunately, bulky and heavy items cost a lot to transport, even to USA addresses. Items that are bulky are those that are heavy or large and must be shipped in a large box, include extra packing materials to protect them, or require some other type of specialized packaging materials to make sure they have a safe journey on their way to you. Some examples of bulky items include drinking glasses and desk mats.

Orders shipping overseas will ship for free at $150USD, unless the order weighs more than 1lbs or 16oz or has bulky items in it, at which point the free shipping promotion will be removed and shipping for heavy packages will apply. Unfortunately, international shipping is very expensive for heavy or large packages.

Note for International Customers: when placing orders, please avoid placing multiple orders simultaneously (ie. one after the other) to reach the $150 free shipping threshold on each. I understand that this is to try avoiding the more expensive heavy parcel shipping cost. If I notice this, I will cancel your orders and ask you to re-order in one large order instead.

TRACKING CODES

USPS provided tracking codes only work reliably within the United States. You can use the USPS tracking tool to find out where your parcel is located: USPS Tracking Tool

Though International orders may receive a tracking code, they are usually not accurate and are sometimes not updated properly once they leave the USA. The most reliable and detailed tracking is offered by ParcelsApp's Tracking Tool, which may give you a generalized idea of where your parcel is in its journey.

If you require fast delivery and reliable tracking for your parcel and your order is very high value or extremely time sensitive, the UPS shipping option available on checkout is the best option. However, this option is pretty expensive.

SIGNATURE CONFIRMATION

Signature confirmation will be placed on all domestic packages whose contents are over a certain value. Although this is a little inconvenient, it helps prevent mis-delivery of high value packages and ensures that your parcel is delivered properly. Packages that have to be re-shipped will include signature confirmation by default.

 

OTHER QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

For more information about pins, packaging, and more, please check out my Frequently Asked Questions page.