PriceUSA

What shipping method should I use?

The answer to this question depends on what is most important to you - price or speed. If speed is the most important requirement then choose express+tracking. If cost is more important then select economy or economy + tracking. The economy option does not have tracking and is not available for orders over US$250. Because of recent price rises by USPS, for most packages over 4 lbs it is normally cheaper to ship by express than economy shipping.

There is no sea mail to Australia from the USA. For very large orders sea freight is an option, but it is not cheap for small items, nor very fast. Please see my shipping cost calculator for the approximate cost of using sea freight.

What is return protection?

Return protection provides for coverage of the shipping costs involved in making a warranty repair any time during the manufacturer's warranty period. This includes the cost of shipping from Australia (or your country) to the USA, all shipping within the USA, and return shipping to Australia (or your country). Coverage is not provided on purchased extended warranties or items with "lifetime" warranties (these are not really lifetime warranties, but are paid for out of the shipping charged by the company). While return protection is optional, it must be purchased at the time of item purchase. The cost of return protection is 20% of the total shipping costs.

If you have purchased return protection and need to make a claim please before shipping your item back to the USA as my US partners may need to arrange a UPS (courier) to pick up of your item. You will need to ship any items back via an equivalent method to that which your order was shipped from the USA.

Return protection may not be offered on some items, particular on items that are impossible to return and/or are refurbished/used. If return protection is not offered you will be informed in the quote.

Does delivery protection cover items that arrive not working or damaged?

No. Delivery protection only covers replacement of shipments that do not arrive. Because of the extra time involved in shipping an item to and from Australia (or your country) my partners can't just return dead on arrival (DOA) items to the original store. This means that the DOA item will need to be replaced or repaired under the normal warranty conditions. If you need an item repaired under warranty please

Orders shipped via USPS are not covered for damage in transit unless the return protection is purchased. Orders shipped vis UPS (express+tracking) are covered by UPS insurance for damage, but like most insurance companies they like to exclude anything that might actually damaged. For example, glass is excluded. If you want to ensure that your items are covered for damage in transit please purchase the optional return protection.

My item is really large. Do you you offer shipping by sea?

There is no sea mail to Australia from the USA, but we do offer sea freight. Because of the high base cost of sea freight it is not significantly cheaper for items under 110 lbs (50 kg). Sea freight uses the same volumetric weight formula as UPS (i.e. 139 cubic inches = 1 lb). Sea freight is slow and it will normally take 6 to 8 weeks to arrive. My shipping cost calculator will provide you with an approximate cost of shipping by sea.

One final complication with sea freight is it is shipped out of California. This can mean that your item may incur Californian sales tax unlike items shipped by my US partners from Oregon which does not have a state sales tax.

What are the USPS mail size limits?

The size limits are listed below. The girth + length size can be calculated by adding the two shortest lengths together (width + height) then multiplying by 2 then adding the length. In practice the maximum size that can be shipped is a box a little under 16 x 16 x 16 inches (40 cm).

USPS Express Mail International (express+tracking)

• 44 pounds maximum weight (20 kg).
• Maximum length: 36 inches (90 cm).
• Maximum length and girth combined: 79 inches (197.5 cm).

USPS Priority Mail International (economy+tracking)

• 66 pounds maximum weight (30 kg).
• Maximum length: 42 inches (105 cm).
• Maximum length and girth combined: 79 inches (197.5 cm).

USPS First Class Air Mail International (economy)

• 4 pounds maximum weight (1.8 kg).
• Minimum length and height: 5.5 inches x 3.5 inches (13.75 cm x 8.75 cm).
• Minimum depth (thickness): .007 inch (0.175 mm).
• Maximum length: 36 inches (90 cm).
• Maximum length, height, depth (thickness) combined: 36 inches (90 cm).

If your item is larger than the USPS limits please as we can arrange to ship large items using courier delivery although UPS (courier) - this is cheaper than express mail on a lb per lb basis.

My item is larger than the USPS mail size limit. How can I ship it?

The only options are to ship it via express+tracking (UPS courier) or sea freight. My USA partners have a high volume UPS (courier) account which gives them an approximately 2/3rds off the standard UPS (courier) rates. For example, to ship a snowboard from the USA to Australia via UPS will cost between US$110 to $130. UPS charges on the basis of the greater of the the actual weight or volumetric weight. The rule to calculate the volumetric weight is 139 cubic inches = 1 pound. For example, if your item weights 20 lbs, but has dimensions of 24" x 24" x 24" (13,824 cubic inches) then the shipping weight will be 100 lbs (13,824 / 139). I have a button on the right hand side of my order page (shipping cost calculator) that will help you calculate the volumetric weight based on the box dimensions.

UPS charges additional fees (surcharge) for the following

• More than 70 lbs in actual weight • US$8.50
• Length greater than 60 inches • US$8.50
• Second longest length great than 30 inches • US$8.50
• Remote area surcharge • US$26.00
• Girth + length greater than 130 inches• US$55.00

My shipping cost calculator takes these surcharges into account when estimating the shipping costs.

What are lbs (pounds) and " (inches)?

These are the American weight and length measurement. One pound (lbs) equals 0.45 kg and one inch (also written as '') is 2.5cm. Most USA companies will quote shipping sizes and dimensions in pounds and inches.

I don't know how much my item weighs? What should I do?

Don't panic. If you don't know what the shipping weight is either make a guess so that you can get a rough estimate of how much the order will cost to ship, or select one of the "estimate shipping for me" options. I also have a button on my order page that will help you calculate the shipping weight if you know the approximate size of your item. It is always a good idea to provide the size of each item in the order details if you know this is as it will help me to give you the most accurate quote possible.

One good place to find the shipping weight of an item is amazon or walmart as they normally list the shipping weight for products. Please keep in mind that this information is not always 100% accurate.

What happens if my item weighs more or less than estimated?

Please remember that the "shipping and handling to Australia" (or other country) price provided in the final quote can only be an estimate unless someone has ordered exactly the same item before and it has shipped. Because of this rather than be charged the estimated shipping amount you will be charged on the basis of what the order actually weighs (either actual or volumetric). This means it does not really matter what the shipping estimate is except to give you my best idea of what the final order cost will be. You do not pay anything towards the shipping at the order stage and are only later billed the actual cost.

My USA partners have limited storage spaces so they cannot store your order indefinitely. If you fail to pay for any extra shipping owed my USA partners will hold your item for 10 days before returning them to the store at your expense. If it is not possible to return the items to the original store then my USA partner will sell the items on eBay. You will be refunded any money my partners can recoup from returning or selling the items minus any costs incurred. This does not apply to consolidated orders where my US partner is waiting for an item to arrive before shipping.

If you have Fixed Price Quote then no matter what the shipping cost turns out to be your shipping price will not change. Because of this we can only offer fixed price quotes on items where we already know the shipping weight

How long will it take for my order to arrive?

This is difficult to estimate as it depends on a number of factors outside my US partners control, such as how fast the USA shipping is and how quickly the original store processes the order. My US partner will normally place your order within 24 hours of receiving payment and ships your goods the next business day after they arrive at their address. You can expect that most orders will take between 10 to 21 days except for sea freight which takes from 6 to 8 weeks. USA FREE OR GROUND SHIPPING CAN BE SLOW (up to 8 to 15 business days). If you are in a hurry select the fastest USA shipping and UPS (courier) for the shipping to Australia.

How long do each of the different shipping alternative take?

These are the shipping time ranges I have observed with each of the different shipping options over the last 12 months.

• USA Ground Shipping (free shipping): 8 to 15 days.
• USPS Express Mail to Australia: 6 to 7 days
• USPS Priority Mail to Australia: 10 to 12 days
• USPS Air Mail (First Class) to Australia: 16 to 21 days
• UPS Expedited (courier) to Australia: 6 days
• UPS Express (courier) to Australia: 3 to 4 days
• Sea Freight: 6 to 8 weeks

The most variable shipping time is for USA Ground (Free) Shipping. This is the shipping from the original store to my USA partner. Many stores seem to give a very low priority to free shipping orders so as to "encourage" you to pay the extra for their more expensive shipping. If you are in a hurry to get an item it may be worth paying for faster USA shipping. You can use the test address to workout how much this will cost.

My order was shipped to me but it hasn't arrive yet. What should I do?

Sometimes shipping take longer than it should. If your order was shipped by my USA partner by express, priority, or UPS (courier) more than 28 days ago then please . If your order was shipped by First Class Air Mail then please allow up to 8 weeks. Unfortunately if your order has been shipped by First Class Air Mail (economy) we are not able to find where it is as this class of mail does not have a tracking number. This is one of the major disadvantages to using this shipping method.

I should mention that the tracking information provided by USPS is very often inaccurate. If your order has supposedly been delivered then please contact your local post office ASAP. My experience is that in most case these "missing" or "delivered" packages are actually sitting at the post office collecting dust. You just need to quote your USPS tracking number and the staff should be able to help.

If you have provided the wrong or incomplete address this may cause your item to be returned to the USA, or in some case be destroyed by the post office. Not providing the business name for orders shipped to business addresses make the address incomplete. Providing an incorrect or incomplete address voids your delivery protection.

One final point is UPS will sometimes drop off your package at your local post office. If your UPS order has arrived and been signed for by someone you don't know then call UPS first but please check with your local post office to see if they have it. This tends to happen most frequently in regional areas where the delivery is handled by a UPS agent.

What happens if my items arrive damaged or not working?

Please contact me to arrange for return of the item. Please do not ship the item directly to me or my USA partner without first. This also applies if the wrong item has been shipped to you.

If your order was shipped by UPS then it is covered by UPS insurance. Please contact UPS about the damage and remember to keep the boxes since they may wish to inspect the boxes. UPS may refuse to honour their insurance if you do not keep the boxes. We don't have any control over UPS policies in regards their insurance.

Can I have my items shipped to a different address?

Yes. To select a different shipping address please check the "ship to different address" box on the order form. This will displays the "shipping address" section allowing you to enter a different delivery address. If you are shipping to your work address it is critical that you include your company's name in the shipping address or else you will void your delivery protection. My US partners will not ship to USA addresses.

Can you change the declared value of my order?

No. This is customs fraud. This also does not protect you from later charges by customs. They may send you a bill anytime in the next five years if not accurately declare. While there are some companies out there that will do this, it is worth considering if you want to use the services of someone that is willing to commit fraud.