Shipping & Handling & Communication
We normally ship once to twice a week from California (USA). We use the services of the unionized, national postal service called, USPS. The time you'll (normally) receive your order from the day of ordering is between 3-9 business days (not including holidays) if your shipping address is within the United States.
Outside the US, it may be 1-3 weeks and highly depends on your country's shipping infrastructure and local processing times. See more on that below.
Confirmation and Shipping Emails
You should receive an order confirmation from us right away AND then a shipping confirmation (with a tracking #) within 4 business days. You may also get a "Delivered" email. These often end up in email spam folders. Just find it and mark it "not spam" or add us to your address book to get emails from us in future ;-)
Please contact us if you do not receive either of these emails and we can resend it at your request. Please include your full order name, order email or order number.
Shipping FAQ
Where is my order? How to Track
Tracking is emailed to you when we get ready to ship your order. To watch the progress of your package towards your area, find this tracking email. Click the link with all the numbers (and maybe a letter too). You won't be able to track it until we have shipped it.
My order is marked "Delivered" but I have not gotten it.
If your order tracking is marked "DELIVERED" and you did not actually receive it, the best thing you can do is to ask your neighbors and your mail carrier where it might be. If that doesn't work, go to your post office to see if they have it. Occasionally USPS makes mistakes - and waiting a day to see if it pops up in a day or two is advised. The last resort in this scenario is to file a claim with the USPS. Let us know if you get to this point. We have some things we can do to ease the pain, but we are not set up to send replacements to a "Delivered" tracking status. :-(
Still in Transit?
If it's been in transit a while, there may be a rare USPS error. Please ask your local post office about what's up. If tracking shows USPS in possession, they are the best ones to start with as far as locating the package. If a whole week passes, please email us to see what is possible for you. International shipments are a different story (see below).
Lost in Transit?
USPS (being the one with your package) is the best place to contact if you think it may be lost and you live in the United States. Calling and emailing can be difficult, so just run down there and ask your local post office clerk to help you out. There is a claims process if the USPS truly loses track of your package....but that is so rare! Best to ask around first and it may pop up. Let us know if you reach a dead end, we may be able to help you get supplies at cost. Our Refund policy is here.
Tracking movement has stopped for over 5 days and it says it's stuck in "SAN FRANCISCO or LOS ANGELES International...."
This is an international order that has left the US and is likely in your country. Read more below....
>>>>> INTERNATIONAL ORDERS (Outside of the U.S.) <<<<<
Internationally, we ship USPS FIRST CLASS INTERNATIONAL and this can transit take any time between 1 -3 weeks from ordering. If your country has a solid infrastructure to move this package along, then it may be quite quick (about 1 week in Canada, for example). Because of different customs regulations in each country, it is important to check your tracking number frequently as you will likely have to go pick it up at your local national post office as soon as it is in your country (or a couple of days after it has left the US). Sometimes tracking will halt and it will show that the package is miles away from you, when in fact it is sitting at your local post waiting for you (and they didn't scan it). They may not notify you that they have it! Although USPS tracking works in the US and through the international countries below (See: international address validation), MOST countries do not scan the USPS tracking all the way to your door, so you must go inquire about the tracking that your own country uses once it is in your country! Really, all localized post offices are different. It's a sad fact. Sometimes you have to do a lot of leg work to get a package from across the world, and we're sorry about that. Please understand that it is not us, but rather your local postal services that make it easy or difficult for you.
<3 Thank you for ordering <3
Unclaimed, Returned (common)
Also what is sad is that if you wait too long to get it, your post office will send it back to us and that is a bummer because postage is $12-25 for international orders (and that is considered cheap!). We will ask you to cover this cost if we have to send it again.
Customs Rejections (rare)
Another sad, but rare occurrence is when your customs opens it and rejects it. This happens more frequently in a few countries (Germany, Sweden, Iraq, Japan) and we are always trying to find ways to appease customs (such as a little insert in your language that describes what this is and how it's not so dangerous). Of course, if this happens, we will send you a full refund, including shipping.
But really, where is my kit ?
International address validation is supported for CA, GB, AU, DE, FR, NO, ES, SE, IL, and IT. If you are outside of those countries, we will ship to the address you provide and if there is any problem with that address then the item will likely be returned to us.
Before contacting us about a missing package, pretty please bring your tracking # and shipping address to your post office and they will be able to help you locate it. Unfortunately, once a package is in your country, we are not able to locate it for you or contact anyone there on your behalf. The very best way to make sure you get your package is by asking your mail carrier and going down to your post office with the tracking #. You may be able to ask your local customs. Rest assured that the package will usually pop up within a month (often, returned marked "unclaimed" or, "not picked up" by the recipient).
Thank you for your patience with these little packages traveling 10,000 miles away and changing many hands to reach your hands!
We send each package with love, hope and intention that it reaches your arms soon! :-)
Get a Kit