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As everyone should know I believe in transparency, especially if it ultimately affects your experience. Shipping rates keep going up and while we do everything to keep ahead of all the new laws and requirements when it comes to import/export into countries we get blasted nearly weekly with new processes.
Fedex now requires an unprecedented accompaniment of paperwork. We are REQUIRED to include an original copy of invoice (There is no way to alter these in any way so please don't ask). A country specific Letter providing legal precedence for your order to get to you. A Certificate of Origination and a Declaration Of Conformity for every single product. For every International order that is 5 pages, not including the label, for the first product with an additional 3 pages for each additional item. The paperwork alone is actually now causing us weight issues with the package as those envelopes can only be used to ship less than 8oz.
Now we have been getting custom clearance delay emails requesting additional documents such as a picture of the item on the website including the price and a few other crazy requests! It's getting out of hand actually, but we still plan to offer FedEx as a service. Here's the bad news: Our FedEx prices have nearly tripled and well I've done everything to not raise them as I wanted to offer them as a viable option, but with all their new requirements I cannot keep doing it and stay in business.
In the next week or so FedEx Prices will be increased to the following
DOMESTIC USA:
$39.97 (Up to 8oz)
$59.97 (8oz to 1lb)
CANADA
$49.97 (Up to 8oz)
$69.97 (8oz to 1lb)
INTERNATIONAL
$99.97 (Up to 8oz)
$139.97 (8oz to 1lb)
Canada and International we are required to include that Invoice and other documents that can include a copy of your payment through or merchant services. You're going to pay VAT on the full value. I don't like it anymore than you do, but that's what it is.
THE GOOD NEWS
There is some good news here though. We have been able to maintain our awesome Free Everywhere Shipping (I'm pretty sure we are the only ones who ship Domestic and International for free) and that doesn't change. The USPS is charging us more now so we need a slight increase in thresholds to get that free shipping.
Free Everywhere Shipping will be active on products totaling ONLY $60 or above. Its a flat rate across all locations both foreign and domestic. (Its a little bit more for USA and Canada, but significantly less everywhere else).
USPS Priority Mail and Express
USA:
PRIORITY $8.97
EXPRESS $24.97
CANADA:
PRIORITY $25.97
EXPRESS $43.97
GLOBAL:
PRIORITY $36.97
EXPRESS $66.97
EVEN BETTER NEWS
I'm doing away with the VAT up-charges (9%) with the EU just as soon as I can. You will pay exactly what you would if buying from US Hub and get it that much faster. However the free option will no longer be Express. We will still offer that as an upgrade option but packages will be mailed thru postal services with insurance.
All the new rates will be rolled out in the next couple of weeks or so with the release of the new marketplace we are still building (freaking delays are driving me insane).
Anyway I would appreciate comments even complaints. I want to know what we can do to make the shipping experience easy and affordable. That's exactly why we offer Free Everywhere Shipping. I might take a while to get to you, but I'd rather you spend that money on products. I have control over the quality and value of what we make and so I can pass that along to you. Shipping is just a cost nobody likes to pay or think about (including me and believe me you I spend a lot of money every day on purchases on the Internet). It makes a big difference for me to spend the money on a product rather than shipping charges.
Lets hear it
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We are now offering Overnight Saturday on retail orders, which will be available from Thursdays after 2pm through Fridays before 2pm. Unlike our deeply discounted 2nd Day rates, including Saturdays, there is an additional charge for overnight Saturdays ($15.97).
You will find this option under Extra Services tab directly underneath the payment selection section.
Please note: If this service is unavailable in your area from FedEx we will return this fee as a voucher. If...03-21-2023, 10:11 AM -
FedEx is having issues with its shipping software. We cannot select Saturday deliveries, and Tech Support knows the situation. Depending on how late it goes, I might just ship them 2nd Day Monday delivery.12-08-2022, 12:47 PM
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USPS Priority Mail has been temporarily disabled so we can fix a glitch we are having11-22-2022, 11:33 AM
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Effective Immediately
USPS has drastically increased pricing on everyone. They say it's only because of peak holiday times and will decrease after the holidays but who knows. The service gets slower and the price goes up....LOL
Free Shipping Threshold is now the following
USPS FCM Domestic Free at $50 and above
USPS FCM Canada Free at $75 and above
USPS FCM International Free at $100 and above...11-22-2021, 03:02 PM -
DOMESTIC
The USPS has increased its rates which is reflected in our shipping charges and free shipping threshold.
The USPS is still experiencing significant shipping delays across all services.
First Class Mail typically takes 3-5 days but with expected delays, it more realistically can take 2-3 weeks
Priority Mail typically takes 2-3 days but with expected delays, it more realistically can take 1-2 weeks (we've seen some take 2-3 months)
Express typically takes...10-26-2021, 09:28 AM -
Just an FYI that the USPS is still experiencing massive delays in getting Priority Mail delivered. If you order USPS Priority Mail you can expect delays, by as much as a couple of weeks. XS is not responsible for these delays as they are completely out of our hands. FedEx 2nd Day is a much better option: It's more economically priced and way more reliable. Sometimes FedEx does experience issues, but nothing like the post office. Worst part about it is they actually raised the prices.
...05-03-2021, 10:02 AM