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Shipping Costs/Policies
We use Fedex as our main shipper, so your shipping costs will be based on the shipping method you choose and the Ship To address. At our discretion, we may choose to use an alternate shipper and shipping method. If we choose to use an alternate, you will not be charged for any increase in the shipping costs.
Please note: any correspondence regarding our shipping policies must be in writing, either by letter or e-mail. Please do not ask us to phone you as our policy is to put any answers in writing. We will gladly answer your questions via e-mail or letter, whichever you prefer.
Can you ship outside the
United States?
Yes. We will gladly ship outside the United States, however, you are responsible for any customs fees, tariffs or other similar charges. If your country is not listed on the check-out page, please email us for details.
Do you offer premium delivery service?
Yes. We offer premium next day and 2nd day air service from FedEx and the US Postal Service. Premium delivery service options are available at checkout. Please note that this does not include the time needed to process your order.
I see that both Ground and Home Delivery are offered as ground shipment methods with Federal Express. How do I know which one to choose?
FedEx and the other common carriers that we use differentiate between shipping to a business and a home address. If your package is going to a business, then you would choose Ground delivery. If the shipping address is a home, then you would choose Home Delivery. HOWEVER, please note that if a business is run from a home (even if the business uses a separate office off of the main house), Federal Express and the other common carriers require Home Delivery to ship to these businesses. They do not regard the business' address as eligible for Ground delivery. If you are not sure how your address would be classed, you may contact FedEx at 1-800-GOFEDEX and they will advise you accordingly.
For most shippers, Home Delivery incurs a slight extra charge. If we determine that you indicated that the items would be shipped to a business address when, in reality, the address is a home address, we will advise you of the error and your order will not be shipped until you pay the extra charge. If you choose not to pay that charge, your order will be cancelled less our 10% transaction fee.
However, if you paid for ground shipping and we were notified after your order was delivered that the address was actually a Home Address (and therefore needed Home Delivery), we will charge your payment method for the extra costs for Home Delivery. Also, in the future, you will be required to pay for Home Delivery (at a minimum) before any orders are shipped - regardless of the shipping address for the order. If you decide that you wish to cancel your order rather than pay the extra shipping costs, your payment will be refunded less our 10% transaction fee.
Do you offer overnight processing?
At this time we do not offer overnight processing, although we do offer rush shipping options so that you may have your order reach you overnight or 2nd day once it is shipped. For those who need their order by a particular date (see below) or for whom shipping can take several weeks, having other shipping options can be very useful.
What if I want my order by a certain date or I have another special request?
If you need your order by a certain date, you must contact us BEFORE you place your order. We will be happy to work with you and to let you know if we can accomodate your request. Various factors influence when you can expect your order to arrive, including how long it will take to process your order, if any of your merchandise is delayed or backordered, and your shipping method. Please note that if you contact us with your special request AFTER you place your order, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accomodate you. Also, although shipping companies do offer methods with guarenteed arrival dates, packages can still be delayed while in transit, regardless of the method of shipping. This is especially true during the December shipping season, so please plan accordingly if you need your order by a certain date.
Do you refund shipping charges?
If parts of your order were backordered, your initial shipment may be incomplete. Please see the question on this page regarding backorders for our complete policies. Otherwise, we refund shipping charges if your order is cancelled in the following cases:
1. We ship an incorrect or incomplete product where nothing was backordered.
2. We ship a broken or defective product.
3. The package is damaged in transit, resulting in the loss of your order.
4. The package is lost.
We must be notified of the problem, in writing, within 10 days (15 days for shipment of an incorrect, incomplete or defective product) of the expected delivery date. If we are notified after the 10 day limit (15 days for shipment of an incorrect, incomplete or defective product), we cannot cancel the order as our shippers have strict time limits within which they will investigate claims. Shipping charges will be refunded once we receive the item back (except if the package is declared lost by the shipper). For incorrect or defective items, we must receive the item within 30 days of the expected delivery date - otherwise, the item will not be accepted by us, your order will not be cancelled and no refunds will be issued. Please note, when the incorrect or defective item is sent back, we will ONLY refund the amount the shipping company would charge for ground shipping or parcel post. You may elect to send the item back via a more expensive method; however, you will not receive a full refund of your shipping charges in that case. If we re-ship a product in these cases, we do not add another shipping charge.
What if my order is lost/damaged/defective/incorrect/incomplete and I want replacements for my merchandise?
If parts of your order were backordered, your initial shipment may be incomplete. Please see the question on this page regarding backorders for our complete policies. Otherwise, we will gladly replace any merchandise where
1. An incorrect or incomplete product was shipped and nothing was backordered.
2. We shipped a broken or defective product.
3. The package was damaged in transit, resulting in the loss of your order.
4. The package was lost in transit.
We must be notified of the problem, in writing, within 10 days (15 days for shipment of an incorrect, defective or incomplete product) of the expected delivery date. If we are notified after the 10 day limit (15 days for shipment of an incorrect, defective or incomplete product), we cannot replace the order as our shippers have strict time limits within which they will investigate claims. For incorrect or defective items, we must receive the item within 30 days of the expected delivery date - otherwise, the item will not be accepted by us, your order will not be cancelled and no refunds will be issued. Shipping charges will be refunded once we receive the item back (except if the package is declared lost by the shipper). Please note, when the incorrect or defective item is sent back, we will ONLY refund the amount the shipping company would charge for ground shipping or parcel post. You may elect to send the item back via a more expensive method; however, you will not receive a full refund of your shipping charges in that case. If we re-ship a product in these cases, we do not add another shipping charge.
What if the carrier damages the product in transit or the product otherwise arrives damaged or broken?
If Fedex damages the product in transit and they discover the damage, they will contact us.
If the package or merchandise arrives damaged, you have 10 days from the date of delivery of the order to notify Homepreparations, in writing, of the damaged items. Your e-mail or letter needs to describe how the package was damaged (if it was), which items were damaged in the package and what the damage was, and if you would like replacement merchandise or credit for the damaged item(s). If you do not notify us of the damage within 10 days of delivery of your order, we cannot replace the damaged merchandise or issue credit as our shippers have strict time limits within which they will investigate damage claims. Please note: we will NOT accept cancellation/returns of damaged/broken items if we are notified of the damage outside of the 10 day limit.
You should hold on to the package AS IT IS (do not throw out the packaging) and await further instructions from Fedex. They will arrange a convienent time to inspect the package and, if necessary, pick it up. Once Fedex notifies us that they have inspected/picked up the package, we will send a replacement item to you at no charge or cancel your order and refund the entire charge.
What if the item is lost in transit?
You must notify us, in writing, that you never received the package within 10 days of the expected arrival date for your package. We will then contact Fedex to trace the package. If they cannot prove that the package was delivered, we will send you a replacement product at no charge. Please note: For items shipped to
Alaska,
Hawaii, the U.S. Territories and addresses outside of the U.S., the carrier only has to show that the items were shipped. These items cannot be tracked and may 4-6 weeks or longer to complete delivery.
Generally, your order will be shipped out within seven to ten business days after the order has entered processing. Please note that some open stock items may take longer, as we don't maintain stock on hand on many of these pieces. These pieces may be shipped direct from the factory. Popular times of the year, such as June and December, as well as items in unexpectedly high demand may also take longer. Open stock items are items that arrive from the factory in bulk (individual dishes, bowls, platters, etc). Any open stock item is considered a special order.
Unfortunately, due to production delays, quality control issues or high demand an item may have to be backorderd. If an item is backordered, we will give you an estimated date for when the items will arrive from the factory. You should be aware that this date is only an estimate - it may change. We will notify you of any changes to the status of your backordered items as soon as we receive any new information. Backordered items can take several months or more to arrive. If an item is backordered, you have the choice to cancel the backorderd items and receive a refund for those items plus their associated shipping charges, until the items are shipped. At that time our regular return/cancellation policies apply.
If your order has less than 50% of the items backordered, we will ship the items that are available and send the backordered items once they come in. If more than 50% of the items are backordered, we will hold the other items in the order until the backordered items arrive and then ship everything out at once. You may also cancel the entire order without penalty if we notify you that we will be holding the entire order pending the arrival of your backordered items. Once your backordered items are shipped, however, our regular return/cancellation policies will apply.
If you refuse delivery or fail to pick up your merchandise from the carrier after they have attempted delivery, HomePreparations reserves the right to liquidate the inventory and withhold credit. If you elect to have the merchandise re-shipped to you, the return costs and the new shipping costs must be paid before any merchandise can be shipped. If you notify us (in writing) within 15 days of the ship date that you refused delivery because you wanted to return the merchandise/cancel the order/did not want the merchandise anymore, the return costs will be deducted from any credit owed to you, along with the original shipping costs and our restocking fee. Please see our Returns & Cancellations page for a full explanation of our policies.
We strive to ship items accurately and use trackable service for almost every product on our Web site to try to prevent losing your item in transit. If you have tracked your package and found any discrepancies in the delivery or have not received your order after the 10-14 day time frame, please contact one of our customer service representatives within 10 days of your expected arrival date, so we can research the status of your package and resolve this issue. Please note: For items shipped to
Alaska,
Hawaii, the U.S. Territories and addresses outside of the U.S., the carrier only has to show that the items were shipped. These items cannot be tracked and may take 4-6 weeks or longer to complete delivery.
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