Questions about shipping and customs/import fees
- Where do we ship?
We ship wordwide! If you can't find your country in the list of
countries during checkout, just drop us an email at
sales@orangegadgets.com
and we will let you know if we can ship to your country.
- What shipping options do we have and how long will it take to
deliver my package?
For domestic U.S. packages, we have the following options:
- Uninsured USPS First Class mail, starting at $4.99 (typically takes 3-7 days)
- Insured USPS First Class mail, starting at $6.99 (typically takes 3-7 days)
- Uninsured USPS Priority mail, starting at $7.99 (typically takes 2-3 days)
- Insured USPS priority mail, starting at $9.99 (typically takes 2-3 days)
- Expedited next day delivery, using USPS Express mail, starting at $20.99
If you wish to have your package shipped by priority mail or express
mail, make sure to drop us an email at
orders@orangegadgets.com
before you place your order so we can provide you with instructions as
the online system does not have these shipping methods built-in yet.
USPS First Class and Priority mail are sent with Delivery
Confirmation. Delivery Confirmation is not the same as tracking,
and often times the barcode is only scanned when the package is
delivered (although most of the time the package is scanned when we
drop it off at USPS). Delivery Confirmation is intended to show when and where it
was delivered, not where the package currently is or when delivery is
expected (although most of the time you can "track" the progress on
the USPS website). Once the package has been sent it is pretty much outside of
our control.
These are also not
guaranteed services. First Class mail is typically 3-7 days, but could
take up to 2 weeks. Priority mail is 2-3 days average but can take
longer.
These are low cost shipping methods and are used at your own
risk. You can optionally add insurance to your shipment (which we
recommend in case of loss or damage, which does occasionally
happen). Uninsured packages that are
damaged/lost during transit are the responsibility of the customer and
there is nothing we can do. For insured packages that were lost or
damaged, claims may be filed between 21 and 90 days after
shipment was initiated with USPS.
Domestic USPS Express mail is insured and tracked. It is also a
guaranteed service. It comes with $100 included insurance coverage and
additional insurance can be purchased.
For international packages, we have two shipping options:
- Uninsured USPS First Class International Registered mail, starting at $18.99 (typically takes 2+ weeks)
- Insured USPS International Express mail, starting at $32.49 (typically takes 5-10 days)
The first shipping option is not available for all countries.
How quickly an international package gets delivered will also depend
on how long it takes for customs to clear the package.
First Class International Registered mail is not tracked, but since it
is registered, it can be traced down if needed. Once a registered
package has been sent, it is pretty much outside of our control; in
case a package has not been delivered after 3 weeks, we
can only call USPS to start an inquiry to trace down the
package. This is a lengthy process and can take up to 60 days.
Since it also does not have an expedited brokerage/customs process, it
means packages can potentially 'sit in customs' for up to 4-6
weeks. Although this is rare, it does happen once in a while. Packages
are sometimes not delivered at all (<1% of the cases),
thus this method is used at your own risk.
However, it is generally
very dependable, arriving in about 2 weeks or a little longer.
Lost/damaged packages are covered by limited indemnity coverage, typically
around $40-$45 and claims may be filed between 45 and 90 days after
shipment. Again, this is a lengthy process.
USPS International Express Mail comes with tracking and is
insured. It is more expensive but has expedited brokerage which means
your package will zip through customs. It comes with $100 included insurance
coverage and additional insurance is automatically calculated and
added to your order. It is recommended for international
packages.
- What about import taxes and fees?
The customer is responsible for paying import taxes and fees, if any are assessed
during transit; this includes but is not limited to VAT, tariff,
duty and handling fees, customs clearance charges, etc.
Quite a few customers ask if it is possible to declare a lower customs
value on the package. We are required to report the true content and
value of a package for customs purposes (hence we also have a
disclaimer in our Terms of
Service). As a business in good standing we will thus not put a
lower value on the customs forms as that might jeopardize our business
status. Packages are declared as "Merchandise."