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Shipping Methods:
Our standard method for shipping is the
United States Postal Service. We use USPS shipping exclusively for
both USA and International shipping. We ship from a very small town
on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The Post Office is our
only local shipping outlet. We are not set up for International
shipping through UPS, FedEx, DHL, or any other shipper.
Shipping Calculations:
Calculating shipping charges accurately has
become impossible with our current shopping cart system. Shipping
fees are changing at least once a year with indications that it may
become more frequent. Another issue is the addition of dimensional
weight calculations which make the size of the shipping box a
critical part of the overall shipping calculation. We have tried a
weight-based shipping calculation, only to find is wasn't any more
accurate when applied to our real-world shipping challenges. In
light of this, we have opted for a value-based calculation that will
cover our expenses about 95% of the time. We have found it simpler
to refund excess shipping charges than to spend the time and money
rebuilding our entire site and upgrading to more complicated
shopping cart software.
Excess Shipping Charges
Refunded:
We always refund excess shipping charges of $1
or more. We use our actual shipping cost, plus insurance, to
determine any refund. We will refund your Paypal account
usually within 1 week of your order being shipped. If you want
exact shipping costs up front, you can email your shopping list and
we'll give you an exact quote. Getting an accurate
quote entails building your order first to calculate actual
costs. We do our Paypal orders first so if you want faster service
just order from the Paypal shopping cart and we'll send a refund, if
applicable.
Insurance, Packing, etc:
Every package we send is insured with a private
shipping insurer. This allows us much greater flexibility in
responding to shipping problems and claims. The USPS insurance is
more costly and much less responsive. With USPS insurance, 30 days
must pass before a claim can be submitted and as many as 120 days
can pass before resolution. We are able to respond in 2 weeks or
less with our private insurance.
We do not make any money on shipping, quite the
contrary. We try to not lose money on shipping so we can keep our
prices as low as possible. After the costs of insurance, packaging
materials, boxes and tubes our shipping charges allow us to just
break even. Our orders are always packed professionally to minimize
damage in transit. If you do have any issues with a package you have
received please use our Contact Us form or send an email to: pinrestore@gmail.com
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