Home :: Shipping and Handling
Shipping and Handling
These policies have been updated as of 23-Apr-2010 to reflect changes made as part of our going-out-of-business sale.
Here's the skinny on our shipping and handling policies. If you have a question that isn't answered here, please contact us.
When?
If I place an order online, when will it ship?
If I place an order by mail, when will it ship?
What if one or more of the items I ordered are out-of-stock (backordered)?
How?
What shipping methods do you offer?
What if I received only part of my order?
What packing materials do you use?
Where?
Can you ship to DPO/FPO/APO addresses?
Do you ship internationally?
How much?
How much do you charge for shipping?
What if my order is returned to KidBean.com?
What if my shipping address needs to be corrected?
How much will it cost to import my order into Canada?
How long?
How long will it take for my order to arrive once it has shipped?
If I place an order online, when will it ship?
We clearly indicate the Availability for each item on its page near its price. To minimize packaging and the environmental impact from shipping, we will usually bundle items with the same Availabilities (i.e. your order may be sent in multiple shipments).
If I place an order by mail, when will it ship?
If you placed your order by mail and paid with a check, your order will be held until your check has cleared your bank, up to 21 days. We will send you an e-mail confirmation when your order is shipped.
What if one or more of the items I ordered are out-of-stock (backordered)?
For orders placed BEFORE 23-Apr-2010:
If during the processing of your order the Availability of any item has changed, we will notify you of any backordered items promptly. We will also usually suggest substitute items. If we do not hear from you with you within 3 business days, we may choose to ship the rest of your items and close your order. If such a change results in your order no longer qualifying for any discounts/coupons/special offers (including free shipping), such discounts/coupons/special offers may be removed and the applicable adjustments made to your order.
For orders placed on or after 23-Apr-2010:
If our online inventory system is incorrect and allows you to order an item that we no longer have available, we will remove the item from your order and ship the remaining item(s). We will no longer contact you to see if you would like to make a substitution.
What shipping methods do you offer?
You may choose from the following shipping methods for orders shipped within the United States:
- USPS First-Class Mail
- USPS Priority Mail
- USPS Express Mail PO to Addressee
- UPS Ground
- UPS 3 Day Select
- UPS 2nd Day Air
- UPS Next Day Air Saver
- UPS Next Day Air
- USPS First-Class Mail International
- USPS Priority Mail International
- USPS Express Mail International (EMS)
- UPS Standard to Canada
- UPS Worldwide Saver
- UPS Worldwide Expedited
- UPS Worldwide Express
What if I received only part of my order?
For orders placed BEFORE 23-Apr-2010:
To offer you the speediest possible service, items ordered together may not ship together. By shipping large/oversized/bulky items directly from our suppliers to your door, we are also helping reduce the carbon footprint of our business because these items are shipped only once, rather than twice (once to our warehouse and then again to your door).
We clearly indicate each item's Availability on its page near its price, so that our customers will know up-front when each item will be available to ship. We will bundle together items with the same Availabilities whenever possible to reduce packaging and minimize the environmental impact of shipping.
We will email you a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information for each shipment.
For orders placed on or after 23-Apr-2010:
We no longer drop-ship any of our items. All items in our store will ship directly from our warehouse in Asheville, NC.
What packing materials do you use?
We ship most orders in used boxes (from local health food stores or from incoming shipments) or in recycled (post-consumer waste) bubble envelopes. Note that reused boxes may have previously been used for non-vegan products!
Because it utilizes substantially less energy to reuse than to recycle, we will reuse packing materials whenever possible, rather than buy new, although recycled, materials. Most packing materials are also reused.
Do your part--please reuse and/or recycle the materials used to pack and ship your order! If you do not have a need for them, you may take them to a business that ships packages--most will gladly accept them!
Can you ship to DPO/FPO/APO addresses?
Most items may be shipped to DPO/FPO/APO military addresses. Orders will be shipped through the Postal Service because UPS does not ship to PO Boxes. Some oversized/bulky items cannot be shipped to DPO/FPO/APO addresses, such as our mattresses, futons, furniture, and wooden unit blocks. You will be notified by email if any items in your order cannot be shipped to your DPO/FPO/APO address.
How much do you charge for shipping?
Effective 23-Apr-2010 we no longer offer Free Shipping.
On every item's page we offer a Shipping Calculator so you may instantly and conveniently determine the shipping costs associated with that particular item. Note that this Calculator will only show the 5 lowest-priced shipping methods available for an order of only that item, and may not be an accurate representation of the total shipping costs for an order of multiple items.
To determine the shipping cost for an order of multiple items, you may use the shipping calculator in our shopping cart. Just view your shopping cart and enter the required information for your shipping address in the boxes and then click the Apply button.
For orders shipped outside the US, we charge the actual shipping cost plus a $5 handling fee for export documents.
For orders shipped within the US, we charge either USPS counter rates (for USPS methods) or our negotiated UPS (for UPS methods). These shipping costs are calculated according to the physical weight (and the dimensional weight, for expedited methods) of your package in conjunction with the origin and destination addresses.
Please note that we will not adjust your shipping charges if the actual cost is less than $1 higher or lower than the estimate you received at checkout.
If you choose an invalid expedited shipping method (such as UPS Next Day Air Saver for a destination for which this service is not available), we will ship your order using the cheapest comparable method and adjust your shipping costs to the actual cost for that method.
If you choose an expedited UPS shipping method (such as UPS 3 Day Select) but UPS Ground service will arrive in the same or less transit time, then we will ship your order via UPS Ground and charge you the actual cost--saving you money, and often time.
What if my order is returned to KidBean.com?
If your order is returned to me undelivered (i.e. due to an error in your address or if you are not available to accept your package), we will charge you the actual shipping to re-ship the package to you plus a $5 returned shipment handling fee.
What if my shipping address needs to be corrected?
If an address correction is necessary (for example, due to an error in your address), we will pass along to the billing party any fee that we are charged by the carrier. UPS typically charges $10/package for this service.
Do you ship internationally?
To reduce our environmental impact, we have chosen not to ship to most international destinations. We encourage you to buy what you need from a store local to you, preferably in your country. We do ship to Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other US territories. We charge a $5 international handling fee per shipment to cover our costs for preparing, submitting and retaining import/export estimates and documents. Additionally, all orders shipped via USPS First-Class Mail International or USPS Priority Mail International will be insured at a flat-rate cost of $2.50 per order, to ensure sufficient tracking.
Please note also that many items cannot be shipped outside the USA, including all Earth Mama Angel Baby products and many Naturepedic products.
For more information on international shipping, please also see What shipping methods do you offer? and How much do you charge for shipping?
How much will it cost to import my order into Canada?
In addition to your shipping and handling charges, you may also be responsible for import-related charges, including:
- brokerage fees
- duties/tariffs
- taxes
- You may look-up the applicable UPS brokerage fee for your shipment, based on its value, at
http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs_clearance.html. Note: This is for UPS Standard ONLY. Brokerage fees are included in UPS Worldwide Expedited and UPS Worldwide Express rates.
- Brokerage fees for orders shipped via the USPS are assessed by Canada Post, who charges either $5 or $8, depending upon the service level. See
http://cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/rc4041-eng.html#P465_39325.
- The item's H.S. Tariff code and country of origin will determine the applicable duties/tariffs (*generally*
speaking--it is actually more complicated than this). See
http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/bychapter/index.htm to look-up H.S. Tariff codes and associated duties.
- The Canadian Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5% applies to all products in our store when they are imported into Canada. Three Participating Provinces--Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador--have combined their provincial taxes with the GST to create a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) of 13%. See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/business/topics/gst/gnrl/taxable/importsexports/importedgoods-e.html.
How long will it take for my order to arrive once it has shipped?
Our products ship from multiple locations, usually via USPS or UPS. Transit times for domestic addresses are as follows:
- USPS First-Class Mail - 1-7 postal days, NOT guaranteed
- USPS Priority Mail - 2-3 postal days, NOT guaranteed
- USPS Express Mail - 2 days, guaranteed
- UPS Ground - 1-6 business days, guaranteed, depends upon the origin and destination (see map below)
- UPS 3 Day Select - 3 business days, guaranteed
- UPS 2nd Day Air - 2 business days, guaranteed
- UPS Next Day Air - 1 business day by 10:30 a.m., guaranteed
- UPS Next Day Air Saver - 1 business day by end of day, guaranteed
The map below shows transit times for UPS Ground for all items with an Availability that includes "in-stock".
