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Shipping & Handling

• Processing Time
• Shipping and Handling Charges
• Direct-From-Supplier Shipments
• USPS (Mail) Shipments to the United States
• Shipments to Canada
• Shipments to US Possessions
• International Shipments
• Shipping Errors
• Package Protection

Processing Time

We try to ship all orders within one business day. (For exceptions, see our back order policy.) Daily UPS pickups mean that shipments by UPS are on their way to you quickly. Because our postal pickup is in the morning, shipments by mail usually go out one day later.

Shipping and Handling Charges

Our shipping charges include the UPS or USPS charges plus a handling charge that covers the time and material it takes to ship your order.

You choose the shipping service you want and we calculate the exact cost to ship your order from Pasadena, California. To that amount, we add $1.99 for the first item you order and $0.49 for each additional line item. By "line item" we mean any quantity of one part number. We add $5.00 handling to orders shipped out of the US via the US Postal Service to cover the cost of completing the USPS paperwork.

Here is an example:

Things that affect the shipping and handling charge:

• The number of lines on the invoice
• Your distance from Pasadena, CA
• The shipping service that you choose
• If the shipment goes to a residence

All shipments are FOB Pasadena, California.

To compare the cost of various shipping methods: When you've added everything you want to your shopping cart, enter your postal code on the shopping cart page, select the appropriate country, and select a shipping service from the list. Then click Recalculate to view the new total, without making a commitment to purchase.

Direct-From-Supplier Shipments

Some items we sell are shipped directly from our supplier. Many of these are heavy items where the cost of shipping from our supplier to our warehouse would significantly increase the price. It might be a day or two longer before a direct-from-supplier item ships, and you will receive it in a separate package from other items on your order. You might receive this item a few days before or a few days after you receive items shipped from our warehouse. All direct-from-supplier items are clearly indicated on the product page.

International Direct-From-Supplier Shipments
Most of our suppliers will not ship outside the United States. On international orders, all direct-from-supplier items are shipped to our warehouse and combined with the rest of your order before we ship to you. This delays the shipment of your order for one to two weeks.

USPS (Mail) Shipments to the United States

Because USPS offers no way to track non-express packages, we do not recommend the US Postal Service for deliveries to the United States except for Alaska and Hawaii. USPS does, however, provide an economical solution for shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, and other US possessions.

USPS packages to addresses in the United States are picked up from our office the morning after they are packed, so there is a one-day delay in USPS shipments.

Many times USPS shipping rates look high. This is because we include the cost of insurance on orders over $100.

Shipments to US Possessions

If you live in a US possession or protectorate, assert your independence! Select the name of the possession in the Country list.

Shipments to Canada

Despite the "free" trade promises of NAFTA, shipments from the U.S. to Canada can still incur considerable costs. NAFTA means no duty, but you're still on the hook for GST and PST, of course. Here's some information that may help you avoid surprises and, more important, save some money.

There are several options for shipping to Canada. You can see the cost of each option on our Shopping Cart page. To try a shipping option, follow these steps:

1. Enter your Postal Code.
2. Choose your country from the drop-down list.
3. Choose an option in the Ship By list.
4. Click Recalculate Total.

UPS Standard
UPS Standard provides a reliable and economical choice for shipments to Canada, but UPS charges you additional brokerage fees upon delivery. The cost (before the additional brokerage fees) is usually about the same as Priority Mail International. UPS Standard provides the following advantages:

• Economy – Either UPS Standard or Priority Mail International will be the most economical means of shipment to Canada.
• UPS Standard packages are fully tracked. You can check the status of your package at any time by visiting UPS.com.
• Guaranteed Delivery – UPS guarantees that UPS Standard packages are delivered on time. UPS takes 4 (BC) to 7 (NS) days to deliver to Canada.
• Faster Shipment – UPS packages are picked up from our warehouse every afternoon.

When you ship by UPS Standard, besides the shipping charges that appear on our Web site, UPS charges you a fee for customs brokerage when they deliver the package. These fees are based on package value as shown in the table below. There may also be additional fees for bonds, permits, and such.

To learn more about the fees that UPS charges for customs clearance into Canada, visit UPS: Rates for Customs Clearance into Canada

Value for Duty	UPS Customs Brokerage Fee
$0 to $20	$ -
$20.01 to $40	$7.00
$40.01 to $100	$19.45
$100.01 to $200	$29.00
$200.01 to $350	$38.92
$350.01 to $500	$43.73
$500.01 to $750	$49.73
$750.01 to $1,000	$55.58
$1,000.01 to $1,250	$61.58
$1,250.01 to $1,600	$65.45
$1,600.01 to $5,000	$69.03
Each additional $1,000	$5.38

UPS Air Services
We recommend UPS Worldwide Saver and UPS Worldwide Expedited for shipments to Canada. UPS waives its customs brokerage fees for packages shipped by air. We offer a large discount on these services, which puts your total cost near or below that of Priority Mail International. You can receive your shipment in 3-5 business days (and track it) instead of 1-2 weeks for a very small difference in cost.

Priority Mail International
The US Postal Service and Canada Post provide another alternative. Priority Mail International is sometimes less expensive than UPS, and Canada Post only charges a $5.00 CAD entry preparation fee. For more information about Canadian taxes and duties, visit the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Web site.

When comparing Priority Mail International to UPS services, remember that we add a $5.00 handling charge to cover the cost of completing the USPS paperwork. This charge appears on the Shopping Cart page when you choose any international postal service option.

The downside is that there is no way to track your package, and while the post office estimates delivery time of 4 to 10 business days, in our experience it's sometimes longer.

Express Mail International
Express Mail International provides another faster but more expensive option. It does not offer guaranteed delivery times, but does provide tracking. The post office estimates delivery time of 3 to 5 business days. Canada Post charges $8.00 CAD for entry preparation.

International Shipments

We ship to many parts of the world. You can place your order on our Web site and choose an appropriate shipping method. The total cost of your order, including shipping and handling, is calculated before you commit to placing the order. We recommend UPS Worldwide Saver and UPS Worldwide Expedited (where available) for international shipments.

The list of countries to which we ship is provided by UPS and USPS. If your country is on the list, we probably ship there. We do not ship to countries with onerous paperwork requirements, such as requiring notarized or authenticated invoices. If we find that your country has such requirements we will notify you and cancel the order. In some cases, the onerous paperwork requirements are triggered by the value of the shipment, so we might ship some orders but not others.

Likewise, we will not meet onerous paperwork requirements that might save you duty or taxes. If we cannot complete the paperwork in our offices, without extra expense, we will not do it. We will not have paperwork notarized or signed by third parties such as the chamber of commerce.

Because UPS treats most US possessions as separate countries, some appear in both the State or Province list and the Country list. If you select the US possession in the Country list, the Web site should figure out where you are.

International Postal Shipments
Most international shipments are made by Priority Mail International. This service provides a good balance between cost and delivery time. Because of the large discounts we offer on UPS Worldwide air services, be sure to compare these services to Priority Mail International.

If you choose Priority Mail International shipping we use Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes (or envelopes) when they save you money. We adjust the shipping amount on your order when we are able use a flat rate box. There are three sizes of flat rate boxes. 11" x 8.5" x 5.5" and 11.88" x 3.38" x 13.63" boxes cost $23.95 for Canada and Mexico, and $38.95 for other countries. 12" x 12" x 5.5" boxes cost $29.95 for Canada and Mexico, and $49.95 for other countries. All flat rate boxes are limited to 20 pounds.

In general, Priority Mail International takes 2-3 weeks. Once the package is in the hands of USPS we have no control over it, and no way to track it.

Express Mail International
Express Mail International provides another faster but more expensive option. It offers guaranteed delivery times only to Australia and Japan, but it provides tracking to all countries. The post office estimates delivery time of 3 to 5 business days.

International UPS Shipments
We recommend UPS Worldwide Saver and UPS Worldwide Expedited (where available) for international shipments. We offer major discounts on expedited shipping with UPS. The rates for UPS air shipping are often comparable to the rates for Priority Mail International. You can receive your shipment in 3-6 days (and track it) instead of 1-2 weeks (or more) for a very small difference in cost.

UPS returns some rather cryptic error messages that are displayed at the bottom of the Shopping Cart page and the top of the Checkout page. In general, they mean you should select a different UPS service or check your address and postal code. In many parts of the world you must choose UPS Worldwide Express because they do not offer anything else.

Shipping Errors

If you don't have the right combination of ZIP or postal code, country, and shipping service, then you might get a shipping error displayed on the Web page.

The most common error from UPS is "The requested service is unavailable between the selected locations." This means that UPS does not offer the shipping service you have chosen to your destination. Correct the ZIP or postal code or change the selection in the Ship By list, usually to a more expensive option.

The most common errors from USPS are "Please enter a valid ZIP Code for the recipient." and "No Destination City State found." These both mean that USPS does not recognize the ZIP code as being in the US or its possessions. Correct the ZIP code or choose the appropriate country.

Package Protection

We automatically protect every package that we ship against loss and damage. The fees for this protection, which are included in the shipping cost, are shown in the table below. These fees are significantly lower than the fees charged by UPS and the Post Office.

For example, the cost of protection for a $210.00 UPS shipment to the United States is $0.50.

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