General
We try to ship the same day we receive your order--though some orders received late in the day may go out the following day. 

Within US
We ship first class mail or priority mail within the U.S. and include delivery confirmation.  If you want insurance, that is an extra charge --Please email us to get the additional charge.  After shipping thousands of packages, we have had no significant problems.  No packages have been lost and all seem to reach their destination in a timely manner.

The new catalog automatically calculates total shipping weight when you purchase multiple items and then calculates the corresponding shipping charges for the total weight -- it automatically combines shipping costs to reduce your shipping cost. 

Currently, the catalog will only calculate postage for 10 lbs or less, but packages larger than this are rare.  If you place an order that weights more than that, it will show the shipping charges for 10 pounds.  In this case, we will send you an invoice for the additional cost.

International
We strive to minimize the shipping cost for you.  We have found that shipping by mail is still the cheapest.

The new catalog will calculate basic shipping cost. 

Shipping for packages 4 lbs (1.8kg) and below is via first class mail.  Above 4lbs (1.8kg), shipping is via Global Priority.

To see shipping costs for locations outside the U.S., you must start the checkout procedure, select your country and proceed. You will be given a final option to cancel.

The shipping costs that you can see while you are adding items to the catalog, are for the U.S.  To get the cost for other countries, you must start the checkout process -- fill out the basic information and select which country you want to ship the merchandise to.  Click continue, and you will see the order including shipping cost to your country.  At this point, you have the option to cancel the  order.

For international orders, we normally ship First Class mail (airmail up to 4 lbs (1.8kg).  Above that weight, we must then switch to Global Priority.  Up to 4lbs (1.8kg), global priority is also an option. For First Class or Global Priority, there is no tracking number; however, it seems that Global Priority tends to get through faster.  Global Express is also an option -- it is very expensive for small packages, but may be very little more for larger packages.  We highly recommend you consider it for large packages because it has a tracking number and packages shipped this way get priority going through customs.  If you want to use this method, we can calculate the additional charge and send you an invoice for the additional cost.  Packages shipped via global express normally arrive within 5 days, but this is not guaranteed.

As with packages shipped within the U.S., we have had hardly any problems.  Most packages arrive in about 1to 2 weeks (global express and priority are faster).  After shipping to most parts of the world, we have not had one package lost.  Insurance is available, but isn't all that practical as we must file the claim and only after 45 days have passed. 

Customs: Most packages go right through customs.  However occasionally (very infrequent), a package gets delayed for reasons we do not know.  If you need something fast, this may be a reason to consider global priority or global express -- simply to improve the odds of your package getting through customs in a timely manner.