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Click on the Questions below to see the answers

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Q - Do you have a minimum order amount?

I do not have a minimum order amount. If you are in a bind and need just one small resistor shipped immediately, that is not a problem. No order is too small.

Q - Do you have a minimum shipping amount on packages?

I have a minimum shipping amount of $6.95 for USA packages.
Minimum International US flat rate shipping charges are $13.00 (Canada & Mexico) and $15.00 (All other Countries)

Q - How do I know if a part is in stock?

If an item has an order button, then the part is in stock. I remove the order button for any part that is out of stock so that it cannot be ordered. The exception to this would be if someone orders all of the remaining items I have before I have had a chance to remove the order button. This sort of thing can happen while I am not at my shop.
Examples:
Someone orders the last 100 feet of Yellow cloth wire at 2am in the morning. I would not know the item was now out of stock until I get to the shop in the morning.
10 people order all the remaining quantities of a part over the course of a weekend. I would not know the item was now out of stock until I get to the shop on Monday morning.
As soon as I see that an item is out of stock, I remove the order button.

Q - What is domestic shipping?

Domestic shipping means the United states and US territories like Puerto Rico.

Q - What is International shipping?

International shipments are any non US or non US territories addresses.

Q - What shipping methods do you use?

USPS priority and Express mail are the only shipping methods I use for domestic packages.
USPS Priority and Express mail are the only shipping methods that I use for international shipments.

Q - How come you do not use regular airmail or surface (by ship) for non US shipments?

Priority mail is way faster for me to process an order and pack up a package. Less time spent packing up packages means cheaper shipping cost to the customer. The priority mail flat rate shipping containers are provided free by the post office. I can bill out a priority mail package and know the shipping cost without weighing a package. If I used regular mail, I would have to buy custom boxes, weight each package to get an exact weight and then print a custom label for that package. I would have to charge double the standard priority mail charge if I had to spend that much time shipping a custom package. Non priority mail shipping would be much slower and would be more expensive because of the extra labor involved.

Q - Why is the shipping charge more than what it cost you?

I add approx. $2.00 to what the shipping cost me to cover the items listed below. I add $3 to international packages that need the large customs form.
This also helps cover small orders. If you order $1.00 worth of parts, I would basically be paying you to order the parts.
It seems that everybody and their brother are always trying to suck money out of the small business man.
Here are some of the items that I have to recover and are included in the shipping charge.

* Bank credit card processing fees. (American Express is the worst)
* Telephone company charges for DSL lines, internet access, etc.
* Postage charges for printing my own postage, postage stamp forms, shipping labels, monthly postage service charges, etc.
* Shipping tape, plastic shipping bags, shipping boxes, bubble wrap, styro packing peanuts.
* Bank service charges.
* Paypal service charges.
* Web site hosting charges.
* Office supplies including Computer paper, labels, pens, staples, ink jet cartridges, software upgrades, etc.
* County and state business operating charges.

Q - Will you just throw a couple small parts in a regular envelope to save me from paying the priority mail shipping charges?

No. Please do not ask me to throw small parts in a regular envelope and mail them for the price of a first class stamp. See all of the info above about shipping charges and the extra cost that need to be recovered.

Q - Is there package tracking on Priority mail?

There is no real tracking service available for USPS priority mail packages. The only service that is available is delivery confirmation. Delivery confirmation is not a tracking service, it only notifies you when the package has been delivered. You cannot follow the package as it travels with Delivery confirmation. Delivery confirmation is only available on US packages. Delivery confirmation is automatically added as a free service to all US packages.

Q - How come your shopping cart cannot tell me what the exact shipping charge will be on my order?

There is no way I can calculate exact shipping cost on my shopping cart. There are way too many variables when it comes to shipping. I use several of the US Postal systems flat rate containers. This means, anything that fits inside, can be shipped for a flat rate amount. The main thing that affects USPS shipping is if all the parts will fit into a flat rate shipping container. There's no way that you can calculate all the possible ways that parts can fit together physically inside a flat rate package. It's not a simple matter of how much a package weighs.  Please do not ask for exact shipping cost estimates on a package. I do not know what the shipping is going to be until I box up all the parts and see how it all goes together as a total package. In some cases, I am only able to calculate the correct shipping amount after I have the parts packed up and I know the exact weight, including the box and packaging materials, the package size being used and how far it is being shipped.
Here's a few of the things that can change shipping cost.
* The package weight and shipping distance will vary with every package.
* How much packing material and the weight of the box can change the weight of a package.
* Items that can be crushed or broken get packed differently than non fragile items. Example: I cannot put a pot or a tube in a flat rate envelope, it will be crushed, but I can put resistors in a flat rate envelope.
* If a pile of parts does not fit physically into a flat rate postal package then it cost more to ship.
* A long skinny package with $5 worth of parts inside can cost more to ship than a short fat package with $200 worth of parts inside.
* A long piece of circuit board will usually cost you more because I cannot use the flat rate containers.

Q - Can I send you a list of parts and then you can tell me what the total cost will be with shipping?

No, sorry, I am very busy when I am at work and I don't have time to create parts list, or add up the cost. My shopping cart will give you a running total of all the parts cost. You can just add the part to a list and then decide if you want to order them or not.

Q - How come my order was split into two packages?

Certain items do not lend themselves to being shipped together in the same package. Sometimes items have to be split into separate packages because they are very long, such as a long piece of circuit board, a reverb tank or something very heavy such as a transformer, or something very wide such as a book. See the section below titled, Parts and combos that may present a problem.

Q - What are the USPS flat rate shipping containers?

See the information further down on this page about the Flat rate shipping containers and their cost.

Q - Do you have to attach a customs form to my International package?

Yes. See the information further down on this page about customs forms.

Q - Can you alter my customs form and say it is a gift or commercial sample?

No. I am registered with the US post office as a commercial shipper. They pick up and inspect all my packages. They know that I do not send out gifts and samples all day long.

Q - My package has not arrived yet, where is it?

See the section below about delayed or lost packages and strange shipping tales.

Q - Can you send me another package while I wait for my delayed package?

No, sorry. Your package will arrive or it will be returned to me if there is a problem. See the section below about delayed or lost packages and strange shipping tales.

Q - How come some packages are delayed?

Please read the section below about delayed packages and some of the strange shipping tales that customers have reported to me.

USPS Flat Rate Shipping containers

Pictures of the flat rate containers - Click on the image above for a larger image


USPS flat rate container information for domestic and international shipments
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Container Container Size Max board length Country Weight Limit Price I charge
Flat rate envelope 12" wide x 9.25" high x flat 12" USA and US Territories no weight limit $6.95
Small flat rate box 8.5" wide x 5.25" high x 1.5" deep 8.5" USA and US Territories no weight limit $6.95
Medium flat rate box 11" wide x 5.5" high x 8.5" deep 13.50" - diagonal USA and US Territories no weight limit $12.20
Large flat rate box 12" wide x 5.5" high x 12" deep 16.50" - diagonal USA and US Territories no weight limit $15.95
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Container Container Size Max board length Country Weight Limit Price I charge
Flat rate envelope 12" wide x 9.25" high x flat 12" Canada and Mexico 4 pounds $13.00
Medium flat rate box 11" wide x 5.5" high x 8.5" deep 13.50"- diagonal Canada and Mexico 20 pounds $28.60
Large flat rate box 12" wide x 5.5" high x 12" deep 16.50"- diagonal Canada and Mexico 20 pounds $35.25
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Container Container Size Max board length Country Weight Limit Price I charge
Flat rate envelope 12" wide x 9.25" high x flat 12" All other countries 4 pounds $15.00
Medium flat rate box 11" wide x 5.5" high x 8.5" deep 13.50"- diagonal All other countries 20 pounds $44.28
Large flat rate box 12" wide x 5.5" high x 12" deep 16.50"- diagonal All other countries 20 pounds $56.15
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Note: I rarely use the Large flat rate box because it is usually cheaper to use a regular cardboard box for shipments that do not fit into the Medium flat rate box

Notes on flat rate containers:
If I am not able to use any of the flat rate containers, the shipping charges will be different than what is listed above. The larger flat rate containers are only used if it is cheaper to ship using that flat rate container.
Examples:
Your parts will not fit into the flat rate envelope or the small flat rate box. The medium sized flat rate box is more expensive that shipping your parts in a regular cardboard box. I will not use the medium flat rate box, I will ship your parts using the cheapest priority mail rate I can use.
If you receive a medium flat rate box, I used that container because it was cheaper to ship your parts in that container.


International shipping information:
  International shipments are sent using USPS International Priority mail, which is usually very fast. Less than 5 days delivery time to many countries.

 I will do my best to get you the best shipping rate on your international order. I usually charge $2 to $3 more than the posted rates at the USPS web site. This charge is for filling out the customs forms and the extra time it takes to do an international shipment.

 I will not ship international packages using UPS or Fed-X. You would pay 5 times as much as Postal shipping and the paperwork that has to accompany a Fed-X or UPS International shipment is way more than I am willing to do.


International Customs forms:
* All international packages must have a customs form attached to the outside of the package. The custom form is part of the shipping label that my shipping software prints.
* There is a simple customs form that is used on the flat rate envelope packages
* Other packages must have a 3 part customs form that has all the detail about the shipment. I am required to attach a list of the contents and so I just include a copy of your sales receipt, minus the shipping cost.
* Customs will also sometimes open your package and look inside to see if everything matches the sales receipt.
* I can not alter custom forms and claim the contents to be a gift or a commercial sample. I am a registered commercial shipper with the USPS. They come and pick up my packages every day and then take them back to the post office for inspection. They know that I do not send a bag full of samples or gifts out so please do not ask me to alter the customs form.

Parts combos that may present a problem and notes on splitting shipments:
It is usually books and circuit board material or other long items like chassis that create most of the packaging issues.

* It is possible to ship up to a 12 inch piece of board and some flat, non crushable parts, like resistors or hardware in the flat rate envelope.

* I can ship 12 inch pieces of circuit board inside the flat rate envelope, but I cannot include any parts that are tall or that stretch the envelope upward. Parts that can be crushed, like pots, tubes, etc, cannot fit in the flat rate envelope with a 12" piece of circuit board.

* I cannot put parts that can be crushed inside the flat rate envelope. Crushable parts must be inside a box. If possible, I always put the parts in the small flat rate box and then put that box inside the flat rate envelope. This system works great and I do this on many orders.

* There is no usually no way to combine a long piece of circuit board and a pile of parts inside a flat rate container, unless the board is short enough to fit inside the flat rate container. See the flat rate container table on this page for maximum board length info.

* Combining books and other parts is usually a problem. Books will fit into the Flat rate envelope. A book and some small non crushable parts can be combined in the flat rate envelope.
 
* A Book and a 8.5" piece of circuit board will fit into the flat rate envelope.
 
* A book and a 12" piece of board will not fit into the flat rate envelope.
 
* A long-skinny 24" or 36" piece of circuit board and a wide book will not fit into the same package. The 24" and 36" priority mail shipping containers are not wide enough for a book.

* I may have to split a shipment into two different containers if the parts will not fit into the same container.

* I always try and ship all parts in one package, but sometimes it is impossible to do. Probably only .1% of orders get split into two packages.


Delayed or seemingly lost packages:

Domestic customers: I have no control over the postal delivery system. There is no way to track a postal package. Priority mail is usually very fast and some customers report two day ship times after they place the order.

International customers: I have no control over the postal delivery system in the USA or your country. Sometimes shipments arrive very quickly and sometimes they take longer. There is no way to trace your shipment. We are both at the mercy of the postal systems of both countries. Sometimes your package is held in customs for some unknown reason. I have no way to check on a package or where it is. Some countries hand the package over to a second party delivery service. Once again, I have no control over how your package is delivered.
  I ask that all International customers please be patient, your package will arrive eventually! It is very rare that a package is actually lost. Priority mail is usually very fast, less than 1 week delivery in most cases. Some European customers report that they get their Priority package 5 days after they order from me.
 If your package is taking longer than usual, you should contact your customs office and see if they are holding your package. Many times, customs is holding a package for whatever reason they choose. Sometimes it makes no sense why they hold a package, but they do.
 If your package required I use the big customs form, your local post office can sometimes find your package using the CP number that is on this form. If I used this form, you can email me and I can give you the CP number.  Having the CP number is usually good enough. You can contact customs and see if they can help you by giving them the CP number.

 Note to all customers: I am not responsible for packages that are delayed. If your package is delayed for a really long time, it may be returned to me. I will have to wait until your package returns to me before I can re-ship it to you. Please ask your postman if he remembers delivering the package. It is also possible that the address label got destroyed or the package may be undeliverable for some reason like a wrong address. The postal service will always return the package to me if they can read the return address. International customers, see the info up above.

 If I was delivering the package to you myself, I would be able to take responsibility for that package delivery, but it is necessary to give the packages to a delivery service. I cannot send you another package when your package is delayed. If you want me to re-ship another package while you wait for the original package to arrive, I can do that, but I will have to charge you for another shipment. When your original shipment shows up, you can send it back to me and I will credit you. This is rarely needed unless you are in a huge rush. It is very rare that a package never shows up, some just take longer. Remember, Murphy's law is always in effect.


Strange shipping tales:
 Customers have had all kinds of crazy things happen to their packages. Many times they say they did not receive the package only to find the mailman left the package in a weird place somewhere around their house. These are just a few of the many weird stories I have heard over the years. Sometimes the postman may take your package back to the post office. It's always a good idea to give your local post office a call and see if they are holding your package for some strange reason. The truth is, very few packages ever get lost, they always show up. These are all true stories

Note that I had shipped this package on 08/29/2008.  This is an actual email from my customer:

Well lo and behold. I got a delivery notice in my mailbox on Friday (09/19/2008). It stated the mailman had attempted to deliver the missing package on 09.19.08, but was unsuccessful. I had until 09.29.08 to pick it up from the post office or they would return it. After receiving it, it had the date 09.03.08 written on it, indicating that was the first delivery attempt. So I asked a manager why the mailman simply would not deliver the package, as it would easily fit in my mailbox. He didn't know. I stated that this was priority mail. Why would the postman wait sixteen days to attempt it a second time, and then still not place it in the mailbox? This does not seem like "priority" handling to me. He advised me to ask my carrier, and offered to refund me the few dollars that priority mail would have cost over the normal mailing rates. I told him I didn't want a refund. I want my packages delivered when they are supposed to be delivered. If there's an issue, it shouldn't take over two weeks for a second attempt. He then advised he would consult with my carrier to determine the problem. Who knows, but it did finally show up. Don't know if this story qualifies for your web site, but I figured you'd at least like to know it arrived.

Me: Yes it qualifies for my web site, this is a very strange story indeed and makes no sense to me. Just goes to show you how weird it can get.


A customer found his package in the back seat of an old car in his yard.

A customer finally found his package in his daughters car. His daughter did not tell him she had grabbed the package.


A customer found that the local post office was holding his package because they tried to deliver it to his business on a Saturday. The business was closed on Saturday and so they just held the package instead of trying to re-deliver it on Monday when the business was open.
 

A customer reported that the mailman left the package on a side porch where the family hardly ever went, and so they did not think to look there.


A customer was staying at a Hotel for a few days so he had me send his package there. The package was not delivered in time, the customer checked out of the hotel and the package was thought to be lost. A few months later he checked into the same hotel and the front desk said he had a package. Yep, it was his missing package.


The customers address on the package was 1106 Walker road. The post office delivered the package to 1106 Hamilton road. The people on Hamilton road who received the package held onto the package for two weeks and then drove the package over to my customer and delivered it.


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