Amplestuff Shipping Policy

When you put items in your Shopping Cart and proceed to CHECKOUT, you will be asked for shipping and billing information, and you will be asked to choose from the following shipping methods:

UPS (street address only; no PO boxes); or Priority Mail
First class mail (orders under $20, except hangers and 16 oz. soap)
UPS 2nd Day Air (street address only; see notes)
UPS Next Day (street address only; see notes)
First class mail international (orders under $75)
Priority mail international, insured (orders over $75)

The following information may help you estimate what shipping and handling charges will be for these shipping methods. With a few exceptions, you will normally see the total S/H charges for the different methods when you go to check out, but the exceptions are noted below.


Domestic Shipments, within the USA:


U.S. shipments within the 48 contiguous states:
Order Total: UPS or Priority Mail:
Up to $20.00* 10.00
$20.01 - $40.00 11.00
$40.01 - $60.00 12.50
$60.01 - $80.00 14.00
Over $80 ------- approximately 6% of total plus $8.
Your actual S/H may be a little more or a little less;
the exact amount will show on your checkout invoice.

*Note: If you live within any of the 50 states (and territories, possessions, or you have an APO or FPO address) in the US, and if your order is under $20 (except for hangers and 16 oz soap) and if you have checked that method, S/H will be $4.50, and will go by first class mail.

Shipping Method: Usually, Amplestuff ships via UPS or the US Postal Service. We select the service that works best for your order, taking into account the distance it must be shipped, the carton size and weight, and sometimes the weather. If you have a strong preference about the shipping method, please say so in the comments section during checkout, and we will try to ship according to your wishes.

Priority Mail: According to the US Postal Service, Priority Mail delivery is 2-3 days to most cities, but it is not guaranteed, and can sometimes take longer. Unlike UPS, however, with the postal service, Saturday counts as one of the days. Delivery sometimes occurs on Saturday.

Certain products cost more to ship due to their size or weight. Any additional shipping costs will be noted on the web page for those products, and will be billed to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment.

Orders via UPS or the mail to Alaska or Hawaii cost more, and will be billed to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment.


Second Day Air Delivery

Second Day Air in the case of UPS means guaranteed delivery by the end of the second business day after shipment. That can be as late as 7 PM in some locations. Saturday doesn't count as a business day. Example: If we ship your order on a Monday, you would receive it on a Wednesday, assuming that none of the days are holidays.

If you specify the postal service's Priority Mail, for which there is normally no extra charge, there is no guaranteed second day delivery, but it often is that fast, and the USPS counts Saturday as a valid delivery day.

If you specify Second Day Air, and pay the higher rate, we try to ship the same day or the next business day. If there is going to be a delay, or we are out of stock on one or more items on the order, we try to reach you immediately and discuss shipping alternatives. That's a good reason for entering your phone number on your order.

As of 1/3/11, all air shipments are penalized even more than in the past for the carton size, referred to as "dimensional weight."

Via UPS, within the 48 contiguous states in the U.S.: Add $26 to the UPS fee from the chart above.

For Alaska and Hawaii, add $10 more than that. The extra $10 will be billed to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment.

For certain products, an additional fee is added. Such products include chairs, stools, benches, tub scrubbers, scales, and clothes hangers. This is due to their extra size or weight, which is heavily penalized by UPS. The 2nd day additional fee, if any, is given on the web pages for these items. The extra fee will be billed to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment.


Next Day Air Delivery

Next Day Air in the case of UPS means guaranteed delivery by the middle of the first business day after shipment, in most locations. Saturday doesn't count as a business day.

If you specify Next Day Air, but in your comments tell us to use the postal service's Express Mail, there is a guaranteed overnight delivery in most locations, and the USPS counts Saturday as a valid delivery day.

If you specify Next Day Air, and pay the higher rate, we try to ship the same day or the next business day. If there is going to be a delay, or we are out of stock on one or more items on the order, we try to reach you immediately and discuss shipping alternatives. That's a good reason for entering your phone number on your order.

As of 1/3/11, all air shipments are penalized even more than in the past for the carton size, referred to as "dimensional weight."

Via UPS, within the 48 contiguous states: Add $75 to the UPS ground fee from the chart above.

For Alaska and Hawaii, add $20 more than that. The extra $20 will be billed to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment.

For certain products, an additional fee is added. Such products include chairs, stools, benches, tub scrubbers, scales, and clothes hangers. This is due to their extra size or weight, which is heavily penalized by UPS. The extra fee will be billed to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment. If you wish to know in advance what the extra fee will be before placing your order, please call or email us first.


Saturday Delivery

Saturday delivery can be made in some areas for an extra fee, in addition to that charged for next-day delivery. It is only offered as a option by UPS for overnight shipments shipped on a Friday. Request a price quote by phone or email. Actual orders for Saturday delivery, when offered by UPS, can only be made with our office by phone on Friday, and cannot be placed online. The extra fee will be billed to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment.


International Shipments, outside the USA:

Amplestuff is pleased to process customer orders from all over the world. (Many US-based mail order companies do not.) We utilize the postal system for this, and do not ordinarily ship international orders any other way, due to the high cost of non-postal customs brokers at the receiving end, and the excessively complex customs paperwork required for such shipments.

First class mail international (orders under $75): To estimate the cost of the mailing charges, multiply the UPS ground charge in the chart above, by 2.0X.

Priority mail international, insured (orders over $75): To estimate the cost of the mailing charges, multiply the UPS ground charge in the chart above, by 3.0X.

These estimated S/H charges are based on typical postage (and insurance if the order is over $75), plus a handling charge of $8 to cover preparation of your shipment for export, including customs documents, insurance forms when needed, an extra invoice copy in a sealed envelope on the outside of the carton, and a trained courier's time and mileage to the post office.

Once we weigh and measure your shipment, and consult with the US Postal Service website www.usps.gov, if we determine that the actual costs are more than $3 more than that already billed to your order, we reserve the right to bill the excess to your credit card separately, as a second charge. The total S/H billed will be noted on the written invoice that you receive with your shipment. If you wish to know in advance whether there will be an extra fee and if so, how much it will be before placing your order, please call or email us first.

In some cases, the additional shipping and handling may be more than $10 higher than that estimated above, or the amount automatically set by the website during the checkout procedure; or even if less than $10, it may make the S/H very high compared to the value of the merchandise (example: clothes hangers). In either case, we will send you an email asking for your consent to the additional charges, and will not be insulted if you decide that you wish to cancel your order due to the high shipping costs.

We always compare the estimated S/H to the actual postal costs after the shipment goes out; if it turns out that the postage plus $8 is less than the estimated S/H by an amount exceeding $3, we will give you a refund of the overpayment. This happens about 1/3 of the time for foreign orders. We do not hesitate to give out refunds when they are appropriate.

Local customs/duties/value added tax (VAT):   Since we mail items to over 100 countries, we cannot know in advance what you will have to pay your post office for such taxes, nor can we be responsible for such charges, or give refunds of any unexpected charges at your end. We also cannot circumvent such taxes by labeling the shipment as a "gift". The export papers describe the goods as "merchandise".

Privacy Issues:  Export papers attached to the outside of the carton are required to specifically list the contents. We make an effort to keep descriptions as general as possible, leaving off any sizing information. For example, we might describe a "fanny pack, black, waist 45-55 inches" as simply a "waist pack".