EXPECTED DELIVERY TIMES

The most frequent question we receive is "When I can expect my order to arrive?" This is determined by several factors including: (1) the method of shipping you select, (2) whether all of your items are currently in stock and (3) the orders placed ahead of yours. In general, we function on a first come - first serve basis. We do try to get orders out of our warehouse promptly (within a week), however, there are times of the year when shipping times are increased, such as during the holidays and/or during the harvest season (September & October).

In addition to the time it takes for us to pack your order, your delivery date will be determined by the shipping method you select. There are four methods of USPS shipping that you may be able to select when you place your order:

• First Class Mail - Applies only to orders under 13 ozs, such as a CD, Special Report or IC Optimist. First class mail is NOT trackable thus we will not be able to tell you where your item is after it has been placed in the mail. If tracking is important to you, please select Priority or Express mail. PLEASE ALLOW 3 WEEKS for shipping and delivery first class items.


• Media Mail - Media mail can only be used if you are selecting printed or audiovisual items like books or CD's. Yes, it is very inexpensive but also takes much longer to arrive. These are not trackable. PLEASE ALLOW 4 WEEKS for shipping and delivery of media items.
  
  
• Priority Mail - Priority mail is the most commonly used shipping method for shipping in the USA. It can be extremely cost effective if you are purchasing a large quantity of heavy items (i.e. bottles of supplements, soups, waters, baking products, etc) that will fit in three varying sizes of flat rate boxes or envelopes. If your order will fit in a flat rate box, we will reduce your shipping rate whenever possible. Please note, however, that priority mail can seem more expensive if your items are between 13 ounces and 3 pounds. This is where the US Postal Service makes their money thus, during every rate increase, these are the costs that are increased the most.  Please note that our store is not able to determine if your product will fit in a flat rate box and may give you a fairly high cost of shipment. We then adjust the shipping costs down whenever possible to save you $$. If you have any doubt or would like to know what your exact shipping will be, please call us and we can pack your order over the phone to determine what it will fit into. PLEASE ALLOW 2 WEEKS FOR THE SHIPMENT AND DELIVERY of Priority Mail.
  
  
• Express Mail - Express mail is the most reliable and most expensive form of shipment. You must be available to sign for a package when you select Express Mail. PLEASE ALLOW AT LEAST 1 WEEK FOR A EXPRESS MAIL ORDER TO BE SHIPPED AND DELIVERED.
  

URGENT PACKAGES

If you require an item to be delivered at a specific period of time, it is ALWAYS suggested that you call us and place your order by phone so that we can determine if we can meet your needs. This is particularly true if you are running out of an item or going on vacation. Orders placed on-line are completed on a first come, first serve basis.. thus even though you may have selected Express shipping, there may be fifty orders ahead of you.

DAMAGED PACKAGES

International and Domestic Customers - If you receive a package that is damaged, please do NOT open it at home. You must open it in front of a postal representative (either at your door or at your postal office) who can then see that the package was damaged, the items are damaged and then request reimbursement. If you open the package at home and then claim it was damaged, the postal service and/or UPS will NOT BELIEVE YOU and they will not provide compensation for the damage.

BACK ORDERS OR SOLD OUT ITEMS

While we try to keep all of our stock current, there are times when shipments are delayed, such as last Summers fire in the chair cushion factory. These are often out of our control. If you place an order that includes an item which is out of stock and that item is scheduled to arrive within a few days, we will hold your order until that item is received. If it looks like that item will not be available within a reasonable period of time, we will remove that item that you've ordered and indicate on your sales receipt that the item is sold out or on back order. We will then contact you when the item is available. Please note that chair cushions are often unpredictable to do the fire above. We are often given estimated arrival dates that are off by a week or more. We are doing our best but this is beyond our control.


USPS SHIPPING RATES INCREASE - January 2010

The January 2010 increase in shipping rates has substantially raised the shipping costs for orders between 1 and 3 pounds. it has also increased the fee for all flat rate shipments. Thus, you will notice a change in our shipping rates for these midsize orders. Unfortunately, the new shipping rate formula is so complex (i.e. asking for size of boxes, thickness of envelopes, destination, etc.), we are queuing orders for review so that we can reduce the shipping rates for orders that will fit into a flat rate envelope and/or a flat rate box. The shipping price you are given in this system represents the maximum price you MAY be charged. If we can fit your order into a flat rate box or envelope, we will reduce your shipping. Of course, you can always e-mail our order center at: shipping@ic-network.com for a quick shipping rate quote.

Prior to the establishment of flat rate options, all USPS shipments were based primarily on weight and destination. Thus, the closer you are located to the shop and the lighter the package, the cheaper the shipping would be. Flat rate boxes and envelopes dramatically reduced shipping expenses, particularly for heavier orders going longer distances, because it charged on set, and usually lower fee. The challenge is fitting the products you've ordered into a box. Unfortunately, even these costs have gone up with this new rate increase.

What can fit in a flat rate box or envelope??

Flat Rate Envelope Examples: Flat rate envelopes can no longer be used as mini boxes. Many postmasters are now charging customers an extra fee if they receive a flat rate envelope that is "not reasonably flat." We can fit most supplements of up to 2 bottles, one or two envelopes of Euromild coffee, ten packs of Bodiheat heating pads, smaller books (IC Survival Guide, Patient to Patient, Please Understand, First Year IBS, etc.) and/or IC Optimist orders into a flat rate envelope. (We are no longer shipping three packs in a flat rate envelopes because several customers around the country have been charged an additional fee.)

Flat Rate Box Examples: Flat Rate boxes come in two sizes and can usually hold larger orders as long as they aren't higher or longer than the box itself. Thus, we can easily fit a newly diagnosed kit, several books, Puroast Coffee Orders, candies, a few boxes of Dr. Oetker baking products, etc. A Taste of the Good Life: A Cookbook for an IC Diet ships easily in this box.

Large Dimension Orders: Several items will not fit into the flat rate boxes, including chair cushions, popup tents, and large quantities of Purely Cotton toilet paper, etc. These items are placed in larger plain cardboard boxes and can only be shipped based upon their weight and destination.

DO WE SHIP BY UPS OR FEDEX?

We would be happy to ship via UPS however it is frequently much more expensive than USPS. UPS shipments cannot be processed via this web store and those customers requesting UPS service must call in their order to our order phone number 707-433-0413. We cannot ship via FEDEX as there is no longer a package dropoff  location near our shipping center. 


WE CURRENTLY SHIP TO:

North America - USA, Canada
Europe - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK
Asia - Hong Kong, India,  Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan, Singapore, UAE
Others - Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands

Other Countries may be added to our country lists upon special request.

CUSTOMS:

Every nation has different rules about what can be sent to their residents. Our customers are often surprised to discover that they must pay a customs fee or excise tax when their package is delivered. Please note that this, too, is beyond our control nor can we estimate how much you will be required to pay to retrieve your item. Please contact your local postal service to learn more about any fees you may be required to pay.

SHIPPING OPTIONS - Please note that your customs department may hold packages for any length of time, from 24 hours to a three weeks. This is entirely beyond our control, nor can we predict how long this will take.

• First Class Mail - First Class shipping is only available to our Canadian customers. It is extremely slow, unreliable and often stolen if used to send packages overseas however it is consistently effective when sent to Canada. First class mail is NOT trackable thus we will not be able to tell you where your item is after it has been placed in the mail. If tracking is important to you, please select International  Express mail. PLEASE ALLOW FOUR WEEKS for shipping and delivery first class items.
  
  
• Priority Mail - Priority mail can be extremely cost effective if you are purchasing a large quantity of items (i.e. bottles of supplements, soups, waters, baking products, etc) that will fit in three varying sizes of flat rate boxes or envelopes. If your order will fit in a flat rate box, we will reduce your shipping rate whenever possible. Please note that our store is not able to determine if your product will fit in a flat rate box and may give you a fairly high cost of shipment. We then adjust the shipping costs down whenever possible to save you $$. If you have any doubt or would like to know what your exact shipping will be, please call us and we can pack your order over the phone to determine what it will fit into. PLEASE ALLOW 3 TO FOUR WEEKS FOR THE SHIPMENT AND DELIVERY of Priority Mail.
  
  
• Express Mail - Express mail is the most reliable form of shipping internationally, especially when shipping to countries that have a history of delivery issues. Yes, it is the most expensive form of shipment but it is also the most secure, trackable and INSURED. You must be available to sign for a package when you select Express Mail. PLEASE ALLOW AT LEAST TWO WEEKS FOR A EXPRESS MAIL ORDER TO BE SHIPPED AND DELIVERED.

UNCLAIMED ORDERS

It  is always sad when we receive a phone call from a customer who did not respond to their mail service in a timely manner and had their packages returned to us. If you allow a package to sit at your post office, there is often a very small window of opportunity to pick it up before it is automatically returned back to us by the slowest method possible. These customers almost often ask for an immediate refund which we sadly cannot provide UNTIL we receive the package back from the postal service. And, for international orders, this can take months because they are often returned by ship using the slowest method possible. Please PLEASE pick up your packages quickly!!! You do not want to become part of the slow boat brigade. It is extremely frustrating for all of us.

UNITED KINGDOM ORDERS CUSTOMERS

We have seen an alarming decrease in deliveries of Global Priority packages to UK customers in the past year. Packages have been held in customs for several weeks or months, then shipped to a local postal outlet where they have been returned to us months later. Typically, the Royal Mail stamp says "Not Picked Up." Because Global Priority is not trackable, we will no longer be sending shipments this way. We will only ship GLOBAL EXPRESS because it is trackable. Most supplement companies are doing this.

Shipping internationally can be challenging. Many countries have different policies, customs procedures, mail services and other related issues. Thus, we have different experiences shipping to different countries. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Asia are currently very reliable locations for us to ship to. England, however, has had several delivery problems. We ship three times a week by global express, global priority or int'l air mail (these options vary by country). You may select your shipping preference during the order checkout procedure. Our shipping preference is global priority (except the UK), which is the fastest service at the most reasonable cost. However, orders must be able to fit into a global priority envelope to qualify for this service. Please note that global priority is NOT trackable. If you want the ability to track your order, we always recommend global express.  UPS cannot deliver supplements without extensive and time consuming customs reviews, therefore we will no longer ship supplements using this carrier.

International Customs & Supplements

International mail is subject to the customs examination in the destination country. Articles that are acceptable in one country might not be acceptable in another. Each country has special prohibitions or restrictions on particular goods. Books, for example, are usually easily shipped. However, many customs services will not accept food supplements, such as CystaQ, ProstaQ or Cystoprotek. We can ship supplements to Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand & Japan. Some countries (such as Germany) may allow you to have your product delivered to a pharmacy if your doctor has written a prescription for it. It is your responsibility to know whether the items ordered will pass through customs in your country, particularly supplements. We cannot make any guarantees or guesses. Please contact your customs office and ask if they accept supplements. We regret that we cannot refund supplement orders that do not pass customs examinations and/or are damaged during their return to us. It is YOUR responsibility to do this research prior to placing your order.

Customer Service

If you have any questions about your order, or would like an update on your order, please give us a call at (707)433-0413 or send email to: sales@icnshop.com