Shipping

Our standard shipping method is by UPS Ground Service from our Fairfield California warehouse to all addresses in the United States except addresses in Alaska, Hawaii, Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, The U. S. Virgin Islands and all Post Office boxes. These excepted addresses are shipped to by USPS Parcel Post.

We charge our customers the shipping amount that UPS or the USPS charges us. Calculating shipping charges can be complicated and rates change often. For a detailed explanation of UPS rates, see www.UPS.com. For Parcel Post information, see www.USPS.gov.

UPS Ground Service shipping time varies with distance. The shortest time is one business day. The longest time is eight business days. Shipping times can be calculated using a feature for that purpose on the UPS website. (You will need to know that we ship all packages from zip code 94533.)

UPS offers several air delivery methods, COD collection, consignee billing, large multiple package "Hundredweight" shipment discounts and other options that may provide better shipping service for the customer than standard UPS Ground. Refer to their website for more information.

For large orders of two or more pallets, we recommend that the customer arrange shipment with a trucking company of their choice. We will provide case counts, weights and dimensions as necessary. We strongly urge customers who arrange their own trucking to keep us informed as to the details of those arrangements.

International Shipping

We can ship to international addresses. However, it is much more expeditious for the customer to refer us to a domestic freight forwarder who will handle the international part of the shipment. If an international shipment is required, shipping cost and time will vary greatly depending upon the carrier, transportation method and destination. For international orders, we prefer to advise the customer by e-mail or fax of the various shipping options available and then work out the details to their best advantage.

How Shipping Charges Are Calculated

Occasionally, we have customers question shipping charges that seem high to them. Usually, they base this opinion on the ratio of the shipping charges to the invoice amount. We always try to minimize shipping charges for our customers. However, these charges sometimes seem high because UPS rates are high and increase every year and because UPS charges extra for COD collection, for residential delivery, and for other services. The ratio of shipping charges to the invoice amount is not a good indicator for judging the propriety of shipping charges because different products have different weight to price ratios. Indeed, weight may not even be a factor. For large boxes under a certain weight, UPS charges a "Dimensional Weight" based on the size of the box rather than it's actual weight.

We often calculate shipping charges several different ways to find the best rate for a customer. Sometimes, it is actually cheaper to use one large box and pay the extra fee for an oversize package than to use two smaller boxes and pay the charges for the two boxes together. For large shipments, UPS Hundredweight service is often much cheaper than standard Ground.

How To Reduce Shipping Charges

Customers can reduce shipping charges by avoiding COD collection fees and express services. COD charges can be avoided by advance payment, by credit card payment or by successfully applying for credit terms. (Apply for credit terms at Credit Terms.) Pandamerica® accepts Visa and MasterCard. As our retail store customers know very well, banks charge fees to process credit card deposits. To cover these fees, some vendors charge extra to accept a credit card payment. We do not. We encourage credit card payments as beneficial to the customer as well as to us.

Partial Shipments

Sometimes, a customer receives only some of the boxes in a shipment and calls to ask what happened to the others. Each package passing through the UPS or U. S. Postal system is processed as a separate unit. Multiple packages shipped on the same day to the same destination usually arrive on the same day, but not always. When a customer receives only some of the boxes in a shipment, they should wait a day or two to see if the rest of the shipment arrives later. If it does not, the customer should call our Customer Service number: (800) 637-9889. We have a tracking number for every UPS package and can access the UPS computer system to trace the missing packages. For packages that are in the system but have been misdirected, we can redirect the packages to the proper address. For packages that are lost, we can ship a replacement immediately.

Damaged Shipments

If a package arrives damaged, the customer should call the carrier and Pandamerica® to report the problem. The carrier should process the claim and compensate the customer for any loss. While the claim is being processed, we can ship replacements as necessary.

E-Mail Shipment Notification

You can request e-mail shipment notification and we will send you an e-mail message when your order is shipped. Shipment notices include the shipping date and UPS tracking numbers. See www.ups.com to track your packages and for delivery times between zip codes so you can find out when to expect delivery. (Packages are shipped from zip code 94533.)

Pandamerica® recycles packing materials as much as possible. In doing so, we often ship products in boxes other than the boxes in which they were received. Therefore, box markings often do not match the products inside. Customers receiving shipments should disregard all box markings except those that relate to the shipment they are receiving.