Handling charge explanation: We lose money on small orders. The cost of receiving your order, filling and packaging the order and handling the payment actually exceeds the profit for the order. Yet we still prefer to offer you service even on these small, non-profitable orders, hoping that you will recognize the excellent quality of our service and will return to us for your larger purchases.

If the total amount of your order is less than our service costs - even if the actual cost is zero on the small, inexpensive item you have ordered - we still lose money on completing your order.

"Do you always ship via UPS Ground delivery when I chose that as my shipping preference?"
No. If your product is lightweight and low-priced, we and our access warehouses may ship the product via Priority Mail. In some cases, you will receive a USPS Delivery Confirmation number, in others, you will not; it depends on which warehouse it ships from. There is no additional charge for this expedited, upgraded delivery service. If you chose "Ground" as your delivery preference, you will never be charged more than the calculated shipping.

"The product I'm ordering is very heavy. I'm sure shipping costs you more than the calculated amount for my order. How much more will you charge me for shipping on a heavyweight item?"
With 99% of the products we offer that are shipped to destinations in the Continental U.S., no matter what they weigh and no matter what our actual cost for shipping, when you select "standard" shipping, the shipping charges will be calculated at only 8% or less of the product subtotal. There are a few products that include an additional shipping charge (in addition to the standard calculated shipping); for example, grease traps and some jetted tubs. These additional shipping charges are posted clearly on the product's page and are added to the order total for you to see prior to submitting the order. There are a few low-priced, heavyweight products that are charged actual shipping rather than calculated shipping. This, too, is posted on the product's page. For low-priced, heavyweight products that will be charged at the actual shipping rate, the order total you see for that product will not be correct. We will need to calculate the actual charges, adjust the total and contact you for approval.

"I'd like to ship my order at the lowest possible rate. How should I have you ship it?"
Our way of charging for shipping (not basing the shipping charges on what it costs us, but rather on the order subtotal) is easiest for you and us. You can immediately determine if you are saving money or not by buying from us, as you will immediately know the shipping cost. You do not have to wait until you receive your bill or have to wait until we figure it out for you. We have shipped tens of thousands of products and "overall" it costs us slightly more to base shipping this way. If you want the lowest rate (and are in the continental U.S.) then simply chose "standard" shipping. We do not offer lower rates than that.

"I'm not sure what you mean with the word 'flat 2%' or 'flat 5%', etc. Can you give me some examples?"
If you purchase a combined total of $3,000. worth of products with our standard shipping option, your shipping costs (in the Continental US) will only be a low 2% of the product subtotal (in this case $60) no matter how heavy the products weigh or where you are located in the Continental US. If you place a combined order for $1,500.00 then your shipping costs (in the Continental US) will only be a low 5% (in this case $75) no matter how heavy. If you place a combined order for $500.00, then your shipping costs (in the Continental US) will only be a low 8% (in this case $40) no matter how heavy. Note: some items (very rarely) have additional shipping added. This will be clearly stated on the page that the products show up on.

"What should I do when my package first arrives?"
Please open all boxes immediately and check contents for damage. We must be notified of any damage or other problems within 2 days of you receiving your products. In order to serve you better, we request that you also inspect all of your products for obvious defects/blemishes within 2 days of receiving them.

"My order arrived today and I noticed the package was damaged. What should I do?"
If the packaging appears to be damaged on the outside, please ask the driver/delivery person to inspect the contents with you immediately to avoid sending undamaged products back and delay the completing of your project. If the delivery person won't inspect the contents of the package, then refuse it and make a note on the proof of delivery (driver refused to inspect).

"I prefer to use my own shipper number (I have an account with Fed Ex), can you have my shipper pick up the product and then you not charge me for shipping?"
Sorry, but we simply do too much business daily to be able to have exceptions to our way of shipping. We certainly can understand that you want to use your own shipper, but in order for us to keep our prices down for everyone; we can only operate shipping one way and that is shipping all of our packages the same way with the same shipper.

"How long after I place my order will it be before you actually ship my products?"
If your products are in stock here at our PlumbingSupply.com warehouse (in Chico, CA) and you place you order by 3:00pm Pacific Standard/Daylight Time (6:00pm EST/EDT), the chances are 98% that we will ship your order the same day that you ordered it. If your product is to ship direct from the manufacturer or one of their access warehouses, then lead-time to ship will be approximately 24-72 business hours unless a longer lead-time to ship has been mentioned on the page where the product is priced. If that is the case we will let you know.

Please note that delays can and do occur sometimes when shipping products from the manufacturer and their access warehouses. If time is crucial, please do contact us via e-mail before ordering so that we can tell you whether or not the product you are ordering is coming from our own warehouse or the manufacturer's. We can then offer you a firmer lead-time to ship.

Generally, ground UPS delivery can take up to 10 business days (usually a lot faster than that but we prefer to "under-promise and over-perform" and so want to warn you that sometimes UPS, etc have glitches) to deliver depending on you location relative to the warehouse where the product is shipping.

"I need the order tomorrow. Why don't you offer next day air?"
We offered next day air during our first two years of being in business. We found that when we offered next day air, along with more orders, we also received more dissatisfaction. Some of it was due to the courier failing to deliver on time, some of it was due to customers placing orders after our cut-off time (and still expected to have it next day), and some of it was due to stressful customers who needed the product "yesterday" and ordered from us because we showed the product. We found that the customer satisfaction rate with next day air was not as good as we would like, and we, therefore, decided to no longer offer it. We do offer second day air, but please understand that we must receive your order by 3:00pm Pacific Time (as late as 6:00pm Eastern Time) and that UPS many times delivers second day air in three working days. Saturdays and Sundays and holidays do not count in the two days as well. If your order is an emergency it is probably better for you (and us) that you order it locally.

"I want to order a 300 pound cast iron tub. Does the delivery charge include taking the tub up to the second floor?
The delivery charge is to get the tub/product to your house, it does not include getting it into your house. Your tub/product gets delivered by a trucking company such as Viking, Bestway, etc and they only deliver to your house. Due to insurance and liability reasons this does not include taking it off of the truck. Also, if you need a lift gate you must ask for one before the processing of your order.

"What are your policies on returns?"
In most cases we do charge a restock and in some cases we will not take a product back. We list all on our return policy page. We believe that our return policy is fair and reasonable and is very easy to read and understand.

"I placed my order today, when will you ship my order?"
If we receive your order by approximately 5:00 pm (EST/EDT) (which is 2:00pm - Pacific Time), the chances of your order being shipped that same day are excellent. Of course, if it is a special-ordered product or if it isn't in stock, it can't be shipped that same day. We will let you know within 24 hours (Mon-Fri, excluding holidays and a few extremely busy Mondays in which case it could be 48 hours) after you placed your order of the status of your order/shipment. We take great pride in our customer service, but on a few Mondays or Tuesdays (after a holiday) we sometimes are overwhelmed; and it might take slightly longer than normal. Generally (except during holiday periods), UPS shipping to the East Coast takes about 6-10 days (typically 4-8 days) and to the West Coast usually takes about 1-7 days (typically 1-4 days). Please do allow a few more days during December's holiday shipping season before expecting your order. If you give the order ten working days, then the chances are 999 out of 1000 that you will receive your order as we promised when we confirmed the status of your order. Neither UPS or the US Postal Service or ourselves are totally perfect, but we go way out of our way to make sure that your order ships as we promise in your confirmation e-mail that we send you. You will find that we will never lie, twist the truth or misrepresent anything. We do what we say that we do.

"I just need something small and simple and the product only costs $1.00. Are you still going to charge me a $6.75 handling charge?"
Yes. Small orders cost us the same for overhead/time/packaging/paperwork/checking/doublechecking/printing etc. as large orders. Because of this, we charge a one-time handling fee of $6.75 for orders with a product subtotal of $20.00 or less. For orders with a product subtotal over $20.00 and less than $50.00, the handling fee is $4.75. For orders with a product subtotal over $50.00 and less than $150.00, the handling fee is $3.50. Orders with a product subtotal over $150.00 have no handling fee! This handling fee attempts to cover some of the costs that we - and all suppliers - incur for handling/processing/etc your "low" dollar order. This fee is also charged when we are not physically "handling" the product(s). Even when shipping direct from the manufacturer or a manufacturer's access warehouse, there is still extensive paperwork and follow-up involved to complete the order. Consider that with orders of less than $20.00, we generally do not make any money (even with the $6.75 handling fee). Packaging, labeling, etc all take time. If all orders that we shipped were identical (such as when you order a movie off of a TV ad) then we, too, could charge a set/standard packaging charge. But consider that because we offer thousands of products (and more being added daily), every order has different items, different dimensions, different packaging requirements, different weights, etc. We hope that you can understand that every small order must have a handling charge to cover the costs to complete an order. Orders with a higher dollar amount ($150.00 or higher) do not need to be assessed a handling charge because the higher dollar amount of the product covers our processing and packaging costs. We have had some customers contact us, stating that they felt that we charged "too much" for our handling fees. We understand these concerns, and can see why a customer would feel and see it that way. We believe that by clearly explaining our policies and procedures - including our handling charges and the costs involved in completing an order, our customers will understand why we must charge these "small order" handling fees. We have been shipping orders via the Internet since 1995 and have witnessed many thousands of e-commerce companies coming and going. We wish to stay in business. Our handling charges are explained here and on our order page. The handling charge is shown on your order total before you complete your order.

"I have ordered numerous items and you have all but one item in stock. If you ship everything now, and the backordered item when it comes in, will I have to pay the shipping charges and/or handling charges twice?"
With our standard shipping (unless you ask for special shipping or not to the Continental U.S.) we charge based on the price of the product (not based on the actual cost of the shipping). We have done this to make life easier for our customers 98% of the time. It makes it easy to know the exact cost of shipping each and every time on each and every product. Charging based on the cost of the product means, that in this case, it won't cost you any extra if we ship one, two or even ten packages to you. As far as handling charges, we charge a small handling charge per order (not per package), so there too, you do not need to worry about us shipping many packages as our charges aren't based on the number of packages shipped to you.

"Why do you charge a handling charge?"
Unlike books or CD's and other similar products, our packages vary in size. It takes a large amount of handling/labor to package each individualized-sized box or to generate and fax the necessary paperwork when an item is being shipped directly to our customer from one of our suppliers. We simply are trying to make packaging those many different-sized boxes, or processing the direct-shipping orders' paperwork, a break-even proposition for us. Yes, sometimes we do receive a complaint about our handling charge (mostly from customers who only order a small dollar amount); but we have done studies on our costs and have found that we actually lose money on small dollar amount orders. The handling charge is there to attempt to make up for that loss. There is no "right" or "wrong" way, in our minds, to charge for shipping. We believe that our method of charging shipping (based on product subtotal) PLUS the applicable handling fee (also based on order subtotal) covers the actual costs of handling and shipping a small-dollar-amount order. We have no minimum order amounts. Regardless of the cost of any given product, you can purchase only as many as you need. Also, low-dollar amount orders have very low calculated shipping charges. Therefore, the handling fee assessed for these orders helps to cover the cost of shipping. We believe that our handling charges are fair and less than our "average" cost for handling/processing an order. Please note that we do not charge a handling fee for orders over $150.00.

"Why do you charge my credit card even if it takes a week to ship ?"
We must charge your credit card on special orders and back orders immediately because we want to make sure that there are funds available. You need not worry about us never shipping your products and you still having to pay (getting "ripped off" by us) because should your products never arrive you can deduct the amount from your credit card company even months later as they protect you from fraud. That is the case not only if purchasing from us but with all merchants who sell on the net. Rest assured, we are totally honest and you need not worry. However, we know this is a concern, so if you do not believe what you've just read, feel free to ask your credit card company.

"I'd like to give special instructions for the UPS driver, such as to leave it on the porch without a signature. Can I do that?"
Unfortunately that is not possible. For our protection against fraud we cannot insist to UPS that they leave your product without your signature. They might do so but we cannot specify specific instructions to UPS.

"If you ship the correct products (as stated on our catalog) and I simply change my mind and wish to return the products will you pay the shipping charges back?"
If we make a mistake we certainly will, but if you simply change your mind, we cannot afford to do so. Please read our return policy page for a more detailed explanation if this is a concern to you.

"Can you 'guarantee' that I'll get my shipment on time?"
In a "perfect" world, a "perfect" (we think we're close) supplier would deliver 100% of its shipments on time, to the correct customer, 100% of the time. The shipments would include the correct content 100% of the time and the customers would be 100% satisfied every time. That's in theory. We have read figures/statistics that in the supply business, with other suppliers, at any given time, as many as 1/3rd of shipments do not get to the customer on time (in other words only about 67% of their customers are "totally" satisfied), with the correct merchandise or to the customer satisfaction. We believe that our satisfaction rate is over 99% but we aren't perfect. Just a comment, from our experience, incorrect address information received from our customers is one of our primary reasons for lost or delayed shipments.

"What happens if I have to return an order, or part of a return, that was originally free shipping?"
Our typical restocking fee will apply, plus you will need to pay the actual cost of shipping for the original order. Or, if just a portion of an order that was originally shipped free freight is returned, then you will pay a restocking fee, plus the difference in the higher shipping rate that we would have charged.