Last updated: [EFFECTIVE DATE].
1. Build time and transit time are two different things
This is the single most important thing on this page, and it is the most common reason people ask "where is my order".
Build time is how long it takes us to assemble your kit after we accept your order. Kits are built to order from individual seals, so this is not zero. It is [N] business days, typical, and is shown on every product page and in your Order Confirmation.
Transit time is how long the carrier takes after we hand the parcel over. It starts when you get the shipment email with a tracking number, not when you place the order.
Your delivery estimate is build time plus transit time. A "2-day" shipping service does not mean the kit arrives in two days; it means the carrier moves it in two days once it exists.
2. Where we ship
We ship within the United States only.
- Alaska and Hawaii: [SHIPPED / NOT SHIPPED / SURCHARGE].
- US territories including Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands: [SHIPPED / NOT SHIPPED].
- PO Boxes: [USPS ONLY / NOT ACCEPTED]. UPS cannot deliver to a PO Box.
- APO, FPO and DPO: [USPS ONLY / NOT ACCEPTED].
- Freight forwarders: [POSITION]. Where we do ship to one, risk of loss and the warranty end at the forwarder's door.
We do not ship internationally and we do not export.
3. Carriers and services
We ship by UPS and USPS. The services and rates available to you are calculated live from your address and the weight and dimensions of the packed parcel, and are shown before you pay.
We choose the packaging. A multi-kit order may ship as one parcel or several, at no extra cost to you.
4. Cutoff times
Orders accepted before [CUTOFF TIME] [TIMEZONE] on a business day start their build that day. Orders accepted after it start the next business day. Business days exclude weekends and [HOLIDAY SCHEDULE].
5. Shipping charges
Shipping is calculated at checkout from the live carrier rate for your address, service and parcel, plus a handling charge of [HANDLING FEE] where one applies. Orders over [FREE SHIPPING THRESHOLD] ship free by [FREE SHIPPING SERVICE], where one is offered.
If a live rate is unavailable when you check out, we use a published fallback rate table. We will not charge you more than the rate you were shown.
6. Split shipments
An order containing several kits may ship in more than one parcel, and the parcels may leave on different days if one kit's components arrive later. You pay shipping once. Each parcel gets its own tracking number and its own shipment email, and your order page shows which items are in which parcel.
7. Risk of loss
Risk of loss and title pass to you at [DELIVERY / CARRIER HANDOFF]. [CONFIRM — this is a real choice: "carrier handoff" puts a lost parcel on the buyer to claim; "delivery" puts it on us. Pick one deliberately and make the lost-parcel process in section 9 match it.]
8. Addresses, corrections and reconsignment
Check your address before you submit. Carriers charge a fee to redirect a parcel once it is moving, and we pass that fee on at cost.
If the carrier reports an address as undeliverable, we will contact you. If a parcel is returned to us as undeliverable because the address was wrong, we will re-ship it once you give us a corrected address and pay the re-shipping cost.
A residential delivery, a limited-access address, a remote area or a lift-gate requirement may attract a carrier surcharge. Where we can detect it, it is in the rate you were shown.
9. Lost, damaged and stolen parcels
Damaged in transit. Keep the packaging and the parts. Photograph the outer box, the inner packaging and the damaged contents. Tell us within [N] days of delivery at [SUPPORT EMAIL]. We file the carrier claim.
Tracking says delivered, nothing arrived. Check with everyone at the address and with neighbours first, then tell us within [N] days of the delivery scan. We open a carrier trace, which takes the carrier up to [CARRIER TRACE WINDOW] days.
Lost in transit. If tracking has not moved for [N] business days we open a trace. Carriers will not declare a parcel lost before their own window has run; we cannot shorten it.
Carrier claim windows are set by the carrier and are short. Tell us early. We cannot file a claim the carrier will no longer accept.
10. Oversized and hazardous items
Seal kits are small and non-hazardous. [IF ANY OVERSIZED OR HAZMAT ITEMS ARE ADDED, STATE THE HANDLING AND SURCHARGES HERE.]
11. Tracking
Every shipment gets a tracking number by email and on your order page. Guest orders can be tracked from the link in the Order Confirmation email without an account.