Shipping Rate Policy and Examples

Shipping charges are applied to most orders. We are FAIR about it and charge what we are being charged. And we strive to pack and ship your order at the lowest cost available among the carriers that we use. (Mainly UPS and the Post Office, and FedEx by request.)

On very few products, such as Rock Solid orders over $300, we have noted shipping is waived for that product line. On Very Large Arthur Harris orders, some really big lighting orders, larger door orders, shipping can be waived or reduced. We are referring to large order values basically $1000 to $3000 in value or greater (depends upon the product line). So for normal size orders which are usually 1 to 10 or 20 items, or a bunch of cabinet handles, we do need to charge the appropriate shipping because we are being charged for it.

Most every manufacturer charges for shipping too, no matter how big an order becomes. Only a few will waive it when our orders to them meet their minimum order to have freight waived (by individual policies). If we set up a large direct ship and shipping is waived to us, it will be waived to you. But expect in most cases that shipping charges will be applied on all small to normal size orders. Rates are set by UPS, FedEx, and the US Post Office. (For commercial customers who ask, we can apply shipping charges to your UPS or FedEx account if you prefer.)

Items in our stock, we ship right away. Non-stock items have various lead times to arrive to us first, then we ship right away. Direct ships for in-stock items by our manufacturers usually ship within a day or two. Products that need to be produced have lead times and we try to note those per manufacturer section in our website (look toward the bottoms of pages for added notes). Most lead times range from 2 to 5 weeks with a few exceptions of some being a bit longer. Manufacturer lead times are not within our control, we can only quote averages that we experienced with each, or report what they tell us when we ask.

We select the most appropriate shipping method for the size or weight of your order, cost savings, and merchandise value. Your location and the merchandise type are also factors in our decision. Additionally, in our shopping cart process, you can inform us of a carrier and speed that you would prefer. For express requests and foreign shipments, we will gladly quote shipping costs in advance as they do vary by country, and can become expensive.

All orders are prepaid prior to shipping. We do accept: American Express, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, or check/money order. No Paypal.

A one pound package shipping via Priority Mail anywhere in the US to include Alaska, Hawaii, APO's, FPO's, Puerto Rico, and USVI costs $9.35 to $12.55 depending on the zone (distance from Florida). Several ounce packages are considered one pound with all carriers. Packages to Guam cost a bit more via the post office (farther out zone).

Two pound packages shipping to most cities in GA, NC, SC, AL, MS, LA are $11.45 via Priority Mail (zone 4).

Two pound packages shipping to most cities in NY, MI, OH, IN, IL, MN, WI, KS, IA, NE, KY, VA, MD, DE, NJ, CT, RI, MA, NH, VT, ME are $12.45 to $13.40 (zones 5 and 6).  

Two pound packages shipping to AK, HI, CA, OR, WA, NV, MT, ID, UT, AZ, etc are $17.05 via Priority Mail (zone 8).

States not mentioned fall between those amounts.

Anything that can fit SAFELY in the Small Flat Rate Box, will ship at $10.20. Anything that fits in the Padded Flat Rate Envelope is $10.40.

We use Priority Mail for lightweight items. Or when it has to travel over water. The rates are great! And the USPS has done an exceptional job in handling our packages carefully and efficiently for 22 years!

But, as of Feb. 2023, UPS has put us on a better discounted plan. The majority of 2# packages shipping from zone 6 and farther out that we cannot squeeze into the postal padded flat rate envelope, can ship at a better cost with UPS Ground. We will make this determination to save you on the shipping costs.

For three to four pound packages, juggling begins. Not the kind of juggling where we will drop it. Juggling for whom offers the better deal. Three to four pounds in the majority of the State of Florida is $10.45 to $12.20 with the post office, for boxes under 1 cubic foot. More on dimensional rates much lower in this conversation. But 3 to 4 pounds via UPS within FL can range from $12.00 to $27. (Commerical vs. residential addresses, delivery area surcharges, fuel surcharges, all calculate into the cost!) This is why we do it and not allow a robot to "wing it."

Three to four pound boxes via Priority Mail to the US West Coast: CA, OR, WA, AK, HI, NV, MT, ID, UT, etc. can be $17.10 to ship if the product fits in the Medium Flat Rate Box. If it does not fit, then our new UPS rates are more favorable for most cities. Ranging from $15 to $18. (When heavier items cannot fit in the postal flat rate boxes, Priority Mail rates can become much higher. We watch for this.)

Your best option is to allow us to determine the best rate to save you the best we can. It is our desire to save you money, not to make these companies richer than they already are. And again, our company makes its profit on the items we sell. We do not profit on shipping charges. We will charge you the real shipping rate. Not added fillers to pad our pockets. The line may say shipping and handling. Well, handling applies to 5' long corner protectors to protect 5' long lights in transit. If a super special box is required for our purchase to ship a special items, the cost of the box can be added in as handling. Such as, a 16-cube box that we use to ship the 13" square ceramic shower caddies. We have to pay about $3 for this box. So if a customer orders 1 or 2 shower caddies, the shipping cost will be the shipping cost plus that $3 box. That is fair. For the customer ordering one soap dish where a box cost us 60 cents, we are not adding anything in for the handling. Nothing super special about the packing requirements for that. But when it takes us 20 minutes to pack two shower caddies, we at least want to recover our special box cost. Rest assured, we never add in anything ridiculous like some companies do.

Five pound and heavier boxes are shipped predominately via UPS Ground as our default method due to UPS Ground being a better rate than Priority Mail. When the flat rate boxes or envelopes prevail with the post office, such as 27 steel cabinet handles that we can just fit into the padded flat rate envelope for $10.40 (current Feb. 2023), that is about 12 pounds taking advantage of that generous shipping rate - to any US Zip Code. So Priority Mail has some real perks, when they can be used right.

We know, how does any of this make sense when you have no idea of how much anything weighs? There is just so much involved with "proper calculation" of shipping charges that it would make a robot's head pop off his shoulders. This is why a lot of companies offer flat priced shipping, or worse, overpriced shipping. One size does not fit all. Being that we are in FL, desitinations west of the Mississippi River cost more from FL than those within our region.

April 8, 2022: News from the US Post Office today. Active immediately the US Post Office is adding a "non-standard length" surcharge to packages longer than 22". They are applying a $4 fee to boxes over 22" long up to 30". And if over 30" long, they are adding a $15 fee. Yes, $15. So crap like this makes us re-think that balance between Priority Mail and UPS Ground. Some longer lightweight packages going to the higher zones (farther away) will be shipped via UPS, because the Post Office just priced themselves out of being competative. The Lenape 36" long Re-Place-A-Bar and other towel bars with 30" or 36" bars will be shipped via UPS. This is what we watch for to show upmost consideration toward our customers.

An AC Products model 730 24" towel bar set (2 posts and a bar) is usually 3 pounds WHEN PACKED. Overall, it is about 2 pounds, but the weight of the box and packing material make it 3 pounds when packed. Most ceramic soap dishes are 3 pounds "when packed." Most Hera lights are very lightweight, some just being ounces. Loox lights are a spec heavier since some are metal construction. Cabinet handles will vary, as will the weight with quantity. (Whenever we can fit them into the postal Medium or Large Flat Rate Boxes, we're going to. We can ship a 30 to 40 pound cabinet handle order in those boxes to Alaska or Hawaii for pretty darn cheap.)

Glass shelves from Expo Design can weigh 5 to 15 pounds, depends on how big of a piece of glass you get. Stemware holders range from 4 to 8 pounds, appliance garages about 12 to 15 pounds. All products are really different across a wide spectrum of weights. If you order a host of items for your bathroom, a few corner shelves, towel bars, soap dishes, TP holder, etc., together the packed weight could become 10 to 30 pounds. It may even need more than one box for some orders. We are asking that you trust that we will do the right thing, because we will. It is not our intent to profit on freight. If we ship a 10 pound box and it's value is $15 or $1300.00, the shipping rate will be the same because of the weight. We would of course add insurance coverage on the more valuable box.

There are many manufacturers that allow us direct ships. All these companies will ship throughout the United States. Some will ship only via UPS and not via the Post Office. We have to abide by what they choose to do. Cabinet door orders are direct ships. Makes no sense for them to ship to us first, and then to you. So they ship straight to you. Some door orders get quite large and ship on a pallet. The manufacturer ships the best way and charges us. We pass that shipping cost along on your order, NOT marking it up.

Most International bound orders will come to us first, as many US manufacturers do not want to ship outside the US. But we will, and we know how. And we apply the actual international shipping cost. On smaller orders, we may have to apply the inbound shipping cost also as the product value may not allow us to absorb that.

Orders for Brushy Creek Custom Doors and Walzcraft Doors are set up as direct ships. We will have quoted you the shipping cost when you requested your door quote. (No hidden surprises.) Almost all Arthur Harris and Rock Solid orders are direct ships. Arthur Harris charges what it is for the weight of the box, and they are based in Chicago. So shipping to all points of the 48 states is about equal. Rock Solid uses a tier amount shipping charge system. Lenape charges us the exact shipping cost that they are being charged, no mark up on it. Most manufacturers are quite fair about it. We will round most off to the half dollar. We are not going to try to figure out if it is $18.04 or $18.87, it will just be $18.50 or $19.00 for example.

The post office uses DIM weight for boxes exceeding a cubic foot in volume. So if we ship an 8x8x24 box, that is shipped at ACTUAL weight because it is still just .89 cubic feet. Using LxWxH<1728 is the guide for knowing if the box went over a cubic foot. A 10x10x14 box is .81 cubic feet. But a 10x11x21 box equates to 1.34 cubic feet and could ship as DIM weight. Get the idea? LxWxH/194 is their formula to determine dimensional pounds.

DIM weight with UPS is different. UPS uses LxWxH/139 to calculate. And for ALL boxes. With them, every box, and every service goes at DIM weight or actual, whichever is greater. So a 10x8x6 box with UPS is 4 pounds dimensional weight. A 12 cube box is 13 pounds. The UPS Store uses 166 as the divisor, but charges RETAIL rates. (We get a discounted commercial rate with UPS, and pass that savings onto you.)

Best practical advice, if you do not trust that you will be treated fairly, by any company, ASK first. Some websites won't allow you to complete a shopping cart without entering your credit card info. We will. Some have carts that show you the shipping charges. Sadly, we do not because of the complexity of it. We will not overcharge you. It is okay to ask what the shipping charge is before you commit to an order.