If you have not read the shipping blurb that is at the bottom of the "Products" page on my main web site, please take a minute to read it. You might find it of interest.

Please Note: Returns are not accepted. My shipping charges include the cost of insurance, which covers both you and I should your package unfortunately get "lost" during shipping.

The rest of the information on this page concerns international customers and their associated shipping expenses.

Different countries have different custom rules and they change often. I do not know each countries rules nor do I attempt to keep up with them. Please check with your customs office first before placing an order to insure that your order will be allowed to pass their rules. It is your responsibility to insure that part or all of your order will not be confiscated once it arrives in your country. I will not be responsible for any orders that are confiscated so please make sure you check with your customs office. Some countries will have no problems with accepting fish food. Others might confiscate a portion of your order or possibly all of it.

International shipping is expensive - there is no doubt about it. The shipping prices that appear if you click on the "estimate shipping" button when placing an order are pre-established by the post office. There is nothing that I can do about these costs for shipping.

There is, however, another alternative and sometimes, it does not appear on my web site when you click on "estimate shipping". The alternative is what is called First Class International shipping.

There are many variables in determining First Class International shipping rates - the weight, the destination country, etc. However, as you can see in the examples below, First Class International shipping is approximately half of the price,or more (give or take), of the least expensive shipping rate that appears on my web site. I've spent hours at a time trying to figure out why the First Class International rate does not appear on my site sometimes and I think it is finally fixed. In the event that First Class International shipping rate does not appear for you, there are two work-arounds I can offer you - please read on.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

I had a customer in Canada who wanted two 1/4 pound packages of my food. To ship it in one of my normal small shipping boxes, it would have cost her $19.00 U.S. dollars. To ship the same two 1/4 pound packages to her via First Class International, the cost was approximately $7.00

Another of my customers in England was also looking to place an order via First Class International to save on the shipping expenses. The cost to send him three 1/4 pound packages of my foods in one of my normal small shipping boxes was $21.00 U.S. dollars. The shipping for three 1/4 pound packages via First Class International was $11.00 U.S. dollars.

In other cases while shipping to the UK, the shipping rate was in the ballpark of $100 yet after getting the First Class International rate from the post office, the actually shiping was only about $10 to $15. So fellow hobbyists, as you can see, the First Class International rates are much cheaper.

The rest of this information applies ONLY if First Class International shipping rates DO NOT appear, otherwise, just select First Class International shipping and ignore the balance of this page.

In the event that the First Class International shipping rate does not appear for you, I can offer you two ways to place your order with First Class International shipping rates.

Many of my existing international customers place their order on line and simply select the least expensive rate that appears on my web site to place their order. When placing your order, there is an area for you to send me comments along with your order. In that area, send me a comment to ship your order via First Class International shipping. THIS IS KEY!!!! Failure on your part to indicate that you want First Class International shipping, will result in your order being shipped via the shipping method you selected.

If you indicate that you want First Class International shipping on your order, then that is exactly how I will ship it to you. Once shipped, I'll know exactly what your actual shipping rate was and I will refund the extra money you paid for shipping right back to you - on the same day it is shipped. The refund I send you will be applied back to your PayPal account or major credit card - depending upon how you paid for your order. This method has worked very well for my international customers and they are quite pleased with this process.

On the other hand, if you are a new customer, you might not have complete faith in me that I will refund your money. I promise you that I will however, I can understand your concern. If you fall into this category, although it will take a few extra days to get your order shipped, here is what I can do for you.

If anyone international is interested in me getting a price for them for shipping First Class International, let me know and I will gladly do so for you. Here is what you will have to do.

First, register on my site so that I have your full name and address.

Second, send me an e-mail and let me know the type of food(s) and the quantities of each that you want to order. In turn, after packaging your order and taking it to the post office, I'll get back to you in a couple of days with a First Class International shipping quote. From that point, it’s up to you if you want to go through with your order.

If you decide to go through with your order, I'll send you an electronic invoice via e-mail with a link to click on. The link will take you directly into my secured on-line billing system where you can pay the invoice. Once paid, I'll package your order and get it shipped out the next day.

Sorry for these extra steps and the extra few days worth of delays, but if you are interested in purchasing any of my foods, I'm willing to do whatever I can to get you my foods at the best possible shipping rate.

Thanks

Ed