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Domestic & Global Shipping Overview

The final step of our product fulfillment service is critical to the success of your online sales and repeat business. Our shipping partners work closely with us to ensure timely delivery at the best possible price. Deciding which shipping carrier to use by comparing their services and costs is both time-consuming and confusing, especially when your partner in fulfillment outsourcing builds a fee into the carriers’ charges. We’ve tried to take the mystery out of your shipping decisions. Your shipping expenses are identical to the book rates that you would normally pay if you shipped yourself, without any added surcharge from us. Using our simple color maps you can calculate delivery times and carrier costs with confidence.

Read about our straightforward shipping methods and procedures below. We will gladly answer any additional questions you may have.

Shipping Partners

Our #1 priority is to promptly send your merchandise out the door and into the hands of waiting customers. We’re flexible in our choice of carriers, while we continue to rely on our three valued shipping partners:

Shipping & Fulfillment Center Location

Our pick-and-pack fulfillment center, situated in the northwest region of Michigan’s mitten, provides convenient access for our shipping partners. The address of our 90,000 square-foot plant is 807 Airport Access Road, Unit D, Traverse City, MI 49686.

Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, one of the fastest-growing airports in the nation, offers morning and afternoon flights daily from Detroit and Chicago.

Global Destinations

We ship to all countries serviced by USPS and UPS and provide either an Export Declaration Form or a copy of your Export Commercial Invoice, depending on customs’ requirements. Your customers pay any required duties upon delivery. We offer the following international services:

• USPS First Class Mail International
• USPS Priority Mail International
• USPS Express Mail International
• UPS Ground to Canada
• UPS Worldwide Saver
• UPS Worldwide Expedited
• UPS Worldwide Express
• International Consolidated

Lower Your Costs for International Shipping with EFS' International Consolidated Ship Options

eFulfillment Service has an economical shipping option for international packages under 4 lbs. With this shipping option you will see 10% savings on typical international shipping rates.

The International Consolidated rates are calculated as a discount off the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) rates. For packages up to 4 lbs., to any country, the rate is 10% off USPS first class international rates.

Please note that all international orders have an additional $2.00 fee for export orders and that only the USPS can be used for APO addresses.

Questions regarding the IC ship option? Contact the Sales Department.

Domestic Shipping Methods & Rates

We offer all of the major UPS and USPS delivery methods. To estimate your shipping costs from our Michigan location, find the destination zip code for your test location. Use the zip code 49637 of our Grawn fulfillment center as the “ship from” location. Keep in mind that UPS ground is not available for PO or APO shipments. UPS Ground is now available for both Alaska and Hawaii shipments.

Tips for Affordable Shipping

1. Individual packages weighing:
   • 1 oz. to 13 ozs., use USPS First Class Mail with delivery confirmation.
   • 14 oz. to 2 lbs., use USPS Priority Mail with delivery confirmation.

     Both of the above methods can save you up to 75% over DHL and UPS.

   • more than 2 lbs., use UPS ground service for commercial and residential deliveries and receive our 4% discount. Your UPS rate includes FREE tracking and $100 of package transit insurance.

2. Books, DVDs, CDs and tapes. Ship via USPS Media Mail for the best rate.
3. Multiple packages with a combined weight of more than 200 pounds shipped to one address. Use the UPS hundred-weight rate and save 5% to 10% over standard rates.
4. Rush deliveries. Use UPS Ground instead of USPS Express Mail for Zone 2 addresses, and use USPS Priority Mail to take advantage of Saturday delivery service.
5. Delivery confirmation and transit insurance. USPS charges extra for delivery confirmation and the first $100 transit insurance.
6. Residential delivery and rural zip codes. UPS charges extra for residential delivery and some rural zip codes, and each adds a fuel surcharge percentage.
7. Identical SKUs. If you ship SKUs both as individual items and as full cases of the same item, you can split your inventory into two SKUs to get the same $.40 fulfillment fee for an unopened case as you would be charged for an individual item.

Shipping/Delivery Zones from our Michigan Fulfillment Center

Shipping On Time

Expedited orders placed by 1:00 p.m. will be shipped the same day Monday - Friday. Exceptions may include the busy Christmas shipping season and the Tuesday after a 3-day weekend. Under typical conditions, UPS Ground and USPS First Class and Priority Mail, will be shipped from our facilities per the following delivery map.

Shipping Confirmations

We’ll e-mail an order confirmation to you. We can also e-mail a shipping confirmation, including a tracking number and your custom sales message, to your customer.

Customer Tracking Information

We offer an optional customer service button to add to your webstore's customer service page. Your customers can view their current tracking information by entering one of following on our simple database form: name, email address, phone number, order number, or purchase order/reference number.

Shipping Backorders

If an order contains an out-of-stock item, the order is marked as backordered and held until the missing merchandise arrives at our advanced fulfillment center.

Transit Damage/Lost Shipments

Your UPS shipments have an automatic $100 damage or loss insurance coverage built into their standard rates, and you can request additional transit UPS and USPS insurance in your ship instructions to us. Compensation is limited to the cost of merchandise and does not include loss of business, or for incidental or consequential damages.

C.O.D. Collections

We can collect your COD amounts for you via UPS ground or air delivery, subject to a $3.00 surcharge plus UPS collection fees. Include your C.O.D. request and the amount to be collected in your shipping instructions. If a C.O.D. check is returned due to a closed account or insufficient funds, we will forward the bad check to you for collection and charge your account for the balance advanced by us.

Extra UPS or USPS Insurance

To add insurance, go to your Control Panel order entry screen and check “add insurance,” then enter the dollar amount. You can also order extra insurance by using the “add insurance Y/N” and dollar amount fields on your CSV and XML upload files. There is no extra fulfillment fee for additional package insurance, and the carrier’s insurance fee is automatically added to your shipping cost.

Shipping Your Merchandise to Us

We can save you hundreds of dollars on this cost, alone. Ship your merchandise to us “freight collect” via www.myyellow.com to automatically receive our volume-based delivery discount of up to 35%. We will bill you on the Monday following delivery. We’re pleased to pass along substantial savings to our clients when they use our preferred, in-bound shipping partner.

Shipping Packaging

Our free standard packaging includes JiffyLite mailers or 200# test cartons filled with bubble wrap, peanuts or Kraft paper, as needed. The EFS Sales Department can help you determine if your product will fit into standard packaging. If you anticipate needing larger capacity, you'll need to arrange for special packaging. You have the option of (1) sending us special packaging yourself, or (2) having EFS order special packaging for you at cost plus 10%. If you need a source for packaging, we recommend U-line (www.uline.com), which offers reasonable pricing and next-day delivery.

Does your company have special shipping needs? Email our Sales Department or call us at 1-866-922-6783.