Shipping & Returns

Cancellation of order. If you wish to change your mind:

1. you can notify us by email to before we have dispatched the goods to you;
2. or
3. where goods have already been dispatched to you, by returning goods to us.

You can return goods you have ordered from us for any reason at any time for a full or partial refund less the amount we have paid to have the goods freighted to you. The costs of returning goods to us shall be borne by you.

Upon receipt of the goods we will advise you if a full refund of the amount will be paid or if not, the amount of a partial refund we are prepared to offer. The amount of the refund or exchange credit will be the amount we are prepared to refund less the amount we paid to have the goods freighted to you.
The provisions of this clause do not affect your statutory rights.
 

Click here for more details on change of mind returns

Freight Estimates and Calculations. To help you, we have put a lot of effort into calculating the amount of freight which will be charged to get the items to you. Our shipping estimate works for any size shipment to anywhere (almost) in Australia. This is a very complicated task, surrounded by all sorts of freight company rules and limitations. I believe that this calculation will be reliable in nearly every case. It collects small items together and estimates the box size into which they will fit. It adds up the total weight and the dimensions of the various parts of the order and then obtains freight company quotes to get the goods from us to you. It checks to see if the goods can go by a particular means before giving you the quote. It knows about the freight companies charging for large empty boxes as if they weighed 333kgs per cubic metre (250kg/cu m Australia Post and Fastway). It knows what are dangerous goods and who will not carry them.  We can supply you with the Consignment Note Number and the Phone number to call so you can arrange to be present when the goods are delivered.

Unfortunately, most freight companies have started introducing all sorts of unpredictable surcharges for larger and or irregular sized shipments.  These include manual handling charges and oversize charges.  The companies in gnereal do not provide any definition of what these apply to (and they sometimes apply them and sometimes not).  To further complicate matters some companies charge extra to deliver to a residential address and some do not.  As a result, when we receive an order which might have these sort of charges applied, we will contact you prior to shipment to confirm the shipping charge and seek your agreement.

Mostly it will get it right or it will be near enough to be acceptable. If it does produce a result which is really wrong, we will contact you before shipping the goods and discuss with you what you would like to do, including cancelling the order, changing the order, accepting the correct shipping charges or using a different means of transport. Of course we would refund in full any amount paid if you choose to cancel the order, or overpaid if the change resulted in the cost being reduced.  (We may not be able to agree to a return with full refund where the goods have been custom made, ordered in specially for you, cut to size, been coloured for you, are no longer the current model or have a significant aprt of its shelf life used up. It will depend on our estimate of our ability to resell them.)

Australia Post Australia Post will deliver anywhere. Normal parcels do not have insurance. That said, we have had very few disappear. Express Post can be tracked. They offer insurance against loss or damage for an extra charge. They tend to be less careful with packages, although we do try to compensate by more careful packaging. Maximum weight is 22kg and length is 1.05metres. They will not carry dangerous goods. Our web site knows these dimensions and will not offer Australia Post if your consignment is unsuitable.

Post Office Boxes. Only Australia Post will deliver to Post Office boxes, locked bags, post restaunte services etc. If you want your goods delivered in this manner, you MUST select an Australia Post service.  Often other carriers give cheaper rates to a strett address.

Border Express.  They provide an Australia wide service.  They will carry very large, very heavy and very long items.  They will carry dangerous goods, for an extra charge which our web site includes in your freight estimate if it is required. Because they are mostly a business to business freight service they are very intolerant of delays at the receiving end and having to return because the receiver is not home.  If they go away and have to come back, they charge a redelivery fee of about $45.00.  If they have to hand unload, they charge a hand unloading fee of $45.00. It is important that you are there to help unload heavier items to avoid these charges being imposed.  In metropolitan areas, they can provide a tail gate lift to assist with the unload for $25.00.  They pass these fees to us and we will in turn ask you to pay them. (Fees correct as at May 2014). They do not include any insurance with their charges. They provide an online tracking facility.

Other Freight Companies. We also select from a panel of freight companies so even though you have specified Border Express, we may send it with another company if we believe that is a better way to proceed.  Our criteria include reliability, frequency of loss or damage to consignments, frequency of un quoted additional charges and of course actual cost, although we believe that reliability trumps a small additional cost.

Fastway Where the Fastway quote is reasonable, we suggest strongly that you choose their service. This is because they are not as rough with the packages as Australia Post, they do include insurance with the freight charge and the parcels have a tracking number from us to you which allows us to trace them. Maximum parcel weight is 25kg, maximum length is 2 metres and maximum width is 1metre. They will not carry Dangerous Goods. Our web site knows these dimensions and will not offer Fastway if your consignment is unsuitable. Fastway will NOT deliver to PO Boxes.

Other quotations. Our system provides a quote for any weight or size of freight to any destination in Australia, and this can include dangerous goods. If the freight quote exceeds about two hundred dollars, it is very possible that another more competitive carrier quote might be possible. This particularly applies to Tasmania and Western Australia. Please contact us to arrange for further quotes.

Other carriers. We are quite happy if you wish to arrange for another carrier to collect your goods and deliver them to you.  You will have to make all arrangements with that carrier including payment, and we will deliver the goods to that carrier when he arrives at our factory. In this case, we will not charge you anything for freight.

Heavy Items. If your shipment exceeds 30kgs you must consider how that is going to be unloaded when it arrives.  We consignment freight by ordinary transport, which normally would not include a crane or a tail gate lift facility.  If you do not have a means of getting heavy items off the truck (e.g. a forklift, or a team of mates etc.) then this could be a problem.
Many carriers can provide those upon request usually at extra cost.   Alternatives include having the carrier deliver your consignment to the depot nearest to you, (usually no extra cost),  have the vehicle wait whilst you break the shipment up into manageable pieces (the carrier will usually charge waiting time) or you arrange for the carrier to undertake the delivery with a crane truck or tail gate lift truck at your own expense.

Fibreglass Cloth. Many fabrics are more than 1m wide.  Australia Post carries a maximum of 1.05m.  It you want it sent with Australia Post, we will have to fold the cloth so that it is less than 1.05m.  This will cause some creasing of the cloth.  We can also fold smaller quantities of most cloths to fit in a satchel.  Inevtiably this will introduce some fold creases and some weave disruption.  If you are uncertain, then please call us for further advice.

Delivery times. The estimated delivery times are just that, estimates. They are based on working days and assume that everything goes well. There are many many factors which can cause additional delays, many of which are outside our control. In rural and regional areas of Australia, delivery times for Express Parcel Services are in respect of delivery to the Post Office of the principal township in that area. Delivery to final destinations may take longer. If in doubt please check with your local Post Office.

Delivery address. In some rural locations, our carriers do not provide a service to the customers door. Instead, they will deliver the goods to a depot in a nearby town and then telephone you to arrange for the collection of the goods.

Waiting time. Large shipments can take time to unload from a truck especially if you do not have a fork lift. It is usual for the freight company to charge extra for the extra time taken to unload the goods. It is your responsibility to pay this amount and it is part of our conditions of contract that you agree to pay any waiting time charges. You could expect this if the consignment exceeds approximately 30kg as it is then too heavy to manually lift off the truck, and instead will have to be broken up on the truck to enable safe unloading.

Delivery when not home. Australia Post and Couriers can usually be instructed to leave the consignment if there is no one present to accept it. We will only give that instruction if you expressly tell us to do so. This does not apply if it has to be signed for. Sometimes they do leave it without instructions. Larger consignments almost always require some one to be present especially if they exceed about 30kg as the truck driver will not attempt to unload larger items on his own. If this could be a problem, often we can have the goods delivered to the nearest depot and you can go there to collect them, or we can give you the consignment note number and the phone number of the transport company to use to arrange to meet the truck, or for large consignments we can arrange for a crane truck to be used (at extra cost).

Redelivery. Most transport companies charge extra if they attend, find no one present to accept the delivery and then have to attend again. This is a charge which we will pass on to you and it is part of our conditions of contract that you agree to pay any redelivery charges. In most cases, they will take the consignment back to their depot and you can go there (with a trailer if necessary) and collect the goods at no additional charge.

Insurance against non delivery or damage. Fastway includes insurance, and insurance is available for purchase from Australia Post through our system. Other carriers do not offer this. Unless choosing Fastway, is your responsibility to purchase and pay for insurance as the goods are traveling at your risk.

Overseas shipping. Our system can also calculate postal charges to anywhere in the world. Typically post is limited to no more than 20kgs, a maximum dimension of 105cm, a maximum girth of 140cm and must not contain dangerous goods. We do ship larger consignments which are unsuited to the post to other countries, how-ever you will have to contact us to decide on the shipping method and obtain a quote. Please see below.
It is your responsibility to select an appropriate service: we will not replace consignments which have not purchased insurance.

Overseas Import Duties, Import restrictions and other fees and charges. It will be your responsibility to pay your import duties & taxes: Please make yourself familiar with your own country's import duties, taxes & restrictions before purchasing items from us. We will not be held liable for any charges, delays, or other matters that may arise from shipping to your country.  All goods will be marked in accordance with your requests, although we will not falsify markings or documentation.  Please ensure you advise us about any special markings which your country requires to facilitate entry of the goods.

International Delivery. Up to 20kg Our system offers a number of international delivery methods. These are all based on the international services provided by the Australian Post Office. As they involve other countries and the postal or courier authorities in other countries which are beyond our control, we do not guarantee that parcels will arrive in a timely manner or at all. We strongly recommend that you use a service which includes insurance and a tracking ability. (Some services can only be tracked until the parcel leaves Australia as many foreign carriers do not provide tracking.) If you wish to use another carrier, e.g. Fedex, UPS, TNT, please ask us, and we will obtain a quote for the service which you wish to use.
Please note the following features of each of the following methods.

Seamail. - No insurance, can take 8 to 12 weeks to arrive.
Insured Seamail. - Will replace the goods if they fail to arrive. Can take 8 to 12 weeks.
Air Mail. - No insurance, usually delivers with a couple of weeks, some countries much quicker.
International Express. - As fast or even a little better than Air mail, and has a tracking number. It does not provide insurance and some countries do no track the item.
Insured Airmail. - No tracking number, but it can be insured.
Express Courier International. - This uses a non government courier organization, has a tracking number right to the destination where a signature is obtained. It is the best service we have available.

You can check exactly what is available for your country and what restrictions there are here.
Click here for the Australian International Postal Guide.

International Delivery. Over 20kg These shipments can go by air or by sea. Sea is a lot less expensive, although the customs etc formalities at the receiving end can add to the cost. This can also apply to airfreight. In both cases, we will obtain a quote for the freight. It is our normal practice to obtain the quote on a DDU basis, that is delivered to you, with any charges or duties levied by your government unpaid. In practice this means that your government probably will withhold delivery until you pay to them any duties, taxes or charges. If you would like the quote on another of the standard INCO terms basis (e.g. FOB, FIS etc.) contact us and we will see what can be arranged.

International Delivery. Dangerous Goods Dangerous goods are treated differently for shipping purposes. In general, they must be sent by sea, and the extra administrative work and charges generally make it unreasonably costly to even try. Fortunately we have very very few DG's in our catalogue (Epoxy Solvent, Cop-R-Bote and Cop-R-Bote solvent) so you are unlikely to encounter this problem when you buy your supplies from us.