Shipping inside the United States: coverage, tracking and what to expect

The checkout sheet takes US addresses only. The country is fixed, the state goes in as a two-letter code, and the ZIP code is required. An order cannot be placed for delivery outside the United States, and the desk does not send parcels on to another country.

Not sure an address will work? Ask the desk before you order, not after.

Shipping is worked out from the contents of the cart when you reach checkout. The figure sits in the order summary beside the subtotal, and the total due includes it, so the whole amount is on screen before you press Place order. There is no fixed rate table on the site, because the charge comes from the cart itself.

Once the order is placed, its shipping charge is part of the order record. It appears on the order page under the line items, next to the subtotal and the total.

A parcel goes to the address typed at checkout. The desk cannot redirect a parcel once the carrier has it, so read the address back before you pay.

• Put the suite, unit or building on its own line.
• Add the lab or company name if the delivery point expects one.
• Give a phone number if the carrier may need to reach the recipient.
• Use the two-letter state code and the full ZIP code.

Found a mistake after placing the order? Email the desk with the order number before you send the payment.

Dispatch follows a confirmed payment, never the other way round. An order that is placed but not paid stays on the desk, and one that is still unpaid 72 hours after it was placed is cancelled. Bulletin 01 walks through every stop from checkout to confirmation.

On the order page

Each order has its own page in your account. Its Dispatch section reads Not dispatched yet until the parcel moves. After dispatch it names the carrier and gives the tracking number, with a Track parcel link when the carrier supplies one. If an order goes out in more than one parcel, each parcel gets its own line and its own tracking number.

Where the updates come from

Tracking events are recorded by the carrier, not by the desk. The Track parcel link opens the carrier's own tracking page, and that page holds the latest scan.

Finding the page again

Sign in and open order history. Emails about an order link back to the same page.

The desk does not quote delivery dates or transit times, here or anywhere else on the site. Once a parcel is with the carrier, it moves on the carrier's network and schedule, and the tracking page is the best record of where it is.

The parcel holds the boxes on your order, as listed in its line items. Item images on the site are drawings for identification, so the packaging that arrives may look different from the illustrations on the item pages.

Check the boxes against the line items on the order page before you open them. Damage, or an item that differs from the order, must be reported within 7 days of delivery. Bulletin 03 explains what to send. Opened boxes cannot be returned.