Sales:
7% sales tax on all Georgia orders.
SHIPPING:
Shipping Rates:
Shipping Lines Recognize Opportunity
A troubling facet of this freight issue is the “collaborative” spirit between shipping lines, who are fast recognizing the benefits of dialogue. This has the potential to deliver inflated freight rates long after the raison d’etre has gone.
What is troubling for many exporters/importers are contracts, usually made on CIF/DDP bases, leaving them holding the baby that are these increases. It is a moot point whether or not the COVID impact can be labeled “Force majeure” or indeed whether it is necessary; we can all hope for a little humanity in negotiations on these issues of ransom by shipping line.
The reality is that freight is now approaching 20 percent of the value of the cargo, an unsustainable position going forward. However, do not expect the shipping lines to react quickly when economies fire up again – as they say, “Up like a rocket and down like a feather.” We will be fed on… for a while yet.
Inland transport is similarly affected. The long-distance driver has been affected by COVID and scarcity of fit drivers – and trucks in the right place with reciprocal route haulage deals – are rare. All this points to delays and increased rates, not made any easier by high oil prices and making life just a little bit tougher, especially for voluminous cargo such as packaged tea. Ashford Tea Company is continuously mentioning shipping issues while offering as many creative discounts to offset cost associated all these levels of new business order. The following rates are as close to our cost for shipping as possible:
- $1 – $99.99 = $10 Flat rate.
- $100 – Up = FREE
- Large volume wholesale orders may occur regular shipping rate considering box, weight and location as identified by information received from servers of prospective carriers.
Orders will ship 7 – 10 business after fees are verified by our bank. If additional time is needed you will be contacted via phone or email.
All orders to be shipped within the U.S. are processed and shipped via the United States Postal Service or United Parcel Service. On rare occasions we may use an alternate shipping method if we believe it will provide better service to the customer.
Please note that shipping charges are calculated from the subtotal of your order, AFTER any discounts or coupons are applied.
*If you place an order on or around a holiday, it’s possible 2 business days may be added before receiving delivery.
Shipping to an APO or a US territory All U.S. shipping rates and rules apply.
Shipping Internationally:
All orders shipped Internationally are processed and shipped via United States Postal Service, UPS or FedEx. We may contact you if additional fees are needed to process order.
Please note that shipping charges are calculated from the subtotal of your order, after any discounts or coupons are applied.
Safe and secure:
Ashford Tea Company uses a Secure Server to transmit your credit card information. The data sent through the Secure Server is encrypted. It is actually safer to transmit your credit card information through the Secure Server than to give the number out over the telephone.
If your browser does not support secure transactions, you may place your order by emailing us at cs@ashfordtea.co.
ATC privacy policy regarding personal information:
Our policy is simple: under absolutely NO circumstances do we make any information about our customers available to anyone else. We never sell or trade my customer lists: including names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mails etc. Credit card numbers are destroyed as soon as an order is processed. We hate unsolicited junk mail of any kind. It seems that the least we can do is not contribute to this unpleasantness in our customer’s lives.
Ashford Tea Company Return Policy:
We always try to provide the highest quality products, but if there is a defect in any product from ATC we will happily replace it or refund your money. However, we can not refund money or accept a return on bulk tea purchases unless the heat-sealed closure is still intact. Unfortunately, we can not accept returns on bulk tea simply because you didn’t like the flavor. Therefore, we strongly recommend reading the description carefully and purchasing the minimum amount (sample size)of a new tea before purchasing a large quantity.
We do require a receipt for all returns. All returns must be done within 45 days of the purchase date.
If you still have questions, feel free to contact us: cs@ashfordtea.co