Shipping policy

SHIPPING INFORMATION

(Please read.)

(No seriously, please read! Chances are likely any questions you have will be answered here…)

 

1. SHIPPING COSTS

Yeah, we know shipping costs are high.

If you are placing an order that totals under $75.00 CDN, you're going to incur shipping charges.  You'll see them during your checkout process.  These charges are calculated and collected by Canada Post.  We don't control them.  These charges are based on the size and weight of your order, and how far away you are from our facility in Uxbridge, Ontario.

We don't like that shipping charges are so high these days.  It hurts business.  But the facts are that Canada Post won't work for free, and, most significantly, gas prices (and tax on those prices) are at an all-time high.

There are 2 ways to soften the burden of shipping costs.  

First, if you order $75.00 of product or higher, you get Free Shipping.  We know that there is no such thing as free shipping, and this really means that your order is high enough that we can absorb shipping costs, and will pay for your shipping from our pocket.

The second way is to use discount codes at checkout.  From time to time, we offer various discount codes that you can apply.  These are usually a percentage of your order, so the more you buy, the more you save.  These codes will be advertised on our Facebook posts and sometimes on our home page.

 

What it costs to ship:

Shipping costs are calculated and collected by Canada Post.  We don't profit from shipping costs.

Rates are calculated based on the size and weight of the package, and how far it must travel from Uxbridge, Ontario to where you live.

Within Canada:  

Orders up to $74.99 (before tax) - Rates calculated by Canada Post and shown at checkout.

Orders $75.00 (before tax) and over receive Free Shipping.  Note:  If you qualify for free shipping you will likely still be given shipping options at checkout.  It is your responsibility to check the Free Shipping option.

To USA:  

All orders shipped to the USA - Flat Rate shipping cost of $12.00 (CDN)

USA orders:  Please allow for a minimum of 15-20 business days, plus any customs delays at borders.  These delays are out of our control.  Canada Post does not provide tracking numbers for shipments to the USA.

Everywhere Else:  

Flat Rate shipping cost of $25.00 (CDN)

All orders shipped by Canada Post.  

Canada Post is solely responsible for shipping rates.  Rates may fluctuate to offset increased expenses incurred by Canada Post to facilitate processing and delivery.  These rate fluctuations are not controlled by Big Willy Soap.

 

2. ORDER PROCESSING

What happens when you place the order?

Big Willy Soap is a small family-owned business that produces high quality hand-made soaps and skin-care products in small batches.

Big Willy Soap is also not Amazon Prime.  (Read that bit again.)

Cold-processed soaps require considerable time to properly cure before being shipped to ensure peak performance.  While we endeavour to ship your order as quickly as possible, there may be minor delays incurred due to the curing process and at what stage of the process we are in at the time of your order.

When your order is placed, you'll receive a confirmation email.  Following that, you may receive one or more emails indicating that your order has been fulfilled.  This means that a shipping label has been created.  It does not necessarily mean that your order has left our location yet.  You may also receive emails that include updated  tracking information.

NOTE:  If you have placed an order and have not received a confirmation email, please check your Spam or Trash files.

All shipping of product is done from our location in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada.  Products are shipped to the address you provide on your order.  All orders are shipped by Canada Post.  Timeliness of pickup, processing, transit and delivery are the sole responsibility of Canada Post.

Please understand that, once in Canada Post's care, your order may be delayed due to various challenges facing Canada Post, including foul weather, high volumes and any other transit issues.

 

“I need my order by husband’s birthday/Christmas/Valentines Day!”

Ok, I'm sensing some panic.  Deep breath.

Again, we are not Amazon Prime.

If you purchase any of our products with the hope of your order arriving by a certain date (eg: Birthdays, Christmas, Father's Day, etc.), please keep all delay possibilities in mind and order really really really early.  Under no circumstances can we guarantee delivery by any set date, nor do we have the option to "upgrade" shipping for any reason.

We ship by Canada Post Expedited Parcel only and they make no guarantees of delivery times.

 

3. WHERE'S MY ORDER?

Once your order is shipped from our dock, Canada Post has full control.  Only they know exactly where your package is.  We only have access to the same tracking information as you.

 

“My package's tracking shows it’s delivered but I don’t have it”

We don’t have any special information regarding where your package is.  We have access to your tracking number, same as you.

Contact your local post office (it’s best to go in person) and let them know.  They will need your tracking number (it’s on your confirmation email from when you placed the order).  They’ll open a “ticket” and begin the process of tracking it down. Most likely your package is still on their truck, or possibly at a substation (such as a postal outlet in Shoppers Drug Mart or Rexall).  If it shows as delivered, they had to scan it, which means they were in possession of it at the time it was scanned as delivered.  They can contact the person who scanned it directly to get the story.

Theft

Please take special note that we are not responsible for a package that has been shown delivered by Canada Post but is missing to you. Porch/Mail theft is becoming more and more prevalent and it is not the responsibility of Big Willy Soap to replace or reimburse for missing packages. If you believe your package is legitimately missing via Canada Post, please contact your local post office as they are best equipped to locate your package.  If you are the victim of theft, please contact your local police and report it.  Your home insurance police may reimburse you the value of the stolen goods.

 

"But I paid extra for Expedited Shipping!"

Well... yes and no.

If your order (before tax) amounted to less than $69.00, yes, you paid for shipping... and yes, you paid for Expedited Shipping because Expedited Shipping is the only method that our platform allows us to offer.  We'd like to be able to offer a cheaper shipping method such as Regular Parcel, but our platform won't allow it.

If your order (before tax) exceeded $69.00, you qualified for "free" shipping.  If you selected Expedited Parcel at this stage of your checkout process instead of Free Shipping, just know that either way, your parcel is coming by Expedited Shipping once we put your order together.   Your order isn't coming to you any faster by selecting Expedited Shipping over Free Shipping.

Remember: Canada Post thinks we ship your order a millisecond after printing the shipping label (when you get the email with your tracking number), and calculates an expected delivery date based on this.  Of course, we don't ship your order a millisecond after printing the shipping label due to the many factors involved in producing hand-made soap.  We will, however, ship your order as fast as we can.  Don't hold us to Canada Post's made-up delivery dates.

 

"But Expedited Parcel means 2 day delivery!"

Nope.  They may make an estimate based on the time and date we print the shipping label, assuming we are shipping it a millisecond after the label is printed.  We don't.  So they'll make a wild prediction, but there's no real guarantee of delivery time.  (Read their fine print).

Also remember that if you have a tracking number, it doesn't necessarily mean that your order has shipped, it just means that a label was created. (See above).

Here's a link to their website where they discuss Expedited Parcel (read the fine print):

https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/business/shipping/canada/compare/expedited.page

 

"But Canada Post tracking says my order was supposed be here on Wednesday!"

Nope again.  We really wish Canada Posts's bots would just keep their nose out of it.

As stated above, Canada Post bots assume that we ship your order a millisecond after we print the shipping label, and make wild delivery projections that aren't based in the reality that the rest of us live and work in.  As further stated above, we try to print your shipping label as soon as possible after you place your order, because this generates the Confirmation Email to you, which lets you know we received your order (and are very thankful for it too!)

Rest assured that we ship your order as quickly as we can; but there are possible delays when making handmade soap (as discussed above).

 

Customer Address Entry Errors... or "I put in the wrong address!"

Please enter your information carefully, and check it before you click.

Unfortunately if you have accidently entered a wrong or incomplete shipping address, we cannot correct it manually.  Usually.   Well, we can try - if you catch the error and alert us before we ship - we can hand print the correct address on the package.  No guarantees though, because this won't correct the bar-coded information.  We can only hope that the postal delivery person is a fully-caffeinated kind soul who takes pity on you. 

Our shipping labels are automatically bought and printed from the address you entered.  We don't enter address information from our end.

You can alert your local Post Office to the error and hopefully they can secure the package before it goes out for delivery to the incorrect address.

If you have placed an order with an an incomplete address it may be deemed Undeliverable by Canada Post.  Once the product has been returned to our warehouse, you will be contacted by email and notified of the situation.  
Our policy in this event is to refund the cost of the product, less shipping costs incurred by us, even if you chose an option that provides “Free Shipping”.  Free Shipping does not mean that Canada Post is working for free, it simply means that Big Willy has covered the cost of shipping the product.  

 

4. PACKAGING

All Big Willy Soap orders are packaged carefully in either padded envelopes or cardboard cartons.  All labels and packaging are recyclable.  From time to time we need to utilize plastic baggies or bubble wrap to ensure that your order is safe.  Please recycle these items if your local policies allow.

 

5. Order Cancellation

If you decide to cancel your order after it has been placed, we can refund your order in full as long as we have not yet purchased your shipping label.  You must do this very quickly after you place the order, because our shipping software automatically purchases your order's shipping label very soon (minutes) after you place the order.

If we have already purchased the shipping label, we will process your refund amount LESS THE COST OF SHIPPING.

However, if we have already shipped your order (your order is in the hands of Canada Post), we cannot cancel your order.  If you receive the order and still do not want it, you can return the UNOPENED package at your expense to us, and we will process your refund LESS shipping costs.