Shipping Information, Returns and Refunds

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Shipping Information

  • Orders are dispatched within 2 business day, usually within 24 hours.
  • We only use Express Shipping options, with Tracking Number.
  • Free Shipping
    • Shipping is FREE for all orders to USA over 150 USD where the weight of the package is under 0.7 Kg (1.55 lb), (that means ~99% of orders).
    • For the rest of the countries, a discount of 14.95 USD is applied for orders over 150 USD.
    • Enter the code SHIPPING_SPECIAL at checkout to get the free shipping or equivalent discount if applicable.
  • All fossils are shipped from our warehouse in Alicante, Spain.
  • Business days computed for transit times are Monday to Friday and do not include bank holidays of origin, transit or destination country. Delays which are beyond our control can also occur because of strikes, weather conditions, holiday seasons (Christmas) or others.
  • The delivery times are estimates as provided by the shipping companies.
  • Deliveries are usually done via express couriers --Fedex, UPS, DHL, TNT or their local partners.
    • If you would like any item to be shipped via a shipping method other than the one offered at checkout, feel free to let us know. Simply contact us and we will give you an exact quote with your preferred carrier. The only conditions are that the shipping must be traceable (i.e. provide a tracking number) and have delivery only under signature.
  • The delivery companies may change without any prior notice because of the international courier agreements which are beyond our control.
  • The shipping rates are calculated based on the destination country and the weight of all the items in the shopping cart. Based on the average weight of the fossils we sell, 99% of the items fall under the category of up to 0.7Kg (1.55 lb). You can find the weight of every item in its product page. We do not compute extra packaging weight, as we already have a buffer calculated into the shipping weight ranges.
  • We would like to hear back from our customers with regards to the shipping experience. If we hear about shipping companies not keeping up to their delivery time estimates or any other problems, we would gladly choose different companies in the future. We will probably contact you after reception of the shipping to get some valuable feedback.
  • During the checkout you will get an exact shipping quote. Notwithstanding, if the shipping quote you paid turns to be not enough to cover the shipping once all your items have been packaged and weighted (we have to package them very carefully due to the characteristics of the fossils), we will contact you to adjust the order. On the other hand, if you paid too much, we will also refund you. We do not make or want to make any money with the shipping costs!

Tracking Number

We only ship with Express shipping methods, and always provide a tracking number. We will send you the tracking number per E-Mail as soon as it has been shipped (we ship all orders the next business day to your purchase).

Delays in tracking information

Please be patient. It is very common that the tracking information is delayed. Especially when crossing borders and clearing customs, it can be several days without updates. The information will pop-up in the system again. Do not worry, your shipping has definitely not disappeared in thin air.

    Customs Duties and Taxes

    The delivery time estimates do not account for extra time if the items are held at customs. We have experience shipping to a vast diversity of countries and therefore do our best to properly describe the items for a super-fast customs clearance, usually not affecting the normal transit times.

    USA

    None. You are covered, we pay them. We ship most of our fossils to the US. There are usually no duties or taxes, but if there are any (in high value items beyond $800), we will refund them to you 100%, guaranteed! After reception, send us the courier bill or a scanned copy of the customs invoice, and we will issue a discount voucher for your next purchases at our store.

    We do not cover any extra charges from the courier company e.g. if you have arranged for a second or third delivery and they charge for that. 

    European Union VAT Area

    There are no custom duties to be applied for the countries inside the European Union VAT Area because we are shipping from within the Area. Note that not all territories of the European Union belong to the EU VAT Area. Read which are those special territories.

    Rest of the World

    We have experience shipping worldwide and we will try to adequate the characteristics of the shipping to avoid any extra charges and delays (basically a proper customs code (HTS) classification). However many countries will charge duties and/or taxes and the courier would usually also charge customs clearance fees if that happens, and this has to be payed by the buyer. The seller cannot pay this (we can only make some exceptions via refund --USA, and the EU VAT Area).

    In many developed countries, the limits of tax and duty exempt amounts (de minimis values) are high enough, therefore usually zero duties and taxes and charged by customs.

    In order to know in advance if your order would have any customs duties or taxes, you can calculate the import duty with DutyCalculator. For filling in the form, you just need to know that under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), the paleontological fossils are classified under the code 9705.00.00 or sub-code 9705.00.00.91.

    Even if import duties are applicable, you do not have to do anything. The shipping company will call you when the parcel has arrived to your country and inform you so that you can make the payment. Most courier companies allow to pay by cash or credit card when the parcel is delivered to you at your designated address.

    If you have any doubt about this, please let us know how can we help you. We have experience shipping to many countries.

    Shipping Costs

    All rates are in USD. Exact quote is calculated at checkout.

    Country Estimated Delivery (Business Days)

    0 - 0.7 Kg
    (0 - 1.55 lb)

    0.7 - 1.6 Kg
    (1.55 - 3.52 lb)

    1.6 - 2.55 Kg
    (3.52 - 5.62 lb)

    2.55 - 3 Kg
    (5.62 - 6.6 lb)
    USA 3-5 $ 14.95 $ 34.95 $ 40.95 $ 45.95
    Australia 5-7 $ 64.95 $ 80.95 $ 97.95 $ 104.95
    Europe Zone 1 3-4 $ 19.95 $ 36.95 $ 42.95 $ 48.95
    Europe Zone 2 4-6 $ 38.95 $ 47.95 $ 52.95 $ 58.95
    Japan 5-7 $ 43.95 $ 56.95 $ 69.95 $ 74.95
    Singapore 4-6 $ 27.95 $ 39.95 $ 52.95 $ 65.95
    Spain, Portugal 2-3 $ 6.95 $ 7.95 $ 8.95 $ 9.95
    China 5-7 $ 34.95 $ 46.95 $ 57.95 $ 57.95
    Canada, Mexico 4-5 $ 36.95-65.95 $ 65.95-73.95 $ 73.95-80.95 $ 80.95-89.95
    Rest of the World 6-8 $ 49.95 $ 62.95 $ 76.95 $ 87.95

    Europe Zone 1: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

    Europe Zone 2:  Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Greenland, Iceland, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine.

    For orders heavier than 3 Kg (6.6 lb) a special rate quote will be provided based on the dimensions of the packaging.

    Returns - 100% Money Back Guarantee

    We have a 100% Money Back Guarantee on all our orders. You can give it back, no questions asked, within 14 days after the reception of the item. The shipping has to be paid by the buyer. The item has to reach us in the same conditions (if it does not, then the refund conditions apply (read the Refund conditions below)).

    Before sending anything back, please contact us so that we can arrange the return.

    Refunds

    We do not insure our shippings. With over 10 years of experience sending fossils all over the world, we have realized that it is not worth the trouble, both for the buyer and for the seller, for many reasons. We self-insure our packages:

    We will refund you 100% of the price only:

    • If you want to return it within the 14 days of 100% Money Back Guarantee and it is in the same state as it was received.
    • If it has been lost. For us that means: it has been 35 natural days after we provided you with the tracking number and the parcel has not been delivered. After contacting the shipping company they have no idea where your parcel is (they have declared it lost).

    We will refund you partially at our discretion if:

    • The fossil has a fracture or damage caused by the shipping. Please send us detailed photos of the package, wrapping and the items, only within 24 hours of reception. We will evaluate the damage based on the pictures and see if it qualifies for refund, and in what percentage.
    • In many cases the fractures occur where previous fractures were already existing and fixed. In this case we cannot refund you, because the product was bought already knowing that it had that weakness. However we will advice you on how to fix it, and depending on the case we will provide a discount for next purchases in case reparation costs were incurred.
    • If the fractures are new, our expert accredited paleontologist will do an honest evaluation. We have done this a several times because it happens when you ship thousands of fossil pieces a year. And we are very favorable to the customer, because we want happy repeating customers. Never worry about that.
    • We have many years of experience and we do not make money out of broken or damaged fossils during shipping. We will honestly work out the situation with you.

    We will not refund you if:

    • The parcel has been returned to us because of any reason without prior notice. E.g.:
      • Incorrect address was provided
      • Customer did not want to pay e.g. customs fees
    • If the package has been delivered to a different or wrong address or person. We write in the parcel exactly what you tell us in the checkout form.

     

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