Shipping (please read)

Here you will find our shipping policies and answers to common shipping questions we receive.

SHIPPING

IMPORTANT: During checkout, you will see a number of different options for shipping your order. Please take careful consideration when choosing your shipping method, as some options do not come with tracking or insurance. Orders placed with standard shipping that do not include tracking are NOT guaranteed by us. This is to say, that if you choose the standard and default shipping option which does not include tracking and your package does not arrive, we cannot be held responsible and will not be issuing a refund on your order. By placing an order on our site, the buyer assumes all responsibility when choosing a non-tracked delivery method.

Overseas shipments
We are based in the UK and are able to, and have shipped to many countries around the world. However, it is important to note that when we ship items outside of the UK, we have no control over Customs in your respective country and cannot account for or guarantee against any delays that your package may encounter when clearing your Customs department. THIS INCLUDES CLEARANCE FOR ANY TAXES AND DUTIES! Each country will assess and assign any potential import taxes and duties as they see fit and this is not something we have any say in or control over. We do our part to ensure to the best of our ability, that your order will be packed and labelled in the best manner possible to make clearing Customs simple and efficient, but again, these agencies are out of our control. In very rare instances, we have seen packages take 8 weeks or more to arrive at their destination. Therefore, PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR SHIPPING OPTIONS CAREFULLY WHEN CHOOSING WHETHER OR NOT TO PURCHASE THE TRACKED SHIPPING OPTION!

There seems to be an increasing tendency for parcels sent to EUROPEAN COUNTRIES to be held up at customs AND for the customs authorities to contact the recipient and request payment of import and VAT duties before the parcel will be released! This can add significant delays to our customer receiving their goods. There is an option for us to PREPAY the IMPORT DUTIES AT THIS END, which should speed up customs clearance considerably and also not result in any additional surprise payment requests. Please email for more details.

Where do you ship to?

We send books worldwide. If you are ordering from China and your parcel weighs more than 2kg please contact us first.

How much does shipping cost?

The shipping rate is calculated automatically based on your location and the weight of the order. Only items up to 2kg can be sent via Royal Mail, items above this weight will require a courier. It is often cost effective to split your order into two if your total order weight is only slightly over 2kg.

Can I track my order?

You will always be offered a tracked service at check out, in addition to regular un-tracked shipping. We advise all overseas customers to use the tracked service. In the advent of an item going astray we cannot provide a location update unless you opted for the tracked service. Within the UK standard parcels have an automatic tracking number. All courier services are tracked also. When an item ships you will receive the relevant tracking number and a link to the online tracking site. IMPORTANT: It is the responsibility of THE BUYER to check this regularly, in order to make sure they do not miss their delivery. In some cases, missed deliveries may result in items being returned to the UK and we are unable to re-send them until they have arrived back at our offices.

How long does shipping take?

Royal Mail have the following delivery targets: UK = 2-3 working days; Europe signed = 3-5 working days, regular = 3-5 working days; Rest of World = signed = 5-7 working days, regular = 6-7 working days.

My item hasn't arrived in the expected time frame, what is going on?

Items may take considerably longer than the above stated delivery targets and Royal Mail does not consider them lost for 2 weeks (UK), 4 weeks (Europe) or 5 weeks (Rest of World) AFTER the above delivery estimates (more info on this here). It is very unusual for an item to get lost, so please be patient until the above time periods have expired, particularly if you did not select a tracked shipping option at check out. In the rare event that this does happen we apologize on behalf of Royal Mail for any inconvenience caused.

If the loss of an item is demonstrably our fault, we will rectify the issue as soon as is practical. However, if the fault lies with the carrier then we need to work through their investigative search procedures to confirm whether or not an item has been lost or if it is still on its way. This can take some time, so please be patient.

I ordered my book a long time ago and have heard nothing from you since, what is going on?

You should have received an automated confirmation of order email. You will also receive an automated notification of shipping once the order has been fulfilled. Sometimes these emails are rejected or end up in the trash/junk folder so it is worth checking there and also marking siriscientificpress as a safe sender. Another reason you may not have received the shipping notification is that the book is NOT YET AVAILABLE! Many of our titles are offered at a pre-publication discount rate and this can be several months before the title becomes available, so before contacting us and asking where your book is, please take a moment to check the product page and make sure that the book has actually been released.

If you have any further questions regarding our shipping practices or available options, please contact us at books@siriscientificpress.co.uk