Shipping info

Domestic standard shipping is free for orders over $100. We will select Media Mail or the new USPS "Ground Advantage" rate, whichever is cheaper. (We sometimes upgrade at no extra charge.) USPS raised their rates again in January 2024.

We process orders as fast as possible -- 99% of orders ship within one or two business days. (If you order on the weekend we probably won't be able to ship until Monday.) Yes, everything we sell is in one location! During checkout, the "US Post Office" estimates (2 to 8 days) are our own (those orders will be shipped Media Mail or USPS Ground Advantage); Priority and UPS prices & delivery estimates are calculated by the carriers based on your distance from Philly. (West Coast folks: UPS takes at least a week no matter what they quote.)

Please note that if the carrier estimates "1 day" for shipping, they are not including our processing time (24-48 hours) or the fact that we can't ship on Sundays or holidays. 

All the shipping methods include tracking and you will get an automated email with a tracking number once we process an order. Occasionally (and often around the holidays) the post office neglects to scan a package, causing it to appear to be in limbo. 99.9% of the time it is still traveling through the system. One tip is to sign-up for tracking updates at USPS -- it seems to help.

International shipping: for many countries, we added an economy USPS rate for packages under 4 lbs. These are the cheapest rates we've had since we opened; we hope it works smoothly and we can continue to offer these better rates. We ship to many countries via the US post office, DHL, and occasionally UPS [we removed UPS as an option for most countries because their surprise brokerage fees resulted in customers refusing packages - contact us if you prefer UPS]. You can contact us if you don't see shipping options for your country. Though we can't vouch for it personally, some of our international customers have used the service MyUS to forward mail to them.

International customers please note: Most of our international customers are hit with customs fees on their end (definitely if you live in Canada or Europe). UPS (and sometimes DHL) may also add a brokerage fee. This can all add a significant additional fee to your order. If you refuse a package and it gets returned to us, we cannot refund the shipping charges. We will process a refund for the price of the books when & if they arrive safely back in Philadelphia.

Canadian customers: Apparently USPS does not charge any brokerage fees. We think this is also the case with the new economy rate. Some of our Canadian customers have used Shippsy and maybe that is an option for you to save on shipping.

Contact will [at] 50wattsbooks.com with any questions.