Shipping destinations

We are a UK-based business, and at present we ship to the UK and to all other EU countries including Bulgaria and Romania, the EU candidate countries (Croatia, Turkey), and to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Vatican City.

We DO NOT ship to anywhere else yet - sorry!  

Time-to-ship

Whilst we claim that we will ship orders for stock items within 48 Hrs, we actually ship the vast majority of orders for stock items the same business day, providing that the order is placed before 4:00pm. Please note that there may be additonal delay if we have to make special shipping or sourcing arrangements [rare, but it does occasionally happen].

For non-stock items (e.g. Network racks, which are built to order), you can expect the goods to be ready for shipping in 5 business days, with 3-4 business days being what we typically achieve.

Shipping Methods

We use a variety of shipping methods depending on order size, value, and destination. However, there are broadly speaking three options. Please allow additional shipping time if it is Christmas, Easter, or a Bank Holiday.

Ordinary First Class mail (or an international equivalent)
Pros  : Inexpensive, can be quick
Cons : Can be slow, no tracking, no guarantee of delivery

Only available for low value, modest weight orders. If you choose this method, then you are accepting all risks associated with delivery. We will despatch your order promptly, and obtain a signature from the Royal Mail to confirm it has been sent. At that point, our responsibility ends. If a delivery is queried, all we can offer is to confirm the time and date of shipping.

Recorded First Class mail (or an international equivalent)
Pros  : Modest cost, can be quick, simple tracking available, guaranteed delivery
Cons : Can be slow, not appropriate for high value orders

Only available for modest weight orders. If you choose this method, then we can guarantee that you will receive your order, but (according to Royal Mail) up to 15 days have to be allowed for delivery. Our experience is that about 40% of Recorded Delivery items are delivered the next day, about 40% the second day, and the rest trickle in over the following days. Our experience is that Royal Mail lose about one parcel in eight hundred. We will despatch your order promptly, and obtain a signature from the Royal Mail to confirm it has been sent. If you do not receive it within the allotted timeframe, please contact us and we will make prompt enquiries. Certified delivery (and sometimes written Proof-of-Delivery, depending on area) is available.

Express
Pros  : Quick, full tracking, guaranteed delivery, ideal for high value or urgent items
Cons : Highest cost option

If you choose this method, then we can guarantee that you will receive your order promptly. This doesn't mean that your order will always be delivered the following day, but we do manage to ship almost all our orders placed before 4:00PM on the same business day, and (providing the package is not mis-routed) you can therefore expect delivery the following day. If you do not receive your order within a reasonable timeframe, please contact us and we will make prompt enquiries. Written Proof-of-Delivery is available. 

UK Express Delivery has two options

The cheaper express option can be used for all mainland addresses in England, mainland Wales [and anywhere connected to it via a bridge], and the Scottish Lowlands. The more expensive express option covers all UK postcodes, including Scottish Highlands & Islands, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Isle of Wight.

The Scottish Highlands are defined as having the following postcodes:

Mainland postcodes
AB30-56 Aberdeen
IV21-28, 40, 52-54 Inverness
KW1-14 Orkney
PA28-40 Argyll
PH15, 17-41 Perthshire

Island Postcodes
HS1, KA27-28, KW15-16, PA41-49, PA60, PA77, ZE1

Island Postcodes (where additionally a delivery delay may occur)
GY1-9, HS2-9, IV41-51, IV55-56, PA61-76, PA78, ZE2-3

To see shipping options and costs to the Channel Islands, please select UK Channel Islands as a delivery address, and your options will be displayed in the shipping estimator and also at the checkout. 

Shipping Costs

Shipping costs are based on the total weight of the order, the overall value [expensive orders need additional insurance], shipping destination,  and speed of shipping.  Also, a fraction of the overall cost contributes to packing materials and time to pack, though we try very hard to minimise these through packaging recycling and overall efficiency. As we now ship to 34 countries, using 8 shipping methods, and ship a wide range of weights and values, it has become unweildy to maintain a complete and accurate chart specifying shipping costs.

Therefore, to provide accurate shipping information, we have provided a Shipping Estimator at the first stage of our checkout procedures. This will show you the shipping options available to you, and their associated costs. This information is made available to you before you enter personal information or your payment details, in the way that a number of our new customers have suggested.