Shipping Policies

How we're dealing with COVID-19

COVID-19 is a thing we at Strange Bedfellas are taking very seriously! The state of Texas may be open, but we’re still doing our best to stay quarantined with limited exposure to outside people. That means we’re still leaving the house only for essential needs. Steve and I as well as our respective co-habitators (Steve’s roommate and my own husband) are all working from home exclusively. All four of us as well as Avery are following guidelines very closely and leaving home only when absolutely necessary and using masks whenever we do. We keep our workshop very clean and have been wiping down surfaces and washing hands all day long every day we’re in the workshop. We are committed to sending out clean toys! Additionally, should one of us start to feel ill we will cease operations ASAP and let everyone know. We are taking no chances with this virus!

Current Shipping Policies

We are currently shipping within 2 - 7 business days!

-I usually try to make at least 2 trips a week to our ship station to drop off shipping. We generally try to ship out all orders purchased on a drop weekend within 2 business days. For example, if we drop inventory on Friday you should expect your order in the mail on Tuesday at the latest. Sometimes issues come up and shipping times get disrupted, which is why we say 2 to 7 business days. Holidays can also interrupt this schedule.

-Shipping labels are created within 1 - 2 days of a package actually being shipped out. We do not create labels then hold the boxes for a week. If we've printed a label it will be on the box and in the mail within 2 days at the latest. We work in a very small workshop and don't have the space to hold orders very long.

-Some customers notice that their tracking numbers show a "pre-shipment" status for longer than 2 days. USPS has been experiencing a LOT of delays and obstacles related to the COVID pandemic and other issues that have come up during 2020. A lot of times the boxes we drop off miss their entry tracking scan, which means the tracking information for the box isn't updated as it travels. This is not something we have any control over, unfortunately. Some customers report a tracking status of "pre-shipment" all the way up until the day it shows "out for delivery". It's kind of a mess, but it's what we have to deal with right now. Please understand that once we drop off a box for delivery there is nothing we can do to control the tracking or course of the delivery.

-All orders are wrapped in tissue paper and mailed in plain brown boxes. The return address lists our company as "SB Creative LLC" on the shipping label. We list our toys as "art sculpture" on any customs forms for international orders. We will NOT alter prices on customs forms or ship items as a gift to avoid paying customs fees, so please do not ask us to.

-If you believe your package is lost or was damaged in transit, you will need to contact the USPS to file a claim for compensation.

-If you order was returned to us as undeliverable we will reach out with the contact email on the order. You will have the option of a refund for the items, minus shipping cost, or you can pay for your box to be reshipped. If you do not respond within 7 days of our contact attempt your order will be automatically refunded. Toys that are returned in this way that we can confirm haven't been removed from the box by any other party will be returned to our shop's inventory to be sold as normal. If a box is tampered with in any way or we suspect any damage, those items will NOT be resold.

-WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ORDERS BEING SHIPPED TO RE-SHIPMENT FACILITIES! There are countries we choose not to do business with. If we suspect you are trying to circumvent our policies using a re-shipment facility your order may be cancelled and refunded.

International Shipping Update

ALL INTERNATIONAL ORDERS ARE AT THE BUYER'S OWN RISK!

International orders are taking even longer than usual due to the pandemic. Those orders have to go through two over-burdened postal systems to reach their destination, and delays are happening all over the world. There is nothing I can do to speed those boxes along! If your package was sent by USPS first class international postage you should know that once those boxes leave the US we do NOT get tracking updates on them until they are delivered. I’ve been told by USPS that those aren’t really tracking numbers, more like reference numbers.

If you have a first class international package and you see it stopped at a Chicago or New York sorting facility for a long time, that’s normal. Those are often the last stop for most international postage leaving the country. We usually don’t get tracking updates after that until it’s marked delivered. You will need to contact your local post with the tracking number you were provided for any updates. I can only see the same tracking info you can see on the USPS site. I have no information on additional customs or postal delays outside of the US.

Combined Orders

Our shop focuses on dropping batches of one-of-a-kind inventory and we do not have any sort of cart hold system. We understand that on drop days this can result in folks placing multiple single item orders in a short amount of time to ensure they get the toys they want. In an effort to help our customers save some of that shipping money we allow requests to combine orders and ship multiple orders together. But there are some rules!

-This is a courtesy that we offer to help customers. It takes a lot of time and effort on our part to combine these orders because they have to be done manually and tracking numbers and shipping refunds have to be sent out one order at a time. If it becomes too much work or people start abusing the system, we will cease to offer this option. We also reserve the right to deny a request to combine orders for any reason.

-This is ONLY offered for drop weekends. The orders to be combined have to be placed within 12 hours of eachother to be considered. We drop inventory on Friday afternoons and often start the shipping process the next day. If we've already begun the shipping process on one order and a second order is placed and requested to be combined, the request may be denied. (Example: Terry places an order for an item at 5 PM on Friday during an inventory drop. They place another order at 7 PM and send a contact form at 7:15 PM to request the orders be combined and sent together. Those orders are sent together. If Terry orders again at 6 AM on Saturday and requests that to be shipped with the other order, that request will be denied because it is past the 12 hour mark of the original order.)

-If you want orders to be combined you MUST SEND A REQUEST BY EMAIL! We do not see requests in notes on orders or through Twitter. If you want orders to be considered you will need to send an email to Meesh@Strangebedfellas.com with your name and the order numbers of the orders you want shipped together. WE WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY COMBINE ORDERS! There are usually a couple hundred orders that come in on a drop weekend and we don't always notice the same person ordering more than one order until after postage has been paid for.

-Combining orders does not always result in a refund of shipping costs, especially in the case of international orders. You will be contacted if your combined order shipping exceeds the shipping cost you paid for your orders and offered options for how to pay for additional postage. Very often a full or partial shipping refund can be expected and will be sent once postage has been bought for the order on shipping day.

-For domestic customers, if you purchase over $120 of merchandise to have combined we will apply our Free Shipping offer to your orders and refund all shipping for those orders. But only if combined shipping is requested through our contact form. We will not do it automatically (see above).