chin

Thanks greenforrest! I'm in Canada too, BTW.l

FWIW, I've never had any of my BPAL packages come via UPS. And, knock wood, I've only ever had one package opened by customs.

cheers, chin

Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific. For those of you who use UPS for whatever reason, do you know how to get them to give you the option of clearing the packages yourself?

Hello international peeps!

Gah, I just had to pay 40 bucks to UPS .... grrr ... Ishtar and I ordered shea butter lotion, and they dinged us.

The good news is that if you have the time, you may have the option of clearing the package through customs yourself. I fully admit that I am not sure about how this process works - for example, I was not offered the option, I just got the bill.

Does anyone know how to avoid the UPS brokerage fee?

Helloooo international peeps!

I think the milkman/postman analogy is apt (and it made me laugh!) - but I also think that the questions/comments posted by lohengrin and Femke were valid.

I've been a customer since 2003, and although I know *now* that there's a difference in shipping times, through experience, I would have liked to know upfront. Not because of any drama or upset or dissatisfaction, just because it's nice to know when to expect the lovely lovely box of BPAL in the mail. Also, if some of the oils are presents for specific occasions, it's nice to be able to order in time to receive them in a timely way.

It's also great to be able to have a "reality check" from the experienced forumites as to what might be a valid question for Beth, rather than mailing her with an issue only to discover that it's already been covered on the boards, or that there is a reason that she has already explained.

Anyway in my usual fashion I am agreeing with everyone Lohengrin, could you post if you do decide to mail the lab and let us know what the response was?

cheers!

Hey peeps! O'dessa, obviously I haven't been keeping in touch well enough ... will call you shortly to hear the scoop on your order!

Ishtar and I went in together for our last order, but we didn't order until this month. Well to be perfectly honest, the extent of my involvement was "yes please, I want ... and ... and ... thank you Ishtar!"

Ahhh looking forward to a big bottle of Hetairae for the summer!

Hello international peeps!

I live in an apartment building, and the boxes are too big for my letterbox. However ... and I'm not sure if this is just because my postman is extra cool, I usually come home to my BPAL goodies sitting on the mantel in my apartment building's foyer (other tenants get this treatment too, although their packages are not nearly as exciting as BPAL!!).

Hm I am not sure that this info is useful ... I am just excited about having ordered recently after a long break! Ahhh the feelings of anticipation ...

The Fool is wonderful - minty, whimsical goodness.

Hey there, I've rec'd shipping e-mails for the last ... hm .... six-seven months, say?

One thing to note for us international peeps is that even when Brian's "shipped through" thread is updated, as far as I know, it doesn't apply to us. The process for shipping internationally is more involved (and the lab has been frank that it's a bit of a pain in the ass) and IME it takes longer for the international packages to go out.

I'm sure it won't be long, enantiomorph

And, woo hoooooo ... I received it yesterday, only five business days later! All fabulous, and, as usual BRIMMING with imps. *love*

If it helps, my Oct 27th order to Canada was shipped out on January 18th. I'm relieved I'm not the only one! I thought perhaps it was something I did, but the lovely lab peeps were too nice to tell me

Thanks Morrighana I'll wait a couple more weeks before I start getting antsy again! Luckily I have a few more drops of Fenris Wolf in my imp that will tide me over (whoo I love that stuff ... but I'll go gush in reviews instead!).

cheers, chin

Gah! I'm wondering if my Oct 27th order is hung up in customs

Has everyone received their international yule orders? If so, did you receive an e-mail from the lab saying that it had been shipped (I haven't rec'd one, but I see from Morrighana's post above that they might not have been sent out this time)?

I don't want to mail the lab unnecessarily as I imagine the inbox is bursting ... but if the order has gone missing I don't want to wait too long.

~~ thanks in advance ~~

Thanks Morrighana (and the splendid peep who mailed me )

I am so content with the oils I have (wearing Sugar Skull today), but I'm getting itchy to try those yummy Yule scents! I'm thinking Hearth and Egg Nog will warm up this cold rainy Vancouver winter.

Happy winter solstice, everyone!

Hey Canadians, other international peeps, and lurking domestics who use PayPal ....

I ordered via PayPal on Oct. 27th and I haven't received the usual notice via e-mail that my order has shipped. I'm not too fussed because I know the Lab is smokin' busy, except that I see a bunch of my fellow Canadiennes have gotten their orders from that date.

My question for you all .... how many of you who ordered via PayPal on that date or after have received notices via e-mail that your orders were shipping? Wondering if the orders are being sent without that e-mail notice (i.e. my order might be on the way), or if my package is delayed at the Lab (I ordered single notes and discontinueds, so that might be it).

~~ Thanks in advance ~~

Greed, LadyL - although you might keep it for yourself if you haven't tried it!

Ugh! Did you report it? I wasn't going to, but maybe I will now. Are you in Canada, BTW?

Hi Krista! I went a little nuts in September and ordered three times. I've received two of those orders so far, and each has taken only six business days to reach me (counting from the date shipped). My Sept 30th package shipped today, so I'm hoping it will reach me on the 29th. I'm in Vancouver, Canada BTW.

Something odd happened with my last package, I don't really know what to make of it. The envelope was cut open, but there was no Customs sticker/tape on it. As far as I know they are really stringent about notifying people that the packages have been opened ... I don't know what happened. The box itself was untouched so I am not too fussed ... it was weird, though. I'm a little creeped.

gah Morrighana I will start doing that too. I can't tell you how embarrassed I am!

Holy smokes, I have to tell you guys a cautionary tale ...

I forgot to pay shipping on my Sept 22nd PayPal order! I am totally mortified - but I thought I would tell you all, because it is so easy to miss something like that when you're paying by PayPal and adding up your own grand total to send.

The only reason I know is that I mailed Nella to ask about something completely different - a voucher / missing bottle issue - and she pointed out to me that I was short. I was all confused, because she didn't mention shipping at first, but after a bit more back-and-forth she told me that I had not paid shipping on my order.

I WAS MORTIFIED!! OK I know, I already said that ... but seriously, BPAL is a small business and the thought that I had shorted them was just terrible.

Anyway - my point here is that if I hadn't mailed about my voucher issue, those crazy generous lab peeps may never have let me know that I'd shorted them, they would have just sucked up the cost! I know that none of us would do that intentionally, so I am just writing to say ... be careful, PayPal-paying-peeps! It's easy to make a mistake

Morrighana, that sounds like good advice. I totally agree! The reason I posted here was to avoid e-mailing.

Hellooooooo lab peeps! Just wondering, now that the lovely Nella is off on her F/T adventure elsewhere ... will there still be a designated person answering customer service e-mails?

I saw your post in Chatter, Beth, that the lab is a little crazy right now - totally understand if there is a delay with answering mail at this point. Would like to have an idea of what the wait time is like, though, so I don't worry that the messages are going into the void.

thanks in advance everyone!

Just a FYI for Canadian peeps, it seems that the Customs SNAFU is cleared up. I rec'd a notice from the lab that my Sept 22nd order was shipped on Nov 8th, and I rec'd it six business days later (same as the pkg I referred to above).

Life is good and I smell great

Hi Caserina! I think it depends on how you made your order (though I could be wrong). If you use PayPal, I think that the lab peeps have started to send e-mail notifications when the orders are shipped. I got a notification like that for my Sept. 10th order on Oct. 20th, and I received the package about a week later (I'm in Canada).

I have a couple of Sept. orders in the pipe, Sept 22nd and Sept 30th, and I have not received any shipping notifications yet. I imagine it'll be soon!

Hope that helps a little

Hey Western Canadian peeps! I have some confusing yet wonderful news. I got home last night and found ... MY BPAL PACKAGE that had been shipped on October 20th! I don't know how or why it didn't get caught up in the backlog, but, as they say, I should probably not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Needless to say I am a very very happy sniffy chick

Aha, that's where I saw the "one month" timeline. Thanks O'dessa! Since the article is from Oct. 18th, one month is not so bad! If they are able to do it, that is.

*trying to be optimistic*

I'm thinking that if I order on Wednesday, and the processing time is normal, then it might not be a big deal. LOL the rest of the continent will be able to smell us Western Canadian chicks after we get our eager little hands on our postal backlog of BPAL goodness!