If you love sipping quality tea or coffee, then sourcing the best tea online is nothing new to you. While finding an online tea and coffee shop is easy, shipping can be an arduous task. You may lose some packages, receive damaged products, or have to incur extra costs due to hidden fees. Not to mention the paperwork and procedure involved in organizing logistics, clearing customs and paying taxes.
Luckily, you can find solutions to every shipping issue and ensure you receive your favorite beverages without glitches in delivery.
Table of Contents
1.Delivery Delays
Delivery delays are a significant issue when shipping loose leaf tea, especially for international orders. The delay could be due to government policy. For instance, during the Covid-19 pandemic, governments frequently introduce new travel restrictions, which may interfere with other countries’ flights. Besides, international shipments take time to clear customs in your country, especially if you did not fill out the necessary documentation. Apart from external factors that may contribute to delay, the online tea retailers may also experience delays during busy periods. For instance, during holidays, online retailers work extra hard to meet the delivery time, but sometimes they come up short.
When buying tea online, you should request an estimated delivery time. The carrier will contact you when your tea is dispatched and whether you should expect delays. Find out the customs requirements in both countries before initiating the delivery process. You can prepare the required paperwork for prompt and seamless clearance of your beverages at the customs.
2. Damaged packaging
Online tea and coffee shops sell tea in ready-to-use form. Therefore, it requires the utmost care during delivery to avoid damages. While aroma-proof and standard watertight packaging may be adequate for tea bags delivered through the mail, shipping large quantities requires special packaging containers to avoid distortion and damage. A major issue when transporting teas is contamination by other goods on transit and moisture, especially if you are shipping through containers. So how do you ensure you receive your tea in its original state?
If you are receiving your loose leaf tea via mail, you have nothing to worry about; the damage chances are non-existent. However, if you use freight shipping options, ensure they use sturdy and durable packaging to withstand being hauled and lifted in transit.
3. Incorrect Tracking Information
When you place an order online for tea, the purchase will generate a tracking number linked to the respective order. Unfortunately, during dispatch, retailers print the tracking numbers and shipping labels manually. If the store owner is juggling multiple orders, the chances of mixing up the tracking numbers are high. The mishaps can lead to lost orders, or you can receive the wrong package. It can be frustrating to wait for a parcel and end up with the wrong package, and the return process can be gruesome, primarily if the online retailer does not provide a free return. Apart from incorrect tracking, you can also lose your beverages when you provide the wrong address.
Most retailers use shipping carrier plugins when handling end-to-end deliveries to avoid such mistakes. Shipping with tracking options generates a tracking number before the order is dispatched. Once you receive the tracking number via email, you can verify your purchases before transit.
4. Unexpected or Hidden International Fees
Delivery fees can balloon out of control if you do not know the exact cost of shipping your products. Delivering a package can be expensive depending on the weight, destination, and estimated delivery time. If you need your products promptly, you should be ready to pay extra. Bulky goods may also incur a surcharge. However, do not fret about the high shipping cost when you receive your teabags through the mail. The hidden fees often result from local duties or taxes from the country of origin and expenses for clearing customs.
While shipping charges are beyond your control, you can shop around for affordable carriers. If you are lucky, you can find an online retailer with international partners to provide great deals on overseas shipments. Online tea and coffee shop with international partners can subsidize your shipping charges and shorten the delivery time. Online retailers often provide a detailed guide and terms or conditions for international shipping. The terms give an estimate of the international fees and local duties. You will also find a list of areas that incur a surcharge.
Tea is a semi-luxury product, with few shipping requirements, unlike delicate products. However, they need proper handling to avoid change in taste or damage during transit. You have no reason to worry if you are shopping for small packages. However, freight shipping exposes tea to risk factors such as odor, moisture and mishandling. With knowledge of the typical shipping issues and solutions, you can navigate delivery processes easily. Having the assurance that shipping will be seamless boosts your confidence in online tea retailers.