General Info & Shipping FAQ
Thank you kindly for shopping with us - this is a general information page covering frequently asked questions; please familiarise yourself with our full terms of service for more in depth information and our privacy policy which outlines how your data is handled on this website.
We ship to all worldwide destinations exclusively using DHL fully couriered services. The chosen service can be selected upon checkout. We aim to dispatch orders within 48 hours. However please note that at busy shopping periods dispatch can take an extra few days. Orders placed after 1pm on Fridays and at the weekend will be dispatched on Monday at the earliest. Please note shipping timeframes are a guide, but not guaranteed.
If you have a delivery deadline please let us know by emailing us at orders@choosingkeeping.com and we will try our hardest to meet it.
Minimum order value
For ecological and financial reasons we are unable to accept any orders under the value of £10 (not including shipping or gift wrapping). Any orders placed not meeting this minimum will be canceled and refunded. You will receive a notification of cancellation to explain this.
Gift Wrapping and Gift messages
If you require gift wrapping, we offer a gift wrapping service for a flat fee, which you can select upon checkout by ticking the gift wrapping box and include any gift messages as needed. Please note that if your order contains a large number of voluminous items you may be asked to pay a gift wrapping surcharge owing to added wrapping materials needed. We do not wrap gift wrapping materials such as bundles of paper. Kindly consider that gift wrapping is very labour intensive and we appreciate that our customer consider that this can be a an extra weight on our team at busy times, kindly only select this where genuine gifting needs are required.
We love wrapping and take gift wrapping very seriously, however that whilst we wrap all our items in a way that reflects our love for beautiful materials and according to our shop standards, we do not have a standardised gift wrapping method and the manner and materials with which we wrap each order is at our discretion depending on size, suitability and available materials.
Our standard wrapping, where gift wrapping isn't selected, varies at the discretion of the person packing your order on the day, We avoid plastic where possible and use a combination of brown paper and waxed paper as well as recycled materials as available.
Please note that for any order sent to a recipient as a gift, where a gift message has not been provided, or unless advised by email, for data protection reasons we will not be able to provide the recipient with your name if they inquire. We reserve the right to refuse sending any order anonymously. Please ensure you have provided a gift note for this purpose. You are responsible for tracking the order and alerting the recipient to expect delivery.
Combined Orders
Combining orders and late additions to orders create an opportunity for errors in processing which we seek to avoid. If you wish to add something to your order, kindly request to cancel the first order and do place another.
DHL Express
DHL Express is a fully couriered and very reliable service. Shipping costs is calculated based on volumetric weight. From time of shipping in the UK this is an estimated 24h working day delivery service. Remote locations and international locations can take up to a week, not including any delays relating to custom clearance.
For domestic orders our DHL shipping fee costs a flat fee for parcels up to 10kg. This fee is automatically calculated on checkout and can vary according to fuel prices and current economic conjecture. This flat fee can be higher if the order is particularly large or heavy or being sent to a remote location where additional charges apply. For international orders, shipping rates vary depending on location and weight - these charges are calculated the checkout page.
Royal Mail
For a more economic option we are now offering Royal Mail as an alternative shipping option for domestic orders. We aim to process orders within 24 - 48 hours of receiving them however shipping times after this can vary depending on certain circumstances out of our control.
Royal Mail shipping is a 2nd class signed for service for smaller orders. For higher value items or those with deadlines we recommend using DHL for speed and reliability. In the lead up to our busy Christmas period we only offer DHL as a shipping option to help mitigate any delays and unpredictability in service.
Click and Collect
For our local customers we do offer a click and collect option which you can select on checkout. Once we have got your order ready you will receive an e-mail letting you know and you can come and collect from our premises on Tower Street. Orders can be picked up Monday to Sunday from 10am to 5:30pm. Although our shop is closed on Monday, please knock on the door and somebody will be able to assist you with your collection.
Customers have 30 days from date of purchase to collect their orders. A reminder email will be sent on the 20th day if this has not been collected. If after 30 days you have not collected your order, your order will be cancelled minus a £10 processing fee and items will be returned to stock. Seasonal items, such as Christmas ornaments, dated diaries and perishable items will not be refunded if not collected within the 30 day pick up window.
International Orders and custom charges
Please note that customers outside of the UK may be required to pay local customs or duty charges; these are not included in your payment to us and we are not responsible for the payment of these fees. You may also be charged a processing fee relating to the handling of custom clearance by DHL and this is not included in your payment to us, but you are responsible for paying this in order to receive your order. For EU delivery, custom processing fee is a flat €17 regardless of order value. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with your local laws in regards to these fees.
For EU customers we now offer a taxes and duty paid shipping option, whereby all applicable duties, taxes and processing fees to the final shipping destination are included. This means you do not need to worry about being prompted for additional payment and benefit from our better terms for custom process charge (approximately £6). Please note however that such charges are non refundable after delivery - and in case of return, no sums relating to customs and/or custom processing shall be refunded as they will be retained by local customs.
Faulty goods or erroneously sent goods
If you have received any damaged or faulty item, or if your order is wrong or incomplete please let us know in writing at your earliest convenience by email at orders@choosingkeeping.com and we will rectify the situation.
In case of items received damaged (in transit for example) this must be reported in writing by email to orders@choosingkeeping.com within 24h of receipt. Please inspect your order before use as we cannot accept any goods damaged in transit once they have been used. Equally were goods received are wrong and do not match what was ordered this must be reported to us on reception; any product sent in error or not matching your order must be returned in unused condition if it is to be exchanged. In case of damage or incomplete order (for example if something is missing), you must retain all original packaging outer and inner, including packing materials in order to make any claim as you may be asked to send in a picture of these elements.
In the instance that a package is not received and is feared lost, please get in touch with us at orders@choosingkeeping.com and we will do what we can to assist in tracking down and recovering the parcel.
Please note that we require 30 days from the expected delivery day to carry out the necessary searches and investigation and establish that a parcel really is lost, and not delayed before reshipping or refunding your items. Due to the increased pressure on the postal system as a result of the COVID-19 crisis please be aware that the network is stretched and we ask that you are patient with us and with our shippers as the system runs its course.
Products and availability
Whilst we try to keep our stock levels as accurate as possible, there are situations where system errors with stock occur. In the event that we are out of stock of an item you have purchased an issue will be refunded and you will receive an email to confirm this.
If you purchase an item that is on back order (this information will be stated on relevant product pages) alongside other items which are in stock, the order will not be shipped until the item on back order has returned to stock. If you would like earlier shipment of any other items you have purchased do get in touch and we can arrange for the additional shipping charge. Alternatively please place two separate orders.
Some of our products have variants or alternative designs (such as our wide range of composition notebooks) - if you have a particular design (floral or geometric) or colour scheme in mind with these items do let us know upon checkout or by e-mailing orders@choosingkeeping.com so we can accommodate your request. If you don't e-mail us we will ship your order with a design at our discretion usually selected at random. Items with random design will be clearly stated as such in the relevant product page. Please note that we cannot always provide images of available designs as a fully bespoke shopping experience service due to limited resources in time and staff. Nevertheless we will always do our best to accommodate your tastes and preferences where possible but choices agreed over emails using pictures are not guaranteed and we cannot take responsibility for shipping charges if there is any error over the selected item.
Returns
As per UK Consumer Contracts regulation (formerly Distance Selling regulation) if for any reason you are unhappy with your order or if you have changed your mind, any product can be sent back for an exchange or full refund within our 14 day returns and exchange period (which starts the day after you receive your order or attempted delivery is made).
We require that you first submit a returns request by e-mailing us orders@choosingkeeping.com - you have 14 days from the point of receipt to do this. Once approved you have an additional 14 days (which starts from the date of your initial request) to return the goods back to us for either an exchange or refund.
Any returned item must be sent back in the same condition in which it was received including original product packaging. Leather items must be returned in their unopened sealed packaging and must not have been handled. Fountain pens cannot be returned if they have been inked or if they have been handled in a way that may cause damage to the finish (for example metal pens in copper or brass which oxidise once handled). All items must be in re-saleable condition, and where outer packaging is missing or damaged in a way that the item cannot be sold again at full price, we reserve the right to refuse the return or to subtract the loss in value incurred by the loss of packaging from the total refund amount. We are unable to accept returned items that have been in some way damaged or used. Please note that any outgoing and return postage costs incurred in an exchange or return are at the buyer’s cost. In the case of an international order, local imports costs (taxes and charges) will not be refunded.
Please note that gift wrapping on any returned item will not be refunded. Where pre-gift wrapped gift sets are returned £5 per set will be held back from the total refunded.
Any custom order, items ordered especially on request are non-returnable.
Images
Please take note that while we make every attempt to faithfully represent our products in photography, these are without liability and may not be to scale and colours can vary slightly from computer to computer due to screen colour calibration. For size information please check our dimension information or email us for extra information at info@choosingkeeping.com
We are real people, we are a small business
Please remember Choosing Keeping is first and foremost a brick and mortar shop. We are independent, only have one "outlet", and are a small team. We cannot, and do not seek to, match dubious multinationals with same day delivery services - but we do promise to have much more interesting products, packaged in a more human way, sent at an analogue pace, just like stationery, using stamps and postmen.