Shipping PolicY

AROMA QUEEN IS AN AUSTRALIAN WEBSITE

– We Only Ship Within Australia –

All prices quoted within this website are in Australian dollars (inclusive of GST), and all freight costs quoted are for shipping WITHIN AUSTRALIA ONLY.

Unfortunately, we cannot ship overseas due to the high expense / long delays, and as many of our products are not suitable for international air shipping. If you’re an overseas customer, please do not attempt to place an order on our site.

FLAT RATE SHIPPING COSTS AUSTRALIA-WIDE*

Orders over $100.00: FREE Shipping Australia-wide
Orders over $30 but less than $100: $4.95 Shipping Australia-wide
Orders under $30: $11.95 Shipping Australia-wide

* Item Value Only – Not Including Shipping Costs

How Does AQ Post?

Our standard shipping is generally via tracked Australia Post’s Parcel Post service, which includes a level of insurance (see Australia Post’s Terms and Conditions for more information).

Smaller packages may be sent as a ‘Thick Letter’ with Registered Postage – this method requires your signature on delivery (this will override any ‘Safe to Leave’ instructions).

We’ll send through your tracking number via email as soon as your order is on its way, so you can follow the progress of your delivery at www.auspost.com.au.

Signature on Delivery Option

If you are concerned about the safe delivery of your package, you may also choose to add Signature on Delivery to your order, at an additional cost of $2.95 (see Australia Post’s Terms and Conditions for more information on this product).

Will my Package be Covered for Loss or Breakage?

Australia Post’s Parcel Post service now includes a level of insurance – see their website’s Terms and Conditions for more information on this product.

We can honestly say breakages occur very rarely – we pack every order carefully. If you experience a damaged product please keep all packaging materials and send us a few photos of what you have received, and the damage incurred.

For safety’s sake we also mark all larger orders, as well as deliveries to units or villas, as ‘Do Not Safe Drop’ – see below (Will I Need to Collect My Package).

Why Doesn’t AQ Ship for Free?

We do ship orders over $100 for free (item value only – this doesn’t include the shipping cost itself), and we subsidise all orders over $30 down to $4.95 shipping, to meet you in the middle – even though this is much less than what it actually costs to post your package.

But here’s the thing: Free Postage is rarely free.

Yes, we know many sites offer completely free shipping, but the fact is: every business is charged $$ to ship your package to you. You’ll usually find that when a company offers ‘Free Shipping’, the shipping costs are added to the price of the goodies to cover the ‘free’ offer.

 We list incense from a couple of dollars a pack or oils from less than $10: it would be impossible for us to offer ‘Free’ postage without increasing these prices by a ridiculous amount to cover the costs – and then nobody is happy! Our flat shipping costs are the fairest way to share postage charges and give everybody the best value for their dollars.

When Will my Goodies Arrive?

We aim to be speedy! We generally ship at least 2-3 times per week – most orders received by 11am on a business day will be shipped the same day, or the following one. If there are any unforeseen issues that cause a delay beyond this we’ll contact you to let you know.

While we’d love to be able to hand deliver your package ourselves, once your package is in the post we can’t control the speed it gets to you – but Australia Post is usually fairly reasonable – unless there are floods, fires, plagues or other disasters, or public holidays which can slow things down.

So while we aim to be quick, we’re unable to guarantee an exact shipping or delivery date, or compensate / refund / cancel any order because of a delay. You can get an estimate of shipping times by checking on Australia Post’s website for deliveries sent to your postcode from ours (2780), but do bear in mind that this a guideline and not a guarantee as to when you’ll receive your parcel.

Will I Need to Collect my Package from a PO? Can I Request it to be Left?

We ship by Australia Post, so if you’re usually around to accept packages then your order should be delivered by your local postage contractor as normal.

However if you’re not home there are two things that can happen:

  • Your postie may ‘safe drop’ your package, or
  • The package may be returned to your local PO for you to pick up, usually with a card left to advise. Sometimes these cards are misplaced so it’s important you keep an eye on the delivery via the tracking number we’ve sent you to make sure you pick the package up in time, or it may get returned to us.

According to Australia Post, ‘Safe Dropping’ means that if you are not at your premises to receive the package, the delivery contractor will determine whether it is ‘safe’ to leave your package unattended, and will then leave it somewhere on your property. If your address is a flat or unit, or your order has a significant value to it, we will add a label asking for the package NOT to be Safe Dropped, and to return it to your local PO for you to pick up in your own time. This is just a request – Aus Post can choose to ignore this label if they choose, and unless you’ve added Signature on Delivery they can still opt to safe drop your package regardless of any message on your parcel. If you’d specifically like us to add these instructions to your package, just add a note when placing your order.

If you DO want your package to be safe dropped, just add a note when placing your order requesting that we mark it as SAFE TO LEAVE if unattended (add a specific instruction if you like)**. Bear in mind that if you do request your package be left unattended, neither Aroma Queen nor Australia Post can be held responsible should it go missing. Australia Post are usually able to confirm the exact delivery location using GPS co-ordinates, however this choice is at your own risk.

** PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE UNABLE TO ADD ‘SAFE TO LEAVE’ INSTRUCTIONS IF:

  • your order is particularly valuable or contains an amount of heat-sensitive essential oils.
  • you’ve added ‘Signature on Delivery’, as this must be signed for.
  • your package is a smaller ‘thick letter sized’ item that will be sent via Registered Postage, which will need to be signed for.

What if I’ve Given the Wrong Address?

It happens to the best of us! If you’ve realised you’ve entered an incorrect address before we’ve shipped your order please contact us ASAP and we’ll get it fixed for you before it makes it into the post – email [email protected].

If you’ve given us an incorrect shipping address and the package has already been shipped, that’s a little more limiting. If the package is returned to us as ‘undeliverable’ or ‘not at this address’ we can repost your parcel a second time, to the correct address – however you will be required to pay the full postage cost for us to repost your parcel. Full postage is usually significantly more than the subsidised rates you are charged on our website, however we will never charge more than what Australia Post charges us to ship it back to you the second time.

As we have a Guarantee to all of our customers that every item is brand new and has not been through the postal system before it was sent to them (see RETURNS for more information), we cannot refund for orders returned to us because you have given us incorrect shipping details, as we cannot ethically put these products back into stock. And ethics mean everything to us!

If the package is NOT returned to us by Australia Post after being sent to an incorrect or incomplete address, there isn’t much we can do – but of course we’ll be happy to supply any available details about your package to help you try to locate the missing parcel with Australia Post. The best trick is to double-check all information you enter when placing your order, as well as the order confirmation you’ll receive after it has been placed, and to contact us immediately if there is a problem.

What if my Package Still Hasn’t Arrived?

We get it, you want your goodies NOW!

But sometimes things happen and your package can take a little longer than you were expecting. We ship 2-3 times each and every week, so often your package will be in the post the day you place your order, or within a day or so at the most – so the majority of packages arrive like a flash. But from time to time deliveries do take longer than expected, for no apparent reason.

  • Don’t forget we’re in a regional area so deliveries can take longer than if they were coming from a major city – usually around 2-5 days for mail going to Sydney or Brisbane, or up to 10 days or longer for WA or remote areas (though usually much quicker).
  • During peak times like Christmas, around public holidays or during extreme weather events (floods, bushfires, plagues and other nasties), postage can take longer than usual so may just need a little patience.

If your package hasn’t arrived in the time you were expecting, CHECK THE TRACKING NUMBER we sent you via email when your package was shipped – if you didn’t receive the email check your SPAM or JUNK folder. Enter your tracking no. on Australia Post’s website – www.auspost.com.au.

If tracking shows the package is IN TRANSIT this means it’s still on its way, so just give it a little more time. Please wait at least a full fortnight after it’s been posted before asking Aus Post to look into its whereabouts as 99% of the time the package will turn up within this period.

If tracking shows it is AWAITING COLLECTION at your local post office then perhaps your postie didn’t leave the card to let you know. Get onto collecting it ASAP so it doesn’t get returned to us, as your PO will only hold onto it for a limited period. It’s up to you to keep an eye on the tracking if your package hasn’t arrived in the period you’d expect it to, so don’t leave this too late! If your package is returned to us because you didn’t collect it in time, we’ll need to ask you to pay the full Australia Post cost of re-posting the package to you, which is usually more than the subsidised shipping you paid when placing your order.

If the tracking shows as DELIVERED and you haven’t received it, then firstly check it hasn’t been left behind or under something, as when we add a ‘Safe to Leave’ message we usually do ask for it to be left out of sight, for safety. If you still can’t find it, contact Aus Post to look into it. Your tracking number can be used at your local PO (or Australia Post’s support line – but it’s usually quicker to speak directly to your PO), and they can chase up exactly where the package was delivered, based on GPS coordinates from their scans.

Let us know what’s happening and we can also send you additional info about the delivery which they can use when looking into it.

I Forgot to Pick up my Package from the P.O.

We mark many orders, especially those with a unit / duplex address etc, as ‘DO NOT SAFE DROP’ to help ensure the safety of its arrival, so if you are not at home to accept the parcel it may be returned to your local post office for you to collect it.

Even if your package has been marked with an authority to leave if unattended, it’s entirely up to Aus Post’s discretion as to whether they follow our instructions or not. So there’s a chance it could still be returned to your PO for collection, and it’s up to you to collect the package in a timely fashion: most Post Offices are only required to hold on to your package for five days (most wait at least two weeks but give them a call if it’s a problem). After that period they may return it back to us if the package isn’t collected in time. If you don’t claim a package that is waiting for collection and the package is returned to us, we can repost your parcel a second time – however you will be required to pay the full postage cost for us to repost your parcel. Full postage is usually significantly more than the subsidised rates you are charged on our website, however we will never charge more than what Australia Post charges us to ship it back to you the second time.

As we have a Guarantee to all of our customers that every item is brand new and has not been through the postal system before it was sent to them (see RETURNS for more information), we generally cannot refund for orders returned to us because you have not collected it from your local Post Office, as we cannot ethically put these products back into stock. And ethics mean everything to us!

Can I Pick Up My Order if I Live Nearby?

We’re really sorry, but we can’t offer local pickup. We specialise in online sales only and so don’t have a shopfront. As we’re not insured for customer visits, we’re unable to offer pickup from our premises. Sorry – no exceptions.