Shipping policy

Pottery is heavy, breakable, and worth packing properly. This page explains how long dispatch takes, what the delivery estimates actually mean, who pays for duties, and what to do if a parcel goes quiet somewhere between our warehouse and your door.

Dispatch time

Orders are packed within one to two business days after payment clears. Orders placed after 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, or during a public holiday, begin processing on the next business day. If an item in your order is temporarily unavailable, we will write to you before splitting the shipment. We do not hold an entire order for a backordered piece without asking.

Delivery estimates

Once dispatched, estimated transit times are:

  • United States (standard): 3 to 7 business days after dispatch.
  • Canada: 5 to 10 business days after dispatch.
  • United Kingdom and European Union: 7 to 14 business days after dispatch.
  • Australia and New Zealand: 8 to 16 business days after dispatch.
  • Rest of world: 10 to 20 business days after dispatch.

These are carrier estimates, not guarantees. Customs inspections, severe weather, and local delivery backlogs can add time. Remote addresses and islands often take longer than the ranges above. If you need a piece by a specific date, write to us before ordering and we will tell you honestly whether the timeline is realistic.

Shipping charges

Shipping is calculated at checkout from the destination, parcel weight, and selected service. Standard shipping is free on orders over US$60 after discounts, before taxes and duties. Express options are priced separately. We do not add handling fees at the end of checkout; the amount you see before payment is the amount you are charged for shipping.

Tracking

When your parcel leaves the warehouse, we email a tracking number and a link. Tracking can take up to 48 hours to show its first scan, especially on international shipments. A label being created is not the same as a parcel being collected. If the tracking page has shown no movement for five business days, contact us with your order number and we will open a trace with the carrier.

Address accuracy

Please check the address before you pay. Apartment and unit numbers are the most common cause of failed deliveries. We can change an address only before the parcel is handed to the carrier; after that, the carrier controls the route. If a parcel is returned to us because an address was incomplete or nobody collected it, we will contact you to arrange reshipment. A second shipping charge may apply, and original shipping fees are not refunded in that situation.

Duties, taxes, and customs

Orders shipped outside the United States may be subject to import duties, value-added tax, and customs clearance fees. These charges are set by your country, not by us, and are the responsibility of the recipient. We cannot mark a parcel as a gift or understate its value; doing so would violate customs rules. If you refuse a parcel to avoid duties, it may be destroyed or returned, and the original shipping cost and any return fee are not refundable. For EU and UK customers, prices shown at checkout do not include import VAT unless explicitly stated.

Damaged parcels

Open your order as soon as it arrives. If a piece is broken, photograph the item, the interior packaging, and the outside of the box with the label visible, then email us within 48 hours. We will arrange a replacement or refund and will not ask you to send broken pottery back unless the carrier requests an inspection. Keep the packaging until we confirm the next step. Report damage even if you plan to keep the piece; we track carrier performance and repeated breakage usually points to a packing problem we can fix.

Lost or stalled shipments

If tracking stops moving, we will open a carrier investigation. Most traces resolve within five to ten business days. During that period we may offer a replacement at our discretion, particularly for time-sensitive gifts. If the carrier confirms the parcel is lost, you may choose a replacement or a full refund. If tracking shows delivery but nothing arrived, check with neighbors, your building's mailroom, and any safe place noted on the tracking page, then contact us and we will help you file a claim.

Split shipments and holidays

Large orders may travel in more than one box to reduce the risk of breakage. You will receive a tracking number for each parcel, and they may arrive on different days. During November and December, and around major sales, dispatch and transit take longer than the estimates above. We publish current cut-off dates on the homepage before each holiday season. Orders placed after a cut-off date are still welcome, but we cannot promise pre-holiday delivery.

Questions

For delivery questions, email emoticonhq@outlook.com with your order number and tracking link. We answer within one to two business days and will tell you what the carrier has actually told us, not what we hope is true.