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Fine Games Domestic Shipping Rates & Practices
 This page details Fine Games standard shipping methods and charges for shipments to addresses within the
United States, its colonial possessions, and APO/FPO addresses. A procedure allowing you to accurately anticipate
shipping charges is included. And expedited shipping methods are offered.
Our rates are built upon those of both UPS and our beloved postal
service (USPS). The latest rate
change occurred on 22 January 2012
. Our rates were last revised on 26 January 2012
.
You may download an Acrobat PDF of our domestic shipping rates here.
Shipping Methods Offered
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Fine Games routinely ships
orders by USPS Priority
Mail (for flat rate shipments & those of
~1-4# weight) and UPS Ground services (for most shipments of
3# or more). Such service is covered by our standard shipping
charge of $14.50
within the continental U.S (with some exceptions).
Upon request, and for additional charge, we can expedite your order by shipping by any of these
services: USPS Express (2 days); USPS to APO
addresses; or UPS 1, 2 or 3 day. We
can also ship by your specified method (USPS or UPS Ground) where we would not ordinarily do so,
typically for an additional fee.
Currently, we do not ship via FedEx Ground or Air or any other courier service.
We also do not deal in third-party billing.
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Above: Meet Connie, our UPS driver during
our stay in Portland. He handled thousands of our packages
thru 2004 when we moved out of Portland, OR..
Yours truly, at the end of our biggest shipping day ever,
22 Dec.
2005. It was a busy day.
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Standard Shipping Charges
Fine Games uses a simple, flat rate shipping rate system. This allows you to
easily, intuitively anticipate the shipping charge for any assortment of items you may be interested in.
The rules are these:
-
The standard shipping charge is
$14.50
per shipment. This includes Priority Mail or UPS Ground shipping within the continental US, using
the service of our choice based on weight such that it minimizes our shipping costs.
-
Bulky or weighty items are surcharged
$1.50
per item in addition to the standard amount above. Our catalogs indicate bulky items with a
"LB" (Long Box type). Weighty items, those weighing 3.0# or more, are indicated with an asterisk
"*" beside the box type code. Also, beginning in
2012, "Giant Boxed" ("GB" box type) are surcharged
$4.00
per item in addition to that standard shipping, reflecting
the massive size & weight of such items.
-
Shipments to rural zip codes are surcharged
$3.00
per order. If your package is such that it will be
shipped via UPS, and your destination zip code is one that UPS
defines a "rural", your order is subject to a surcharge of $3.00
.
-
Up to four
(4
) flat, UNboxed items can be shipped for $8.00
total. These must be "n", "zl", or "Fo" box types that fit in a flat
rate Priority Mail envelope and weigh no more than 4# collectively when shipped. In addition,
no single item can weight more than 1.5#. In most cases, any 4
unboxed items will meet this condition. (See
the Key to Codes page for an explanation of box types, and which are boxed or
unboxed.) Note: some unboxed items are too large or bulky to
fit in a flat rate mailer and thus do not qualify..
-
Boxed shipments weighing more than 2 lbs to Alaska, Hawaii, any of the U.S.'s colonial possessions (such as Guam
and Puerto Rico),
and all APO/FPO shipments, do
not qualify for standard shipping rates as they must be shipped via USPS Priority
Mail and may require customs documents.
Instead, such shipments are charged on a per-pound basis. See Expedited
Shipment for rate info.
How to Calculate the Shipping Charge for Your Order
Use this procedure to learn how to anticipate standard,
ground shipping charges for any bundle of
games you might wish to order. After a few tries, shipping costs will be self-evident to you (we hope).
-
If you're ordering
4
or fewer qualifying items (see
#4 above)
AND none are boxed (i.e. all have a "n", "zl" or "FO" box type),
AND you are not at an APO/FPO address, then
shipping is
$8.00
total. You're done.
Otherwise, count up (1) the total number of items ordered, and (2) the number of items with a LB
box type and/or an asterisk ("*") beside the box type. The
latter are surcharged $1.50
each. -
Standard shipping is $14.50
. Add to this the number of LB or asterisked items multiplied by $1.50
each. This is the total for shipping. Most orders do not have any LB or asterisked items, so shipping
would simply be $14.50
.
Example: An order including 1 heavy item and 1 LBoxed item would be charged
$17.50
shipping ($14.50
+ $1.50
+ $1.50
).
-
If UPS defines your destination zip code as "rural",
add $3.00
to the order shipping total. This is the final total.
To check how UPS regards your zip
code, see UPS's listing of Surcharged
Zip Codes (PDF format). UPS has been rather aggressive in adding zip codes to this
list since it was introduced in 2000. As of 2010, over 26,000 zips are now
surcharged for being "rural." Our own zip code is itself within a
surcharged area despite being in a town of 25,000.
-
Any shipment that is expedited, or that must be shipped via a specific method (such as shipments
to APO/FPO and non-continental US addresses which weigh 3# or more) are charged based on
actual shipping weight.
Standard shipping rates do not apply in this case. See APO or Expedited
Shipment for rate info.
Expedited Shipping Methods & Charges
Upon request, we can speed up delivery of your order by using an expedited shipping method. All of these options
are charged based on shipping weight, and are quoted per the specific order.
Please make us aware of any
special need you have for a delivery deadline or method.
We recommend you email or phone us to discuss your specific needs. Realize that most options will
substantially increase the shipping charge you pay compared to our standard shipping charge. Based on your needs, we'll
recommend the best service under the circumstances from among these options:
-
USPS Priority Mail - 2-3 day; see rate chart below.
-
USPS Express Mail - 2 day, relatively
inexpensive compared to UPS but of marginal benefit.
-
UPS Red - 1 day, order must be placed by 1pm PST; expensive.
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UPS Blue - 2 day; modestly expensive.
-
UPS Yellow - 3 day; slightly
more than ground, but of no benefit west of the Rockies.
| Fine
Games' Domestic Shipping Options & Rates
effective 1 January 2011 |
| Shipping
Weight |
First
Class Rates |
Priority Mail Rates (domestic) |
APO
Priority Mail Rates |
Express
Mail Rates |
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Delivery Timeframe
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~ 4-7 Days
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~ 2-3 Days
|
Varies
~ 1-3 Weeks
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~1-2 Days;
order must arrive by noon
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Flat Rate
Envelope
|
n/a
|
$8.00
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$10.50
|
$23.00
|
|
Flat Rate Box
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n/a
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$14.00
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$17.00
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n/a
|
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1 Pounds
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$5.00 (<
13oz)
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$8.50
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$11.00
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$27.00
|
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2
|
n/a
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$14.00
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$16.50
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$31.00
|
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3
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n/a
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$15.50
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$18.00
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$33.00
|
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4
|
n/a
|
$20.00
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$23.00
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$37.50
|
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5
|
n/a
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$23.00
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$26.00
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$41.75
|
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6
|
n/a
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$26.00
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$29.00
|
$47.75
|
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7
|
n/a
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$28.75
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$31.75
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$52.25
|
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8
|
n/a
|
$31.57
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$34.57
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$56.30
|
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9
|
n/a
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$35.00
|
$39.00
|
$62.00
|
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10
|
n/a
|
$38.00
|
$42.00
|
$66.50
|
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11
|
n/a
|
$40.50
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$44.50
|
$70.00
|
|
12
|
n/a
|
$43.25
|
$47.25
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$73.00
|
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13
|
n/a
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$44.75
|
$48.75
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$76.00
|
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14
|
n/a
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$46.75
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$50.75
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$82.25
|
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15
|
n/a
|
$50.00
|
$54.00
|
$85.50
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USPS Shipping
Rates, based on 22 January 2012
postal rates, last revised 26 January 2012
.
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Shipment Delivery Times
We advise you of both when we expect to ship your order, and how long it will take to reach you, as part of our
routine of acknowledging all phone and emailed orders. We will contact you in the exceptional circumstance where
shipment will be delayed significantly.
In additional, all shipments by UPS or FedEx are acknowledged by email on the day of mailing. This acknowledgement
will include tracking info and estimated date of arrival.
In general, USPS Priority Mail takes 2 days to most people in the US, 3 days to rural areas and US colonial
possessions, and 7-14 days to APO/FPO or remote Alaskan addresses. (See
below for more specifics on APO/FPO delivery.)
In general, UPS takes 6 business days to reach the east coast, 5 days to reach the mid-west, 3 days to reach
southern California, and 1-2 days to reach western Oregon or Washington. The map below provides a good idea of
transit time via UPS Ground to you.
Delivery Time
to Your Door, Shipped via UPS
Other Shipping Surcharges
There are a few other shipping-related charges you should be aware of and, hopefully, avoid.
-
If the address information you provide is incomplete or inaccurate, or you redirect
delivery to another address, UPS imposes an address correction surcharge which will be passed on to you.
This is $12
for ground shipments, even more for air (1, 2 or 3 day). Please tell us where to deliver the package
when you place your order.
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UPS imposes a surcharge on each shipment to most rural zip codes
of $2.75 or more.
We pass this along to those customers shipping to such a
zip code by surcharging your order $3.00
.
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UPS also imposes a
$2.75
per shipment surcharge on every package delivered to a residence.
We currently include that in our stated shipping charge; i.e. there is
not extra charge for this. But you can
help us keep shipping costs and rates down by arranging delivery to a business address where convenient.
APO/FPO Delivery Times & Restrictions
For most purposes, packages sent to APO or FPO military addresses are
treated like any other domestic package. There are two differences to be aware
of, however. First, all such packages must travel via the USPS postal system
rather than UPS; thus, shipping charges will be weight-based and will be more
than our standard fixed domestic shipping charge. Further, all such packages
must bear a customs declaration. Since this requires added labor &
preparation, there is an added charge for this. Finally, priority
mail delivery times are predicated upon the delivery location:
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Zip codes 090xx-092xx and 094xx-099xx are to Europe and require 7-10
days.
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ZIp codes 093xx are to sunny Iraq & Afgahnistan & the Middle
East and require 7-14 days.
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Zip codes 962xx-966xx are to Japan, Korea, the Pacific or the Far East
and require 7-10 days.
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Zip codes of 340xx are to the Americas and require 7-10 days.
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