Every so often, someone calls to say that they think their shipping costs are too high. Sometimes people think that Chic Afrique intentionally overcharged their shipping costs.
Because of the types of products that we sell, our shipping costs are a lot higher than some other companies. It is much more expensive to ship an African statue than it is to ship a DVD or a book. But we do not want to lose customers by charging too high of shipping costs.
Our goal is to charge exactly the same amount that UPS or the Post Office charges for shipping your package. Our computer can not always get the exact amount correctly however. In fact, we normally charge customers less than UPS charges us for shipping costs.
Historically we lose money on shipping costs. Shipping is actually one of our biggest expenses. There are still some orders that are charged too much though.
To make even more sure that we don’t make a customer mad at us by charging them too much for shipping, we now compare all of the UPS bills to the customer charges. When we find someone is charged too much, we make refunds for any large overcharges. When we undercharge someone; or if the actual cost is really close to what we have charged; then we leave the cost alone. In other words, if we charge you too much, we try to refund you. If we charge you too little, we don’t try to collect any more from you.
If you ever think that our shipping charges are too high, please let me know. We will fix any charges that are too high.
An exception to this rule is when a customer purchases OVERSIZED items like Balafon's or Drums. In this case the actual weight is calculated and then you are sent an invoice with the oversized item fees indicated. Depending on your carrier choice we will also provide the shipping calculation page in a snapshot from the carrier's website for verification purposes.
