Every item on Build a Gift is packed and shipped by the independent shop that made it, straight to your door. Here’s how shipping costs are set, which carriers we use, how to follow your package, and what to do if a delivery goes wrong.
1. Who ships your order
- Each shop ships its own items. Shops pack your order themselves, often by hand, and send it from their own location.
- Ordering from several shops? You’ll get one package from each shop, and they may arrive on different days. You pay shipping once per shop, not once per item.
2. Where we deliver
Every shop ships within the United States. Some shops also ship to Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. The product page says which countries a shop ships to (“🌎 Ships to …”), and checkout only lets you pay for shops that ship to your country.
- Outside the US: add a phone number to your address so the carrier and customs can reach you. For South Korea, add your Personal Customs Clearance Code (P and 12 digits); Korea customs needs it to release the package.
- International delivery times depend on the service: usually 3–5 business days for Priority Mail Express International and 6–10 for Priority Mail International, with First-Class varying by country. Customs in your country can add time.
- PO Boxes: choose a USPS service at checkout. UPS can’t deliver to PO Boxes.
- Puerto Rico, other US territories, and military (APO/FPO/DPO) addresses: please message the shop before ordering to make sure they can ship there.
3. Shipping costs
Each shop sets its own shipping in one of two ways. The product page tells you which one the shop uses:
- Fixed price (for example “$5.00 shipping”): one flat price for everything you buy from that shop in one order, however many items.
- Calculated at checkout: the real USPS or UPS price, worked out from the shop’s ZIP code, your ZIP code, and the size and weight of your package. You choose the speed you want for each shop at checkout. The price may include a small packing charge set by the shop.
- International shipping is set separately by each shop: either one fixed price per order to any country it ships to, or the live USPS international price for your country.
- Free shipping: some shops ship free on everything, or once you spend a certain amount at that shop, for example “free on orders over $50 from this shop.” With calculated shipping, the cheapest option becomes free.
You’ll always see the exact shipping cost for each shop at checkout, before you pay. Nothing is added afterward. Shipping you pay goes to the shop that ships your items.
4. Carriers & delivery speeds
Shops ship with USPS and UPS. These are the services a shop may offer. Times are the carrier’s typical estimates after the package ships, in business days, and aren’t guaranteed.
| Service | Typical time in transit |
|---|---|
| USPS Ground Advantage | 2–5 days |
| USPS Priority Mail | 1–3 days |
| USPS Priority Mail Express | 1–2 days |
| UPS Ground | 1–5 days |
| UPS 3 Day Select | 3 days |
| UPS 2nd Day Air | 2 days |
| UPS Next Day Air Saver / Next Day Air | Next business day |
Not every shop offers every service, and shops using a fixed price choose the carrier themselves. Weekends, holidays, bad weather and busy seasons can add time, so order early for birthdays and holidays.
5. When your order ships
Many items are made, personalised or put together after you order, so shops need some time to prepare them before they ship. That time is on top of the time in transit.
- In-stock items usually ship within a few business days.
- Personalised and made-to-order items can take longer. Check the item description for timing.
- Need it by a certain date? Message the shop before you order to ask whether they can make it in time.
6. Tracking your order
You can follow every package in My Account, under your orders. Each shop’s package shows its own status:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Preparing | The shop is making or packing your item. |
| Shipped | The package is with the carrier. We email you, with a tracking link when the shop adds one. |
| Out for delivery | It should arrive today. |
| Delivered | The carrier has marked it delivered, with the date. |
For USPS and UPS tracking numbers, we check the carrier automatically and update your order as the package moves. Checked out as a guest? Your shipping email has the tracking link.
7. Your shipping address
- At checkout we check US addresses with USPS. If it looks wrong or incomplete, we’ll let you know so you can fix it before you pay. Addresses in other countries are checked for the right format.
- Please double-check apartment and suite numbers. Shops ship to the address on the order.
- Need to change the address? Message the shop right away. Once a package has shipped, the shop may not be able to change where it goes.
- If a package is returned to the shop because the address was wrong or incomplete, the shop may charge shipping again to resend it.
8. Late, lost or damaged packages
- Running late: check the tracking first. Carriers sometimes run a day or two behind. If tracking hasn’t moved for several days, message the shop.
- Marked delivered but not there: wait one more day, check around your door, mailroom and with neighbors. Then message the shop. They can open a claim with the carrier.
- Arrived damaged: keep the box and packing, take photos, and message the shop with your order number.
If the shop hasn’t replied within 3 days or you can’t sort it out together, contact us with your order number and we’ll step in. See our House Rules for how we handle order problems, and Returns & Refunds for returns.
9. Shipping gifts
- Enter the gift recipient’s name and address as the shipping address at checkout.
- If you’d like the shop to leave out the receipt or add a gift note, message the shop right after ordering.
- Gifts from several shops arrive in separate packages, one from each shop.
10. Taxes
Sales tax, where it applies, is calculated at checkout based on your shipping address and shown before you pay. Orders within the US have no customs or import fees. For items from Canadian shops, the US duties and import fees are shown at checkout and included in your total, so there’s nothing to pay on delivery.
International orders: your country may charge import duties, taxes or a customs handling fee when the package arrives. These aren’t included in the price you pay us; the carrier or customs collects them from you on delivery. The shop fills in the customs form with what’s inside and what you paid for it.
11. For sellers: setting up shipping
Set up shipping in Seller Dashboard → Shipping:
- Fixed price: one flat price per order from your shop. Enter 0 to ship everything free.
- Calculated: enter your ship-from ZIP and choose which USPS and UPS services to offer. Add each listing’s packed weight and box size so buyers get the right price. Your fixed price is used as a backup whenever a live price isn’t available.
- Free shipping over an amount is optional with either method.
- International (optional): tick the countries you’ll ship to (Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, South Korea), then charge either one fixed price per order or live USPS international prices for the services you choose. Shops that don’t turn it on ship to the US only. International packages need a customs form (PS Form 2976), which you fill in at the post office or when you buy the label, listing what’s inside and its value. The order page shows the buyer’s phone number and, for South Korea, their customs code.
- Shipping charges go to you in full. The 5% marketplace fee is only taken from item prices. See seller fees.
- When you ship, mark the order Shipped and add the tracking number. The buyer is emailed automatically, and we keep the status updated from USPS or UPS tracking.
- Pack items well enough to survive the trip, and ship within the time you tell buyers.